Each Wednesday, I provide my thoughts in short-form audio on a topic in the US gambling industry.
An incident at Kalshi where a candidate for governor in California bet on himself has me asking a lot of questions… to myself, in podcast form.
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Gambling news roundup
Ohio Online Casino Discussions Continue With House Hearing (Legal Sports Report): “There was more Ohio online casino discussion this week, but a bumpy road remains ahead. Ohio legislators discussed Rep. Brian Stewart‘s House Bill 298 during a House Finance Committee meeting Tuesday. Stewart is the chair of the finance committee, and Tuesday’s hearing focused on proponents, while another hearing will focus on opponents. It is one of two bills in the legislature aiming to legalize online casino in the Buckeye State.”
CFTC Pick Quintenz To Resign From Kalshi Board And Divest Stock Upon Confirmation (Event Horizon): “Brian Quintenz, the nominee to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, divulged his plans for his relationship with Kalshi in his ethics agreement that came out this week.
Quintenz will resign from Kalshi’s board.
He holds stock and unvested stock options, but no other equity interest, in the company.
He will forfeit all unvested stock options.
He will ‘divest any vested stock options and stock in KalshiEx as soon as practicable, but not later than 90 days after my confirmation.’"
Quintenz ‘will not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter involving specific parties in which I know KalshiEx is a party or represents a party, unless I am first authorized to participate.’”
Over at Steve Ruddock’s Straight to the Point newsletter, I enjoyed this nugget on Kalshi: “I also found Mansour’s statements that Kalshi’s ‘relentlessness’ in getting election markets authorized a bit humorous. Mansour noted it took three years for this to happen — the horror — which he called an ‘excruciatingly long journey.’ ‘It was really three to three and a half years of convincing policymakers and the regulators to let us sort of do this in the US in a regulated and legal way.’ That might seem like a long time for Mansour, but it’s a drop in the bucket in the gambling universe, where legalization efforts can take many years (if they ever occur). What he calls ‘excruciatingly long,’ I would call quite fast.”
Game Over: Jontay Porter may have been a Toronto Raptor, but as the pivotal member of a notorious betting ring, he was playing for another team. The story of a cheater, his bookmakers and the wager that brought them all down. (Toronto Life): “Of the many things happening on the court at Scotiabank Arena on March 20, 2024, among the least interesting was whatever Raptors power forward Jontay Porter was doing. A journeyman bench player, Porter was somehow both physically massive—a six-foot-eleven tangle of limbs—and wholly forgettable. His stat line for the year was 4.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.17 assists per game. On the court, he wasn’t much of a force: a half-step slow to the play, middling on defence, unambitious on offence. He was easy to overlook, especially when he was on the court with Scottie Barnes, the dynamic young Raptors forward, and facing off against LA Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard, as he was that day. When the second quarter began and Porter stayed rooted to the bench, few noticed or cared. The truth—an elastic term, it turns out, when it comes to Porter—was that he’d gone to his coach complaining of indigestion and had been instructed to sit out the rest of the game.”
Worth a click to read the whole thing.
‘In My Head, Gambling Had Gone From My Problem To Solution. I Was Looking At It As My Only Way Out.’ (The Comeback with Craig Carton): “In episode 3 of The Comeback, Craig Carton talks with Patrick, who is 10 years since his last wager. Patrick’s history with gambling started at a very young age as his late father used it as a way to bond with Patrick during his childhood. Watch here.”
Trusted Voices: Conversations About Betting from FanDuel
Trusted Voices: Conversations About Betting is designed to equip adults, including parents and coaches, with tools and resources to talk to young people about gambling, including information on warning signs, risks and proxy betting. The program is led by retired professional basketball player Randy Livingston and his wife, basketball agent Anita Smith, who share their personal stories related to problem gambling, with the hope of preventing others from experiencing similar harms. Learn more and join the conversation here.
BetMGM Champions Women's Sports with Las Vegas Aces and WNBA Partnerships (press release): “BetMGM, a leading sports betting and iGaming operator, and the Las Vegas Aces announced today that BetMGM is the exclusive online casino and sportsbook partner of the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces. The agreement runs through the 2027 season, marking BetMGM's first major partnership with a women's professional sports franchise. Key features include prominent signage at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and sponsorship across Aces social media platforms. Added components of the partnership for BetMGM players include courtside access to pre-game shootarounds and luxury VIP seating. BetMGM will also serve as an authorized gaming partner of the WNBA through the 2027 season. Under the agreement, BetMGM will receive commercial inventory on nationally televised games, WNBA tickets and experiences for its VIP players, the rights to co-branded content across BetMGM's digital and social platforms, and articles on wnba.com/WNBABet. Additionally, BetMGM plans to release a WNBA-branded online slot game in the near future in jurisdictions where its iGaming platform is live. The slot game will be available exclusively at BetMGM and represents the first-ever WNBA online casino game. Adam Greenblatt, BetMGM CEO said, "As we enter this era of tremendous growth in women's sports, BetMGM could not have two better organizations to partner with than the WNBA and the Aces. Not only do the Aces play in our backyard at Mandalay Bay, but they share our commitment to giving back to the community."
DraftKings last operator standing in battle against MLB players union (SBC Americas): “What started as two lawsuits targeting four separate operators is down to a single defendant. The MLB Players Union appears to have reached some sort of agreement with Underdog, as the organization dropped its suit against the fantasy and sports betting operator last week. That marks the third of the four defendants to reach some sort of agreement outside of court. The heart of the suit is a claim by the MLB union that the operators in question were using the images and likenesses of MLB players to promote fantasy and sports betting products without the permission of the union. Meanwhile, DraftKings continues to push ahead with the fight over whether or not the sportsbook is covered under the First Amendment and other media protection laws to utilize MLB player images within its app and in social media promotion of its product.”
Dan Le Batard on new DraftKings deal: ‘This rocket ship is about to take off’ (Awful Announcing): “Dan Le Batard and Meadowlark Media have won the big one. Only the tiny gold trophy that the ex-ESPN host hoisted on Wednesday’s episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz didn’t represent a Peabody or a Sports Podcast Award, but rather his company’s new deal with DraftKings. ‘It’s the prize everyone in podcasting wants. And we, our show, this one, has won it. Congratulations, guys. We have signed a new deal with DraftKings that is one of the best deals that you will find anywhere in the industry to continue our partnership with DraftKings,’ Le Batard said, officially announcing the deal that was first reported last week. ‘They have been the best partner that we have ever had and now are long-term working for each other. DraftKings will support all of the things that we do around here.’”
The uncanny valley of sports journalism (Sports Media Guy): “This post is about how Gannett is using AI to create a webpage dedicated to sports betting.
If that’s not a cursed sentence, I don’t know what is. A few weeks ago, I had a lovely conversation with Maggie Harrison Dupré from Futurism for a story she did about how USA Today has a daily story on its website, written by automated technology, that lists that night’s Major League Baseball games with links to how to watch each one. The page also features several ads for online sports books, from which readers can make bets on the games listed above and from which Gannett will get a cut.”
I could write about this subject too, and I probably will at some point. I think there’s a place for AI in sports and sports betting content. So much of the devil is in the details, as Brian notes in his Substack piece above.
Certain Indiana sports gambling entities won't have to register with state after July 1 (Louisville Public Media): “Hundreds of companies tied to the sports gambling industry in Indiana will no longer need to be licensed with the state after July 1. The shift is happening because of a change by the Indiana Gaming Commission prompted by Gov. Mike Braun's executive orders. Shortly after taking office, Braun ordered all state agencies to eliminate any licensing requirements deemed duplicative or burdensome, and not in the public or industry's best interest.”
Should Growing Competition Hasten California Sports Betting Timeline? (Legal Sports Report): “The fact that these external pressures are popping up is not totally a negative, Wilton Rancheria Chairman and CEO Jesus Tarango said at SBC. ‘I look at it as a curse and a blessing,’ Tarango said. “Because it is happening, you have tribes talking. ‘Again, in California, we can become a sleeping giant if we can start agreeing on things and this could be that thing that unites us to come together. So I look at it as a hindrance, but it’s leading us to where we need to go, and that’s with one another first.’”
The 2025 World Series Of Poker Arrives, Flush With Plotlines (Casino Reports): “Want to feel old? This ought to do the trick: There will be players competing in this summer’s World Series of Poker Main Event who hadn’t been born yet when Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP and launched what became known as the ‘poker boom.’ … The first tournament of the 2025 edition starts (or started, depending on when you read this) at noon Las Vegas time Tuesday, and there will be 99 more of them at two Strip venues — Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas — before the series wraps up on July 16. Yes, there are a record 100 bracelet events this year in Vegas. Here’s what’s new, what’s different, what questions are on people’s minds, and what numbers are worth noting over the next seven weeks.”
Canadian Lotteries Reviewing ‘National' Sports Betting Bids (Covers): “Government-owned lottery corporations in Atlantic Canada and British Columbia are reviewing bids from companies seeking to provide a “national” sports betting platform that will compete with offshore and unregulated online gambling operators.”
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