A Winless Season
For the first time since the repeal of PASPA it looks like zero new mobile sports betting states will be added - Missouri got it done in 2024 via a voter referendum.
The Bulletin Board
THE LEDE: Online sports betting legalization efforts are 0-11 in 2025.
ROUNDUP: Tax rate updates in three states; iGaming study in PA; Caesars digital spinoff; IGA Webinar on prediction markets.
NEWS: More sweepstakes sites are increasing their minimum age to 21.
VIEWS: Wynn withdraws New York casino proposal, leaving eight active bids.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: The saga of Kalshi + xAI.
STRAY THOUGHTS: Without love, where would you be right now?
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The Lede: OSB Efforts Come to a Close for 2025
Minnesota and Alaska were the last hopes for sports betting expansion in 2025, but the legislative session in both states has ended without passage of a bill (as STTP constantly notes, legislative end dates are far from concrete).
As the Minnesota Post reported last week, not only did the legislature fail to pass a sports betting bill, it couldn’t even get a study bill included in the state budget: “On Tuesday, the Senate Taxes Committee rejected a proposal ‘to study, evaluate, provide recommendations and issue a report on the legalization of sports betting.’”
Here’s where sports betting bills were introduced (and failed) in 2025:
North Dakota: HCR 3002, which would have put sports betting on the 2026 ballot in the state, was voted down in the House.
Georgia: SR 131 sought to legalize casinos and sports betting via a constitutional amendment. The bill was voted down in committee by a 9-2 margin. In a last-ditch effort, similar bills were filed in the House but failed to pass before the crossover deadline. Other bills: SB 208, HR 450, and HB 686.
Mississippi: HB 1302, sponsored by Casey Eure, passed the House but was not taken up by the Senate after the House used a procedural move to add sports betting to a previously passed sweepstakes prohibition bill — that effort died in conference committee. Other bills: HB 682.
South Dakota: SJR 507, sponsored by State Sen. Steve Kolbeck. The bill was not advanced before the end of the 2025 legislative session.
Nebraska: LR20CA passed the GA Committee and received the first of three required votes on the Senate floor. It was not advanced in a subsequent vote and is dead for the session. Other bills: LB 421 and LB 438.
South Carolina: State Rep. Chris Murphy filed House Bill 3625, which sought to legalize sports betting, as did companion legislation in the Senate, SB 444. The efforts stalled after a hearing didn’t result in a vote, and the mood has significantly soured. Gov. Henry McMaster’s opposition is a significant hurdle.
Hawaii: A surprise contender, with different versions of HB 1308, sponsored by State Rep. Daniel Holt, passing the House and the Senate. The conference committee rejected the bill, effectively ending the state’s sports betting hopes in 2025.
Texas: Several bills were filed (HJR 137, sponsored by Rep. Charlie Geren, HJR 134/SJR 65, sponsored by Rep. Sam Harless and State Sen. Juan Hinojosa), but with support lacking in the Senate, none of the bills were able to gain traction. The House has also grown resistant, with Rep Matt Shaheen telling the Morning News, it won’t pass the House.” Along with a group of 15 lawmakers who plan to kill any expansion bill.
Oklahoma: With Gov. Stitt an immovable obstacle, the legislature got creative with a Senate committee passing two sports betting bills: “HB 1047 would allow tribes the ability to exclusively offer sports betting with a 10% fee to the state… A companion measure, HB 1101, also passed by a vote of 6-3. If the first fails or is vetoed by Gov. Kevin Stitt, then HB 1101 would send the issue to a vote of the people,” State Sen. Bill Coleman said. “This procedure was used in 2003 when members did not want to take a vote on the lottery.” Other bills: SB 125, SB 164, and SB 585.
Alaska: HB 145, sponsored by State Rep. David Nelson, would authorize mobile sports wagering. There is a limit of ten licenses, with a licensing fee of $100,000 and a tax rate set at 20%. A May 16 hearing didn’t result in a vote, leaving the effort all-but-dead in 2025 — the legislation can carry over to 2026.
Roundup: Tax Rate Updates in 3 States; iGaming Study in PA; Caesars Digital Spinoff; IGA Webinar
North Carolina legislature divided over sports betting tax increase [Bet Carolina]: The North Carolina Senate’s budget included a sports betting tax increase (18% to 36%), but “legislative leaders in the state House of Representatives are moving forward with a two-year budget bill that would keep the tax on North Carolina sports betting operator revenues at 18%.” the likely outcome is a battle of wills between the two chambers in conference committee.
Louisiana House passes sports betting tax increase bill [HB 639]: The Louisiana House of Representatives passed an amended version of HB 639, a bill that raises the sports betting tax rate in the state. The original bill passed the House Appropriations Committee in a 20-1 vote in April, which would have bumped the tax rate to 32%. the amended version that passed the House reduced the rate to 21.5%. The legislation passed by a 73-15 vote (it requires a 2/3 majority) and now heads over to the Senate.
Colorado Gov. officially signs bill ending promotional deductions [SBC Americas]: Gov. Jared Polis has signed HB 1311, a bill that eliminates promotional bet deductions, passed by the Colorado legislature. Colorado has an industry-friendly tax rate of 10%, and sportsbooks can “deduct 2.25% of the value of promotional non-cash wagers placed by bettors. That was already scheduled to fall to 2% this July and 1.75% in 2026.” The new bill drops promotional deductions to 1% on January 1, 2026, before eliminating all promotional deductions on July 1, 2026.
Pennsylvania House passes bill to study impact of online gambling [Butler Radio]: “The Pennsylvania State House has passed a resolution that will look at the impact of sports gambling and marketing… The House voted 189 to 14 to direct the Joint State Government Commission to analyze the impact of sports gambling marketing, as well as provide recommendations on ‘ways to reduce problem gambling behaviors, gambling debt, and the exposure of children to sports betting advertisements.’”
Caesars could spin-off its digital arm [Legal Sports Report]: Caesars is still considering spinning off its online division if it meets its $500 million annual EBITDA target and the company’s share price doesn’t improve. “Management noted they would not expect a spin-off of this nature to warrant a valuation directly in line with digital-native operators (high-teens multiple) but they would have to weigh the discount associated with remaining within CZR after the company either hits or misses its $500M long-range target,” Stifel, which embarked on an eight-company field trip in Las Vegas last week said.
Webinar Alert [Register here]: Today at 1 PM the Indian Gaming Association’s New Normal Webinar Series will discuss prediction markets with Sporttrade CEO Alex Kane, putting two of my favorite industry people, Victor Rocha and Kane, in the same place. This one could get lively.
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Sweeps News: New Trade Group and a Shift to 21-Plus
The spotlight may have shifted to prediction markets, and they may have prevailed in most states that introduced legislation to rein in the sweepstakes industry, sweepstakes operators aren’t sitting around waiting for the next round of anti-sweepstakes efforts and are instead trying to get out in front of at least one major criticism.
First, there’s the newly announced trade group headed by VGW (Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Casino, and Global Poker): the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance, not to be confused with the Social and Promotional Games Association.
The SGLA appears focused on advancing legislation for social sweepstakes casinos as its executive director is Jeff Duncan, a former member of the US House of Representatives and as the SGLA noted, “Our advocacy does not extend to operators offering sports products or transacting in cryptocurrency.”
Further, the SGLA is highlighting its members’ “robust age verification processes to prevent access by minors,” and the availability of responsible gaming tools.
On the age verification front, High 5 Casino upped its minimum age to 21 in July 2024. VGW increased the minimum age to play on its sites (Chumba Casino, Luckland, and Global Poker) to 21 in February 2025.
“We view ourselves as an RSG leader, and take this incredibly seriously, employing a team of industry experts, to ensure our games are enjoyed in a fun, healthy way,” a VGW spokesperson told Sweepsy at the time of their decision in February. “Our goal is to exceed industry standards, and we offer our players a variety of readily available tools to aid in regulating their play, such as purchase limits, and options to permanently close their account, take a break, or set account self-exclusion.”
As Sweepsy recently reported, three more sites, all operated by Wyoming-based A1 Development LLC, are now 21-plus: Fortune Wheelz, NoLimitCoins, and Tao Fortune.
Views: And Then There Were Eight (NY Casino Proposals)
Wynn is the latest New York casino bidder to withdraw its proposal.
That leaves eight active proposals to fight over the three available licenses — the New York casino proposals are the topic of this week’s feature column.
Las Vegas Sands withdrew its bid in April, citing the possibility of online gambling as a motivating factor. And this week, Wynn withdrew its bid, citing persistent opposition as the reason.
But, as Contessa Brewer noted, “Privately, casino executives from more than half a dozen companies have complained that the process of winning a casino license in New York state has little to do with the merits of the proposals, but instead is highly politicized and expensive — and keeps getting delayed.”
[WITHDRAWN] Wynn New York City (Hudson Yards, Manhattan)
The proposal: Wynn New York City’s $12 billion Hudson Yards proposal included a casino, 1,500 housing units (324 affordable), a 5.6-acre park, a K-8 school, and a 1,750-room hotel. Enhanced community benefits aim to counter strong local opposition (that STTP recently reported on). Still, despite it being the most ambitious project, zoning changes and City Council approval requirements turned it into a sinking ship, which was withdrawn earlier this week due to “persistent opposition.”
[WITHDRAWN] Sands New York (Nassau County)
The proposal: Las Vegas Sands’ proposed resort at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum site includes a casino, hotels, convention space, and a luxury spa, with gaming as just 10% of the project. When it withdrew, the company cited the threat of online gambling: “As we previously stated, the company remains concerned about the potential impact of the legalization of igaming on the overall market opportunity and project returns,” LVS President Patrick Dumont said during the company’s recent earnings call.
[WITHDRAWN] Saks Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)
The proposal: Hudson’s Bay Company's proposal would convert the top three floors of its flagship Saks store into a 200,000-square-foot luxury casino.
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Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
Yesterday morning looked like yet another hugely positive development for Kalshi (the tweet has since been deleted):
Several hours later, the story turned into a PR nightmare. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour deleted the tweets, Bloomberg took the story down, saying Kalshi had rescinded it in a rare separate story about the retraction:
“Bloomberg retracted a story published earlier Tuesday saying that Kalshi would partner with artificial-intelligence firm xAI after Kalshi rescinded its statement announcing the product integration deal. The company said details of the release, which stated that the effort would provide users with tailored information, had not been mutually confirmed between the two firms.”
For a company framing itself as an arbiter of truth, this (getting out over its skis and not transparently explaining what is happening) isn’t a great look.
Stray Thoughts
I initially used the Aerosmith song, Train Kept a Rollin’ in my Bulletin Board entry about Kalshi, but I had to scrap it when the story was rescinded (and the tweets deleted). Apparently, Ozzy’s Crazy Train would have been a better choice.
That said, my favorite train-themed song is from the Doobie Brothers:
Honorable mentions to Locomotive Breath by Jethro Tull and Train In Vain by the only band that matters.
I did a quick Google search to ensure I didn’t overlook anyone, and didn’t realize how many excellent “train” songs there are: The Monkees, O’Jays, Cat Stevens, Grateful Dead, ELO, my goodness, there are a lot.
Just like they say in golf: Every shot makes somebody happy. Either the golfer or his/her opponent. This is the case here. I take no credit for these outcomes but I know that my persistent presence does not hurt the fight to stop the proliferation of iGaming. Although Sports Betting is not something I proactively try to stop I do plan to fight to be sure there is a proper infrastructure to handle the addiction that comes with its passage. iGaming on the other had is a non-starter in my eyes until the states can prove they are ready to accept the newest and most predatory form of gambling. Up to this point, in the United States, each state has failed to meet that criteria. New Jersey is 12 years in and they still haven't figured it out. For now, I am building a company that will address gambling addiction but I am also moonlighting as an advocate. I am just getting started. If you would like to work with me in any capacity please reach out to daniel@exclaimrecovery.com