Bill stickers
The US legislative season throws up a host of initiatives
Will this year’s crop of potential OSB and iCasino bills amount to anything?
In +More: Trump visits Las Vegas.
Virginia slim: skill-gaming bill unlikely to pass muster.
The new regulated Brazilian online market is off to a slow start, report analysts.
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On the fly
Behind the eight ball: The US legislative season has once again presented market watchers with a variety of legislative attempts to get iCasino, in particular, onto the statue books in – as it stands – eight states. But the industry understandably remains cautious.
New Hampshire became the eighth state to see a bill presented. Its author state Sen. Tim Lang Jr previously successfully sponsored the bill to legalize sports betting in 2019.
The proposals allow for no more than six but no less than three iCasino platforms “tethered” to licensed B&M HHR and table-game facilities. The bill features a GGR tax rate of 45%.
A short list: The New Hampshire move follows bills in New York, Maryland, Indiana, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Wyoming and Virginia where the bill has already been shunted into 2026 after the author pulled it on January 20 saying it needed more examination.
The possibility that the rise of sweepstakes gaming might push more states towards considering iCasino is reported by the team at Jefferies to have been the subject of speculation among operators and investors during the recent ICE event in Barcelona.
The analysts said discussions centered on whether the evident popularity of sweepstakes could “act as a catalyst to kickstart US online casino legalisation, similarly to daily fantasy sports and the advance of online sports betting.”
Recall, last week C+M reported on commentary from Macquarie analysts that sweepstakes gaming “could actually be positive” for iCasino operators if it pushes otherwise reluctant states towards regulation.
The Miller’s tale: Meanwhile, there have also been new moves in OSB, including in Hawaii (x 3) and in Minnesota where state Sen. Jerely Miller has introduced a bipartisan bill. Recall, Minnesota narrowly failed to pass a bill last spring.
Once again, the bill would allow for the state’s 11 tribes to offer B&M and OSB with a tax rate set at 20%.
However, a bill in North Dakota to add online sports betting to the November 2026 ballot has been defeated.
State Rep. Scott Louser, who introduced the bill, said he had “hoped to stave off a citizen-initiated measure on legalizing online sports betting with a resolution that would have put the issue up to a statewide vote.”
The House voted 70-24 against the bill, with many lawmakers raising concerns about the potentially harmful effects of easy access to gambling.
Characters in search of an author: Summing up the action, the team at Jefferies said the US regulatory landscape was “active with significant catalysts for digital gaming.”
But the team noted that in Massachusetts, where iCasino is up for debate, there is as yet “no indication” whether the governor is supportive.
Jefferies also noted that conversations over B&M gaming and OSB in Texas have restarted “with apparent public support.”
But they added that Lt. Gov Dan Patrick continues to oppose any legalization and, according to their checks in the state, “continues to control the Senate, suggesting meaningful progress is unlikely.”
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Where’s Captain Kirk? The chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Kirk Hendrick, has announced his resignation and a plan to relinquish his post following the next legislative session, which begins in February.
Hendrick, who has been in the post for two years, made the announcement after a meeting with Gov. Joe Lombardo.
In a statement accompanying the news, Kendrick noted how much the board has achieved during his tenure.
He added that by pre-announcing his resignation it allows Gov. Lombardo “time to find the next board chair and provides for a smooth transition of leadership.”
MAGA-nificant: Meanwhile, President Donald Trump visited Las Vegas last weekend and spent some time on the gaming floor of the Circa Resort, where he spoke about his plan to eliminate income taxes on tipped wages.
The visit gained the plaudits of the AGA. “It’s exciting for our industry that the president visited a casino property so early in his second term,” said CEO Bill Miller.
“The event clearly demonstrates the positive role the gaming industry plays in the US economy.
Plannatech-owned BetCris has launched operations in Arizona. Plannatech was awarded a license last summer. BetCris is a long-standing name in the offshore bookmaking universe but stopped taking bets from the US in 2007.
The Arizona launch was announced by Plannatech COO Adam Bjorn via a posting on X late last week.
DraftKings is facing another class action, this time in New York, over claims of deceptive advertising and consumer manipulation via its range of promos, including ‘risk-free bets’ and deposit matches.
The lawsuit accuses the company of luring in bettors using the promotions without telling them the money only gets awarded back in bonus bets.
Additionally, the lawsuit claims DraftKings limits users who frequently win.
Seconds out: Three people have been arrested in the UK’s West Midlands on allegations related to match-fixing on a boxing bout as part of a joint investigation by the UK Gambling Commission and the police.
The investigation was launched following reports of suspicious betting activity linked to a fight held last year.
A UK High Court judge has ruled that Sky Betting & Gaming breached data protection laws by illegally collecting and profiling a problem gambler’s personal data for marketing purposes.
Justice Collins Rice found that Sky Bet had no lawful basis to gather the claimant’s information through cookies and use it for targeted advertising between 2017 and 2019.
She described the company’s profiling practices as “parasitic.”
The anonymous claimant lost more than £45,000 over nearly 10 years with Sky Bet.
Florida: A draft bill that is proposing changing state laws to make it more difficult to implement ballot referendums will be considered by state legislators during a special session this week, according to CNN.
If approved, the bill would practically eliminate petition gathering, which is the main way to create ballot referendums in the state.
Notably, any new gambling measures currently require citizen-led referendums.
Commercial
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Virginia slim
Corpus Christie: A bill to regulate skill gaming remains something of a long shot even after it passed through a crucial committee stage late last week.
State Sen. Christie Craig’s measure would tax the machines at a flat monthly rate of $1,200 per game.
Retailers offering the games would pay an annual fee of $1,000-$2,500.
The new version of the bill advanced out of the General Laws Committee on Wednesday. “This bill is a long time coming,” Craig said before the committee voted.
“We have seen this for four years. The commonwealth has given up at least over a billion dollars in tax revenue we could have collected that could go to K-12 schools and other services.”
You’re not my kind: However, the likelihood of the bill passing appears to be slim given that Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed the same bill last year and has recently stated that that he is “not interested in progressing any of those kinds of bills.”
Youngkin is reported to be supportive of the formation of a state gaming commission to regulate casinos, sports betting, parimutuel wagering and historical horse racing machines.
Sen. Bryce Reeves has filed legislation to do just that.
It has passed the General Laws and Technology Committee and is being reviewed in the Finance and Appropriations Committee.
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Slow going
Check point: Returning from ICE In Barcelona, the team at JMP came away with what may be classed as an underwhelming impression of the progress being made in Brazil post the launch of the regulated market at the start of the year.
“Commentary from the first several weeks appeared mixed,” the team said, adding that B2C operators are experiencing headwinds because elements of compliance, including KYC and the onboarding of players, are “creating friction points.”
Gray area: “Additionally, one participant in the market suggested the government has not completely turned off black market operators, thus keeping players from migrating to the legal operators,” the JMP team wrote.
“One executive described the friction as typical when jurisdictions move into a legal framework.”
“We sensed optimism that Brazil will move in the right direction in the coming months, on a path to be one of the most valuable growth markets globally.”
This land is your land: Meanwhile, it has been reported that the Brazilian Senate could vote on legalizing land-based casinos in the country during the first half of this year, according to the Minister of Tourism Celso Sabino.
A bill was originally approved by the Justice and Citizenship Committee last June but was delayed for further review.
Events calendar
Feb 26: Regulatory and compliance track, SBC Summit, Rio de Janeiro
Mar 10-13: Regulating the Game, Sydney
Mar 12-13: Next: NYC 25, RG Hub, New York
May 8-9: Leaders in Compliance Conference, Frankfurt
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