Legal Gambling News, Updates, and Analysis

Now that the midterms are over, major election races have been settled. Many of the Senate races have been settled with the winner priced at 99 cents on PredictIt and the loser at one cent. Analyzing what bettors missed in these races can inform betting strategy for election markets in the 2024 presidential race.  However, […]

The Donald Trump election odds were high before the midterms. High inflation with rising interest rates made groceries more expensive and borrowing funds for homes and school more difficult. The challenging economy seemed to doom Democratic chances of holding both chambers of Congress. Historical midterm losses pointed to a Republican Congress.  Instead, Democrats held the […]

Democrats fared better on election night than expected. Republicans are still expected to retake the House of Representatives, but Democrats have a chance to hold onto the Senate. PredictIt prices flipped on election night, and the balance of power market’s overround hit a high of 13 cents. Small changes in Election Night expectations have resulted […]

Picture California sports betting propositions employing the voice of former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and saying, “I’ll be back.” That’s precisely what’s going to happen in 2024, predicted professor Kathryn R.L. Rand during a recent University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) webinar about the ballot measures that failed yesterday. On Nov. 2, Rand predicted Propositions 26 […]

Two days after Joe Biden’s inauguration, the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS) in the United Kingdom released a statement defending the right of UK sportsbooks to settle 2020 presidential election bets. The impact of election deniers it stated in part:   “Following the inauguration ceremony on 20th January 2021, we can see no reason why […]

California voters will likely see sports betting legalization on the ballot again in 2024. That deja vu will happen if voters defeat Propositions 26 and 27 tomorrow, as pollsters and experts from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) International Center for Gaming Regulation (ICGR) believe they will. On Friday, ICGR Marketing Manager Claire Krawsczyn […]

In late November, the UK financial institution Lloyds Bank announced the trial of a new budgeting tool for gamblers. It will allow customers with debit cards to set personalized limits on their monthly gambling expenditures. This isn’t the first attempt by Lloyds to try to encourage safer gambling. In early 2020, it struck a partnership […]

Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) recently updated pages regarding its policies for the marketing of iGaming products. While the policies themselves aren’t new, the company apparently felt the need to emphasize them in light of the ever-growing popularity of online gambling – both regulated and not. Facebook requires such companies to obtain its written permission before […]

The regulated gambling industry in the US has been drawing more than the usual level of criticism of late. It’s probably no coincidence, then, that the American Gaming Association (AGA) chose this moment to release a study highlighting the size of the black and gray markets. If we take the AGA’s numbers as accurate, Americans are spending $44.2 billion on illegal […]

Human error being what it is, retail casinos are always at risk of leaving money on the table, literally and figuratively. According to some estimates, preventable losses for the industry could be as high as $12 billion annually. Table games are particularly problematic due to the need for human dealers and pit bosses. Casino workers […]

Last week, news broke that Apollo Global Management is selling its final 22% stake in American Gaming Systems (AGS), known these days as PlayAGS. For much of the past decade, Apollo was the largest shareholder of the Las Vegas-based AGS and, at one time, its sole owner. For some time now, casinos have served as a […]

Events of recent weeks have reminded us that two things are inevitable on the Las Vegas Strip: Ambition and change. On November 13, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Chilean business mogul Claudio Fischer is poised to complete the purchase of ten acres of land on the Strip. It’s a deal nearly three years in […]

Ontario casinos caught individuals attempting to launder money and set off an unexpected series of events last week. On Wednesday, Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk released her annual report that revealed she sent those individuals to the casinos in an undercover capacity. On Thursday, Premier Doug Ford characterized Lysyk’s actions as  “jurisdictional creep.” He said she […]

This is a breaking story. More analysis to come. We always knew this was coming: Ontario’s online gambling privatization plan will face a legal challenge. The only question was where it would come from. In April, Canada’s largest and most populous province attempted something no other Canadian jurisdiction had tried. Under Canadian federal law, all […]

Every so often, we get a reminder of the extent to which financial systems rest on confidence and faith. In the digital era, money is more abstract than ever. Events of the past week have perhaps rattled that faith for some and highlighted the importance of regulation in preserving it. Several US operators, including BetMGM […]

Questions are swirling around Wynn Resorts’ proposed expansion to its Encore Boston Harbor property in Everett, Massachusetts.  Can a massive shopping and entertainment development claim total independence from a casino to which it’s physically tethered? Conversely, just how connected to a casino must one be in order to be permitted to offer gaming activities? Does […]

Things have heated up quickly since the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit seeking to avert PredictIt‘s shutdown. The plaintiffs countered with a motion seeking to expedite the hearing. They’re hoping to obtain a preliminary injunction before Christmas. Without judicial intervention, the site will need to shut down by […]

Former MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis is facing a lawsuit alleging improper behavior during his time with the casino. Filed on Nov 10 in Hampden County Superior Court, the suit names Mathis and Blue Tarp Development, LLC as defendants. Blue Tarp is the corporate entity controlling the casino. The plaintiff is Chelan Brown, a former […]