Industry News For The Week Of March 9, 2025

By iDEA | March 13, 2025

Industry News

Bally’s Corporation introduces its “Game In Good Hands” global responsible gaming initiative, emphasizing the pillars of trust and responsibility in support of Problem Gambling Awareness Month. The Game in Good Hands campaign will be promoted through both online and land-based casinos, utilizing signage, websites, and direct mail communications to reach customers.

Apple, Google, and Meta have asked a US District Court judge to toss a class action targeting the tech giants. According to the lawsuit, the Silicon Valley titans illegally conspired with social casino operators to target vulnerable gamblers for a share of the resulting profits. The tech companies’ defense is, in essence, that because the games lack cash prizes, they are merely simulated gambling in the same way a video game about football is not the same thing as playing football.

Rep. Paul Tonko and Sen. Richard Blumenthal reintroduced the Supporting Affordability & Fairness with Every Bet Act, or SAFE Bet Act, on Tuesday. The pair introduced the initial version of the bill in September 2024. The lawmakers believe it puts necessary safeguards on the US sports betting industry to help mitigate public health risks.

Federal lawmakers, professional sports leagues, tribes, and industry stakeholders have weighed in on sports-related event contracts ahead of an upcoming Commodity Futures Trading Commission roundtable. The roundtable, slated for March 22, is the “first major step in establishing a holistic regulatory framework” for prediction markets. The debate centers on whether sports prediction markets — contracts allowing consumers to buy into the outcome of a sporting event — are a financial product or, as critics argue, an attempt to circumvent existing sports betting regulations.

DraftKings has a pending application with the National Futures Association. While not much is known about what DraftKings Predict could offer, it is important to note that this application was not made in response to Crypto.com, Kalshi, or Robinhood’s interest in Super Bowl futures. The pending application for DraftKings Predict is dated July 30, 2024.

Connecticut

Connecticut could be on its way to seeing legal online poker sites launch, thanks to a bill that would enable traffic-sharing with other states. Senators are considering a bill allowing the state to join the Multistate Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA). This compact has enabled online poker sites in other states to share their player pools. The bill also includes enhanced player protection measures, such as betting limits at the state’s online sportsbooks.

Maryland

A new Senate bill in Maryland aims to legalize 4,000 historical horse racing (HHR) machines to help struggling off-track betting (OTB) retail locations. If approved, the HHR bill would allow OTBs to operate the gambling devices under Maryland’s sports wagering laws. The machines would be placed inside OTBs and racetracks that have sports betting licenses.

Mississippi 

The Mississippi House of Representatives sent more sports betting bills to the Senate this week, hoping to force the upper chamber’s hand. On Tuesday, the House passed two amended Senate bills to include online Mississippi sports betting language. That follows the chamber’s original online sportsbook legislation that passed earlier this session, 88-10.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire Sen. Tim Lang tabled his online casino bill in the Senate Ways and Means Committee last week despite the committee’s recommendation that it pass. The bill would have put the New Hampshire Lottery in charge of regulating the online casino industry. The lottery commission would then issue between three and six licenses connected to existing gaming facilities. The legislation set the tax rate at 45%.

New Jersey

New Jersey Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese introduced a bill that would ban sweeps casinos from the Garden State. In January, Calabrese created legislation allowing sweeps casinos to operate under the New Jersey gaming law. Calabrese’s new bill contradicts the previous one he brought to the legislature less than two months ago. He had a framework to allow sweepstakes casinos to be on the same playing field as regulated online casinos and sports betting operators.

Rhode Island

Four Rhode Island senators want to expand RI sports betting beyond the IGT monopoly. This week, sens. Frank Ciccone, John Burk, Todd Patalano, and David Tikoian introduced SB 748. It would end the state lottery monopoly on RI sports betting and create licenses for at least five sportsbooks in 2026. The legislation was referred to the Labor and Gaming Commission. The legislative session runs until June 30.

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