iCasino Fight In Arkansas
As online casino efforts fade elsewhere, Arkansas has emerged as a potential online casino candidate, but can lawmakers broker a deal by April 11?
The Bulletin Board
THE LEDE: Arkansas has a month to broker an online casino deal.
ROUNDUP: MS, GA, and TX sports betting updates; Bally’s cancels earnings call; Reads of the Week.
NEWS: A C-Suite shakeup at Las Vegas Sands.
VIEWS: State gambling regulators explain their use of C&D letters.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: Speak now, or forever hold your peace.
STRAY THOUGHTS: Difficult decisions.
SPONSOR’S MESSAGE - Yes, Sporttrade is indeed a prediction market. Always has been.
The Lede: Arkansas the New #1 Online Casino Candidate?
Online casino efforts in Maryland, Wyoming, Indiana, and New Hampshire have all run into roadblocks, but all hope isn’t lost yet.
As reported in the newsletter last week, a seemingly innocuous bill in Arkansas is actually a serious effort to legalize online casino gambling in the state.
The Arkansas Senate State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee didn’t discuss the bill, SJR 8, last week, but it didn’t kill it either. According to its sponsor, State Sen. Bryan King, who spoke to Gambling.com, he plans to discuss the effort with stakeholders and lawmakers over the next week or so — Arkansas’ legislative session ends on April 11.
King hopes the discussions can add some specifics to what is now a shell bill, but intends to earmark the revenue for “law enforcement and public safety,” per Gambling.com — which should help its chances on the ballot if it gets that far.
Recall that I’ve been monitoring Arkansas since last year and consider it a darkhorse contender. The hangup is a stakeholder divide, with Saracen Casino Resort vocally supporting online casino expansion, while Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort vehemently opposes the idea.
As STTP wrote in December in my “5 Best iCasino Candidates in 2025” entry:
“A battle is brewing in Arkansas as Saracen Casino continues to push for regulatory changes that would authorize online gambling (starting with 50/50 raffles) via regulatory approval. You can find a full explanation of the Arkansas rule Saracen is trying to leverage here. Saracen CMO Carlton Saffa recently said he anticipates online casinos will begin in 2025 after voters nixed the Pope County casino. Saffa has also been highly critical of rival Oaklawn, which opposes online casino legalization.”
And as I said last week: Watch this space.
Roundup: MS, GA, and TX Updates; Bally’s Cancels Earnings Call; Reads of the Week
Mississippi House ties sports betting to sweeps ban in procedural move: Per the Sun Herald, “The House Gaming Committee had to resort to the procedural move after its Senate counterpart declined to take up its [online sports betting] bill.” The House added online sports betting language to a pair of bills passed by the Senate that would prohibit sweepstakes casinos. The House will now conceivably pass the sweeps ban + legalize online sports betting bill and put the ball back in the Senate’s court. STTP Thoughts: There seems to be a growing divide between chambers in several states (Hawaii, Georgia, Alabama, Texas) on gambling expansions.
Bally’s stock tumbles after Q4 report: Bally’s took the unusual step of cancelling its Q4 earnings call, with a spokesperson saying, “Any details that would've been addressed on the call were included in Wednesday’s Q4 press release,” according to Matt Rybaltowski. The company’s stock fell off a cliff last week, losing more than 20% of its value in a single day. CDC Gaming Reports noted, “The stock closed at $12.99 on Wednesday [March 5], having closed at $17.00 the day before.” The company was recently sold to Standard General, headed by then Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim. SG was the largest stakeholder in the company.
Read of the Week: “It is high time for the federal government to step in and limit advertising, ban sales and bonuses, prohibit credit card purchases, institute affordability checks, and raise taxes to upward of 51%. No, I’m not talking about the SAFE Bet Act for sports betting. I’m talking about shopping.”
Another Read of the Week: “Moreover, the states are now learning that if a state suggests an increase in the tax rate, well, the political and lobbying dollars start flowing. Again, the operators have taught this to the politicians. In short, a state that does not suggest a higher tax rate costs its politicians, lobbyists and other political hangers-on money.”
Georgia sports betting hopes dashed: As anticipated (at least by me), the last-ditch effort to pass a sports betting bill before crossover in the Georgia House failed.
Texas Senator files sports betting bill: Sen. Juan Hinojosa filed a constitutional amendment, SJR 65, last week that, if approved, would let Texans vote on legalizing sports betting. The bill is identical to Rep. Sam Harless' legislation in the House.
SPONSOR’S MESSAGE -Light & Wonder, Inc. is the leading cross-platform global games company. Through our three unique, yet highly complementary businesses, we deliver unforgettable experiences by combining the exceptional talents of our 6,000+ member team, with a deep understanding of our customers and players. We create immersive content that forges lasting connections with players, wherever they choose to engage.
At Light & Wonder, it’s all about the games. The Company is committed to the highest standards of integrity, from promoting player responsibility to implementing sustainable practices.
News: Goldstein Stepping Down as Las Vegas Sands CEO
Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein will transition to a senior advisor role in March 2026. Current President and COO Patrick Dumont will ascend to the role of CEO and Chairman.
CDC Gaming Reports summarized Goldstein’s long tenure with LVS:
“Goldstein joined the company prior to the opening of The Venetian Las Vegas and was intricately involved in its development, ultimately becoming president when it opened in 1999. While The Venetian was being constructed, Goldstein had numerous areas of responsibility including building the property’s gaming business and its operations. He was also the lead executive responsible for developing the Grand Canal Shoppes, the property’s large retail mall, the company said.”
Sands has gone through a massive transformation since the Venetian opened in 1999:
The company went public in 2004, renaming itself Las Vegas Sands Corp., and began construction on The Palazzo (opened 2007).
Sands also took an aggressive approach to Asia in the 2000s: Sands Macao (2004), The Venetian Macao (2007), The Plaza Macao (2008), Marina Bay Sands in Singapore (2010), Sands Cotai Central and The Parisian Macao (2016).
2022 was a change year following the death of Sheldon Adelson in 2021. LVS sold its Las Vegas properties for $6.25 billion to focus on the Asian market.
More recently, LVS has pursued new US markets like New York and Texas.
The overarching question is where does LVS go from here? Dumont isn’t a gambling guy, having been an investment banker. His most prominent achievements in his time with LVS (starting in 2010) were pushing for purchasing the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2015 and the more recent purchase of the Dallas Mavericks. Add those to the timeline above, and you will see a divestment in gambling, at least in the US.
Views: Why Gambling Regulators use C&D Letters
Five current or former US gaming regulators participated in a very intriguing panel discussion at the recent Gaming Law, Compliance and Integrity Bootcamp hosted by Seton Hall Law School in Newark, New Jersey.
David Murley, deputy director of the Michigan Gaming Control Board
Kevin O'Toole, executive director of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
Cathy Judd-Stein, chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission
Louis Rogacki, deputy director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
Dan Gerber, general counsel with the Illinois Gaming Board
Murley explained the MGCB’s decision to send cease-and-desist letters instead of criminal prosecutions, per Chris Sieroty of Vixio (a newsletter sponsor):
“Our thought was instead of worrying about the perfect solution that probably as a state we are never going to get, let’s take our victories where we can… It may be illegal for them to operate in Michigan but maybe it is okay for them to operate in a different state… The last thing they need is a declaration that they were involved in criminal gambling.”
Rogacki, seemed to echo Murley’s thoughts, intimating that a C&D letter solves the problem without escalation, which is where things get tricky. According to Rogacki (per Sieroty’s reporting summary):
“In New Jersey, for a state criminal agency to get involved in a case the illegal gambling operator needs to be located in the state… If the operator does not comply with the cease-and-desist letter, especially if they are not located in New Jersey.”
Gerber said the Illinois Gaming Board doesn’t even have the power to issue C&D letters, “We don’t even have an enforcement mechanism where we could get them to pay attention to us, but what we are seeing (with skill-based gaming machines) is that our criminal code is broad enough that being a skill-based operator is not a defense for gambling.”
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
Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or you are like most people and don’t care about the latest controversy on Poker Twitter) you’ve likely come across arguments for and against poker media members speaking up if they notice a pot pushed in the wrong direction.
Those involved in the hand spoke to Poker.org about the controversial hand.
I posted my opinion on X:
This has nothing to do with media impartiality by the way. I would add that it’s drilled into poker players to protect themselves at all times — as Benny Binion famously said, “trust everyone, but always cut the cards.” It’s up to the players at the table and the staff to speak up about these errors.
I also liked Lance Bradley’s take in his new The Overlay Newsletter:
“Poker is best served when media are allowed to report on and cover events without also having the expectation that they work in conjunction with dealers or floor staff to uphold integrity of the game. Media can play a role in game integrity by reporting truthfully on what happens at events and bringing issues of integrity to light.”
Stray Thoughts
One thing I’ve learned since embarking on my newsletter journey in August 2023 is that there is far too much news to cover in a single newsletter.
That’s why, unless it fits in with a broader story, I shy away from market analysis and earnings reports — there are plenty of people and organizations dedicated to covering each with better insights.
It gets a little tricky when I have too many news stories in my wheelhouse and not enough space, and have to figure out what to put in each newsletter, and what can wait an extra day or two, which has been a consistent problem in 2025!