Legal & compliance – FairOdds Network

April 16, 2025

MGM CEO: Prediction markets may be ‘cement’ for federal government to enter gambling space

Bill Hornbuckle is urging the legal sports betting industry to handle the prediction market battle properly to avoid federal intervention.

As Bill Hornbuckle travelled to Atlantic City this week for a prominent gaming conference, the legal sports betting industry nationwide continued to race toward a proverbial fork in the road.

Days earlier, Kalshi had reported handle of $86 million (£65 million/€75.6 million) during The Masters tournament, roughly three times the volume traded on the platform for the Super Bowl. Over the last month, Kalshi and other prediction markets have been subject to a wave of cease-and-desist orders from states around the country. The litigation comes as the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) prepares this month for a highly awaited roundtable on the regulatory implications of sports event contracts.

Operating tax free on trading revenues, prediction markets pose an existential threat to the regulated gaming industry in the view of some industry ..

April 14, 2025

Weekend Report: First US approval for Beter, STS new sportsbook chief, woman wins $15 million judgment against casino

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed across the last few days. This week: Beter gains first US approval, STS names new sportsbook chief and a woman wins a $15 million judgment against a Las Vegas Strip casino.

Beter lands first US approval in New Jersey

Sports betting odds, data and content provider Beter has secured its first approval in the US.

Vendor registration from the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement enables Beter to work with licensed operators in the state. This includes delivering its real-time data and live streams.

The first approved product is its flagship Setka Cup table tennis tournaments. This is already live in New Jersey from Bet365.

Beter arranges over 11,000 Setka Cup matches per month, offering more than 30 betting markets per event. In total, it organises over 46,000 fast-betting events monthly across esports and sports disciplines.

“This is a milestone moment for the Beter team,” CEO Gal Ehrlich said..

April 14, 2025

Michigan regulator probes unlicensed sports predictions market

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) has launched an investigation into unlicensed sports prediction markets operating within the Great Lakes State.

Announced on Friday (11 April), the MGCB said this activity has raised “significant” concerns about consumer protections in Michigan. The regulator classes predictions as a form of sports betting.

Preliminary investigations by the MGCB have found unlicensed platforms offer financial products that allow users to trade their predictions on the outcomes of sports events. By sidestepping state-mandated regulatory protections, the regulator said, this poses a serious risk to players.

The MGCB added that this may create confusion among consumers. Its concerns primarily relate to “blurring the line” between sports betting as entertainment and as a financial trading vehicle.

The regulator’s announcement did not specify the companies under scrutiny, but counterparts in five other states – Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois and Maryland – ha..

April 11, 2025

Kansas sports betting market shaken up by budget provision approval

Kansas sports betting licence extensions have been thrown into question after a new budget provision was voted through by the state’s house of representatives today (11 April).

Lawmakers approved a small but significant last-minute amendment to the state budget SB 125 on Friday, the last day of Kansas’ legislative session.

The amendment says that for the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, “no expenditures shall be made by the above agency from monies appropriated from the state general fund or from any special revenue fund… to negotiate or enter into any contract or extension or renewal of an existing contract for the management of sports wagering with any lottery gaming facility manager.”

This indicates that the market will not be immediately impacted, but its long-term outlook is uncertain. Jeremy Kudon, lobbyist for the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), clarified on X that “most contracts with the lottery will run well into 2027”. The SBA represents FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Fanatic..

April 11, 2025

Gambling Commission outlines rates per licence for statutory levy

The UK Gambling Commission has clarified the rates each licensee will have to pay for the new statutory levy, which the government hopes will raise £100 million (€115.3 million/$130.7 million) for harm prevention against gambling.

The UK statutory levy came into effect on 6 April, having been included in the previous government’s Gambling Act white paper in 2023 with the belief operators weren’t paying their fair share to support gambling harms under the voluntary levy.

Gambling minister Baroness Twycross told the Betting & Gaming Council’s (BGC) AGM in February the new UK statutory levy was a “huge step forward” for the gambling sector, with the hope it will reduce problem gambling.

On Monday (7 April), the Gambling Commission released an update on the levy including the rates each licence holder will be required to pay, with online gambling generally set to face the highest rate.

What are the statutory rates?

The statutory levy rates are as follows:

Online gambling licence typ..

April 10, 2025

Compliance teams weigh competing factors in the wake of historic RWLV settlement

Burdensome costs and AML compliance come into conflict when troubled casinos attempt to construct remediation plans.

For months, a potential settlement between Nevada and Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV) dominated the conversation among compliance officials at networking events on the conference circuit.

A litany of civil complaints against RWLV and several other Strip properties have given regulators agita, with one Nevada commissioner warning that the financial improprieties would serve as a wakeup call for the industry as a whole.

Given the severity of the allegations, one option for state regulators involved placing RWLV into conservatorship, a strict penalty that would have ranked among the harshest available. Alternatively, a $100 million fine ($£77 million/€89 million) in combination with a licence suspension could have been just as punitive, or even worse.

In the end, the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) approved a $10.5 million fine against RWLV. It is the second largest fine..

April 10, 2025

Techno Offshore faces €1.2 million Dutch fine over illegal activity

Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has issued a €1.2 million (£1 million/$1.3 million) fine to Techno Offshore, the company behind the Nolimitbet.com and Simplecasino.com brands, for illegal activities in the country.

KSA said Techno Offshore was illegally offering games of chance to Dutch players through the websites without the relevant licence. Operators can only offer online gambling in the Netherlands after securing approval from the regulator.

Detailing the charge yesterday (9 April), KSA said Techno Offshore did not take the sufficient measures to block Dutch players. The regulator also flagged the operator for not checking players’ ages upon registering and for running prohibited features including autoplay.

Setting out the charge in full, KSA said it first investigated Techno Offshore in April last year. It established the operator was based in the British Virgin Islands and hold a licence from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission for the two websites.

At the time, KSA sa..

April 7, 2025

ANJL slams anti-betting comments from financial association director

The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) has hit out at “disrespectful” anti-betting comments from the director of the Brazilian Association of Financial and Capital Market Entities (Anbima).

The response from the ANJL comes after Aquiles Mosca, CEO of the financial institution BNP Paribas in Brazil and director of Anbima, wrote an article published in the Brazilian newspaper Valor Econômico last week. It was titled “Bets: The bookmaker who lives in your pocket will make you unhappy”.

In the article, Mosca slammed the regulated online betting sector in Brazil, which launched on 1 January. He detailed the potential consequences of addiction such as marital problems, bankruptcy and suicide.

The ANJL, alongside the Brazilian Gaming Association (Abrajogo), the National Gaming Association (AIGaming) and the Brazilian Institute of Legal Gaming (IJL), defended the licensed betting sector in a note of repudiation issued on Friday (4 April).

“By comparing the regulated bettin..

April 4, 2025

How Rei do Pitaco is following the US DFS to sports betting model in Brazil

One of the first to gain a full licence in the newly regulated Brazil betting market, Rei do Pitaco is hoping to compete against a wave of international entrants. Somewhat following in the footsteps of success stories in the US, CEO Kiko Augusto explains how the company’s strategy differs and how Rei do Pitaco’s daily fantasy sports (DFS) roots have set it up for success.

Rei do Pitaco launched its DFS offering in 2019 with one eye already on the soon-to-be regulated sports betting market in Brazil, which finally launched on 1 January.

It first signed an online sportsbook partnership with Kambi in 2022 – a deal it extended last October as it prepared to transition from a DFS operator to a full-fledged sports betting site.

It is a strategy that has been hugely successful in the US for the two market leaders, FanDuel and DraftKings. Both evolved from DFS-focused operations to sports betting and igaming to the tune of a combined $10.6 billion (£8.2 billion/€9.6 billion) in FY2024 reven..

April 4, 2025

BGC: Almost £10 million to be bet illegally on 2025 Grand National

Almost £10.0 million (€11.9 million/$13.1 million) could be illegally bet on this weekend’s Grand National, according to new analysis by the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC).

As the showpiece event on Britain’s horse racing calendar, the Grand National is popular with both regular and seasonal bettors. However, while many will wager with licensed operators, the BGC expects millions to be bet via illegal routes.

The BGC estimates £9.4m will be staked with black market operators this year. This represents 3.8% of the overall £250.0 million the BGC expects to be wagered on the race. The race takes place tomorrow (5 April) at Aintree Racecourse.

BGC CEO Grainne Hurst said this should serve as a “wake-up call” for the government. As illegal operators do not pay tax in Britain, the government would miss out on significant tax revenue.

According to the BGC, the Grand National alone will generate £3.0 million in tax revenue and £2.0 million in contributions to the horse racing levy to suppor..

April 2, 2025

Ohtani’s ex-interpreter scheduled to report to prison in May after delay

Ippei Mizuhara is set to surrender to federal authorities this spring to serve a 57-month sentence stemming from gambling-related crimes.

Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has received a new date to report to federal prison for crimes related to his gambling. Mizuhara is scheduled to surrender to federal authorities by 12 May, according to court filings unsealed this week.

The disgraced confidant of the MLB star was sentenced to in February to 57 months imprisonment for embezzling $17 million (€15.8 million/£13.2 million) from Ohtani. The interpreter used the stolen funds to repay a portion of his sports gambling debts with an illegal California bookmaker.

The new date is nearly two months past Mizuhara’s initial reporting deadline of 24 March. Mizuhara pleaded guilty last June to one count of bank fraud and a count of signing a fraudulent tax return.

Delayed reporting date

Over a 37-month span, Mizuhara placed more than 19,000 wagers with an enterprise operate..

April 2, 2025

Norway regulator orders blocking of 57 illegal websites

Norway gambling regulator Lotteritilsynet has ordered the blocking of 57 websites it deems to be operating in the county illegally.

Some 23 companies are behind the sites that have now been blocked in Norway, the regulator revealed yesterday (1 April). This is the first round of blocking initiated by Lotteritilsynet as part of a crackdown on unlicensed activities.

DNS blocking works by redirecting players from the illegal websites to a page hosted by their internet service provider. This page sets out how while the site the consumer was trying to access is illegal, they were not breaking the law by trying to gamble on the site.

Lotteritilsynet lawyer Silje Sægrov Amble said blocking illegal websites will help tackle issues related to gambling harm in Norway.

“Blocking illegal websites will help fewer people develop gambling problems,” she said. “These are the games that have the highest risk. They are designed to get you hooked and you can lose a lot of money in a short time.”

War..

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Tag: Legal & compliance