Sports betting regulation – FairOdds Network

April 16, 2025

Tax rate, fees, regulator at issue as Hawaii sports betting bill goes to conference

A conference committee has about two weeks to come to an agreement.

Hawaii’s digital sports betting bill has hit a snag. HB 1308, which has made a surprising march through the house and senate, is headed to conference committee after the house rejected an amended version passed by the senate on Friday.

After moving through senate committees with no tax rate or application fee, both were added on the senate floor. In addition, the regulator was changed in a senate committee and the department of law is now named.

HB 1308 would allow for statewide digital sports betting with a minimum of four platforms. There would be no retail locations.

The bill initially had a 10% tax rate and a $250,000 application fee, but those were stripped in the house finance committee, where Representative Sue L Keohokapu-Lee Loy voiced concern that the application fee was too low.

It “appears rather low for an industry that makes billions of dollars”, she said. “I would love to see that licence fee go up ..

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 10, 2025

Kalshi stays live with sports markets in Nevada after winning injunction

It is game on for Kalshi's ability in Nevada and across the US to take bets on contests such as The Masters.

US District Court Judge Anthony Gordon provided a detailed ruling that expanded on his decision of Tuesday night (8 April) to grant Kalshi’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the Nevada Gaming Control Board regarding the offering and trading of sporting-event contracts.

“Kalshi has shown a likelihood of success on the merits,” wrote Judge Gordon in the 17-page ruling. “Conversely, the defendants have not shown a likelihood of success on their countermotion for injunctive relief, so I deny their motion.”

It was another legal victory for Kalshi, following a key win in the US Court of Appeals last October over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). That ruling allowed it to offer election contracts in the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election. The CFTC has appealed that decision to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and a verdict could have an impact ..

April 9, 2025

NCAA intensifies responsible gambling campaign as college hoops scandals linger

US authorities are still conducting a sweeping probe into an illicit betting ring with alleged connections to pro and college basketball.

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament ended on Monday night (7 April) with a scintillating comeback by the University of Florida, which erased a 12-point second-half deficit to edge Houston in the national title game.

In the past, the Cougars’ defeat may have provided famed bettor Jim McIngvale with nagging indigestion, due to the Houston furniture store owner’s affinity for placing seven-figure bets backing the Cougars. Last year, the entrepreneur stood to make $15 million (£11.7 million/€13.6 million) if Kelvin Sampson’s team cut down the nets. In the run-up to this year’s Final Four, though, no large bet from McIngvale was publicised.

As part of an initiative to promote responsible gambling, the NCAA has urged bettors to gamble within their means. Throughout March Madness, the NCAA promoted its “Draw the Line” educational campaign about gambling..

April 9, 2025

Hawaii senate sends sports betting bill back to house for potential passage

Bill must still clear house and get Governor Josh Green’s signature to become law.

Hawaii is poised to become the first US state in 2025 to legalise digital sports betting after its senate approved an amended version of HB 1308, 15-10 on Tuesday (8 April). Of the 15 yes votes, four were “with reservations”.

HB 1308 was transmitted to and received by the house on Tuesday. Should the house approve the bill, it will be sent to Governor Josh Green for approval. Green, who has been pushing for funding for a new Aloha Stadium District, has not been clear about whether he will sign the bill.

HB 1308’s march through the state legislature has been confounding. Multiple state agencies, a native Hawaiian group and others repeatedly spoke in opposition. Lobbyists from BetMGM and DraftKings as well as a local ironworkers’ union testified in favour. And at every step, lawmakers voiced concern and many voted with reservations.

Go-live date not mandated

The bill becomes effective on 1 July but do..

April 8, 2025

Maryland fifth state to send cease-and-desist letters to Robinhood, Kalshi and Crypto.com

The state joins Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio and Illinois in seeking to ban sports prediction markets.

Maryland has become the fifth state to send cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com as the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission has directed the companies to stop offering sporting event contracts in the state.

Maryland joins Illinois, Ohio, Nevada and New Jersey in seeking to ban the companies from offering what they believe amounts to de facto sports betting.

“We view this as a legal matter and a consumer protection matter and there is also a fiscal interest for the state,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming director John Martin in a press release. “Each of Maryland’s legal sports wagering operators completed a rigorous licensing process and is subject to extensive regulations that include responsible gaming requirements. The commodity traders aren’t bound by those same guardrails. They’re conducting sports wagering without a licence and, in doing so, the..

April 4, 2025

Hawaii sports betting bill reaches senate floor

Its tax rate is set at 10% of AGR with percentages earmarked for problem gambling and education.

It was another step forward for proponents of legalised mobile sports betting in Hawaii on Wednesday (2 April) after the senate ways and means committee approved HB 1308, moving it to the full senate floor.

The bill passed by an 11-2 vote, although four state senators voted “aye with reservations”. Ways and means was the third and final senate committee needed to vote the bill forward after the economic development and tourism and the commerce and consumer protection committees did likewise.

The bill reached the senate floor despite ongoing opposition from notable groups throughout the state. Among them was the state attorney general’s office, which submitted written testimony citing problem gambling concerns as well as changes to fantasy sports that will lead to “unregulated and unlicensed gambling”.

Filling in the numerical blanks

HB 1308 passed through the lower chamber of state gov..

April 2, 2025

Bill to ban sweeps casinos dies in Mississippi, along with online sports betting hopes

Meanwhile, several other states – mostly on the east coast – continue to advance sweeps bans.

A Mississippi senate bill that would have both banned online sweepstakes casinos and legalised mobile sports wagering died in committee Monday night (31 March).

The lines of demarcation regarding passing SB 2510 were clearly drawn in the statehouse. An earlier version of the bill solely devoted to banning online sweepstakes casinos passed unanimously in the senate, but Representative Casey Eure amended it to include sports betting language as part of a procedural manoeuvre last month.

Senate gaming committee chair David Blount, though, remained steadfast in opposition. He would approve an expansion of sports betting – which is legal as a retail activity in the state – only if the request came from the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

The senate declined an opportunity for concurrence on the bill last Thursday. A six-person bicameral conference committee that included both Eure and Blount fai..

April 1, 2025

Ohio joins growing list of states to issue cease-and-desists to prediction market operators

State's gaming commission says Kalshi, Robinhood, Crypto.com all need licences to offer sports contracts.

Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd. Fast on the heels of Nevada and New Jersey sending cease-and-desist letters to prediction market operators offering contracts on sports events and Massachusetts openly questioning their legality, Ohio piled in on Monday (31 March).

As explained in a press release, the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) issued cease-and-desist notices to three sites allowing users to risk money on sports outcomes: Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com.

In his statement within the press release, OCCC executive director Matthew Schuler was explicit in his interpretation of what the trio of companies are doing.

“Purchasing a contract based on which team a person thinks will win a sporting event is no different than placing a bet through a traditional sportsbook,” said Schuler. “The only difference is that these event contracts do not have the consumer prote..

March 31, 2025

Kalshi CEO says he was left with no choice but to sue New Jersey, Nevada regulators

Company's suits seek declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent agencies from “enforcing their preempted laws”.

Kalshi dramatically raised the stakes over the weekend in the battle over whether it operates a legal prediction market for sports event-based outcomes, filing lawsuits in response to the cease-and-desist letters sent by gaming regulators from Nevada and New Jersey.

In a LinkedIn post on Sunday explaining the decision to file, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said prediction markets are more than simply places to trade contracts, calling them “quintessential truth machines”. He said they “mobilise the most elegant and effective properties of free financial markets towards the pursuit of unbiased truth”.

Mansour claimed filing the lawsuits against agencies overseeing two of the biggest regulated sports betting marketplaces in the US was a last resort of sorts. The post stated: “We have made every effort to engage proactively with both Nevada and New Jersey and try to educate..

March 24, 2025

Campaign contributions are part of the picture as Hawaii debates gambling proposals

Despite heavy opposition from government agencies and native Hawaiian groups, a Hawaii digital betting bill continues to move.

Like gambling expansion bills in other states, HB 1308 in Hawaii has faced opposition from the start. The bill would allow four digital sports betting platforms and no retail locations.

But as the bill has moved through the house and progressed in the senate, what is unique is that much of the opposition has come from government agencies ranging from the attorney general and local police to the departments of taxation and finance. In addition, the department of commerce and consumer protection – which was initially named in the bill as the regulator – opposes the bill.

Support from the industry, meanwhile, has been tangible as well as vocal. Donations made to lawmakers reviewed by iGB reveal that some lawmakers who received donations from the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) – which prior to 2024 had not made a donation to any Hawaii lawmaker – sponsored gambli..

March 21, 2025

Resorts World Las Vegas agrees to pay second-largest fine in Nevada gaming history

If approved, the $10.5 million fine over the casino's purported AML failures will be the largest in Nevada history behind a 2019 fine against Wynn Resorts.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) entered into a proposed stipulation for settlement with Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV) on Thursday (20 March) in the latest chapter of a comprehensive investigation that has ensnared the bookmaker of Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter.

The proposed settlement was reached months after the NGCB issued a 12-count complaint against RWLV stemming from the property’s purported anti-money laundering (AML) deficiencies. Given the enormity of the probe, questions arose of whether the NGCB would impose the largest fine against a casino in state history.

The stipulation includes a fine of$10.5 million (£7.7 million/€9.2 million), payable to the Nevada general fund. The proposed monetary penalty pales in comparison to a $20 million fine Wynn Resorts received in 2019 over the company’s failure to i..

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Tag: Sports betting regulation