Hurry Up And Wait
The FAIR Bet Act has bipartisan support in Congress, but Brian Quintenz's delayed confirmation vote as CFTC Chair is expected to be along party lines.
The Bulletin Board
THE LEDE: Federal updates: Quintenz hearing and the FAIR Bet Act.
ROUNDUP: CA sweepstakes bill gets a month off; Caesars opens MI live-dealer studio; MA tribal
welcome centercasino; GLI acquisition; Quote of the Week.VIEWS: Polymarket CEO throws some shade at Kalshi.
VIEWS: Pump the brakes on online casinos in Massachusetts.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: Sweepstakes trade group warns CA bill might end second-chance lottery draws.
STRAY THOUGHTS: A July for the record books.
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The Lede: Quintenz Confirmation and the FAIR Bet Act
As previously reported, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry removed Brian Quintenz’s nomination as the chairman of the CFTC from its schedule on Monday, and we now have some potential answers as to why.
According to multiple outlets, including Dustin Gouker’s The Closing Line, the confirmation vote will be along party lines (with Democrats voting against), which necessitated delaying the vote as “one Republican senator wasn’t present due to problems with a flight.”
In other federal news, a bill introduced by Nevada Rep. Dina Titus, HR 4304, that would restore the gambling loss deduction cap to 100% of winnings, now has ten cosponsors, including five Republicans.
More importantly, the House Ways & Means Committee will be holding a field hearing on the One Big Beautiful Act in Nevada tomorrow. The FAIR Bet Act will almost assuredly be broached, as it was a provision in the OBBA that reduced the cap to 90% of winnings.
That said, the amount of airtime the FAIR Bet Act receives and how Committee members receive it will tell us a lot about its chances. From experience, always pay attention to the committee’s questions to witnesses to get an idea where they stand.
On Friday, the Committee will only hear oral testimony from invited witnesses. “However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing,” the press release announcing the hearing reads.
Roundup: CA Sweeps Bill; Caesars Live-Dealer Studio; MA Tribal Casino; GLI Acquisition; Quote of the Week
California anti-sweepstakes gets a month-long reprieve [Daniel Wallach, LinkedIn]: There will be one less news item to monitor daily, as the effort to prohibit sweepstakes gambling sites in California will sit on the shelf for nearly a month. “The California anti-sweepstakes bill gets its third committee hearing on August 18, at 10 AM PST, before the Senate Appropriations Committee. AB 831 would ban online sweepstakes casinos and impose criminal penalties on operators, suppliers, promoters, and media affiliates.” Previous STTP coverage of the anti-sweepstakes bill.
Caesars launches third live dealer studio [Press Release]: Caesars Entertainment has opened its first live dealer studio in Michigan, its third overall, developed in partnership with Evolution. The new live dealer games are available on Caesars Palace Online Casino, Horseshoe Online Casino, and Caesars Sportsbook & Casino in Michigan. The Michigan launch “follows the successful launch of Caesars’ first branded studio with Evolution in Pennsylvania in January. In April, the Company also debuted its first studio inside a Caesars Rewards destination at Tropicana Atlantic City in New Jersey.”
Taunton Welcome Center is now being called a casino [Taunton Daily Gazette]: I’ve been following the First Light Casino project in Massachusetts for a decade, and after the project looked deader than dead, it has been resurrected and is making slow (but steady) expansion. “After months of calling their gaming facility in Taunton a 'Welcome Center,' the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is now calling it a ‘casino,’” the Taunton Daily Gazette reports. Per the paper, a spokesperson for the tribe referred to the facility as a "casino," in a recent report, and a logo for the gaming facility reads: "First Light: A Native Casino."
GLI to be acquired by private equity firm [iGaming Business]: Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), the industry’s leading independent testing firm, “is set for acquisition by Avalon Buyer Limited, a UK-listed firm controlled by private equity investor CVC Capital Partners, according to two antitrust filings in Austria and Malta,” according to iGaming Business. As iGB noted, “GLI has grown beyond land-based product testing and expanded into sports betting, iGaming, and much else. In addition to testing, the company now offers services related to cybersecurity, responsible gaming, consulting, and more.”
Quote of the Week: “I’m not for it. Basically, to put a casino in everybody’s hands, 24/7, I think, is probably not a great idea. And I think it will cause more pain and suffering... as far as gaming addiction. “I don’t usually use the ‘V-word,’ but, you know, I’m very much against this.” ~ Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on legalizing online casinos
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Views: Choose Your Fighter, Prediction Market Edition
I like the way Dustin Gouker summarized an appearance from Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan on CNBC on LinkedIn:
While Coplan only mentioned Kalshi in a single sentence, that sentence likely reverberated through Kalshi’s New York offices: “Polymarket is Polymarket. And they’re a Polymarket copycat,” Coplan said when asked about the differences between the two companies.
The gambling world is glued to Kalshi’s legal outcomes, but I’ve put forth three other questions, and one of those (point #2 below) is playing out in real-time:
Are sports contracts via prediction markets a threat to the established industry, or simply a niche industry within it?
What’s stopping others from entering the market (hello Polymarket, PredictIt, and potentially DraftKings and FanDuel, and dozens of other entities)?
Can prediction markets avoid the same issues traditional sportsbooks face (sharp bettors, liquidity constraints for smaller markets, and maximizing profits while offering consumer-friendly odds)?
Views: Is MA Really Going to Legalize Online Casinos?
A recent Boston Globe article appears to suggest that the legislature is hurtling toward legalizing online casinos. I’m here to pump the brakes on that speculation.
“Massachusetts lawmakers spent years debating casino gambling before legalizing it in 2011. But when it comes to a measure that would let people turn their smartphones into mobile slot machines and poker tables, well, that could happen sooner than you think… That’s the feeling I get with a pair of bills that were introduced in the Legislature in January that would allow people to place bets on online casino games.”
Yes, as the author notes, the bills received a committee hearing, but they didn’t receive a vote, were overshadowed by other bills, and each speaker was offered just a couple of minutes to make their case. This was a boilerplate hearing. The hearing was so uneventful that I only previewed it and didn’t bother to write up what happened.
The hearing did not produce momentum, and no, Massachusetts isn’t secretly planning a late online casino push. As I’ve previously written, the state has a lot of hurdles to overcome:
Massachusetts has historically adopted a cautious approach to gambling expansion, and the proposed legalization of online casinos is being discussed at a time when online casino bills have run into legislative roadblocks across the country — active efforts are still afoot in Maine and Ohio.
Massachusetts also presents a challenging environment for the following reasons:
The state legalized online lottery sales in 2024, with a planned launch in 2026, marking a significant expansion of its gambling offerings. The iLottery launch is a priority, and as we’ve seen in other states (especially states with online instant win lottery tickets that resemble slot machines), the lottery isn’t a fan of competition.
Despite its success, the legalization of sports betting has led to significant criticisms and regulatory scrutiny over responsible gambling, addiction, and operator practices.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s efforts to build the First Light Resort & Casino in Taunton have been ongoing for over a decade, marked by legal, financial, and political challenges. A welcome center with a smattering of slot machines is up and running, but the tribe has grander plans, and won’t be happy if it is at a competitive disadvantage in the online realm.
Then there is this bit from the article which set off my alarm bells:
That’s an interesting link and a valuable piece of information about setting up an account in a minute “and trying our luck.” Oh, and when I Googled “online casino in Massachusetts,” I got the same result, because McLuck was a sponsored result. The first non-sponsored result is the affiliate site BetMassachusetts.com, followed by another affiliate, PlayMA.com.
Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
Will California’s anti-sweepstakes bill prohibit the California Lottery’s second-chance draw? According to the Social & Promotional Games Association (SPGA), it might.
The ambiguity of anti-sweepstakes has been highlighted by the industry’s trade groups as a potential can of worms for businesses like Marriott and Starbucks, who routinely use sweepstakes for marketing, and now the lottery.
Stray Thoughts
I said this on social media recently, but the amount of news coming from all directions is at an all-time high. If you’ve been following the industry for any period of time, July and August are the slow season. Not so in 2025, where the amount of news in July has been non-stop; to the point that significant stories are being pushed backed days in the newsletter. Let’s hope for an August reprieve, so we can all take a moment to analyze the news, instead of strictly reporting on it.