Players at two more men’s college basketball programs are under investigation related to sports gambling. The velocity of cases involving betting and college hoops is likely going to hasten calls for betting bans as we head into March Madness.
Some reading:
Fresno State holds out players; sources confirm betting inquiry
Reports: Temple’s connection to a probe into unusual gambling activity may be part of wider ring
The regulated industry can say that these investigations are happening in part because of the transparency of the legal market, and they’d likely be right. But I would argue that talking point is increasingly going to fall on deaf ears in the current news cycle. More in the podcast.
Before today’s roundup, some news from me at The Event Horizon in prediction markets land. Tribes are vehemently against sports event trading, according to filings with the federal government:
And now onto today’s gambling roundup:
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Gambling news roundup
Caesars Entertainment Mulls Online Gambling Public Spinoff (Sportico): “Caesars Entertainment (CZR) will consider splitting its online gaming business into a separate publicly traded company, CEO Tom Reeg told investors Tuesday.
Reeg said Caesars believes its digital properties—online sports betting and iGaming—have been undervalued because they are grouped with its much larger brick-and-mortar casino business.”
Mississippi bill would raise casino tax to offset illegal sports betting (SBC Americas): “HB 1881, the Integrity in Gaming in Support of Honest Taxpayers Act, would impose an additional 4% tax on gross casino revenue. That would take the casino tax ceiling in the state from 12% to 16%. Currently, 8% of casino revenues go to the state and 4% to local schools and government. … Lamar told his committee members that illegal sports betting is “rampant” in Mississippi and said a motivation for filing the bill was to ensure the state is generating more revenue from existing gambling, given that he expects the push to legalize sports wagering to die in the Senate.”
Taxing legal gambling to stop illegal gambling is quite the concept! The bill is apparently meant in part to leverage support for online sports betting.
NJ Gov. Proposes Higher Sports Betting, Online Casino Taxes (Legal Sports Report): “Murphy unveiled his proposed FY2026 budget Tuesday, and it includes an NJ sports betting and online casino tax bump to 25%. New Jersey taxes sports betting revenue at 13% and online casinos at 15%. An industry source told LSR that because of the election year in New Jersey and the legislature’s generally friendly attitude to the gambling industry, it is unlikely to pass at the proposed rate.”
Lawmakers in CT aim to ban gambling ads at state colleges (SBC Americas): “The House General Law Committee has introduced Committee Bill 5271, a measure that proposes a ban on publishing, airing, displaying or disseminating gambling ads and marketing on the campuses of state public universities and colleges. The proposed ban applies to gambling ads on websites, online services, social media platforms, and apps.”
The online portion of this would have to be somewhat concerning to a sports betting operator, as it paints with a pretty broad brush. How would an operator make sure digital ads are not seen on college campuses? The bill is also unlikely to affect marketing behaviors by black- or gray-market operators.
“Texas Rep. Matt Shaheen tackles a contentious lottery issue, sparking debate and raising questions about the future of online ticket sales in the state” (WBAP interview)
Problem Gambling Awareness Day observed at Colorado state Capitol (CBS News)
Secretary of State Hoskins defends his decision to delay sports wagering (Fox 2): “Basically, the first (criteria for emergency rules) talks about if it’s in the best interest and the for the well-being and health of Missourians,” Hoskins said in an interview. “Well, a sportsbook has nothing to do with the health or general well-being of Missourians.”
It’s kind of hard to argue with the logic. Sports betting will get off to a slower start if it doesn’t go live for the start of football season, however.
Gambling newsletter roundup
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