THE AGENDA
BY ROGER GROS, PUBLISHER EMERITUS
Existential Threat
The war on illegal sweepstakes casinos is going well. At least seven states in the U. S. have passed or are considering passing legislation banning sweepstakes casinos.
The attorneys general in other states have issued“ cease and desist” orders that are actually being obeyed. The American Gaming Association has sweepstakes casinos in its crosshairs, and is encouraging not only state but federal action as well.
But while that was happening, prediction markets have slid under the radar, and according to these exchange markets, they are legal in all 50 states. We really began to notice prediction markets in the runup to the 2024 elections in the U. S. You can’ t legally bet on elections on any U. S. sportsbook or even the sweepstakes casinos, but the exchange sites that take prediction bets were openly taking wagers on Trump vs. Harris and encouraging these kinds of bets in public places, like billboards on the Las Vegas Strip.
Being in the business, I opened up accounts in almost all operational legal iGaming sites in New Jersey, where I live during the summer. I don’ t have that option in Nevada, where I live for the balance of the year, because online gaming is not legal in that state. But according to the exchanges, they are legal.
So what the heck, in Nevada last month I signed up for the leading exchange site, Kalshi, and five minutes later I was placing bets, or more accurately I was creating a financial instrument that would pay off if I was correct.
Now, signing up for legal online betting usually takes at least 20 minutes. You must provide a form of identification, swear that you are located in the state where you are betting, download a geolocation app just to be sure, and figure out how to make a deposit.
For sweepstakes casinos, it’ s even more complicated because in addition to the ID and geolocation, you have to figure out how to transition from gold coins to sweepstakes coins and back again. And God forbid you want to withdraw. That takes days to get money that you are entitled to— at least according to the sweepstakes site.
The ease with which I could sign up for Kalshi surprised me. And then when you want to sign in, there’ s no two-factor process. Just punch in your phone passcode and you’ re in. The range of financial instruments you can purchase is indeed impressive.
You can bet on politics— who will Trump pardon in his first 100 days?— sports— not as wide a variety of bets as a real sportsbook, but general things like who will win the NBA title— the weather— what will the high temperature be in New York City tomorrow?— financial data— what will be the U. S. GDP growth in Q1?— entertainment— what song will sit atop the Billboard Top 200 on March 15?— and many more.
As I’ m writing this, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Kalshi. It’ s unclear what Kalshi will do, but Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour, in a post on LinkedIn, said the company was“ disappointed” in the Nevada order, stressing that the company has jumped through multiple regulatory hoops over the past three years to be certain that the product is legal and regulated.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a quasi-government agency, oversees these kinds of financial instruments, and initially turned down Kalshi’ s plans for sports betting and prediction instruments, but later relented.
“ But the fight wasn’ t done,” Mansour wrote on LinkedIn.“ Our next step was the election market. After years of engaging with the CFTC, they rejected it. Again, we stayed true to our principle: instead of going around regulations or going offshore, we decided to ask federal courts to weigh in. The courts sided with us because we were right on the law. We freed prediction markets, took them mainstream, and won big.”
So I have a different view of Kalshi and similar sites than I do with sweepstakes casinos.
Sweepstakes casinos use legal trickery to get around the law, while prediction companies claim to be regulated like any other financial institution would be. But the truth is they are not regulated the same way legal online casinos are. They have no licenses, no KYC, no RG programs. So where do we go from here?
Vol. 24 • No. 4 • APRIL 2025
Frank Legato, Editor-in-Chief flegato @ ggbmagazine. com
Robin Harrison, Publisher robin. harrison-millan @ clariongaming. com
Roger Gros, Publisher Emeritus rgros @ ggbmagazine. com
Jess Marquez, Managing Editor jmarquez @ ggbmagazine. com
Gary Rotstein, Copy Chief gary. rotstein @ clarionevents. com
Monica Cooley, Art Director mcooley @ ggbmagazine. com
Terri Brady, Sales & Marketing Director tbrady @ ggbmagazine. com
Columnists Chris Cylke | Frank Fantini
Contributing Editors Kevin Dennis | Kyle Goldsmith | Marjorie Preston Bill Sokolic | Kathy Urban ______________
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Rino Armeni, President, Armeni Enterprises
•
Dike Bacon, Principal / Partner, HBG Design
• Lauren Bates, President, Global Gaming Women
• Mark A. Birtha, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Hard Rock International
•
Brendan Bussmann, Principal, BGlobal Advisors
• Alex Dixon, CEO, Resorts World Las Vegas
• Daron Dorsey, Executive Director, Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers
•
Sally Gainsbury, Director at Gambling Treatment & Research Clinic & Professor of Psychology, University of Sydney
• Stephen Martino, Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, MGM Resorts International
•
Bill Miller, President and CEO, American Gaming Association
• Walt Power, CEO, Grand Ho Tram
• Rob Russell, Senior Gaming Analyst, Regulatory Management Counselors PC
•
James Siva, Chairman, California Nations Indian Gaming Association / Vice Chairman, Morongo Band of Mission Indians
•
Michael Soll, President, The Innovation Group
• Kresimir Spajic, Chief Executive Officer, Betfred Sportsbook
• Katherine Spilde, Executive Director, Sycuan Gaming Institute, San Diego State University——————
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The views and opinions expressed by the writers and columnists of GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS are not necessarily the views of the publisher or editor.
Copyright 2025 Clarion Digital Media LLC
GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS is published monthly by Clarion Gaming International, LLC. Printed in Nevada, USA. Email: subscriptions @ ggbmagazine. com
Official Publication
4 Global Gaming Business APRIL 2025