Turning hostile
New Jersey ups ante with sweeps ban
NJ’s Calabrese switches from regulating to banning sweeps.
State-by-state: Mississippi OSB attempt still alive.
Brazil proposes sports-betting ad ban.
The UK: BGC CEO rails at anti-gambling lobby.
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Swept aside
Turning up the heat: A new bill in the New Jersey Legislature aims to ban sweepstakes casinos outright, marking a shift from previous efforts to regulate the sector.
Assembly Bill 5447, sponsored by Rep. Clinton Calabrese, would prohibit sweepstakes platforms that allow users to purchase virtual currency redeemable for cash prizes.
Switcheroo: Earlier proposals by Calabrese to regulate rather than ban the industry have been ditched in favour of a total ban and accompanying criminal charges.
New penalties for unlicensed gambling operators and practices would be drawn up, with the Division of Consumer Affairs and the Division of Gaming Enforcement handed enforcement powers.
Reckless and feelin’ no pain: The Social and Promotional Games Association has slammed the bill as “reckless”, arguing it contradicts New Jersey’s leadership in gaming regulation and blocks an opportunity for oversight, taxation and consumer protections.
It called the legislation “shortsighted” and noted Calabrese’s contradictory actions.
The sector has faced heavy opposition from traditional casino groups, which have accused operators of illegally offering gambling, and several regulators that have attempted to shut down sweepstakes via legal tools.
Private lawsuits and regulatory actions have so far failed to shut down sweepstakes casinos, with many cases stalling in court over legal technicalities.
No court has yet given a definitive ruling on key issues, such as arbitration agreements, jurisdictional questions and the legal standing of plaintiffs.
Hail Mary: Meanwhile, the news from Maryland is the bill banning online sweepstakes has passed the state Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.
The bill is set to undergo a third hearing in the state Senate, with the companion House bill receiving a hearing on Tuesday.
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State-by-state
It’s alive! The Mississippi state House has once more sent OSB-enabling legislation back to the state Senate after a previous iteration of an OSB bill died in a Senate committee last week, according to local media. Language from the previous bill was added to already-approved Senate bills by the House on Tuesday. The Senate has until March 21 to either approve the bills or work out a final compromise between the House and Senate.
Rhode Island: The state Senate is considering a bill that would open the sports-betting market in Rhode Island to multiple operators. The bill is currently under review by the Senate Labor and Gaming Committee and would end IGT’s sports-betting monopoly in 2026 when its current contract expires.
Texas: A companion bill for sports-betting legislation in the state House was introduced to the state Senate. The bill proposes an amendment to the Texas constitution to legalize sports betting and would allow sports teams and organizations to apply for licenses. However, reports suggested a caucus of 12 freshmen House Republicans has said it will oppose “any attempt” to expand gambling.
Nebraska: A public hearing on the bill proposing a constitutional amendment to allow a referendum on enabling OSB in Nebraska was held earlier this week, according to local media. The hearing was conducted by the legislature’s general affairs committee.
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Italy: Flutter’s plans to bid for the main Italian lottery license through its Sisal unit have come under fire from anti-gambling organizations in the country, according to The Irish Times. The paper said the company is planning to bid in partnership with the Brookfield-owned Scientific Games, but its stated intention to use the lottery to cross-sell other gaming products has drawn criticism.
Thai me up, Thai me down: Earlier this week, the Thai casino IR bill was scheduled to go before the cabinet in order to finalize the details around the legalisation of casino-based gaming within the country. However, the discussion was curtailed when Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the cabinet needed more time to evaluate the bill. He told local media the details of the bill must be carefully reviewed and any decision on it should not be rushed.
Ghana: The West African country’s Institute of Economic Affairs has raised concerns over the government’s plan to scrap the 10% betting tax as part of its budget and as one of the initiatives to eliminate various taxes in the country. The Institute noted the betting tax is key to both revenue generation and as a problem gambling deterrent tool, and has proposed to cut the betting tax to 5% rather than fully eliminating it.
France: Nicolas Béraud, CEO at Betclic, has been re-elected as president of the French Online Gaming Association or AFJEL. At the trade association’s General Assembly, Béraud was unanimously chosen to again lead it, with Winamax founder Alexandre Roos appointed director and vice-president. “Now strengthened by the arrival of Winamax, AFJEL is the only professional association to represent online gaming tech companies,” Béraud said.
New Zealand: Offshore operators are expected to make up the majority of licensed operators under New Zealand’s new regulated online gaming market, according to Internal Affairs minister Brooke van Velden. New Zealand plans to launch its regulated online gaming market in February 2026 and will hold a bidding process for up to 15 licenses. Both SkyCity Entertainment and TAB have called for the prioritizing of home-based operators in the bidding process.
The Netherlands: The Dutch Gaming Authority has found that betting tipping platform Analyse Master, which majorly uses Telegram to broadcast to consumers, did not violate any specific regulations, but it has warned the company over its future conduct. The KSA said it was “concerned about the nature and success of the platform, as many young adults use it and they are more susceptible to gambling addiction.”
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Advertising threat
Turn-off: A proposal to ban sports-betting advertising has been introduced into the Brazilian Senate and will be discussed at an as yet unannounced date. The measure put forward by Sen. Styvenson Valentim cited concerns around exposing young people and the potential for them to develop gambling addictions.
“This proposal is justified in view of the sudden change in the profile of bettors, which is now mostly made up of young people,” Valentim claimed.
No influence: Alongside an ad ban, the bill would also seek to outlaw endorsements by celebrities, digital influencers or anyone capable of influencing the behavior of a significant number of people.
In preliminary discussions held yesterday, Valentim stated that, given the economic power accumulated by betting companies, the legislature must act to establish limits on the activity.
Parallel lines: Another senator, Carlos Portinho, drew a parallel with the situation previously faced by the authorities with bingo halls, which “due to a lack of stricter regulation, became a negative environment that encouraged gambling addiction and money laundering.”
“We have also seen, during the CPI on Match-Fixing, the damage that betting has brought to sports,” Portinho added.
“So we need to debate this because the current regulation has not proven effective.”
Another fine mess: Sen. Sérgio Petecão, meanwhile, mentioned the rise in gambling addiction cases, adding lawmakers “cannot say that everything is fine.”
“It is not fine; we have a problem,” he said. “We need to bring all relevant institutions into this discussion.”
Pick and choose: There was some support for the sector, however, with Sen. Leila Barros pointing to the importance of the investment made by betting companies in Brazilian sports.
“When people say that sports have chosen betting, it is not that simple,” she added.
“Some have chosen it, while for others it is a matter of survival. We need to maintain balance in this debate, understanding both the harm and the partnership between sports and betting companies.”
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Fight back
You can lead a horse to water: In stark contrast to the constructive approach taken by the minister with responsibility for gambling, Baroness Twycross, Grainne Hurst, CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council, has hit out at the “misguided convictions” of the anti-gambling lobby.
Notably, given this is Cheltenham Festival week, Hurst said via an article on the PoliticsHome website that gambling’s contribution to the economy is “under threat on a number of fronts.”
The zeal deal: She said gambling’s opponents have “embarked on a prohibitionist crusade, which has infiltrated the minds of public health zealots and even some in our political world.”
Ronald McDonald: Highlighting her concerns, Hurst pointed to the comments from an unnamed MP from a racing constituency who had stated “gambling is not symbiotic with sport” and that he felt he should take a “nuanced position.”
She cited the comments that the government “no longer allows fast-food companies to align themselves with sport, and we should treat gambling companies in precisely the same way.”
Hurst went on to say this point of view was wrongheaded. “For the avoidance of doubt, racing and betting are completely symbiotic,” she wrote.
Hurst noted racing is “directly funded” by BGC members, who annually pour £350m into the sport via sponsorship, media rights and the levy.
“It’s punters pumping millions into racing and Cheltenham, and it’s not a good look for anyone to patronise them with “nuanced” positions,” she added.
Conference alert
The Leaders in Compliance Conference taking place in Frankfurt on May 8-9 has announced its first raft of speakers. Put together by the team behind Gaming in Europe, the two-day event being held at the Hilton Frankfurt Airport aims to offer compliance professionals in the space a knowledge- and networking-filled program.
Among the initial speakers are Ewout Keuleers, general counsel at Unibet; Dr. Birgit Bosch, director of group compliance at Tipico; Maarten Haijer, secretary general of the European Gaming & Betting Association; Jochen Biewer, CEO at Chevron Consultants; Adam Parkinson from VIXIO Regulatory Intelligence; and Rasmus Kjaergaard, CEO at Mindway AI.
The conference will consist of over 40 sessions covering a wide range of compliance-related topics, including licensing, KYC, AML, marketing compliance, AI, ESG, re-regulating markets and much more.
Anyone wishing to know more should visit leadersincompliance.com and early bird registration is now open.
Events
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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