10,000 Or Bust
The number of participants in the World Series of Poker Main Event was down in 2025, falling just short of the 10,000 tally reached in each of the last two years.
The Bulletin Board
THE LEDE: WSOP Main Event attendance numbers and controversies.
ROUNDUP: NH increases VLTs; Smarkets goes the prediction market route; MO sports betting public comment period; Atlantic Club for sale.
NEWS: New Jersey bans sweepstakes and increases online gambling tax.
BEYOND the HEADLINE: Massachusetts and Louisiana take action against “illegal” gambling.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: The FAIR Bet Act and the AGA’s position.
STRAY THOUGHTS: It’s always the little things.
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The Lede: WSOP Numbers Overshadowed by Controversy
The 2025 World Series of Poker has put up some excellent attendance numbers, which Pokerfuse’s Anuj Arora has dutifully tracked. However, notice the caveat in the tweet below that unique entries are down, but re-entries are up, which will help explain this year’s Main Event attendance numbers.
Setting aside the preliminary events, the success or failure of the WSOP will always be measured by the field size of the Main Event, with 2023 and 2024 breaking the 10,000-entry barrier (10,043 and 10,112, respectively), the bar has been set high, and anything short of 10,000 will be disappointing.
Unfortunately, the 2025 Main Event came up short (perhaps portended by Arora’s note that unique entries in preliminary events were down):
Despite a 4% drop-off in attendance, the 2025 WSOP Main Event was still a success, ranking third on the all-time list:
2024: 10,112
2023: 10,043
2025: 9,735
2006: 8,773
2022: 8,663
2019: 8,569
All that said, the 2025 WSOP may be best remembered for a significant controversy, that will likely lead to a rule change (just as last year’s controversial heads-up battle did).
The First Chop in WSOP History
The 2025 Millionaire Maker was mired by chip dumping allegations when play became heads-up. That might sound strange on the surface, but here’s what happened.
During heads-up play, Jesse Yaginuma staged a dramatic comeback from a 10-1 chip deficit against James Carroll to win the event, prompting speculation of collusion, as Yaginuma would receive a $1 million bonus if he won the event due to a promotional contest he won from ClubWPT Gold.
Lance Bradley wrote an excellent piece on the topic in his The Overlay newsletter.
The “bonus” was called the “sleaziest promo I’ve seen in my 30+ years in poker” by GG Poker (which owns the WSOP) ambassador Daniel Negreanu and “industrial sabotage” by Lee Jones.
The WSOP withheld the bracelet and the prize money pending an investigation, citing a potential breach of tournament rules, which explicitly prohibit collusion and chip dumping as "illegal or unethical acts" that could lead to disqualification, forfeiture of prize money, or ejection from the event.
The investigation concluded with the WSOP declaring no official winner of the event and the final participants receiving an equal share of the prize money. The two players also look to be banned from WSOP events moving forward.
Roundup: NH VLTs; Smarkets Going Prediction Market Route; MO Public Comment Period; Atlantic Club for Sale
New Hampshire law allows unlimited VLTs at casinos [CDC Gaming Reports]: New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed HB 2 on June 30, a bill that will enable the state’s charity casinos to install an unlimited number of VLTs. The bill also allows licensees to host high-stakes poker and table-game tournaments (taxed at 5%) and “unifies all New Hampshire self-exclusion programs… [and] authorizes the creation of a New Hampshire Lottery & Gaming Commission out of the current Lottery Commission.”
Smarkets is taking a different approach in the US [Covers.com]: Smarkets is looking to increase its US presence by following in Kalshi’s footsteps, offering sports event contracts as a federally regulated prediction market. Smarkets, best known for its exchange betting platform overseas, has a tiny market share in Indiana and has exited Colorado. According to Covers.com, CEO Jason Trost envisions a future where sports betting resembles financial markets, with big brands acting as brokers.
Missouri opens public comment period for mobile sports betting [Legal Sports Report]: Missouri Gaming Commission has opened the public comment period for proposed rules as the state moves towards its sports betting launch date of December 1, 2025. The public comment period will run through July 16, with a hearing scheduled for July 17.
The Atlantic Club is up for sale, but is anyone interested? [NJ.com]: The former Atlantic Club Casino in Atlantic City, which has been vacant since 2014, is now for sale at $55 million after redevelopment plans stalled. Colosseo Atlantic City Inc. purchased the property in 2019 with the intention of transforming it into a condo-hotel complex but faced permitting issues and non-compliance with state construction codes. Listed in mid-June, the once-prominent casino is seen as an eyesore on the boardwalk. The Atlantic Club has an impressive history, including its near sale to PokerStars in 2013.
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News: New Jersey Bans Sweepstakes & Raises iGaming Tax
The New Jersey legislature passed a flurry of gambling-related bills before the July 1 budget deadline, including a prohibition on sweepstakes gambling sites and an across-the-board tax rate increase on online gambling.
A5447 was passed by the House in a 69-10-1 vote, and minutes later, it was passed by the Senate in a 34-5 vote. The legislation now awaits the signature of Gov. Phil Murphy, who is expected to sign the bill despite the two sweepstakes lobby groups (SPGA and SGLA) imploring the Governor to veto the legislation.
A5447 also prohibits placing wagers for other individuals. As SBC Americas reported, the bill’s language addresses “bearding” by prohibiting wagers “…with the purpose to deceive, uses another person’s gaming account, including, but not limited to, a wagering account for Internet gaming or sports wagering, to place a wager and wins, or attempts to win, money or property or a representative of either.”
New Jersey marks the sixth state to take legislative action against sweepstakes gambling sites:
Montana
Nevada
New York (awaiting Governor’s signature)
Connecticut
Louisiana (vetoed by Gov. Jeff Landry)
Previous STTP coverage of sweepstakes prohibition efforts and regulatory actions and the effort underway in California.
On the online gambling tax front, New Jersey has increased the tax rate on online sports betting, casinos, and daily fantasy sports to 19.75%, plus the 2.5% IAT for iCasino and 1.25% on sports betting.
The rates increased from
iCasino tax rate: 15% to 19.75%
Online sports betting:13% to 19.75%
DFS tax rate: 10.5% to 19.75%
Several other states have also increased the financial burden on online gambling operators in 2025:
Maryland: Increased the tax on mobile sports betting from 15% to 20%.
Louisiana: Bumped its tax rate from 15% to 21.5%.
Illinois: Added a $.25 per wager fee on the first 20M wagers and $.50 thereafter.
Colorado: passed a bill that sunsets promo bet deductions.
Previous tax increases:
Ohio (2023): Doubled its tax rate from 10% to 20% in 2023.
Tennessee (2023): Shifted from a 20% revenue tax to a 1.85% handle tax.
Illinois (2024): Shifted from a flat 15% rate to a tiered tax rate of 25-40% in 2024.
Louisiana (2024): Reduced the amount of promotional spending that gaming operators can deduct from their tax obligations.
Colorado (2024): Imposed a phased reduction on the amount of promotional spending that sports betting operators can deduct from their taxable revenue.
Maryland (2024): Decreased the allowable deductions for promotional spending by gaming operators.
Virginia (2024): Reduced the amount of promotional spending deductions for sports betting operators.
Beyond the Headline: AGs Take Action Against “Illegal” Operators
Attorneys General in two states, Massachusetts and Louisiana, have taken action against what they deem illegal gambling operators.
In Louisiana, Attorney General Liz Murrill issued an opinion stating that online sweepstakes casinos are illegal. The opinion was in response to an inquiry by State Sen. Rick Edmonds.
In the July 2, 2025, opinion, Murrill stated that platforms offering casino-style games, such as slots and poker, using dual-currency systems violate Louisiana’s gambling laws and constitute illegal gambling, as they profit from selling virtual currency that can be redeemed for cash, target vulnerable populations, and lack proper regulations like age verification or geolocation.
Murrill also dismissed comparisons to legitimate promotions by brands like McDonald’s, emphasizing the predatory nature of these platforms.
This follows Gov. Jeff Landry’s veto of SB 181, a bill to ban such casinos, which he deemed unnecessary due to existing enforcement powers. The veto was quickly followed by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board issuing over 40 cease-and-desist letters to operators, and now Murrill’s opinion.
In Massachusetts, the Attorney General’s Office issued cease-and-desist letters to offshore gambling operators BetOnline.ag and Sportsbetting.ag — Massachusetts previously issued a cease-and-desist order to Bovada in October 2024 — claiming they offer online gambling without the proper licensure and illegally target Massachusetts residents with aggressive marketing.
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Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
The gambling loss deduction continues to be the talk of the town (backstory here), and as promised, the FAIR Bet Act (HR 4304) has been introduced by Rep. Dina Titus, and it has already picked up a few cosponsors:
In a statement, Titus said:
“My FAIR BET Act would rightfully restore the full deduction for losses so gamblers don’t pay taxes on money they haven’t won… This common-sense legislation will bring fairness back to gaming taxation, making sure that gamblers can fully deduct losses when they report their winnings. It gives everyone –from recreational gamblers to high-stakes gamblers -- a fair shake. We should be encouraging players to properly report their winnings and wager using legal operators. The Senate change will only push people to not report their winnings and to use unregulated platforms.”
The AGA, which caught some undeserved flack for supporting other provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill, despite indicating it would “work closely with Congress… to address the changes to wagering deduction losses,” issued a statement of support for the FAIR Bet Act:
"The American Gaming Association applauds Congresswoman Titus for introducing the FAIR BET Act," the organization said in a statement to ESPN. "We are committed to working with Congresswoman Titus, other congressional leaders, and the Trump Administration to restore the long-standing tax treatment of gaming losses."
As far as getting caught with its pants down, the AGA advocated for three gambling tax policies, inclluding the preservation of the gambling loss deduction, in a letter sent to the Senate Finance Committee back in May:
Raising the slot threshold
Repeal the excise tax
Maintain the deduction of gambling loss deductions
Stray Thoughts
Whether it’s martial arts or legislation, it’s always about the little details. The big things are easy to see and understand, but it’s the little details that determine whether something will work or not.