Industry News for the Week of July 20, 2025
Industry News
Private equity giant CVC Capital Partners is set to acquire 100% of Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) — a global leader in testing and compliance services — along with its affiliates, Worldwide Laboratories LLC and Kobetron LLC. The acquisition was announced via antitrust filings in Austria and Malta, with the process beginning on July 3, 2025, and set to conclude by July 31, 2025. The move signals CVC’s renewed interest in the iGaming sector.
Illinois
Chicago is finally facing a question it has sidestepped for years: Should video gambling terminals (VGTs) become part of its urban fabric? Aldermen Gilbert Villegas and Anthony Beale on Wednesday proposed a pair of ordinances that would allow the machines in the city limits. The first proposal would allow VGTs at O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport, and the second would allow the terminals citywide.
Massachusetts
A pair of bills to legalize online casinos in Massachusetts remains alive in the state’s Joint Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee, following a hearing at the end of June. The bills, Sen. Paul Feeney’s H.332 and Rep. Daniel Cahill’s S.235, were introduced in February. The legislators originally filed the bills in January as HD 4084 and SD 2240. The joint committee has until the end of the two-year legislative session on November 19 to vote on the bills.
Michigan
- Play Michigan: Michigan Sportsbooks Produce Best June of All Time
Michigan sportsbooks made the most of a June calendar with only the NBA Finals and baseball on the docket. Michigan sportsbooks generated $309.9 million in handle and $45.3 million in revenue. Both are all-time highs for June. As expected, sports betting activity dropped off from May, but handle was up 8.7% year-over-year, and revenue outpaced June 2024 by a staggering 42.5%, according to the monthly report from the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
Pennsylvania
- Play Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Lawmaker Defends Lower Tax on Skill Games
Pennsylvania Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23) believes a high tax on skill games would hurt small business. He continues to back his own bill, which taxes the machines at 16%. Lawmakers are far apart on how to actually tax skill games in Pennsylvania. Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed a 52% tax in his 2025 budget address in February. Sen. Chris Gebhard’s bill calls for a 35% rate.