The Current: The Absurdity Of The US Online Sports Betting Landscape
The number of options to gamble on sports at apps and sites that are not 'regulated sportsbooks' is at an all-time high.
The landscape for “federally” regulated, quasi-regulated and unregulated sports gambling has gotten fairly absurd, as I am sure most of you who read this newsletter are aware. And with last night’s men’s college basketball championship game between Florida and Houston, it’s a good time to revisit where things stand.
Nowhere is the absurdity on display better than in Oregon, where I live, although a lot of the following can be applied to many states that either do or don’t have legal sports betting. Here’s a rundown:
I have exactly one (1) legal sportsbook in the state, DraftKings. That’s thanks to a relationship it has with the state lottery to run it as a monopoly. No FanDuel, BetMGM, etc. Could be worse, I guess.
I cannot play daily fantasy sports on DraftKings in Oregon because of its status as the sportsbook provider.
I can, however, play DFS/fantasy parlays/pick’em on nearly any other app on the planet (FanDuel, PrizePicks, Underdog, and dozens of others).
Make it make sense.
While I have legal sports betting in the state, I am not allowed to bet on college sports at all at DraftKings.
I could go to one of the state’s tribal sportsbooks and bet on college games, however.
Despite that ban on college sports betting, I could have used the following things to bet on last night’s game between Houston and Florida if I wanted:
Offshore sportsbooks.
Fantasy parlay/pick’em apps.
A variety of sweepstakes sportsbooks.
A peer-to-peer real-money exchange called BetOpenly.
Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com.
Here’s an “investment” I made the other day at Kalshi:
Let me know if I forgot anything.
So ban types of betting, and raise taxes on sports betting revenue, and make things harder for regulated sportsbooks if you wish. Just realize what you see above is the competitive landscape, where billions of dollars are being wagered every year.
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Gambling news roundup
Montana Told Kalshi To Stop 'Illegal Activities' In March (The Event Horizon): “Montana has joined the growing list of states that have told Kalshi to stop offering sports betting within its borders. The Event Horizon obtained the letter that the Gambling Control Division of the Montana Department of Justice sent to Kalshi dated March 26. That’s after Nevada became the first state to send a cease-and-desist to Kalshi, but a day before New Jersey sent its own letter.”
Kalshi had been overtly positioning gaming regulators as “censoring” its platform, and, perhaps more under-the-radar, setting the stage to make its fight into a front on the ongoing culture wars in the US. But Ohio and now Montana — a couple of pretty “red” states — will make that argument increasingly hard to make.
Sports Betting Dime confirmed that Robinhood would also be getting a C&D from the state as well.
Ex-AGA exec Slane joins betting disruptor Kalshi (SBJ): “Sara Slane, who served as SVP/Public Affairs at the American Gaming Association for five years before launching a sports betting consultancy in 2019, has joined Kalshi as Head of Corporate Development, a role that will include public affairs, government relations and liaison work with the sports leagues. She will report to co-founder & CEO Tarek Mansour.”
Oklahoma Sports Betting Proposals Skating On Thin Ice (Legal Sports Report): “Oklahoma sports betting legalization proponents see 2025 hopes slipping away. Rep. Ken Luttrell told local media he knows the uphill battle his House sports betting bills face in the Senate. Meanwhile, a Senate bill giving an Oklahoma sports betting license to the Oklahoma City Thunder was pulled from a House committee agenda Monday.”
Nevada bill aiming to exterminate illegal gaming passes in Senate (SBC Americas): “The Nevada Senate unanimously approved a bill that aims to take a tougher stance on illegal gaming in an attempt to eradicate the black market, sending it over to the Assembly. Sen. Rochelle Nguyen’s SB 256 approved without amendment by a vote of 20-0, with one senator abstaining. It will now be sent to the Assembly and assigned for further committee discussion in that chamber. Nguyen’s bill, which she introduced on Feb. 27, aims to strengthen state enforcement when it comes to prosecuting illegal operators, including offshore sites and sweepstakes casinos.”
Arkansas online casino sponsor pulls bill from consideration (SBC Americas): “Less than a month after introducing legislation to allow online casinos in Arkansas, bill sponsor Rep. Matt Duffield has pulled his legislation. The House Judiciary Committee had HB1861 on the agenda for Monday’s meeting, but in advance of the session, Duffield pulled the bill. Sen. Dave Wallace previously pulled the Senate counterpart, SB524, just one day after introducing it.”
Colorado Governor: Tribes Trying To ‘Undermine’ State With Wagering Lawsuit (Casino Reports): “Claiming that two Indian tribes are seeking ‘to undermine the State’s ability to govern,’ Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and his team Friday made a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that would allow the tribes to offer digital sports betting off reservation. The Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes last year sued the state, claiming they have the right offer digital betting.”
Delaware finally gets sweepstake group VGW to exit the state (SBC Americas): “I included this yesterday, but a bit of insight from Jessica Welman over at SBC that has gotten lost a bit in the translation: “The initial cease and desist went out over two years ago with no action until this month. Last year, Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement confirmed to SBC Americas that it sent a cease and desist to VGW on Feb. 23, 2023. However, it was only during a legal proceeding last August that VGW even became aware the communication was sent.”
More than a dozen Texas residents accused of operating $22 million illegal gambling scheme (USA Today): “More than a dozen Houston-area residents have been accused of operating an illegal gambling business, including game rooms, that made more than $22 million in proceeds, federal authorities said. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas, Nizar Ali, 61, of Richmond, Texas, and his alleged accomplices "conspired to own, operate or assist in the operation of illegal game rooms." The group also allegedly conspired to conceal and disguise the money made from the illegal gambling scheme by conducting fraudulent financial transactions, the Justice Department said. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei on Thursday called the bust ‘one of the largest ever law enforcement operations in the Southern District of Texas.’”
