Sports betting regulation

MLBPI slaps four US operators with name, image and likeness suit for using players in apps, social media

MLB Players Inc (MLBPI), the corporate arm of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has filed lawsuits against DraftKings, Bet365, FanDuel and Underdog Fantasy for unlawfully using the name, image and likeness of several players on their apps and social media accounts.
The suits were filed on Monday (16 September). The DraftKings-Bet365 suit was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the FanDuel-Underdog suit was filed in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. Both allege that the bookmakers have used “hundreds” of MLB players’ names and images without proper consent.

The alleged violations apply to bets and promotions on the bookmakers’ apps and posts from their social media accounts. The union described the two companies’ conduct as “outrageous, malicious, and in wilful violation of MLBPI’s rights”.

As a result, the union is seeking an injunction to stop the use of player images as well as compensatory and punitive dam..

September 2, 2024

Federal Revenue Service to address Brazil sports betting tax concerns at CPI hearing

Special secretary of Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service Robinson Barreirinhas will appear in front of the parliamentary commission inquiry (CPI) on match-fixing to explain how sports betting tax from companies abroad will be kept in Brazil.
The special secretary will appear at the request of Carlos Portinho, who is looking to clarify how tax payments will be made across borders.

Barreirinhas will be heard this Wednesday (4 September) by the CPI on manipulation, which was set up in April to counter match-fixing on sports betting in Brazil.

As set out in Normative Ordinance No 827, operators must have a headquarters on Brazilian soil. Foreign companies are still eligible for a licence, although they must have a local subsidiary of which a Brazilian owns at least 20% of the share capital.

Businesses must also provide a joint certificate from the special secretariat of federal revenue and the attorney-general’s office of the national treasury to show they are registered to pay tax in the ..

August 29, 2024

SEC latest US college football conference to require college injury reports

The Southeastern Conference (SEC), one of the four remaining college football power conferences, is mandating injury reporting amid the spread of sports betting in the US. The Big Ten last year was the first to do so and Mid-American Conference last week also required reporting.
The SEC injury reports mandate is not for football only, it also extends to men’s and women’s college basketball and baseball.

The requirement is in direct response to the rise of legal wagering in the US. College football administrators see it as a tool to protect student-athletes from the betting public. Injury reporting is a staple in US professional sports leagues.

SEC teams will kick off their first full day of the 2024 season Saturday. Last week, No 10 Florida State played at Georgia Tech.

“This availability reporting policy is intended to reduce pressure from outside entities seeking participation information and represents a commitment of our 16 institutions to provide enhanced transparency to sup..

August 20, 2024

Episode 33: Momentum building for Missouri sports betting?

Last week Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft confirmed voters would have the final say on Missouri sports betting, potentially breaking an impasse that has seen legalisation efforts run into a brick wall in the statehouse.

Path to legal betting isn’t fully cleared
The ballot measure, which tethers online sportsbooks to sports venues, was put forward by Missouri’s professional sports teams with backing from FanDuel and DraftKings but no buy-in from the state’s casinos.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

And early polling suggests voters are not yet on side. A Remington poll in May showed 60% were opposed to legal sports betting. However more recent numbers from Emerson suggest differently; their figures show 38% in favour and 35% against, with a lot of undecideds.

There’s also a highly contentious abortion measure on the ballot, which may drive voter turnout. Could that be beneficial for Missouri sports betting?

August 5, 2024

Brazil gambling regulation complete as government publishes final ordinances

With less than five months until the anticipated launch date of the legal betting market in Brazil, the final gambling regulations have been outlined in ordinances published by the ministry of finance’s Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA).
The four-phase regulatory rollout set out in April is now complete and the launch of legal gambling in Brazil is on track for 1 January 2025.

Jump to:

Online games

Monitoring and inspection

Money allocated to the state

Responsible gambling, including a ban on influencer advertising

Sanctions for non-compliance

Operators have been submitting their applications for licences, with the total number of requests now at six after NSX Group’s Betnacional filed its application on Thursday (1 August) with less than three weeks to go until the 90-day initial window of preference closes.

Operators who apply before 20 August will have their applications prioritised by the SPA and ensure they are processed by the expected launch date of the market.

Those..

July 22, 2024

In Macau, most suspects bail out in illegal sports betting case

Prosecutors in Macau have indicted 59 people swept up in a sports betting sting earlier this month. All but two have been released on bail. The illicit operation purportedly reaped millions per week during the recent UEFA Euro 2024 tournament.
The Macau Public Prosecutions Office has indicted 59 people allegedly involved in an online sports betting ring. Two of the defendants remain under pre-trial detention. The rest have been released on bail, with orders not to leave the city.

A total of 93 people were arrested in the 2 July sting in Macau, Hong Kong and Guangdong. Police seized MOP88.4m (£8.5m/€196.2m/US$11m) in cash and froze bank accounts containing MOP22.1m.

The websites, based outside Macau, took bets on football and basketball games. They reportedly generated about MOP72m per week during the recent UEFA Euro 2024 tournament.

Authorities estimate the illegal operation has pulled in more than MOP1.08bn since 2016.

Online gambling is illegal everywhere in China, including M..

July 22, 2024

Student athletes face new wave of harassment – how is the NCAA and the betting industry addressing the issue?

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) are working together to afford collegiate athletes safety in the new world of sports betting.
Dangers for student athletes range from integrity to the illegal betting market, to physical danger to athletes from bettors who lose individual player prop bets said panelists on Friday (19 July) at the NCLGS summer meeting in Pittsburgh.

The NCAA and NCLGS are banding together for a solution, said Clint Hangebrauck, the NCAA’s managing director of enterprise risk management. The two entities have formed a special committee on education to create draft legislation that can address protecting student athletes.

“We have drafted a model legislative framework that starts with really enforcing the unregulated market,” Hangebrauck said. He went on to say that the current situation presents a “clear and present danger to the safety and well-being of our student athletes”.

Wayne ..

July 19, 2024

Bettor perspective? Walters, “Spanky” say US sportsbooks have much to learn

As legal sports betting in the US proceeds in its seventh year, many have expressed concerns about whether the current wagering model is sustainable for the long term.

A panel discussion on Friday (19 July) at the summer meeting of the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) in Pittsburgh featured views on the subject from legendary sports bettors Billy Walters and Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos. Both the legendary Walters, 78, and Kyrollos said sustainability depends on treating sports bettors fairly.

That, they said, means an equal playing field for all customers.

Richard Schuetz, a veteran casino executive, regulator and onetime Las Vegas sportsbook operator, moderated the panel. Schuetz hosted Walters when Schuetz ran the sportsbook at the Stardust.

Transparency, betting limits are concerns

One problem threatening the long-term sustainability of legal sports betting, panelists said, is a lack of knowledgeable operators. “The (legal) industry is new in this country..

July 17, 2024

BetMGM, Caesars go live in Washington, DC after short delay

BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook went live across Washington, DC on Wednesday (17 July). Previously both operators could only offer their platforms in exclusion zones.

The launch is two days later than both operators planned. But they had to await the FY2025 budget being in force.

The budget includes provisions that open the market from a monopoly to a competitive landscape. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser did not sign or veto the budget. Her deadline to do so was 25 July. Instead, she sent it back to the DC Council. The move allows BetMGM and Caesars to begin offering their platforms throughout the city.

Bowser’s press secretary told Sports Handle that Bowser’s non-action “will still permit” the expansion. By sending it back, Bowser was demonstrating that she had “objections to several elements of the budget”. Given the contentious history of sports betting in DC, the expansion could be one of those objections.

Neverthelesss, BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook announced on Wednesday that they had..

July 10, 2024

Ex-NBA player Jontay Porter pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud

On Wednesday (10 July) former Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter turned himself in to federal authorities and pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a sports betting scandal that involves four others. Porter entered his plea at the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Federal prosecutors recommended 41-51 months in prison and Porter will have to pay more than $450,000 in fines and fees. According to the New York Post, Porter was released on $250,000 bond put up by his wife and mother.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver banned Porter from the league for life in April, several weeks after news broke that he may have violated league wagering rules. Porter tampered with two games so that his co-conspirators could win “under” prop bets. NBA players are allowed to gamble, but are forbidden from betting on basketball and from fixing games. Porter is the only NBA player to be banned or suspended for betting since PASPA was overturned in 2018.

According to a federal ..

July 1, 2024

Weekend Report: PH senator pushes POGO ban, FanDuel’s strong week in NY and more

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB updates you with the stories you may have missed over the last few days. This week we cover POGOs in the Philippines, as well as stopping off in New York, New Hampshire, Thailand and Brazil.

Philippine senator renews call for online gambling ban

Philippines Senator Joel Villanueva is pushing for his 2022 legislation banning Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and all forms of online gambling to progress through the country’s legislature.

First filed in September 2022, Villanueva’s Senate Bill 1281 aims to repeal all legislation granting the power to regulate online gambling and criminalise the vertical. Those found to have placed, received or otherwise unknowingly transmitted a bet or wager online would face either a prison sentence of up to six months or a fine of PHP500,000 (£6,736.74/€7,943.75/8,524.33).

Villanueva urges PAGCOR to intensify investigation on POGOs and other forms of online gamblinghttps://t.co/dDChQ5jZSZ
— DZRH..

June 26, 2024

Betr awarded Maryland wagering licence

Microbetting wagering platform Betr was awarded its Maryland licence at a Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) meeting on Wednesday (26 June) morning. However the company must still go through a controlled demonstration before launch.

Betr is live in two other states – Ohio and Virginia – after it exited Massachusetts earlier this year. Betr also has a temporary licence in Indiana but has not launched there yet.

Owned by YouTube star and boxer Jake Paul and Joey Levy, Betr is among a handful of smaller betting companies that have been able to find success in crowded markets.

Maryland’s lottery commission in May signed off on Betr’s Maryland wagering licence. But in Maryland, SWARC is the only group that has the authority to issue a licence.

Betr will enter Maryland just as BetFred, which gave up its Maryland wagering licence, is exiting. At the same time, Veterans Services Corporation (VSC) is set to launch. VSC is pointing to a 1 July launch. It is a British-ba..

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Tag: Sports betting regulation