Each Wednesday, I provide my thoughts in short-form audio on a topic in the US gambling industry.
A legal fight over the use of 1-800-GAMBLER as a nationwide hotline could threaten help for problem gamblers in the US. More in today’s podcast.
An SBC Americas report: NCPG granted restraining order to keep 1-800-GAMBLER online
Here’s the court filing by the National Council on Problem Gambling:
Gambling news roundup
Underdog makes a switch in California: Fantasy sports operator Underdog is now offering its peer-to-peer pick’em product — Champions — in California, and has stopped its against-the-house pick’em game in the state. The move comes after the state’s attorney general declared real-money daily fantasy sports to be illegal.
From an Underdog spokesperson to The Closing Line: "We brought the peer to peer Pick'em game type to the industry, and have now launched our Champions game in 20 states. We expect California fans will love playing, which is what we have seen in every other state."
PrizePicks made a similar change two weeks ago. To my knowledge, no DFS operator has exited the state entirely.
Here’s the map for where Underdog now offers the P2P product:
CA Sweepstakes Ban Bill Passes Another Committee (Legal Sports Report): “The California legislative push to ban sweepstakes casino operators took another step Tuesday. Lawmakers held a second hearing in the California Senate Public Safety Committee Tuesday afternoon, and unanimously advanced AB 831, a bill that would ban sweepstakes casino operators from the Golden State. It now moves on to the Appropriations Committee. The bill took its first step last week in the Governmental Organization Committee. As legislators took that second step, sweepstakes industry organizations increased their efforts to counter the legislative process.”
SGLA Urges Lawmakers to Reject AB831 Following Senate Public Safety Hearing (press release): “Following today’s California Senate Public Safety Committee hearing, the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA) is urging lawmakers to reject AB831, a rushed and sweeping bill that would ban legitimate online social games and criminalize an entire form of digital entertainment enjoyed by millions of Californians. Online social games are mainstream digital entertainment that have been delivering free-to-play interactive board, card, and casino-style games to millions of Californians for more than a decade.”
"The SGLA urges lawmakers to carefully consider whether they want to support legislation built on misleading claims from perceived competitors who themselves fail to meet the standards they claim to champion,” said Executive Director Jeff Duncan. “The testimony claiming our industry lacks age verification is not only false – it's hypocritical. San Manuel operates an online social casino with no age verification requirements whatsoever. Meanwhile, SGLA partner companies employ multi-layered identity verification systems."
At the hearing, David Jumper, Chief Marketing Officer of ARB Interactive, explained: “[W]e operate with strong responsible play standards, including age verification, spending limits, identity checks, and self-exclusion tools. Contrary to the claims made by the sponsors of this bill, this is not an unregulated industry, and it's not operating in the shadows. This is a mainstream entertainment supported by American jobs, American infrastructure, and most importantly, American investment.”
Manfred: Some bet types "unnecessary, vulnerable" (ESPN): “Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred remains a proponent of the legal sports betting market but worries that certain types of wagers offered by modern sportsbooks are vulnerable to corruption.”
"There are certain types of bets that strike me as unnecessary and particularly vulnerable, things where it's one single act doesn't affect the outcome necessarily," Manfred told reporters Tuesday according to the Associated Press.
FanDuel Parent Stock Target Raised Ahead Of Earnings (Legal Sports Report): “Two analysts raised the price target for FanDuel parent Flutter among other gaming stock tweaks ahead of earnings season. Barry Jonas of Truist raised Flutter’s target to $340 while Jeffrey Stantial of Stifel raised his target to $353. Both analysts maintained their buy ratings on the stock.”
PredictIt Gets Upgrades After New Deal With CFTC (The Event Horizon): PredictIt — an early legal prediction market for election betting dating back to 2014 — is taking a big step forward, with the help of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The platform that focuses on politics and elections announced a new agreement with the CFTC on Tuesday that includes several major changes. “I’m thrilled,” PredictIt co-founder John Phillips told The Event Horizon in an interview after the announcement. “These markets are great engagement tools in the political process, and it’s a good thing to get people more engaged.
More coverage here as well:
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.
Jennifer Shatley: Quality over quantity (Gaming America): “Responsible Online Gaming Association Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Shatley discusses how operators are shifting from a problem-focused mindset to strategies built more around the player. Responsible gaming has come a long way since its emergence in the late 1980s. When I worked on my first responsible gaming campaign 25 years ago, the industry’s primary efforts consisted of providing players with a pamphlet if they said they had a gambling problem. Now, thanks to decades of research and a commitment from operators to support players, we have evolved these practices substantially.”
DraftKings planning Spanish-language feature (Barrons, paywall): “The draft statement intended to be given to members of the press initially said that DraftKings is rolling out the Spanish feature ‘to support a more accessible and inclusive experience,’ adding that it will go through an initial beta test among a small group of users ‘before expanding more broadly to meet the needs of our diverse customer base.’” Barron’s also noted in the lead that “A DraftKings legal executive deleted the words ‘diverse’ and ‘inclusive’ from the draft.”
Sources: Deal reached to accelerate the timing of bookie Matt Bowyer’s sentencing (iGB): “Nearly a year to the day after Matt Bowyer pleaded guilty to federal money laundering charges, one of the nation’s largest bookmakers will likely return to the same courthouse for the final chapter in the remarkable sports betting case. Bowyer, an infamous bookie who handled millions in wagers from baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter, will now likely be sentenced late next month, iGB has learned. Attorneys for Bowyer have reached an agreement with the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California to accelerate the timing for the hearing, multiple sources told iGB. For months, Bowyer was prepared for an October sentencing date after prosecutors delayed the hearing on two prior occasions.”
Missouri’s Untethered Sports Betting License Application Field All Set (Sports Betting Dime): “Three gaming companies are in the running for two available untethered sports betting licenses in the Show-Me State. The application deadline for the licenses has come and gone, and the Missouri Gaming Commission has revealed three companies have submitted applications for two available untethered licenses. A spokesperson for the Missouri Gaming Commission confirmed with Sports Betting Dime that DraftKings, FanDuel, and Circa Sports LLC have submitted applications for the two available licenses.”
New College Basketball Tournament Causes Consternation In Massachusetts (InGame): “In March, the University of Nebraska won a college basketball crown. And Tuesday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) revealed that Caesars Sportsbook and Wynn’s Encore Boston Harbor sportsbook took bets on a tournament that may have been prohibited by its rules. The tournament involved 16 NCAA men’s college basketball teams, including Arizona State, Georgetown, and USC. So, what’s the rub? According to the MGC’s sports betting rules, only college basketball tournaments sanctioned or governed by the NCAA are legal for betting. The College Basketball Crown, which held its debut tournament March 31-April 6, is not governed by the NCAA. The postseason tournament looks a lot like the 16-team National Invitational Tournament (NIT), which is sanctioned by the NCAA. MGC commissioners were flummoxed by the violations, which were self-reported.”
Massachusetts Gaming Commission Fines FanDuel $15K For LPGA Bets (Sports Betting Dime): “The Massachusetts Gaming Commission agreed to levy a $15,000 civil administrative penalty to FanDuel for thousands of improperly accepted bets on the LPGA from March 2023 through June 2024. The Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) today suggested the fine to members of the gaming commission, which was unanimously approved. An adjudicatory hearing for the FanDuel incident was held this previous October. Massachusetts has since approved the LPGA as a betting market.”
Las Vegas Casino to Host Non-Gambling Form of Popular Card Game UNO (Covers): “Toy company Mattel’s popular card game is coming to Las Vegas, but players won’t be able to turn the skills they learned as kids into a money-making gambling venture. Palms Casino Resort, an off-Strip property, will host the first-ever UNO Social Club this weekend, but no form of betting is expected, Mattel said in a press release earlier this year. “
There’s been recent speculation about this becoming a real-money casino or table game — but that’s not the case.
CFL reinstates veteran defensive lineman Shawn Lemon after gambling suspension (CBC): “Shawn Lemon can resume his Canadian Football League career, and a return to the Montreal Alouettes appears imminent. The league reinstated the veteran defensive lineman with conditions Wednesday. Lemon, 36, was suspended indefinitely April 24, 2024 for wagering on league games in 2021 while a member of the Calgary Stampeders, including one game in which he played. Following an appeal, an independent arbitrator upheld the suspension.”
"Protecting the integrity of the play on the field is of the utmost importance and we will not tolerate players violating the CFL's match manipulation policy," CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston said in a statement. "Mr. Lemon's suspension, which was the longest in league history, was necessary and appropriate.”
Player Protection Stage puts RG in the spotlight at SBC Summit 2025 (SBC Americas): “SBC Summit 2025 will once again shine a light on the industry’s responsibility of safeguarding players, with a dedicated Player Protection stage running throughout the event Sept. 16–18 at the Feira Internacional de Lisboa (FIL). The Player Protection stage will offer the event’s 30,000 delegates an examination of how industry ethics intersect with regulation, technology and player behavior, featuring insights from experienced professionals across the sector.
“Player protection has rightly evolved from a regulatory checkbox to a core business strategy,” said Rasmus Sojmark, founder and CEO of SBC. “As global frameworks tighten and consumer expectations rise, the operators that succeed long term will be those that genuinely embed safety into their model.”
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