Each Wednesday, I provide my thoughts in short-form audio on a topic in the US gambling industry.
What should you have taken away from the Senate hearing on the nominee to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the future of U.S. sports betting? That’s what I’ll tell you in today’s podcast.
Here’s my story yesterday about the hearing for Brian Quintenz, with some transcription of questions and answers:
Gambling news roundup
The National Football League Expands and Extends Strategic Partnership with Genius Sports in Multi-Year Deal (press release): “The National Football League and Genius Sports Limited have agreed to a multi-year extension and expansion of their existing strategic technology partnership to power the next generation of NFL fan experiences through official data and video distribution.
Genius Sports will remain the NFL’s exclusive distributor of real-time, official play-by-play statistics, proprietary Next Gen Stats data and the League’s official sports betting data feed to media companies and sports betting operators globally.”
“In addition to exclusively distributing official NFL data, Genius Sports will continue as the sole supplier of official NFL watch and bet low latency live games to sportsbooks internationally and will now exclusively represent the in-game advertising inventory.”
“The expansion of the partnership will also see the NFL and Genius Sports powering ground-breaking innovations across the NFL ecosystem. In 2023, the partnership launched BetVision, the world’s first immersive sports betting streaming solution for local and national NFL low latency live games on phone and tablet in the US, as well as the EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast in 2024, a first-of-its kind, fully branded live broadcast. GeniusIQ, Genius Sports’ next generation sports data and AI platform, will continue to deliver breakthrough solutions across betting, advertising, broadcast and fan experiences for millions of NFL fans.”
“Across data, video, advertising, and integrity services, Genius has proven to be an important strategic partner through the first four seasons of our partnership,” said Brent Lawton, VP of Business Development & Strategic Investments at the NFL. “We are excited to extend and expand our partnership as we continue to partner on innovative ways to deliver content to NFL fans.”
NCAA releases 2025 March Madness Signify data (press release): “The NCAA has released the summary analysis from this year's Division I men's and women's basketball study, which monitored public comments targeting the online profiles of student-athletes, coaches, officials and committee members associated with the men's and women's basketball championships. Throughout the tournaments, Signify monitored social media accounts across X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and TikTok to identify targeted online abuse. One player also used the Threat Matrix automated Direct Message service to receive further protection from harassment.”
“More than 1 million posts and comments that mentioned players, teams, officials and stakeholders involved in March Madness were analyzed. Of the 54,096 posts and comments flagged by Signify AI for potential abuse or threat, 3,161 were confirmed as abusive or threatening by Signify human analysts. These messages were reported to the relevant social media platforms and where necessary sent to law enforcement, leading to restrictions on social media accounts and abusive posts removed from the platform. Signify conducted 103 investigations into accounts posting threatening content and referred 10 matters to law enforcement.”
Broadly, the Signify study revealed significant changes from the 2024 March Madness study:
On the women's side, total abuse was down approximately 83%, and betting-related abuse declined 66%.
On the men's side, total abuse increased 140%, while abuse related to sports betting decreased 36%.
Across all participants, abuse related to sports betting was down 23%.
"We have been encouraged to record a reduction in sports betting-related abuse and threat at the 2025 event, as this is often the trigger for the most egregious and threatening content we detect," said Jonathan Hirshler, Signify Group's CEO. "By supporting the NCAA in demonstrating that abusers can be identified and will be reported to law enforcement — where criminal thresholds are broken — it is possible to see a deterrent effect in play. We are proud to support the NCAA in this crucial space and will continue to expand the layers of protection available to its athlete and wider community, such as DM support, in the months ahead."
A few things here. First, it’s great that the NCAA is trying to do something material to call out and attempt to stop people from doing this moving forward. Second, the idea that harassment of men’s players was up overall while harassment for sports betting was down points to what I have been saying on this issue: it’s complicated. Sports betting may not help, but the overarching issue is the freedom with which people are terrible on social media. There’s no easy solution for that.
New Jersey Lawmakers Still Pondering Sports Betting, iGaming Tax Increases (Sports Betting Dime): “Gov. Phil Murphy (D) presented a record-setting $58.05 billion budget this past February, his last as New Jersey’s governor, which included increases to both the sports betting and iGaming tax rates to 25% of adjusted revenues for each. However, an industry source in New Jersey tells Sports Betting Dime that through discussions with Senate and Assembly leadership, there seems to be little support for increases to 25%, but enough interest where increases in one or both markets can be expected.”
Rush Street Interactive Launches Multi-State BetRivers Poker Network, Unifying Players Across Four State (press release): “Rush Street Interactive, Inc., a leading online casino and sports betting company in the United States and the rest of the Americas, today announced the launch of its proprietary online poker platform, BetRivers Poker, into Delaware, Michigan, and West Virginia. Following a successful debut in Pennsylvania last November, this multi-state expansion marks a major milestone: merging player pools across four states to create a larger, more competitive network. Players can now compete across state lines, resulting in bigger tournament prize pools, deeper cash-game fields, and more consistent action.”
“The launch of a unified cross-state player pool significantly enhances the BetRivers Poker experience,” said Richard Schwartz, CEO of RSI. “By expanding the network, we’ll bring more players to our tables, offer a wider variety of games, and raise the stakes with larger tournament prize pools. We're thrilled to strengthen our poker footprint and deliver best-in-class competition and community-driven play across multiple states.”
“RSI also plans to launch BetRivers Poker in New Jersey later this year. Additionally, the RSI platform remains integrated with Rivers Casinos in Pennsylvania, providing players with in-person poker opportunities and live events.”
Trusted Voices: Conversations About Betting from FanDuel
FanDuel’s 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.
PrizePicks Named Official Daily Fantasy Sports Partner of Los Angeles Dodgers (press release): “PrizePicks, the largest daily fantasy sports operator in North America, today announced that it has partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the team's Official Daily Fantasy Sports Partner. The partnership features several digital and in-stadium activations at Dodger Stadium as PrizePicks continues to strengthen its brand presence in baseball. … As part of the multi-year partnership, PrizePicks will receive prominent in-venue branding at Dodger Stadium, including banner displays throughout the stadium's concourses and LED signage in the outfield pavilion. The partnership will also include promotion across Dodgers social media, digital platforms and radio.”
"Partnering with the Dodgers is an incredible opportunity to align with one of the most respected organizations in sports," said Mike Quigley, Chief Marketing Officer at PrizePicks. "As the Dodgers chase another championship title, we're looking forward to delivering unique moments that bring fans even closer to the action."
"We are pleased to welcome PrizePicks to our family of partners," said Lon Rosen, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, Los Angeles Dodgers. "Their innovative approach to fan engagement aligns well with our commitment to delivering world-class experiences, and we look forward to a winning collaboration."
This is the fourth recent baseball deal for PrizePicks with teams in the largest markets without legal sports betting — California and Texas. It’s also partnering with the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Houston Astros.
DraftKings To ‘Take Action’ Amid Illinois Tax Hike — But Won’t Reveal How (InGame): “DraftKings is planning on ‘taking action’ in response to Illinois’ shock proposed tax hike — but did not reveal how it would do so — after FanDuel announced a 50-cent transaction fee on its customers in the state. The proposal to add a new per-wager tax — $0.25 for an operator’s first 20 million wagers, and $0.50 for wagers above that — in Illinois is set to hit the two market-leading operators hardest. InGame estimates that, when combined with the state’s existing progressive tax system, total state gaming taxes for FanDuel and DraftKings in Illinois could be even higher than New York’s 51% tax rate.”
My thoughts on the latest in Illinois taxes in yesterday’s Closing Line:
The Current: FanDuel To Start Charging 50-Cent Fee On All Illinois Sports Bets
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The Current is a weekly report on developments in the gambling industry from The Closing Line
U.S. Open 2025 odds, betting, lines: Scottie Scheffler is the biggest favorite in 16 years (Yahoo): “The 2025 U.S. Open tees off Thursday at Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh, and Scottie Scheffler (+275 at BetMGM) is the overwhelming favorite to win. Scheffler has the shortest odds heading into a U.S. Open since Tiger Woods was a +175 favorite in 2009, according to Sports Odds History's database. Scheffler, the top-ranked player in the world, has won three of the last four tournaments he's played in, including the 2025 PGA Championship by five strokes over the field. Scheffler has been incredibly consistent as well, finishing in the top 11 in 10 of the 12 tournaments he's entered this season. He's such a big favorite that BetMGM is even offering a proposition wager where bettors can take Scheffler (+275) or the entire field (-400) to win the tournament.”
Economic Illiteracy And The Expansion Of Sports Betting (InGame): “As I have watched sports betting expand across the U.S. since the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), I have seen a product rushed to market by an industry that was hell bent on maximizing market penetration. This is consistent with how they would be expected to behave as rational economic actors. This has been facilitated by a group of politicians who had little understanding of what they were doing, and once legalized, sports betting was overseen by a group of regulators that also had limited knowledge of the reality of betting or the delivery of gaming products via the internet. These are the chaos agents in the system, and through their inexperience, they have developed solutions to betting that are suboptimal on many fronts.”
Allentown title agent pleads guilty in $9.6M sports gambling scheme (Lehigh Valley Live): “A former Allentown title agent has pleaded guilty to using about $9.6 million in business funds to gamble on sports. Louis Belletieri, 43, of the city was charged in May with two counts of wire fraud in federal court. At the time, he previously was charged with taking $2.1 million by the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office in 2024.”
Canadian Gaming Summit returns with 3,000+ attendees and 150 speakers (SBC Americas): “SBC’s Canadian Gaming Summit returns to Toronto next week for its 28th edition, bringing together 3,000 industry stakeholders for the country’s most commercially significant gaming and betting event. With major developments in Ontario and Alberta in focus and top-level participation from government ministers, regulators and corporate leaders, the summit will act as a vital forum for shaping policy, driving innovation and steering the future of Canada’s gaming sector. Held at the Metro Toronto Convention Center June 17–19, the event will welcome 1,000 betting and iGaming operators, 200 affiliates and hundreds of representatives from regulatory bodies, Crown Corporations and suppliers for two days of high-level networking and knowledge exchange.”
You can register here.
SPGA responds to Maine Gambling Control Unit on Sweepstakes (press release): The Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) respectfully, but firmly, disagrees with the Maine Gambling Control Unit’s characterization of sweepstakes-based gaming platforms. Our members operate legally under longstanding promotional frameworks that have been used by major U.S. brands for decades. These platforms do not require any purchase to participate or win, and they provide a fun, transparent form of entertainment enjoyed by millions of adults.
Closing Line Consulting
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