Fireworks At NCLGS
The gambling conference circuit is usually tame, but that wasn't the case at NCLGS, where fiery debates over prediction markets, sweeps, and cannibalization occurred.
The Bulletin Board
THE LEDE: No one was playing nice at last week’s NCLGS conference.
ROUNDUP: FAIR Bet Act gains support; CA sweeps bill hearing; Suspicious trades on Kalshi; Slot threshold increased; Caesars digital wallet.
VIEWS: Nick Schulman is a worthy Poker Hall of Famer. So are many others.
VIEWS: Kalshi assumes the role of the underdog.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: WSOP security called on Will Kassouf.
STRAY THOUGHTS: There’s not much meat on the bone.
Sponsor’s Message: Increase Operator Margins with EDGE Boost Today!
EDGE Boost is the first dedicated bank account for bettors.
Increase Cash Access: On/Offline with $250k/day debit limits
No Integration or Costs: Compatible today with all operators via VISA debit rails
Incremental Non-Gaming Revenue: Up to 1% operator rebate on transactions
Lower Costs: Increase debit throughput to reduce costs against ACH/Wallets
Eliminate Chargebacks and Disputes
Eliminate Debit Declines
Built-in Responsible Gaming tools
To learn more, contact Matthew Cullen, Chief Strategy Officer, Matthew@edgemarkets.io
The Lede: Adversaries Square Off at NCLGS
Gambling industry conferences are usually contention-free affairs. When speakers have different opinions, they usually lead with statements like, “with all due respect,” or “while I agree with most of what so-and-so said.”
With the industry divide over online casinos intensifying and with the rise of sweepstakes and prediction markets, things are changing.
Here’s a microcosm of the new tension-filled gambling conference (as posted by Jessica Welman):
“John Pappas lobs the grenade on the home turf, pointing out that Churchill Downs is one of the largest online gaming companies in the country. Shannon McCracken is on the panel repping CDI.
“She knew this was coming and argued it was an event-based form of gaming that is fundamentally different from online casinos. Pappas tried to push asking if there is a cannibalization issue, but the moderator intervened for sake of time.”
The National Association Against iGaming (Shannon McCracken is an NAAiG Board member) later responded, saying:
“It’s important to correct a common misconception raised today at NCLGS during a panel: not all forms of online wagering are the same. Equating regulated pari-mutuel horse racing with 24/7 casino-style iGaming misrepresents both the law and the lived experience of gambling harm.
“Pari-mutuel wagering is tethered to live events, with pooled bets and longstanding federal oversight. iGaming offers instant, continuous access to slots and table games—“pocket casinos” that operate on an entirely different risk profile. The difference matters.
“Our mission is to protect consumers, families, and communities from the unique risks of round-the-clock casino gambling in every pocket. Sound policy requires recognizing distinctions—not dismissing them for the sake of convenience or industry growth.”
As reported by Welman, Josh Sterling, a lawyer from Milbank and former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) employee, who is representing Kalshi, doesn’t believe the CFTC should be concerned with RG:
“People are adults, and they’re allowed to spend their money however they want it, and if they lose their shirt, that’s on them.”
A nice capstone to NCLGS from MGC Chair Jordan Maynard: "I hear someone on a panel the other day say 'if someone loses their shirt, who cares?' We fucking care." Room broke out into applause.
Welman did an excellent job capturing Sterling’s statements during the panel, and I count at least five divisive statements, which not everyone agrees with:
Roundup: FAIR Bet Act; CA Sweeps; Suspicious Trades on Kalshi; Slot Threshold; Caesars Digital Wallet
More lawmakers come out against the new 90% gambling loss deduction cap [Phil Hellmuth, X]: Poker pro Phil Hellmuth waded into the gambling loss deduction discussion, tweeting, “Update on the ‘Poker Players Death Tax’ I heard from Ted Cruz, today. Senator Cruz is fighting to eliminate the Poker Players Death Tax.” So, what is the latest on the efforts to reverse the policy? As Rep. Dina Titus tweeted, “The failure of the Senate’s unanimous consent measure is not surprising. The Senate got us into this mess, and it’s now time for both chambers to unite behind my bipartisan FAIR BET Act to ensure that average and high-stakes gamblers do not pay taxes on money they never won.” The bill (HR 4304) currently has seven cosponsors.
California sweepstakes prohibition bill gets another hearing [Daniel Wallach, X]: “The California anti-sweepstakes bill gets its second legislative hearing on July 15th… before the Senate Public Safety Committee. AB 831 would ban online sweepstakes casinos and impose criminal penalties on operators, suppliers, promoters, and media affiliates,” attorney Daniel Wallach tweeted — previous STTP coverage of the effort. As an aside, California tribes are now running ads in support of the bill.
Kalshi is investigating $162,000 in suspicious trades [InGame]: Kalshi is looking into $162,000 in suspicious MLB trades that were flagged for improbable odds. The bets were on different games, but drew attention because they were made within a 12-second window. The investigation raises concerns about the controls in place and the potential for market manipulation or insider trading at prediction markets.
Slot reporting threshold increased to $2,000 [AGA Weekly Update]: With everything going on I missed this other provision in the One Big Beautiful Act, which I came across in the American Gaming Association’s weekly updates (and explains the AGA’s praise for the OBBA): “President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, delivering significant achievements for gaming including the slot tax reporting threshold increased to $2,000 and automatic inflation adjustments—a crucial first step toward modernizing outdated tax policies.” The change is apparently covered in the part of the bill that changed certain payments to persons engaged in a trade or business and payments of remuneration for services. This is short of the hoped-for $5,000 threshold the AGA and other supporters desired, but it’s still the first increase since the slot reporting threshold was introduced in 1977.
Caesars launches universal digital wallet [Press Release]: Caesars Sportsbook has launched a universal digital wallet on its mobile app in Nevada, enhancing the wagering experience for sports bettors — the upgrade streamlines fund and Caesars Rewards management across 19 jurisdictions, offering seamless access and convenience. Available to users 21+, the app features live betting, streaming, and Responsible Gaming tools. Per the press release, Caesars plans to further expand the wallet’s functionality.
Views: Nick Schulman Gets the HOF Nod
Nick Schulman is the latest inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame, one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, for no reason whatsoever.
“Poker is a 200-year-old game, and the World Series of Poker is in its 55th year, yet there are only 61 people in its Hall of Fame. Football (the American version) has a similar history, developed sometime in the 1800s, with Super Bowls dating back to 1967. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is considered one of the more difficult to gain entry to, and it has 371 members. The Pro Football HOF inducts eight or more people every year. Poker inducts one, sometimes two.”
The 40-year-old has seven World Series of Poker bracelets, is one of the biggest cash-game crushers of the modern era, and has been a perfect representative of the poker world, with an impeccable reputation as well as being one of the better commentators in poker.
The real story here is who didn’t get in.
As I mentioned when the ten finalists were first revealed, all ten belong in the Poker Hall of Fame, but because of the induction process (one person per year), the backlog of deserving inductees is just going to keep growing larger and larger.
The Poker Hall of Fame has two options: induct players from bygone eras in mass, or induct five or more people annually. Quite frankly, there are too many Poker Hall of Famers not in the Poker Hall of Fame.
SPONSOR’S MESSAGE - Underdog: the most innovative company in sports gaming.
At Underdog we use our own tech stack to create the industry’s most popular games, designing products specifically for the American sports fan.
Join us as we build the future of sports gaming.
Visit: https://underdogfantasy.com/careers
Views: Kalshi Is the Underdog?
During their dynasty years, the New England Patriots often talked about themselves as underdogs (despite setting numerous NFL records and having what many consider the GOAT quarterback and head coach).
Kalshi is apparently taking a page out of the Brady-Belichick playbook, as its latest ad (which is perhaps the best ad from the gambling or gambling-adjacent industry I’ve ever seen) is all about the underdog, which Kalshi routinely portrays itself as:
Not many people are buying the underdog categorization:
Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
Poker player William Kassouf is known for his table talk, but the 2025 World Series of Poker brought Kassouf’s “speech-play” to a whole new level, ending in a meltdown to end all meltdowns, right down to a security escort:
Probably not the most +EV play on Day 7 of the World Series of Poker Main Event with $10,000,000 on the line — Kassouf was eliminated in 33rd place (there were nearly 10,000 entries) and walked away with $300,000.
Paul Oresteen did a great job explaining Kassouf’s bizarre Day 7 in his Substack newsletter.
Stray Thoughts
A very important point was made by FanDuel's Cesar Fernandez (as reported by Ryan Butler) at last week’s NCLGS conference: “US sportsbooks generate $1.55 in ‘real’ profit for every $100 wagered after accounting for taxes, cost of sales, marketing, and other overhead.”
And as Sporttrade’s David Huffman said on X, “Now imagine what these margins look like when you aren’t running high hold parlays. The market structure must change in order to allow other participants to be successful.”
This is something I’ve addressed many times over the years, but the idea that a casino or an online sportsbook is a license to print money is a false narrative.