The Current: Wake Up, Sports Betting Is Expanding Whether You Like It Or Not
As moneyline betting grows in 50 states, I urge everyone not to bury their heads in the sand.
Pretty quick rant today, based on the news from Val Cross over at my other newsletter, The Event Horizon. Kalshi is now offering single-game betting on men’s college basketball:
I am at the Next.io Summit in New York this week, where we’re sure to see some amount of hand-wringing about the regulated sports betting industry. There will be concerns voiced about match- and spot-fixing (especially in college); people will talk about enacting higher taxes and more stringent regulations, etc.
But, as that hand-wringing goes on, remember this: Kalshi continues to offer sports betting in all 50 states. While the college hoops markets aren’t “technically” moneyline betting, they really are. If they’re doing this, they’re almost certainly going to launch markets for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament next week.
Yes, the amount of betting on these games at Kalshi is still fairly small. But do you think that’s going to persist if Kalshi pushes into more and more sports betting markets? What if they are allowed to do player props? What if they start doing parlays in a meaningful way?
You can wish this stuff out of existence (or into existence, depending on your point of view) all you want. It doesn’t change the fact that it could be coming, and soon. I’d urge everyone to start confronting that reality rather than piling on a regulated sports betting industry that may be competing with prediction markets (or joining them) at scale.
You’ve been warned. And I’ll probably warn you again.
NEXT.io starts tomorrow!
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Before the roundup, here’s yesterday’s news on the possibility of “DraftKings Predict”
The Early Line: ‘DraftKings Predict’ Registered With National Futures Association
TCL offers a roundup of recent US gambling news with analysis called The Early Line every Monday.
Gambling news today
FanDuel Launches First A.I. Sports Betting Chat Experience (Forbes): “On Tuesday, FanDuel launched AceAI, an innovative platform that is billed as the first generative AI sports betting chat experience in the gambling industry. …
‘As the leading sportsbook we think there’s an opportunity for us to set the pace on what experiences should look like for customers,’ said Jon Sadow, vice president of product transformation and innovation at FanDuel. ‘We are in a position as a market leader to have a tremendous amount of data that we can actually put into customers' hands that empower them to make educated decisions.’”
SAFE Bet Act gets another day in the sun ahead of March Madness (iGB): “At a press conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday, representative Paul Tonko and senator Richard Blumenthal gathered responsible and problem gambling advocates and an addiction survivor to talk about the Supporting Affordability & Fairness with Every Bet Act (SAFE Bet Act). Tonko said there was a change to the original proposal, though the new bill has not yet been filed. In addition to previous requirements in the proposal, which saw no action in the prior congressional session, states would now be required to ‘work with the federal government to shut down the illegal market.’”
That’s certainly an interesting addition to the language, although not necessarily one that helps get it to the finish line. If the feds and states get together to try to stamp out the illegal market, that’s something that is long overdue.
Mastercard and Visa Pledge Vigilance Following Gambling Investigationn (PYMNTS): “Mastercard and Visa are probing claims that illegal gambling websites facilitated deposits through their networks. An investigation into the sites found that Mastercard and Visa were failing to prevent their networks from being used for those transactions, The Guardian reported last week. A spokesperson for Mastercard told PYMNTS the company has ‘zero tolerance’ for illegal activity on its network and is investigating the sites in question. Mastercard has no direct relationship with the merchants, and the payments were made via an acquirer.”
NJ becomes new market for PENN’s standalone Hollywood Casino app (SBC Americas): “PENN Entertainment is providing players in New Jersey with a new gaming experience. The entertainment and gaming giant announced on Tuesday the launch of its standalone Hollywood Casino app in New Jersey. In addition to Google Play and the App Store, PENN has made the standalone product available through the ESPN Bet app. ESPN Bet users can access the new standalone Hollywood Casino app using their credentials.'“
Bill To Ban Sweepstakes Sites Sails Through Maryland Committee Hearing (Casino Reports): “Legislators in Maryland took an incremental step toward to banning social casinos using sweepstakes prizing in the state, as a bill intended to do so quietly sailed through the state’s Budget and Taxation Committee late last week. Senate Bill 860, introduced by Sen. Paul Corderman, would prohibit ‘a person from operating, conducting, or promoting online sweepstakes games or supporting the operation, conducting, or promotion of online sweepstakes games.’”
New Jersey bill seeks to prohibit sweepstakes model (Next.io): “Assembly Bill 5447 would specifically ban sweepstakes casinos, which allow users to purchase virtual currency that can be redeemed for cash prizes.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Clinton Calabrese, and follows an attempt earlier this year by the same lawmaker to regulate the emerging vertical, rather than ban it outright.”
SPGA statement: “The Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) firmly opposes Assembly Bill 5447, a reckless attempt to ban sweepstakes in New Jersey. This shortsighted legislation abandons the state’s progressive stance on gaming, directly contradicting the regulatory framework championed by Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese earlier this year—one that would ensure oversight, licensing, and taxation, bringing sweepstakes in line with other regulated gaming entities.
Will Alabama finally get a lottery, casinos, and sports betting? Clock ticking as election year nears (AL.com): “An Alabama state senator is working on legislation that could include a lottery, casinos, sports betting, and gambling regulations but said he has not yet rounded up enough votes for it to pass.
Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, said it is past time for Alabama to regulate and tax gambling that is already prevalent across the state.”
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Mississippi Senate Holds Online Sports Betting Fate in Hands (Sports Betting Dime): “A procedural move by the House Gaming Committee has kept the Mississippi online sports betting bill alive ahead of the April 6 sine die deadline, but its overall chances may be on life support. The House Gaming Committee last week inserted the language of the house approved sports betting bill, HB 1302, into a pair of Senate bills that prohibit online sweepstakes gaming to keep the legislation alive this session. The procedural move kept the bill alive, but the Senate Gaming Committee has shown no desire to take up online sports betting this year.”
Highlights from Nebraska’s marathon sports betting committee hearing (SBC Americas): “‘We don’t want to be Sears when Amazon comes,’ Morgan remarked. Overall, the proposals saw far more opposition than support, mostly hooked on concerns about problem gambling, addiction and economic and family impacts. Bostar’s bill had three proponents and more than 50 opponents. The need to expand existing retail betting to online wagering was also questioned.”
Vixio Announces Expansion of Infosecurity Requirements in Groundbreaking Technical Compliance Tool (press release): Vixio, a leading provider of regulatory intelligence solutions, is proud to announce that it has expanded its groundbreaking Technical Compliance Tool to cover over 80 different information security requirements in two dozen leading regulated jurisdictions worldwide. The Technical Compliance Tool is the first of its kind to offer a one-stop solution for navigating technical requirements for gambling operators and suppliers and the addition of information security requirements now allows users to compare infosec standards globally to help maintain compliance and prepare for expansion to additional jurisdictions.
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