Chris Altruda

Senior Analyst for The Better Collective

United States

After more than two decades of "pure" sportswriting, I have been with the Better Collective since November 2019 covering multiple facets of sports betting and the gaming industry. That includes legislative aspects, state revenue reports, casino doings, and feature stories on key people throughout the industry. Every so often, I get to return to my roots and do something sports-related, though this time it's with a betting angle.

The links to my LinkedIn page, sometimes-funny Twitter account and my resume are below. If you have comments or questions, sending me a DM on Twitter is probably your best bet (see what I did there?) to get a response. Thanks for reading!

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SportsHandle
11/05/2021
The Problem With Portnoy, Who Doth Protest Too Much

The above exchange from "Die Hard 2," with one notable exception, is largely how I have viewed Barstool Sports founder and now Barstool Sportsbook front man Dave Portnoy in the two years I have been with Better Collective and in the world of covering sports betting.

Bloombergtax
NFL Kickoff Could Boost Tax Revenue in Betting States (Podcast)

SportsHandle senior analyst Chris Altruda speaks with Bloomberg Tax reporter Angélica Serrano-Román about the approaches states have taken to taxing sports betting and those allowing operators to deduct so-called "free bets," which some states are starting to limit.

SportsHandle
11/29/2022
'Million Dollar Marco' Is Driving Into The Sports Betting Fast Lane

Marco Piemonte readily acknowledges he is still coming to grips with getting recognized outside Illinois. Already known throughout Chicago for running one of the city's largest auto dealerships, Piemonte grew accustomed to the attention early through his father.

USBets
11/10/2022
Mattress Mack Tackles Responsible Gambling, To Mixed Ends

A $75 million sports wagering win can buy you lots of things, but one of them is not instant expertise in the gambling space. Fresh off receiving his record World Series payout that will put a notable dent in overall nationwide operator revenue totals for November, Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale took to Twitter on Tuesday night to offer his thoughts on the pitfalls of playing the lottery.

SportsHandle
11/11/2022
U.S. Sports Wagering State Tax Receipts Clear $1 Billion For 2022

With more states conducting legal sports wagering came more betting handle. With more handle came more operator revenue. And with more operator revenue came the single most important thing states were seeking when they made sports betting legal in the first place: more tax revenue.

USBets
08/15/2022
Hard Rock Northern Indiana A Formidable Baccarat Juggernaut

The first thing that comes to mind for most people upon hearing "baccarat" is the iconic opening scene of Dr. No , in which Sean Connery makes his James Bond debut in 1962 and calmly bests Sylvia Trench in multiple hands.

SportsHandle
09/02/2022
PointsBet's Teddy Greenstein Is Ready To Get His Hustle On

Words come easily for Teddy Greenstein - as they should for a sportswriter with more than 20 years of experience with the Chicago Tribune. But it's not just the written word. Converse with the long-time scribe, and you'll hear a smooth voice capable of providing facts and figures across mediums that include radio and television.

SportsHandle
09/16/2022
Nationwide Post-PASPA Sports Wagering Handle Clears $150B

After needing 44 months to reach $100 billion in nationwide sports wagering handle, it took just eight more to get halfway from there to $200 billion. New Jersey's $546.8 million handle reported Friday pushed the overall national total above $150 billion, dating back to the first wagers placed in June 2018 when state-by-state wagering outside Nevada became legal.

SportsHandle
08/18/2021
Arlington Park Goes Out With A Whimper For Likely Last Million Day

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - There always seemed to be something missing throughout Saturday at Arlington International Racecourse, which was hosting what was likely to be its final "Million Day" of horse racing. For starters, there was no $1 million purse for the day's signature Grade I stakes race, the Mr. D.

USBets
06/11/2021
Exclusive: NY's Total Sports Betting Handle Is Just $231.1 Million

One of the mysteries of the nascent sports betting industry in the United States has been the handle originating from New York. The Empire State launched retail sports wagering in July 2019, and it is currently available at four non-tribal casinos north of Manhattan.

SportsHandle
02/11/2022
Making The Play At The Over/Under Sports Bar In Chicago

For Chicago's Ed Berry, it started with a theory. "The theory I had was [about] 20-, 30-somethings in really good affluent neighborhoods who like to hang out at corner taverns in their area," he explained. "Why should we have to tell them to go to a local casino, to go to a local sportsbook, which is not a place where people hang out."

NY Online Gambling
09/06/2022
New York's Mobile NFL Handle Could Hit $1.1 Billion In Sept/Oct

After getting a taste in January, mobile bettors in New York are ready to feast when it comes to wagering for the upcoming NFL season. The launch of mobile wagering during the first full weekend of January coincided with the final weekend of the 2021 NFL season, with four operators taking wagers.

SportsHandle
05/19/2022
Circa Sports Gearing Up For Entry Into Illinois Sports Betting Scene

It's not so much that the third state is the charm for Derek Stevens as Circa Sports continues its expansion since entering the sports wagering space in Las Vegas in late 2020. Rather, Stevens' confidence surrounding Circa's entry into Illinois - after setting up shop in both Colorado and Iowa - stems from this being precisely the large-market fit he has sought.

NY Online Gambling
03/14/2022
New York Mobile Handle Could Reach $400 Million For NCAA Tournament

New York already has hit the heights since launching mobile sports wagering in mid-January. Now the Empire State will make its first descent into madness. March Madness, that is. When the New York State Gaming Commission releases its full February figures, the state's two monthly handles of 2022 will rank first (January) and second (February) in the all-time national post- PASPA era that began in 2018.

SportsHandle
02/07/2022
What If Sports Wagering Were Legal In California, Ohio?

Bettors in California and Ohio, neither of which currently offer live digital sports betting, may have wagered as much as $400 million on Super Bowl LVI if able to do so legally, according to research conducted by Sports Handle. The Super Bowl features a team from each state and will be played in California.

USBets
11/11/2021
Kambi Out To Make Inroads On Single-Game Parlays

It is the sports betting rage of the moment, a nationwide wave started by FanDuel that other operators have eagerly chosen to ride with various tweaks unique to their respective sportsbooks. That wave gained critical mass in the spring when the NFL fully embraced legalized wagering with official partnerships, and has been unleashed in tidal fashion this fall.

SportsHandle
03/26/2021
Finding The Human Touch In A Digital Sports Betting Landscape

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. - In the cramped space that is the "cage" of the Barstool Sportsbook at Hollywood Casino, social distancing can best be described as challenging in what looks to be about 300 square feet of space. Three ticket takers are actively accepting wagers as a steady stream of bettors queue during the second round of the NCAA tournament.

SportsHandle
10/29/2021
City of Chicago Receives Five Bids For Downtown Casino License

As poker hands go, the city of Chicago was dealt a promising opener for suitors to build a downtown casino: two pairs and a wild card. The city announced Friday it had received five bids in response to its Request for Proposals (RFP) issued in April.

Hoosier State Bets
09/15/2021
Exit Interview: Sara Gonso Tait Leaves IGC With Feathers In Her Cap

After more than six years serving as executive director of the Indiana Gaming Commission, Sara Gonso Tait completed her tenure last Friday. Tait, who oversaw a robust growth in gaming in the Hoosier State since her arrival in 2015, had announced her plans to step down in late August to "pursue opportunities in the private sector."

USBets
11/09/2020
Women Making Inroads In Gaming And Sports Betting Industries

As the gaming and sports betting industries have grown in the two-plus years since PASPA was struck down by the United States Supreme Court, there has been an influx of women into a professional field and social arena in which it has been challenging to establish a foothold.

SportsHandle
07/30/2021
GambetDC Extending Reach In Nation's Capital With Kiosks At Bars

There's been a lot of talk about infrastructure in the nation's capital of late, and that also applies to the DC Lottery's sports betting platform GambetDC. The DC Lottery began extending the reach of GambetDC Friday with self-serve kiosks at four local bars - Ben's Next Door, Lou's City Bar, Takoma Station Tavern, and Dirty Water.

USBets
05/17/2021
It All Adds Up: NCAA Tournament Leads To Record $4.6B Handle In March

There was little surprise March delivered a record sports betting handle for the seventh time in the last eight months as bettors across states that generate large handles were able to wager on NCAA tournament games for the first time - including four in the Midwest that missed out on the chance to do so last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

USBets
07/09/2021
Can England Top Italy In Euro Final And Bring Football Home?

Fifty-five years of hurt. The years have rolled forward like a car's odometer, but the phrase "of hurt" is what matters here. England has not won a major title since its only title: claiming the 1966 World Cup over Germany at Wembley Stadium.

USBets
10/13/2020
STATS Perform Outage Wreaks Havoc Across DFS Platforms

An outage that lasted through the weekend and continued into Tuesday originating at data provider STATS Perform significantly disrupted daily fantasy sports contests across multiple platforms and is still in the process of being resolved.

USBets
07/01/2020
Musings And Observations From The Reopenings Of Illinois Casinos

ELGIN, DES PLAINES, AURORA, and JOLIET, Ill. - Less than one week after Gov. J.B. Pritzker moved his state into Phase 4 of his Restore Illinois plan, which included limited indoor dining, it was the state's 10 casinos' turns to open their doors to the public on Wednesday.

SportsHandle
06/04/2020
Can eSports Chart A New Path After Its Moment In The Sun?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, eSports and virtual sports have proven to be a curious entity in the sports wagering world with a lack of traditional options available. While some bettors chose to stick with live sports and get educated on Belarusian soccer or Russian table tennis, many extended themselves to brush up on Counter-Strike: Global Offense, League of Legends, and Dota 2 in addition to traditional online sports games including NBA2K and FIFA.

SportsHandle
03/09/2020
Rivers Casino Wins Race To Launch Sports Betting in Illinois

DES PLAINES - With a $100 bet on the Chicago White Sox to win the American League pennant at 16-1 odds, former Chicago Blackhawks forward and NBC Sports commentator Eddie Olcyzk officially ushered in legal sports betting in the state of Illinois on Monday at the Rivers Casino BetRivers Sportsbook in Des Plaines.

Hoosier State Bets
01/23/2020
Illinois Racing Board Recapture Accounting Methods Questioned By ITHA

The "recapture" rule designed to help horse racing tracks in Illinois avoid losses, which has been a source of consternation in recent years as Arlington Park, Hawthorne Race Course, and Fairmount Park struggle to fund overnight purses at a competitive level in the Midwest region, became an unexpected flash point during Tuesday's Illinois Racing Board meeting.

SportsADNet
03/18/2019
2019 NCAA Tournament Betting Guide

I served as lead writer for Winners and Whiners' 2019 NCAA Tournament betting guide, putting this together in approximately one month after pitching the idea to them. My duties were putting together the team capsules and editing the digest feature stories.

ESPN.com
07/07/2011
Klitschkos' combo punch threatens to KO heavyweight division

(STATS) -- History will show July 2 marked the birth of an empire. It may also go down as the death of a division. On that rain-swept night in Hamburg, Germany, Wladimir Klitschko unified the four major heavyweight belts under one surname, boxing his way to a 12-round unanimous decision over David Haye.