Masters of war
Kalshi expands its offering after ‘history making’ Masters tournament
Kalshi doubles down on rhetoric ahead of looming CFTC roundtable.
Ex-ruling party MP charged with cheating on election betting.
In +More: Thai Senate committee to convene, Sweden blames Curaçao.
Italian authorities investigate 12 soccer stars for betting offences.
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Hole in one
Final countdown: A federal showdown looms but, rather than slowing, Kalshi has doubled down on sports event contracts in the face of mounting opposition.
Full court press: The controversial trading platform has expanded its offerings from tournament futures to single NBA games, and is expected to launch similar markets for MLB matchups in the near future.
Following the Masters golf tournament this past weekend, Kalshi founder Tarek Mansour declared “history was made,” as for the first time users in all 50 states could trade the event.
He said the platform saw over $86m in trades over the weekend, three times what it handled for the Super Bowl.
Bait: In a LinkedIn post, Mansour carefully framed Kalshi as a new way to experience live sport, avoiding the word ‘gambling’ altogether, adding that many users reported only tuning into the Masters because they held positions.
Switch: “We are seeing the birth of a new feedback loop between watching and trading,” he said.
“Prediction markets are the future of news, including sports news.” (Emphasis added.)
This guy is certainly convinced.
We didn’t start the fire: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) April 30 roundtable is expected to be pivotal – not just for Kalshi but for other major players in the burgeoning scene – in the wake of growing litigation and squabbles over regulatory jurisdiction.
Negative feedback is still pouring into the CFTC, much of it from tribal associations, denouncing the rise of prediction markets as illegal gambling via a loophole.
Last week, a Nevada court stopped the state’s regulator from challenging Kalshi’s operations via cease-and-desist, allowing the New York-headquartered platform to continue operating.
Give me it: And having pitted federal authority (the CFTC regulates futures contracts and is giving Kalshi cover) versus US states (which have their own gambling laws) and the sovereignty tribes hold on legalized gaming, legal experts say something must give.
“And if the way to avoid that collision is to say that the CFTC doesn’t have exclusive jurisdiction over the contracts covered by the Special Rule, … then maybe, just maybe, state gaming regulators might have some room to regulate sports-related event contracts, too,” said Andrew Kim, gambling partner at Goodwin, in a post breaking down the tussle.
Pole axed: Separately, Kalshi has been banned in Poland, reported iGaming Polska. The prediction market maker’s domain has been added to the Register of Domains Used for Offering Gambling Games in breach of Polish gambling law, giving internet service providers 48 hours to block it.
Meanwhile, Michigan is the latest state to raise queries around prediction markets after opening an investigation and expressing its opposition to operators such as Kalshi and Robinhood offering markets to state citizens.
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House always wins
Same old Tories, always cheating; An ex-Conservative MP is among 15 people who have been charged by the UK Gambling Commission with allegedly fraudulently betting on the timing of last year’s general election.
Craig Williams was formerly the MP for Montgomeryshire and was now ex-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary.
Williams placed £100 ($132) on a July election at a branch of Ladbrokes in his constituency, days before Sunak’s announcement.
He said last June he had made a “stupid error of judgement for which I apologise.”
Betting ring: Among the others charged are Russell George, a Tory member of the Welsh parliament who represents the same area as Williams previously did, and Laura Saunders, the Conservative candidate for Bristol North West in the election.
Tony Lee, the Conservatives’ campaigns director and who is married to Saunders, was also charged, along with Nick Mason, who was the Tories’ chief data officer at the time, and an ex-policeman called Jeremy Hunt (not to be confused with Sunak’s then Chancellor).
The Commission said the 15 are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on June 13.
In its press release, the Commission said the investigation had focused on “individuals suspected of using confidential information – specifically advanced knowledge of the proposed election date – to gain an unfair advantage in betting markets.”
This constitutes a criminal offence of cheating under section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005.
The Commission noted this was an ongoing criminal matter and was separate to the investigation by the Metropolitan Police that was discontinued.
Shocking and suspenders: A statement from the Conservative Party said “those working in politics must act with integrity.” A spokesperson told Politico that a number of staff members had been suspended as a result of the charges – although officials would not state the number.
+More
Thailand: The Bangkok Post has reported that a special Senate committee tasked with studying the casino-entertainment complex bill is scheduled to hold its first meeting on April 23. Sources told the paper the upcoming meeting will focus on appointing key positions, outlining the study’s framework and selecting a replacement for Senator Premsak Piayura, who has reportedly resigned from the 35-member panel. The study is expected to take 180 days to complete. Recall, the government last week agreed to a delay in the legislation in order to prioritize its response to the tariff situation.
Sweden: Curaçao is the main licensing culprit for black market sites offering into the Swedish market, according to a report from the Swedish regulator. Spelinspektionen said the channelisation rate currently stands at ~86% but that only 5% of total players account for the unlicensed play.
Also in Sweden, the government is set to reduce its take in former monopoly horseracing betting operator ATG. The company will now be majority owned by Svensk Travsport and Svensk Galopp. The government will have a smaller role in ATG and will not be able to nominate board members.
Desert dogs: Austrian slot giant Novomatic has secured a Tier 1 vendor license from the UAE’s gaming regulator, becoming just the sixth company to do so. It’s also only the second machine supplier approved in the country, following Aristocrat.
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Italian betting scandal
Angel with dirty faces: Italian authorities are investigating 12 soccer stars, including Argentine World Cup winner Angel di Maria and USA international Weston McKinnie, for their alleged involvement in illegal online gambling, according to Italian media.
The 10 other stars implicated have been named as Serie A’s Alessandro Florenzi, Nicolo Zaniolo, Mattia Perin, Leandro Paredes, Raoul Bellanova, Samuele Ricci, Cristian Buonaiuto and Matteo Cancellieri, as well as English FL club Leeds United’s Junior Firpo.
The 12 are reported to have used unlicensed platforms to place bets between December 2021 and October 2023 – though there is no accusation that they bet on soccer matches.
There are also allegations that they took part in illegal online poker games.
Chain gang: All allegedly transferred large sums of cash to two individuals running illegal betting websites, who as part of a five-person syndicate based in Milan used high-end jewelry shops as a front for the payments.
Arrested development: According to reports, prosecutors have requested house arrest for those believed to be running the operation, with potential money laundering charges also on the table.
While it is not expected the players will face too harsh a legal penalty, it remains to be seen what sanctions the football authorities will impose.
It wasn’t me: Both Di Maria and Paredes have taken to social media to protest their innocence.
Call collect: The allegations came to light during the investigation that saw Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali and Fiorentina’s Nicolo Fagioli serve bans for breaching Italian gambling laws.
The authorities reportedly uncovered these new names after going through Tonali’s and Fagioli’s phone messages, which suggested the pair weren’t just gambling but acted as ‘gambler collectors,’ for which they received bonuses to their betting accounts.
Health scare
Gaming versus Gambling: Exposure of young people to gambling was one of many topics discussed at a UK parliament Health and Social Care Committee on gambling-related harm last week.
University of Glasgow professor Helen Wardle warned that although loot boxes are the most spoken about, gambling mechanics are now normalised in video games and often embedded.
“You are training this generation that this is the kind of risk you take and this is the kind of reward you might get, and embedding it with no age restrictions into things that are freely available,” she told the committee.
Wardle also pointed to the fact the UK is one of the only countries worldwide that allows its children to use electronic gambling machines.
Young offenders: Throughout the exchange, the witnesses cited different data and research to further emphasise the need for intervention. The committee heard that local estimates suggested a third of children aged 11-16 are using some form of land-based gambling.
Data from 2020 found that up to 20% of children and young people who gamble already have some degree of problem gambling or are at risk of developing it.
Research on esports teams found that 50% had gambling or betting partners and regularly posted content aimed at a younger audience.
The committee acknowledged that further funding and research are required to examine the impact on young people of both advertising and gambling-type mechanisms in video games.
Commercial powerhouse: Wardle urged the committee to consider the complexity of the commercial ecosystem at the intersection of gambling and gaming. She suggested the ecosystem is full of powerful members and corporations with an abundance of data.
“If the alcohol or tobacco industries had real-time instant access to every time you took a sip of alcohol or a cigarette out of a packet, imagine what they might do with that information,” said Wardle.
“There is no other substance that has that commercial power underpinning its provision.”
Regulation? What regulation? The experts argued that the UK’s current regulatory approach to loot boxes and gambling in games is among the weakest, and there is a case for government-led regulation.
Wardle argued that “within these games, the things in loot boxes have immense value to the people who play them.”
“They are not just this digital commodity, and it is not just like a sticker or a toy.”
Longitudinal evidence shows that skin betting among young adults is as risky as online slots. “There is a case for much stronger regulation that... does not rely on self-regulation and voluntary action from the industry.”
Events
Apr 24: The future for the UK gambling sector, London
May 14: Player Protection Symposium, SBC Americas, Fort Lauderdale
Jun 5: Gaming in Holland, Amsterdam
Jun 9-12: IAGA, Berlin
Jun 26: Gaming in Spain, Madrid
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