The Early Line: Crypto.com Now Has NBA Moneyline Betting, I Mean Trading
Gambling news roundup: Illegal sports betting chatter in Nevada; vending machines targeting kids that might be considered gambling are cropping up in Australia.
TCL offers a roundup of recent US gambling news with analysis called The Early Line every Monday.
I would absolutely love to write about something other than prediction markets in this space today, but the news cycle is relentless. So here we go:
Crypto.com now has NBA moneylines: Hat tip to Alex Ursa on LinkedIn for spotting that there are now the equivalent of NBA moneylines available to
bettrade on Crypto.com. The app famously broke the ice on prediction markets for sports late last year, but its sports offering has been pretty limited, and it has trailed Kalshi in available markets. While I am not certain how long NBA markets have been available, Crypto.com now lets you bet on who will win pro and college basketball games, in addition to other futures markets. Kalshi doesn’t offer similar NBA markets, but it does offer college hoops with a workaround to make it seem less like a direct comp for a moneyline. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission had asked Crypto.com to suspend its sports offerings in January, which did not happen.Reading the line: It’s also interesting to note that the app is using team mascots and logos, something Kalshi has avoided after including them at its launch of sports markets.
It’s perhaps even more interesting to note that Crypto.com has a relationship with the NBA, including the arena that is home to the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers.
IT’S EVEN MORE INTERESTING that Kalshi self-certified moneyline markets — even using an NBA game as an example in its filing — but has not yet launched them. Alright, I am out of things that I am noticing that are interesting.
Like everyone, I am not sure where all of this is headed. But at some point, the CFTC just putting its hands up/not telling everyone what is going on gets kind of strange, right? If the CFTC thinks all of this is legal, maybe just say that? Of course, there’s the awkward matter of the ongoing federal case (which is an artifact of the Biden administration) where the CFTC is arguing that Kalshi shouldn’t be able to have election betting. We are still reportedly (by me) a month away from a prediction markets roundtable hosted by the federal agency. In any event, the status quo of prediction markets and the lack of urgency, transparency and action from the CFTC seems unsustainable. There’s arguably nothing more pressing on the agency’s plate. If the CFTC wants exchanges to be in the sports betting business, it should lead from the front.
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Kalshi goes to court with Nevada, New Jersey (The Event Horizon): “Prediction market platform Kalshi filed lawsuits against the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement on Friday night in response to the regulators’ cease-and-desist letters earlier this month. Nevada and New Jersey assert that some of Kalshi’s markets — including sports event trading — are being offered illegally in their states. Kalshi currently operates sports event trading in all 50 states.”
Reading the line: I wrote my initial thoughts on these lawsuits at TCL over the weekend, if you missed that. This is a pretty pivotal moment for sports event trading. Are the federal preemption arguments going to win in court? Most proximately, will Kalshi be able to convince courts to let them continue to serve Nevada and New Jersey while the court cases are heard? If not, that might be a green light for other states to follow with cease-and-desist orders.
More reading:
Lawyer In Kalshi Lawsuit Used To Be New Jersey Attorney General (The Event Horizon): You can also read most of Kalshi’s filings in here; I uploaded them.
I am not a lawyer, so I try to stay away from giving legal opinions. If you want those, attorney Dan Wallach has been serving up a lot of analysis of Kalshi’s legal arguments on LinkedIn and Twitter. Example here. If you see other lawyers opining, please send those takes my way.
The Heat Is On, Kalshi Edition (Straight to the Point): I am going to get around to dissecting the words of Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour this week. But for now, Steve does a good job of poking holes in the hyperbole of his assertions. Mansour seems like he’s trying to turn Kalshi’s legal battles into a front in the ongoing culture wars in the US. And he’s trying to make Kalshi’s foray into sports betting far deeper than it actually is. But I digress. More to come.
Gambling news roundup
Caesars and BetMGM executives discuss changing sports wagering landscape with Nevada regulators (CDC Gaming): “The Nevada Gaming Commission has approved licensing for several executives of gaming companies, including executives with Caesars Digital and BetMGM who testified about the changing sports wagering landscape and competition many have deemed illegal. … Eric Hession, president of Caesars Digital, who has been with Caesars Entertainment in some capacity for more than 20 years, including serving as chief financial officer, has run the sports betting and icasino operations for the last five. The company operates the William Hill and Caesars brand. He weighed in on the expansion of igaming and sports betting in the nation. ‘It’s very dynamic and changes seemingly every week, particularly in the last four to five months. It’s also extremely competitive. There are a lot of different companies and each state has different regulations, competitors, and dynamics. You have some federal involvement now, with the CTFC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) authorizing certain forms of sports betting. You have sweepstakes and daily fantasy companies.’”
It’s interesting to hear Nevada talking about these issues as 1. it was the first state to send a cease-and-desist to Kalshi and 2. the state has been a bit behind the times in adapting to the new world of online sports betting.
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North Carolina Lawmakers Want To Pay High School Coaches With Sports Betting Taxes (Casino Reports): “Dubbed the Keeping Our Coaches Act, Senate Bill 657 was filed last week. It’s a bipartisan bill sponsored by three Democrats and three Republicans. It already had its first reading last Wednesday and currently sits with the Committee On Rules and Operations of the Senate.
The bill would set aside $11 million of taxes from North Carolina sportsbooks annually ‘to provide salary supplements to all eligible athletic coaches’ at public schools ‘to ensure that each eligible athletic coach receives a total annual salary supplement for serving as an athletic coach of at least three thousand dollars ($3,000).’”
I want to find a way to be mad about this, but I can’t; sure, use sports betting to pay for whatever you want. I am not going to argue as long as you aren’t making dumb regulations or raising taxes just for kicks.
Regulatory grey area surrounds Lucky Box vending machines amid gambling concerns (Vending Times): “‘Lucky Box’ vending machines, which dispense mystery prizes in exchange for a $20 fee, are generating controversy in Australia due to concerns that they may be exposing children and teenagers to gambling-like activities, according to a report by The Guardian. The bright yellow machines, located in shopping centers across the country's east coast, offer prizes ranging from small items to high-value electronics like gaming consoles and electronics. The machines' operators promote the possibility of winning these high-value items, with social media posts showcasing winners. However, the machines also dispense lower-value items, creating an element of chance.”
I am putting -110 odds on the idea we’ll see online/virtual vending machines like this in all 50 states by the end of the year. Am I kidding? Who knows, it wouldn’t surprise me if someone tried this. It’s also either a close or distant relative to loot boxes in video games.
A bad bet? The dangers of sports gambling addiction (CBS News Sunday Morning): I am only sharing this so you know it exists. It’s an unbalanced and unnuanced mess. Read/watch at your own peril.
It’s also worth pointing out that CBS Sports dot com is a clickbait factory for often questionable sports betting advice and picks.
March Madness is a season for betting, but help for problem gambling is hard to find (NPR): “Part of the reason researchers say they do not have a good handle on the breadth of problem gambling in the U.S. is that no one is measuring it. ‘The last time a large national study was really accepted as the prevalence rate was in 1999,’ says Michelle Malkin, Director of the Gambling Research and Policy Initiative at East Carolina University, ‘which is nothing close to what we see happening in the United States or the world today.’”
New gambling bill coming in Alabama (Alabama Daily News): “State Sen. Greg Albritton, the Alabama Senate’s point man on lottery and gambling legislation for several years, has a new draft bill he may file as soon as this week. … Albritton shared details of the proposal that would be put before voters in a September special election on legalizing lottery ticket sales, as well as Class II electronic gambling at six existing racetracks around the state. There’s legalized sports betting and a to-be-negotiated compact between the state and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. There’s a 24% tax on gambling revenue, a new state commission to oversee operations and a new law enforcement division dedicated to cracking down on illegal operations.”
Playtech: Hard Rock Digital Stake Value Jumps From Florida Sports Betting (Legal Sports Report): “Playtech’s small stake in Hard Rock Digital is now one of its most valuable US assets, the company said Thursday, citing its return to the Florida sports betting market. The global gaming technology provider now values its minority stake in Hard Rock Digital at €141 million ($153 million), nearly double the €75 million it invested in 2022, per its annual earnings report Thursday.”
Hard Rock continues to be ascendant as well, and it will be interesting if it can continue to parlay its monopoly in Florida into market share gains in other states with sports betting and/or online casino. Legal online casino in Florida remains a possibility for the future, as well.
