The Early Line: Florida Issues Cease-And-Desists To Bovada, MyBookie, BetUS
Ohio governor wants to raise sports betting tax to 40% in proposed budget; Super Bowl betting comes to Robinhood via Kalshi
TCL offers a roundup of recent US gambling news called The Early Line every Monday.
Florida issues cease-and-desists to offshore gambling sites (release): “Today, the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) demanded that three overseas bookmakers and casinos halt their illegal online gambling operations in Florida. These overseas bookmakers and casinos host online gambling websites accessible to Florida residents and visitors. FGCC sent cease-and-desist letters to Milvus Ltc, d/b/a BetUS.com.pa, Harp Media B.V. d/b/a Bovada.lv, and Gaming Services Provider, N.V. d/b/a MyBookie.ag. The websites operated by these overseas bookmakers and casinos only offer illegal wagers. As FGCC explained in its cease-and-desist letter: ‘The gambling websites offered by your overseas bookmaking and casino operation] offers or accepts wagering on sports and horse races, including betting on point spreads, moneylines, and totals, as well as proposition bets and futures in the sportsbook and adding money to bet slips in the racebook. Under Florida law, this conduct is a felony offense. See § 849.14, Fla. Stat. Further, it is a felony offense to receive illegal wagers on the result of any trial or contest of skill, speed or power or endurance of human or beast, or to aid, assist, or abet such illegal wagering.”
“Gaming, both land-based and online, is strictly regulated in Florida. For example, when it comes to slot machine gaming, counting the eight legal, state-licensed slot machine businesses, and the six tribal gaming locations currently operated by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, there are only fourteen legal slot machine businesses in Florida,” explained Florida Gaming Control Commission Executive Director Ross Marshman. “The only online sportsbook operating lawfully in Florida is the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Hard Rock Bet. Anyone in Florida betting on the Big Game needs to know this. Bettor beware.”
Reading the line: It’s not been a great time for offshore operators, who continue to receive orders from states to leave their jurisdictions almost weekly. This is the biggest state that has issued such an order and one where the ops likely have a great deal of penetration. Will these operators comply once again, or will they draw a line in the sand before their addressable market in the US becomes even smaller?
Ohio governor wants to raise sports betting tax to 40%: In a press conference on the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget, Gov. Mike DeWine told reporters that he wanted to increase the tax on sports betting revenue to 40%. Revenue from increased sports gaming taxes would go to pro-sports stadium funding and funding for youth sports.
Reading the line: The sports betting industry continues to try to hold off tax increases across the country. Legislation that would decrease the current rate of 20% to the original 10% rate would seemingly now face an uphill battle. DeWine raised the tax to 20% during his last two-year budget.
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Super Bowl betting comes to Robinhood | Pretty massive news as the 50-state rollout of sports event trading (basically sports betting) comes to Robinhood via an agreement with Kalshi. “Today, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC (RHD) is launching event contracts for the Pro Football Championship, allowing eligible customers to place trades on the outcome of the upcoming showdown between Kansas City and Philadelphia. Event contracts for the Pro Football Championship are rolling out to all eligible customers starting today. Robinhood’s mission is to democratize finance for all. With an emerging asset class like event contracts, we recognize an opportunity to better serve our customers as their interests converge across the markets, news, sports, and entertainment. Available in all 50 states through KalshiEX LLC, a regulated exchange, the Pro Football Championship event contract gives eligible customers the power to trade on the outcome of the big game.” Full press release here.
Reading the line: If we weren’t already there, we’re quickly approaching a point where prediction markets are becoming an existential threat to the regulated sports betting industry in the United States. It’s worth continuing to remind everyone that this is taking place in all 50 states — right now — operating outside of state-level regulatory and taxation regimes. There are still lots of steps to come — more granular markets, improvement in the sports-specific product, etc. — before it’s a true threat. After all, Super Bowl trading is still pretty de minimis at Kalshi vs. US sportsbooks, as we sit here. However, there may be tens of millions of dollars traded during the Super Bowl itself.Let’s also note that while sportsbooks are taking a pounding in the media and with policymakers, Kalshi is being more or less celebrated — at least thus far — for offering sports betting everywhere as a “not gambling” product.
More on this in The Event Horizon on Wednesday:
Sources: NBA gambling ring also tied to college basketball games (ESPN) | “A gambling ring currently under federal investigation for its role in two NBA betting cases also was involved in unusual wagering activity on at least three men's college basketball programs this season, sources told ESPN on Monday. Sportsbook accounts connected to the gambling ring bet against North Carolina A&T, Mississippi Valley State and Eastern Michigan in games this season, sources said.”
MLB's dismissal of umpire Pat Hoberg upheld following appeal (MLB) | “Major League Baseball announced Monday that it has terminated umpire Pat Hoberg for violating the league’s gambling rules. MLB’s decision was made in May 2024 and upheld following an appeals process in accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the MLB Umpires Association (MLBUA). Hoberg has denied betting on baseball and an MLB investigation into his conduct found no evidence that he placed bets on baseball or that he took any action to manipulate the outcomes of any games. But by sharing legal sports betting accounts with a professional poker player and friend who did place bets on baseball and by impeding the MLB investigation through the deletion of messages with the friend, Hoberg was ruled by MLB to have failed to uphold the integrity of the game. Commissioner Rob Manfred issued the following statement: ‘The strict enforcement of Major League Baseball’s rules governing sports betting conduct is a critical component of upholding our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for the fans. An extensive investigation revealed no evidence that Mr. Hoberg placed bets on baseball directly or that he or anyone else manipulated games in any way.’ “
Reading the line: The basketball betting scandal continues to be good news/bad news for the sports betting industry. We should be celebrating that the regulated market has helped root all of this out. That’s a nice narrative (and true!), but it won’t necessarily gain traction. At the same time, it’s taken a long time to get to the core of this story, which continues to become more widespread with each new media report. Now, the college investigation involves more schools and may tie back to the Jontay Porter scandal. The situation with the MLB umpire is arguably even worse optically, even if nothing untoward showed up in the actual wagering. It all creates a bit of a mess optically as the industry faces increasing calls for re-regulation, reining in of what bets should be allowed, etc.
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Gambling news today
Caesars Sportsbook Debuts its Largest-Ever Prop Betting Menu for Super Bowl LIX Inside the Caesars Superdome (PR): “As the NFL’s first Official Casino Partner and an Official Sports Betting Partner, Caesars is proud to launch its largest Super Bowl prop betting menu ever in honor of its standing as the first NFL partner to hold naming rights to the stadium where the Super Bowl will be played, the Caesars Superdome. ‘For Super Bowl LIX, fans can bet on every aspect of the game with thousands of props to allow fans to feel closer to the performance of the game's biggest stars and participate alongside the biggest moments,’ said Kenneth Fuchs, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer at Caesars Digital. ‘Caesars and the Caesars Superdome hold a special place in prop betting history dating back to Super Bowl XX in 1986. This year, our Super Bowl LIX prop betting menu is designed to live up to the magnitude of that moment and is bigger and better than ever.’’
Arizona sweepstakes update: In Friday’s newsletter, I touched on Arizona’s regulator calling sweepstakes casinos and sportsbooks illegal in a press release. Here’s a statement from the Social and Promotional Gaming Association that TCL got after Friday’s deadline: “We emphatically reject the characterization of social sweepstakes as ‘illegal online gaming’ and the conflation of ‘unlicensed’ or ‘unregulated’ with ‘illegal.’ SPGA members operate under all applicable rules and regulations established for sweepstakes promotions. Our members are engaged in ongoing dialogues with regulators and policymakers in several states, allowing us to clarify the operating model of social sweeps sites and how that model comports with state law.” I’ll be honest, having to point out that you’re unlicensed and unreguated as a point of pushback is perhaps not the strongest message in the face of the Arizona news.
Texas lottery officials helped companies win a $95 million jackpot. That’s not the only favor they got (Houston Chronicle): “On June 30, 2022, Lottery.com’s board of directors convened online for an uncomfortable presentation. The Austin-based company sold state lottery tickets via its phone app. A month earlier, an in-house lawyer expressed concerns it had violated state and federal laws by selling tickets outside of Texas but then printing and redeeming them in Texas. Lottery.com had hired an outside law firm to investigate.”
Maine’s first sports betting parlor pauses wagers after state revokes license (Portland Press Herald): “Oddfellahs Sportsbook and Bar, Maine’s first in-person sports betting parlor, announced on social media Friday that it was pausing sports betting after having its sports wagering license revoked. Owner Michael Cianchette said Gambling Control Unit Executive Director Milton Champion informed the Portland bar that it would no longer be eligible to have a sports wagering license.”
Monumental Sports Network to Launch Integrated Sports Betting and Gamification Features for Capitals and Wizards Streams (PR): “Monumental Sports Network (MNMT) announced today that its best-in-class streaming app Monumental+ (M+), powered by ViewLift, will feature integrated real-time sports betting odds and gamification options during live game streams for the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards through the new ‘Monumental Game Center’ feature. Through a partnership with Play Anywhere and BetMGM, the independent media platform is the first local media rights holder to offer this type of interactive viewing experience outside of Las Vegas and the first of its kind across the NBA.”
I know I am an old fuddy-duddy but…: It’s still kind of jarring to see sports betting odds with links out to BetMGM at the New York Times.
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