The Cashout: Online Casinos Put Up Big Numbers In April
Gambling news roundup: Catch up on prediction markets; Circa launches $15 million football contest; Montana bans sweepstakes casinos.
TCL offers market analysis in the US gambling space in The Cashout every weekend to paid subscribers, along with a news roundup for free subscribers.
Revenue at legal online casinos in April was down from March, but it was still the second-best month in US history.
But first, the free gambling news roundup:
Gambling news roundup
For all things prediction markets for the week, please check out my other newsletter, The Event Horizon:
Circa Sports introduces $15M guaranteed survivor prize pool, the largest legal sports betting contest in U.S. history (Yahoo): “The NFL is the most popular sport to wager on in the United States, and betting pools have become an increasingly popular alternative for bettors. Nevada-based sports betting brand Circa Sports announced Thursday that its popular Circa Survivor contest — in which contestants have to pick one NFL team each week to win its game outright and aren't allowed to use the same team twice in a season — will have a record $15 million guarantee, up from $10 million last season. It's the biggest guaranteed payout ever for a legal sports betting contest. Eight winners ended up splitting the final prize pool of $14,266,000 in last season's contest. Circa will also bring back its Circa Millions VII contest, which requires contestants to make five NFL picks against the spread every week and has a prize pool of at least $6 million.”
America’s Sports Betting Boom Is About to Backfire (Barron’s): “An 11-year study ending in 2016 found that one in five people with a gambling disorder had attempted suicide. The National Council on Problem Gambling estimates 1% of American adults, or 2.5 million people, meet the criteria for disordered gambling.
The federal government, which collected roughly $370 million in federal excise tax on sports gambling last year, has no programs in place for that group. The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, by contrast, has an annual budget of $7 billion. The disparity has caught the attention of a few U.S. lawmakers. “I think that the federal government has a right to say, let’s use this to make people healthier,” Rep. Andrea Salinas (D., Ore.) says of the taxes collected on gambling. Last year, she co-sponsored a bill called the Gambling Addiction Recovery, Investment and Treatment, or GRIT, Act, which would shift 50% of those funds to problem gambling treatment and research.
The headline is a bit sensationalist, but the idea that there should be more funding and policy dedicated to problem gambling shouldn’t be controversial at all.
On the GRIT Act in particular, I think a great compromise would be to halve the excise tax and dedicate all of it to problem and responsible gambling initiatives and funding. A win for everyone. But it doesn’t seem like any legislation to change the federal tax on sports betting handle is going anywhere.
Barkley: I Have a Bookie on the Side, 'FanDuel Only Lets Me Bet So Much' (Covers): “The TNT basketball analyst – who often makes FanDuel parlay picks on broadcasts – said on Thursday night that the legal sportsbook won’t take the kind of action he prefers. ‘FanDuel only lets me bet so much, so I got to have a bookie on the side,’ Barkley said during an interview on TruTV’s alternate broadcast of Game 2 between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes.
Barkley, a huge hockey supporter and noted fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, told host Paul Bissonnette and comedian Will Arnett that he placed a wager on the Maple Leafs to win Game 7 of their series with the Florida Panthers, who easily routed Toronto 6-1 last Sunday.”
Montana Gov. Signs Sweepstakes Casinos Prohibition Bill (Legal Sports Report): “Montana became the first state to officially prohibit online sweepstakes casinos. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 555, making Montana the first state to ban sweepstakes casinos. However, the ban does not explicitly name sweepstakes. Multiple state legislators introduced bills to prohibit sweepstakes casinos, but no others have passed.”
From the Social and Promotional Games Association: “The SPGA strongly condemns the enactment of Senate Bill 555, which makes Montana the first state to ban online sweepstakes-style games, without even using the word sweepstakes. This vague and sweeping law reclassifies legitimate, free-to-play promotional games as “internet gambling,” ignoring the clear legal and operational distinctions between sweepstakes platforms and real-money online casinos. Under SB 555, even platforms with no purchase required and robust consumer safeguards could now face criminal penalties. ‘Montana just criminalized everyday digital promotions with a law so broadly written it fails to name what it bans,’ said a spokesperson for SPGA. ‘It’s a dangerous precedent that could undermine consumer trust, business innovation, and long-standing legal marketing practices.’”
Nevada passes bill to handcuff unauthorized gambling operators (SBC Americas): “Both chambers of the Nevada legislature have now passed a bill that would equip the state with the means to further target and act against unapproved gambling operators. Sen. Rochelle Nguyen’s SB 256 passed in the Assembly by a 42-0 vote on Thursday, a few weeks after it also got unanimous approval in the Senate. … Broadly speaking, SB 256 would give the state greater powers to combat unlicensed gambling in the Silver State, including more strongly tackling both unauthorized land-based gambling operations and online casinos and sportsbooks. One notable provision is that Nevada would be able to prosecute unlicensed operators even if they are based outside the state, as long as they accept bets from people in Nevada.”
Ifrah Law has been at the center of advancing iGaming in the U.S., shaping groundbreaking legislation, leading precedent-setting cases, and guiding clients that span the iGaming ecosystem through every phase of their business journey. Learn more at IfrahLaw.com.
Lionsgate's Kevin Beggs on the Indie Playbook for TV’s Post-Peak Era | The Shohei Ohtani series has sold (The Ankler, paywall): “My scoop about the Shohei Ohtani interpreter gambling scandal series and Lionsgate’s move into sports programming.”
Red Sox speak out about how sports gambling leads to social media threats (Boston Herald): “Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks had enough. So, he took to social media on Thursday to raise awareness about death threats he received following a loss to the Mets. Hendriks addressed the post, and some of the messages he received, in the Red Sox clubhouse Friday morning ahead of a doubleheader against the Orioles. …Hendriks and manager Alex Cora both said the criticism and threats have gotten worse with the rise of sports gambling.
I have no doubt sports betting contributes to this trend. But people feeling comfortable doing this kind of thing in today’s culture, and social media platforms seemingly doing very little to combat it, play a big role as well.
Dan Le Batard’s Meadowlark Media Renews Deal With DraftKings (Front Office Sports): “Meadowlark Media and DraftKings are staying in business together. The companies have completed a new deal, sources told Front Office Sports. The arrangement will see DraftKings sponsor several of Meadowlark’s primary shows, including The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, South Beach Sessions (Le Batard’s longform interview show), and Nothing Personal with David Samson (the daily sports business show from the former Marlins president). In addition to sponsoring the shows, DraftKings will be overseeing its ad sales and distribution.”
'It's so accessible': Legal or not, sports betting fuels gambling trend among teens (KARE 11): “‘I think what it tells us is it's culturally embedded in our community,’ said Dr. Serena King, a Psychology Professor at Hamline University who has studied youth gambling and problem gambling for 20 years.
King, authored the new letter, ‘Frequent and Problem Gambling in Public School Students,’ which examines data from the 2022 Minnesota Student Survey, a large-scale, statewide study of middle and high school students that happens every three years. The letter found that nearly 8% of 8th, 9th and 11th grade Minnesota public school students reported gambling one time a week or more.”
Major League Rugby and Sparket form preferred partnership (press release): “Major League Rugby, the premier professional rugby league in North America, is proud to announce a partnership with fan-first online gambling company Sparket. Known as The Social Betwork™, Sparket creates a social environment for online gaming. The one-year partnership will allow MLR fans to access Sparket through its app and website and compete in real money picks and free-to-play contests. ‘The growing gaming industry is providing new opportunities for casual consumers and fans to engage with all sports, teams, and players, and our league wants to align itself with the industry’s momentum,’ said Lucas Reid, chief revenue officer of MLR. ‘Sparket provides a unique opportunity to connect in a new way to our fans and the emerging online predictions market, and we look forward to integrating the company’s offerings into our platforms.’”
Are You Watching This?! partners with Optimove to deliver Real-Time fan engagement (press release): “Are You Watching This?!, the leading provider of real-time Sports Excitement Analytics data for global sports, announced a new collaboration with Optimove, the leader in Positionless Marketing. Are You Watching This?!’s technology empowers operators and sports media companies to present perfectly-timed, emotion-driven engagement through Optimove’s CRM Marketing Hub workflows. RUWT?!’s pre-integrated Excitement Analytics identifies when a game gets thrilling — whether heading into overtime, a no-hitter, or a major upset — and automatically triggers contextual push notifications and personalized campaigns. As part of the agreement, Optimove will also gain access to MetaBet Odds which allows operators and sports media to display live lines to customers. With RUWT?!’s data feed and Meta Odds embedded into Optimove’s platform, personalized real-time player interactions are instantly supercharged — giving brands the ability to connect with fans at the moments that matter most.”
Massachusetts Regulators Dole Out $50K in Fines For Sports Betting Noncompliance (Sports Betting Dime): “The Massachusetts Gaming Commission today levied fines against several of the commonwealth’s licensed sports betting operators for noncompliance incidents, plus discussed two new noncompliance issues, during a busy commission meeting. BetMGM, Fanatics Betting and Gaming, FanDuel, and PENN Sports Interactive today all received civil administrative penalties for prior noncompliance incidents in the commonwealth. In addition to the penalties, the commission also evaluated two new Massachusetts sports betting noncompliance incidents involving Fanatics Betting and Gaming and DraftKings.”
DraftKings offers Memorial Day promo to support veterans (SBC Americas): “The Boston-based fantasy and sports betting giant is collaborating with nonprofit organization VetsInTech to provide U.S. military veterans with employment and education opportunities in the tech industry. DraftKings is making contributions to VetsInTech through DK S.E.R.V.E.S., a social responsibility initiative that provides funding to nonprofits. DraftKings plans to donate up to $50,000 to VetsInTech and is allowing customers to get in on the action. The operator has opened a free $5,000 NBA Playoff pool to customers. DraftKings will donate $5 to VetsInTech for every entry that is submitted for the pool.”
Gambling newsletters
The Cashout
Here’s what we have this week for paid subscribers:
April online casino numbers
Updates for April sports betting, adding PA, MA and MI
App download tracker
ESPN Bet opt-out watch
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