The Early Line: Washington Post Calls On Congress To Rein In Sports Betting
TCL offers a roundup of recent US gambling news called The Early Line every Monday.
WaPo wants Congress to ‘rein in the betting industry” | More from the Washington Post editorial: “But as we have argued in a series of editorials this year, experience has vindicated critics of the Supreme Court’s ruling. To be sure, many people who make legal bets on sports do so with no major ill effects. But for a significant minority of bettors, the harm is concentrated and profound.”
Reading the line: The Washington Post holds little sway over the incoming batch of decision-makers in DC, with a Republican president and Congress about to take over. It’s probably more likely this editorial makes Republicans steer away from regulation than anything. At best, the editorial would help Republicans frame the issue of federal sports betting regulation as bipartisan if they take it up. I’ve argued it’s exceedingly unlikely that we get sweeping regulation at the federal level, although the risk profile is not zero for any federal interference. It’s worth noting the Post recaps six years’ worth of US betting “scandals” — that aren’t really scandals outside of Jontay Porter — in one paragraph.
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Minnesota sports betting in 2025? | More from a report on the ground: “Going forward, (Sen. Matt) Klein said he feels hopeful 2025 could be the year sports betting passes, and the Minnesota House being tied 67-67 might put the bill in a more promising spot this year. ‘The only things that I think we’ll be able to really pass this year are bipartisan initiatives, given the state of the House and a very close division in the Senate, and sports wagering is one of the few things that from day one was a bipartisan issue,’ he said. ‘I think that gives it a smoother pathway than other bills.’”
Reading the line: The shrinking map for legalizing sports betting puts more eyes on the remaining states. Minnesota is one of the prizes on said map, with hopes that past failures lead to success this year. Big states like California and Texas still seem far from legalizing online betting, meaning potentially outsized interest (and lobbying) in smaller states. A roundup of legislative efforts we’ll see in the new year here.Kalshi pulls contracts on alleged murderer of UHC CEO | Kalshi was offering betting on the outcome of the case of Luigi Mangione, who stands accused of the murder of CEO Brian Thompson. More from Bloomberg: “Two days later, trading suddenly halted, with Kalshi telling customers it made the decision ‘after receiving notice from our regulators,’ according to messages reviewed by Bloomberg News. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Kalshi declined to comment. The CFTC, which regulates Kalshi, bans futures trading linked to crimes including assassination, terrorism and war if the agency decides the so-called events contracts are against the public interest.”
Reading the line: Crypto.com crossed the Rubicon by starting to offersports bettingsports event trading in all 50 states. But apparently, there are still some guardrails and things that are off-limits in event trading. It’s safe to say we’ll continue to see the envelope pushed both on types of markets and operators unless there’s an indication anyone wants to rein it in in a meaningful way.
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Quick hitters
The end of the year brings more negative PR for sports betting; some pieces I’ve seen beyond the aforementioned editorial:
Illinois has seen efforts to legalize online casinos for years; a new effort starts in 2025.
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