N’Oklahoma
The governor and the tribes are too far apart on sports betting
The tribes are unwilling to come back to the table to discuss Stitt’s plan.
In +More: Star’s pokie meltdown.
Take the cash: Casino bribe leads to jail for Indiana representative.
Brazil reveals AML standards.
Netherlands threatens €1m penalty for role model breach.
You always wind up here in a puddle of tears.
Not happening (probably)
We just disagree: Oklahoma’s governor and the state’s tribes are too far apart on plans to push sports betting for any agreement to materialize, a senior gaming official has said.
A public charm offensive by Governor Kevin Stitt to legalize sports betting during the last session fell flat and, according to Matthew Morgan, Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association chair, there is no desire from the tribes to return to the table.
“Any discussion of sports betting really never left the ground after that because there was just too much posturing, too much disagreement on how the industry worked,” Morgan told the Oklahoma Voice.
In echoes of the fate that befell efforts in California, Morgan said the tribe’s 25-strong members hadn’t felt any “real outreach” or intent from state leaders to strike a deal.
“I would also tell you, though, that from our perspective, we’ve not really seen the state legislature or the Governor’s Office have an appetite for sports betting to date,” Morgan added.
No particular place to go: Tribal leaders may be open to doing a deal within the framework of their existing agreements, Morgan said, but they have no interest in signing a new compact. Sports betting is viewed as a low-profit margin business, he added, which isn’t stirring any appetites.
Last November, Stitt appeared to blindside both the tribes and the state’s legislators with his own plan to legalize sports betting, only to be immediately shut down.
Tribal leaders said they were never consulted and, despite the proposals containing exclusivity rights for the tribes to offer in-person betting, vendors could also buy their way to the table. An attempt by Stitt to renegotiate was also tanked amid bad blood.
So you’re saying there’s a chance: Stitt did have some support within the legislature, but not enough to make a difference. Jay Finks, Oklahoma Lottery Commission executive director, said he believes a “hard-core” competitive market will spring up between companies such as DraftKings or FanDuel in Oklahoma due to the nature of the tribe’s dominance.
One man in Stitt’s corner is Senator Bill Coleman, who previously authored a bill that would allow for sports betting in the Sooner State.
“I live around the state of Kansas, and I can see money leaving the state of Oklahoma to Kansas, where sports betting is legal,” Coleman told media.
He believes the struggle will take “two to three years” before approval. “You’ve got the governor, you’ve got the tribes, you’ve got the legislature, you’ve got plenty of people that are giving input, and it just takes time to get everybody to get on the same page,” Coleman said.
However, he also said he has a “gut feeling” that sports betting could be legal within a year, as there are plans to bring proposals back in a near future session.
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+More
The fault in our stars: An upgrade glitch has shut down all of The Star’s pokie machines. The group said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange that the meltdown occurred as the operator was attempting a move to cashless gaming. It said it was working with external provider Konami to restore service.
The Star said it made the decision to switch off pokies on Saturday after post-upgrade testing uncovered “system performance issues.”
All electronic gaming machines and electronic table games across The Star's three venues in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast were hit.
The beleaguered group recently appointed a new CEO and managing director to help the business recover from numerous regulatory flubs.
Ohio: The legalization of iCasino and iLottery products has been proposed in a letter co-authored by three state House representatives. The letter, which was submitted Friday, was included in a study commission report on the future of gaming in the state. The commission found iCasino could raise $500m-$650m in taxes annually.
Denmark: The Danish Gambling Authority has updated its certification programme for betting and online casino ahead of a new supplier license regime entering force on January 1. The purpose with the update is to make it clearer which requirements license holders and game suppliers respectively must comply with as of next year.
Indiana bribery case
Hard way to make an easy living: A former Indiana lawmaker who took bribes from a casino in exchange for promises of a job has been jailed for one year and one day by a federal judge. Sean Eberhart pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit fraud and agreed to pay $60k in restitution, about what he earned in a year in office.
Although he faced five years, prosecutors recommended leniency as part of the plea deal.
The Republican represented central Indiana’s House District 57 for 16 years before he left office in November 2022 and was a member of the Committee on Public Policy, which oversees casinos and gambling in the state.
A court heard how in 2018, Spectacle Entertainment wanted to buy two casinos near Lake Michigan and relocate them to downtown Gary and to Vigo County in western Indiana. The move was approved by law a year later.
Eberhart was accused of using his position to illegally lobby on behalf of Spectacle – since rebranded Lady Luck Gaming – and push for tax breaks, in exchange for a future job with a salary of at least $350k annually.
All my fault: As reported by the Indiana Capital Chronicle, Eberhart apologized for his act of greed, and his actions were cited by Indiana lawmakers as one of the major reasons the state’s online bill died earlier this year.
Last November, Indiana Senate president pro tempore Rodric Bay said the scandal of bribery cast by Eberhart “taints the Statehouse.”
House speaker Todd Huston agreed that Eberhart’s actions torpedoed any chance of online casino legislation making it into the 2024 legislature.
Two lonely people together: The case also isn’t Spectacle’s first rodeo with US federal regulators. In 2022, the casino’s general counsel John Keeler and former Indiana state Senator Brent Waltz were both charged for illegally pumping gambling money into the lawmaker’s failed 2016 bid for congress. A 16-year Republican lawmaker, Keeler was sentenced to two months in federal prison and fined $55k.
The Indiana Gaming Commission revoked Spectacle officials’ ownership stakes in the Gary and Terre Haute casino projects following Keeler and Waltz’s indictments.
Waltz, also a Republican, was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for his part in funneling about $40k in illegal contributions to his campaign and lying to the FBI.
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Brazilian AML
You gotta do this: Brazil’s finance ministry has laid out the anti-money laundering requirements operators must comply with in order to serve the legal market as of January 2025. The rules are in line with international AML standards, including those around politically exposed persons.
Operators and agents must have clear policies for identifying and grouping customers based on their risk profiles.
They must also be able to assess whether a punter is betting within their means by carrying out loose financial checks.
All suspicious transactions must be reported to Brazil’s dirty money watchdog.
Begin again: Brazil wants to close its unregulated market by January 1, 2025, with a new licensed regime entering force, which it hopes will reap a tax windfall and help reduce its sizable economic debts.
Any unlicensed operator still active in the country will face stiff penalties.
License applicants will be required to have HQ, admin and customer service systems located within Brazil, with subsidiaries of foreign companies obligated to have a Brazilian holding of at least 20% of their capital share.
Only Superbet and Betano have officially lodged applications so far, with the window closing in August.
Dutch ire
Jumpin’ Jack smash: A major racing event in the Netherlands has caught the ire of regulators, who said they will punish the gambling operator sponsoring the event for marketing it with celebrities.
JOI and pain: JOI Gaming, which owns JACKS, has been threatened with a €1m fine for breaching the country’s ‘role model’ rule, which forbids the use of famous faces in gambling advertising.
The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), said last year’s JACK’s Racing Day event featured celebrities and other known individuals posing with models and signing merchandise bearing the gambling operator’s logo.
Pictures from the day appeared online, prompting an angry response from the regulator.
“These posts were still available when the order was imposed,” KSA said. “If JOI Gaming does not remove these statements immediately, the company must pay a penalty of €50,000 per day.”
Hit the road, Jack: A repeat of the violation around future events, the next scheduled for August, will trigger a penalty of more than €200k per day up to €1m, the regulator stated.
“To protect vulnerable groups such as young people and risk and problem gamblers, strict rules apply to the use of role models for gambling advertising,” KSA said.
“Role models include celebrities, (former) professional footballers, influencers and models. The use of role models is prohibited for high-risk gambling, such as casinos and online gambling.”
Calendar
Jul 17-20: National Council of Legislators from Gaming States, Pittsburgh
Sep 24: Player Protection, SBC Summit, Lisbon
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