‘Officially. Finally’
Kalshi gets the go-ahead to begin election betting trading
Appeal court rules against CFTC, gives the all-clear to Kalshi.
Connecticut sent a cease and desist letter to VGW in February.
Brazil: 89 operators apply for transitional permission to operate.
Disgraced former Jags employee makes FanDuel claim.
Finally it has happened to me, right in front of my face.
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Legal at last
The wait is over: Kalshi founder and CEO Tarek Mansour hailed the decision by a US federal appeals court on Wednesday to permit his company to offer election betting markets, saying “Kalshi prevails.”
Mansour posted on X: “US presidential election markets are legal. Officially. Finally.”
In a 3-0 vote, the court ruled the Commodity Futures Trading Commission emergency motion for stay be “denied without prejudice,” adding that the CFTC had failed to prove how the public interest would be harmed by event contracts.
The court agreed that ensuring the integrity of elections and “avoiding improper interference and misinformation are undoubtedly paramount public interests.”
But it said the “problem is the CFTC has given this court no concrete basis to conclude that event contracts would likely be a vehicle for such harms.”
The CFTC did not provide any comment after the verdict.
Hokey pokey: Kalshi’s long-running battle to get the authorities to recognize election contracts as a valid exercise looked to have finally been won in early September.
At that point, a federal judge initially struck down the CFTC’s order to stop Kalshi from offering markets on the presidential election.
However, the CFTC immediately appealed and put Kalshi’s celebrations on ice.
Now Kalshi will be able to offer markets ahead of the US elections on November 5.
On social: Wake up! No, seriously, wake up!
The case against election betting: “There is a steady drumbeat of clamoring from those who want to be able to put money on any uncertain event and who dubiously claim that there is a social benefit in doing so,” wrote the FT this week.
In the line of fire: Meanwhile, blockchain-based and offshore prediction market Polymarket has faced criticism this week after posting a selection of a dozen markets related to Israel’s action against Hezbollah.
A screenshot of the 12 markets, including whether Israel will invade Lebanon, if there will be a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, and what the odds are that the US military will strike against Iran was posted earlier this week on X.
Subsequent posts suggested the existence of such markets makes conflict “look like a football game.” But Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin responded that he supported the idea of such prediction markets.
“It’s not about ‘making money from bad stuff happening’; it’s about creating an environment where speech has consequences,” he posted.
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Ireland: The proposed Gambling Regulation Bill has moved one step closer to approval after a debate in the Seanad last week. Final statements in the Dáil are now expected to occur next, which is the final step before it gets the nod from President Michael Higgins.
Paraguay: The country’s Senate has postponed all reviews related to amending or modifying existing gambling laws. The Senate’s Constitutional Affairs Committee had been assigned to review a ‘project proposal’ for gambling amendments.
In 2023, regulator Conajzar came under scrutiny for a botched tender of a federal sports-betting franchise.
Playtech and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas have established a multi-year partnership giving the university access to Playtech’s AI and machine learning to promote safe and responsible gambling.
Commercial
A digital identity company specializing in regulated markets called Flow ID has announced the launch of its new embedded identity verification, which will allow gaming companies to integrate its solution directly into a native app environment.
Mindway AI has announced an official partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) enabling it to leverage AWS's extensive global network of sales professionals, advanced cloud infrastructure and comprehensive security validation for its flagship products, GameScanner and Gamalyze.
Compliance Manager – São Paulo
Responsible Gaming Manager – Malta
Connecticut sweeps move
Stop that: Another cease and desist letter issued to sweepstakes operator VGW – the company behind Chumba and other brands – has come to light, this time from the Department of Consumer Protection in Connecticut and dated February 9 this year.
As posted on X by lawyer Daniel Wallach, the letter stated the department had “become aware” that VGW was “conducting unlicensed online gambling.”
It went on to say that VGW’s “actions are in violation” of the state’s general statutes.
“The department, therefore, orders VGW to cease and desist advertising and offering its games and services” to Connecticut consumers.
Threat level: Noting Connecticut has regulated online gambling, the letter said VGW “does not possess an online gaming license,” adding that a failure to comply with the order “may result in additional action including, but not limited to, civil penalties.”
Three is the magic number: The Connecticut letter is the third such cease and desist notice aimed at VGW that has come to light. It follows similar moves by Michigan, which sent a letter in January, and in Delaware where a letter became known in August but was apparently sent in 2023.
Compliance+More reached out to VGW for comment but didn’t receive a response.
Brazilian continuation
Keep on moving, don’t stop now: The government has announced that 89 operators successfully applied to be allowed to continue operations in the transition period before the market fully opens in January.
Recall, a total of 113 operators hit the deadline for licenses at the end of October.
Now, only those that are already in operation have been given the OK to keep the lights on until January.
Listicle: The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) list includes all the big names currently in operation in Brazil such as Betano, bet365, Superbet and Pixbet. Each of the 89 is allowed up to three skins.
However, SBC Noticias has reported that three operators failed to appear on the list in error. It is believed Esportes da Sorte, VaideBet and Reals Bet will be added in the coming days.
I’ll tell you what I want: The new list comes after finance minister Fernando Haddad met with broadcasters and media representatives to discuss what the government wants in terms of gambling advertising during the transition period.
The government plans to see all operators that have not applied for a license to be banned from advertising to Brazilian consumers.
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FanDuel claim
Hail Mary: A former NFL team employee who stole $22m from the franchise is suing FanDuel for $250m in damages, claiming the operator failed to follow its own responsible gaming and anti-money laundering policies, according to The Athletic.
Amit Patel previously worked within the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise and received a six-and-a-half year sentence for wire fraud.
He claims FanDuel and its employees offered incentives to keep Patel gambling despite knowing he had a gambling addiction.
Additionally, Patel claims a VIP host, Brett Krause, waived financial checks and contacted him on his personal cell phone, violating FanDuel’s policies.
The vast majority of the $22m Patel stole were gambling losses, his lawyer told The Athletic. Patel had placed bets on football and DFS with a variety of online gambling sites.
Predatory: In the lawsuit, filed in a US district court in the Southern District of New York, Patel alleged that FanDuel engaged in predatory practices “by using its information about his addiction to target him for enticements including well over a million dollars in FanDuel credits and lavish gifts to ensure that he deposit money and gamble.”
He alleged that FanDuel circumvented its own KYC, AML and customer due diligence standards and requirements to allow him to make deposits and wagers.
Patel also alleged that FanDuel conspired to circumvent its policies to allow him to continue to make deposits with the sportsbook.
He said he was notified that some of his transactions were flagged as suspicious in 2023.
And added that Krause told him he would have to verify the source of the funds being added to his account.
Heading to G2E?
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Book a meeting at G2E to discover how Xpoint can power your geolocation strategy for success in new and existing markets: Meet us at G2E
Events calendar
Event highlight: GGL co-chair Ronald Benter will be the headline speaker at the 2024 Gaming in Germany Conference on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at the five-star Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin. In addition to the main stage program, the event will feature several highly practical breakout sessions on topics such as KYC, AML, limit increase and marketing compliance.
Oct 7-10: G2E, Las Vegas
Nov 5: Gaming in Germany, Berlin
Dec 2-4: Thai Entertainment Complex Summit, Bangkok
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