About the Author
Chris Gerlacher
Latest articles
Virginia Responsible Gambling Groundwork Built with Pre-Filed Bill
On Dec 27, 2022, Delegate Paul Krizek (D) and Senator Bryce Reeves (R) of Virginia pre-filed bills to create a Problem Gambling Advisory Committee (PGAC). The committee members would include gambling regulators, industry representatives, and community service members. The PGAC’s goal would be to seek alignment between experts on problem gambling and the Virginia gaming […]
New York Casinos Could Offer Job Opportunities for Those With Criminal Records
On Dec 6, the New York Senate sent a bill to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk that would allow certain people with felony convictions to apply for jobs in the gambling industry. It would remove barriers for such candidates to apply for the necessary gaming and employee licenses. The bill still automatically disqualifies applicants whose criminal […]
Why In-Person Registration Will Cost Illinois Online Casinos
In Mar. 2021, Illinois sent an online casino bill to the state’s House Rules committee. Though that effort stalled, we’ll likely see a similar push in 2023. One unfortunate feature of the original Internet Gaming Act is a six-month window during which in-person registration would be mandatory for Illinois online casinos. That means bettors would have […]
53% of Sports Bettors More Likely to Vote in Election They Bet On
In a Bonus.com survey, 53% of American sports bettors said they would be more likely to vote in an election they bet on while 33% said they would not be more likely to vote on an election they bet on. The final 14% was unsure. Sports betting already engages bettors in games that fans may […]
Kyrsten Sinema & Joe Manchin Vote with Biden over 90% of the Time
Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin have made headlines for withholding votes from key Democratic bills, bills that may have shifted the odds for President in 2024 had they passed. In January 2022, their votes prevented filibuster rule changes, which prevents popular legislation from passing without a supermajority. (Passing unpopular bills in a gridlocked Congress is […]
New Senate Minority Leader Possible After Supreme Court Decisions
Conservative victories at the Supreme Court may not be enough keep Mitch McConnell the Senate minority leader. The Roe v. Wade draft leak in May shocked the PredictIt balance of power market. The price of a Republican sweep of Congress dropped by seven cents, and Democratic markets rose five cents. Prices steadied but unambiguously favored […]
Supreme Court Abortion Ruling Doesn’t Change Midterm Outlook
After the Supreme Court abortion ruling eliminating the right to abortion, 15 states banned all or most abortions immediately or will ban all or most of them within 30 days. Another five are likely to ban it shortly. Despite this consequential decision, PredictIt’s balance of power market still predicts a Republican House and Senate in […]
Texas Secession Doesn’t Affect PredictIt Balance Of Power Market
Texas State Republican Convention called for a referendum on Texas secession and declared Joe Biden an illegitimate president. Nothing in the Convention seemed to impact PredictIt’s balance of power or presidential markets. It’s not surprising that Texas secession didn’t move PredictIt markets. Secession is a local issue that doesn’t snowball into a national issue. It doesn’t […]
January 6 Hearings Fail To Change PredictIt Markets
The first January 6 hearings were held on Thursday, June 9 and Monday, June 13. These hearings into the origins of the January 6 Capitol riot gave the public new information, including: Proud Boys’ and Oath Keepers’ instigation of the day’s violence Police body camera footage of rioters attacking police officers Testimony from one […]
Make Better 2022 Midterm Predictions By Using Instead Of Reading Odds
Taking PredictIt odds at face value is the wrong way to use PredictIt. As a prediction market, its prices have highs and lows that can be taken advantage of. Those highs and lows come from other users’ expectations. Since anyone can use PredictIt, there’s no reason to think one user is better than another. That […]