The clash
Flutter and DraftKings quit Nevada after predictions pressure
Flutter and DraftKings surrender licenses after regulatory accusations.
Ex-PM renews call for gambling tax rise to go towards ending child poverty.
A betting scandal rocks Turkish football.
Guardians pitcher pleads not guilty.
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Incompatible
Accusations flying: Flutter and DraftKings have pulled out of Nevada after the state’s gaming regulator accused both companies of planning to engage in “unlawful” sports event contracts, aka prediction markets.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board said Wednesday it had accepted Flutter’s surrender of its Order of Registration, along with all FanDuel-related licences and approvals.
The board also granted DraftKings’ request to withdraw all pending Nevada applications tied to sports wagering.
Regulators said they had been informed that Flutter, FanDuel and DraftKings intended to offer sports event contracts inconsistent with Nevada law.
The board described the conduct as “incompatible” with participation in the state’s regulated gaming industry.
Neither company operated an online sportsbook in Nevada, but Flutter held information-service licences and DraftKings maintains a large Las Vegas office.
Saw it coming: Hours after Nevada’s announcement, FanDuel unveiled FanDuel Predicts, a federally regulated prediction market app launching next month, which had been teased back in September.
The product, built through FanDuel’s partnership with CME Group, will operate only in states without legal sports betting.
Sports contracts will include football, basketball, baseball and hockey markets, alongside commodities and financial event contracts.
FanDuel said the product will withdraw from any jurisdiction once sports betting becomes legal there.
The platform will be overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) rather than state gaming boards.
The company noted the offering would not take business from those on tribal lands.
Conversion therapy: The announcement of the predictions product came with Flutter’s Q3 earnings. On the call with analysts, CEO Peter Jackson said the “ability to take the sports product into the half of America who can’t currently avail of the sports-betting product, I think, is something which is tremendously exciting.”
“Ultimately, we do want to see as many states passing legislation to introduce sports betting as possible, and then we’ll be able to migrate those customers on to sports betting,” he added.
“But I think it is important that we put strong investment behind this.”
He added he was “excited to think about all of that marketing that currently lands nationally for customers who can’t avail of the sports-betting product.”
“Suddenly, they’re going to be able to download FanDuel Predicts and find that they’ve got access whether sat in California or wherever they are.”
Come at the King: DraftKings confirmed the withdrawal of its Nevada application, citing ongoing efforts to maintain regulatory compliance. CEO Jason Robins said its forthcoming prediction product will launch only in non-sports-betting states and in a manner “respectful of other stakeholders.”
DraftKings has faced investor pressure as prediction market competitors erode perceived long-term sportsbook growth.
The company said it will work collaboratively with state regulators but continues to argue that prediction markets fall under federal jurisdiction.
New York lawmakers have already proposed legislation to restrict prediction market offerings.
States of play: FanDuel Predicts targets large non-sports-betting states, including Texas, California and Georgia, raising the stakes for state regulators.
Nevada, New Jersey and Maryland have all challenged the model, arguing sports event contracts constitute illegal gambling and should be penalized, not protected, at the federal level.
However, states have thus far been unable to stop the trail blazed by Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com in offering prediction markets, with armory from the CFTC.
Running the risk: Analysts were sanguine but wary of the wider implications. “While Nevada is immaterial for them, questions arise about addl/larger state risks,” said Truist. “We’ll see what other states say, but for now still see favorable risk/reward.”
“Stakeholder reaction will need to be monitored closely,” said Stifel, who added that they would also be seeking confirmation the geo-fenced solution will “appease tribal stakeholders, in particular in California.”
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Paraguay: The government has launched a tender to de-monopolize its national lottery, the Quiniela Nacional, opening up to three operator licences and ending decades of single-operator dominance. The concession begins from January 2026 and will run until 2031, with bids available from November 17. The move reflects the broader reform agenda of President Santiago Peña aimed at increasing competition and improving governance in Paraguay’s gaming sector.
Entain is facing a landmark civil penalty case in Australia brought by AUSTRAC over alleged “serious and systemic” AML/CTF deficiencies covering its Australian brands from Dec 2019-Dec 2024. The Federal Court has scheduled hearings for November next year, with AUSTRAC’s evidence due by April 10, 2026 and Entain’s defence by August 6. Entain said it has overhauled its compliance programme, including closing cash-deposit channels and boosting AML staffing, but the case still poses a potentially material financial and reputational risk.
Dutch regulator KSA has reprimanded 888, operated locally by Godwits under the evoke–ComeOn partnership, after receiving an “unusually high” number of complaints about unreachable or delayed customer support. The regulator said the spike was linked to a technical issue that stopped welcome bonuses from being automatically awarded, forcing players to contact support to receive them.
Head of Compliance – Dubai
iGaming Compliance Mentor – Europe, Remote, UK
Head of Policy & Governance Manager – Cyprus
UK tax debate
If I’ve told you once… Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has repeated his call for the government to use the lever of higher gambling taxes in order to fund the abolishing of the two-child benefit cap.
Brown said he was “confident” the cap would be addressed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget on November 26.
And he called for the online gambling sector to bear a bigger part of the tax burden.
“We tax cigarettes at 80%, we tax alcohol at 70%, but the online gambling tax is 21%. So, there’s a big case for change,” he told Sky News.
Double trouble: Brown originally called for a doubling of online gambling taxes in the summer via an article in The Guardian. He renewed the attack on Tuesday, arguing that additional revenue from gambling firms should be directed toward alleviating child poverty.
He cited research from the Child Poverty Action Group, which estimates that scrapping the cap would cost around £2bn and immediately lift 350,000 children out of poverty.
Recall, the UK’s official statistics regulator labeled Brown’s original intervention in the UK taxes debate as a misuse of official data.
The Office for Statistics Regulation brought into question the statistics quoted by Brown from the Social Market Foundation and the Institute for Public Policy Research that were used to justify the call for a doubling of the tax rates.
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Turkish swoop
Player haters: Turkey has launched one of the largest match-integrity actions ever seen in professional football, suspending 1,024 players across its leagues for betting violations and triggering emergency regulatory measures, fixture disruptions and warnings of structural weakness across the sport.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) confirmed on Monday that the players had been suspended and referred to the Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDB).
High-profile players from clubs such as Galatasaray, Besiktas and Trabzonspor were caught up, with star defender Eren Elmali pulled from the national squad’s World Cup qualifiers after being named.
Elmali said his inclusion relates to a single bet placed five years ago and denied any further wagering.
The investigation remains active and is expected to widen as data reviews continue.
Matches struck: The federation said disciplinary assessments will expand as additional institutional responses are received.
To stabilize squads, the TFF secured a 15-day exceptional transfer and registration period with FIFA.
All matches in the TFF 2. Lig and TFF 3. Lig have been suspended for at least two weeks.
Experts suggested possible structural failures in player education, monitoring and enforcement.
Penalty kick: The PFDB is expected to impose tiered penalties depending on whether conduct was casual betting or tied to illicit networks.
Law firm Bıçak said the crisis could act as a turning point for Turkish football, forcing deeper reform of betting regulation and integrity safeguards.
Expected measures could include clearer oversight mechanisms and closer cooperation between regulators and law enforcement.
The federation may introduce enhanced digital monitoring and transparency requirements across the football pyramid.
MLB scandal
Strike blues: Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to federal conspiracy charges alleging he rigged pitches for underground gamblers.
Ortiz appeared in Brooklyn federal court, where Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo released him on a $500k bond secured by his wife and an additional surety due next week.
Ortiz must remain in Boston, with travel permitted only to New York for court and Ohio for meetings with counsel.
The judge described him as an “enormous risk of flight” due to financial resources and ties to the Dominican Republic.
Location monitoring and a gambling ban were imposed over defence objections, and Ortiz is next due in court on December 2.
Co-defendant and fellow Guardians player Emmanuel Clase is expected to surrender Thursday for arraignment.
Throw me away: Federal prosecutors allege Ortiz and Clase conspired with bettors to manipulate individual pitches beginning in 2023, enabling coordinated prop-bet wagers worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Investigators say Clase communicated with bettors during games, throwing pre-arranged pitch types and speeds, often on the first pitch of an at-bat.
Clase allegedly ensured balls by throwing pitches into the dirt, winning co-conspirators at least $400k.
Ortiz allegedly joined in 2025, agreeing to throw predetermined balls in exchange for bribes, including a $5k payment for a June 15 pitch.
Prosecutors say the scheme defrauded betting platforms and deprived MLB and the Guardians of “honest services.”
Calendar
Nov 18: Sustainable Gambling Conference, Brussels
Apr 28-29: Ethical Gambling Forum 2026, Leeds
May 26-28: Gambling & Risk Taking Conference, Las Vegas
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