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Illinois: Lawmakers don’t act on governor’s play for gambling regulation merger, citing transparency concerns
Gov. JB Pritzker checked most of the boxes on his legislative agenda by the end of the spring session in the Illinois Capitol, but he didn’t get the gambling regulation revamp he pitched to lawmakers that would’ve taken important decisions on the state’s multibillion-dollar betting industry outside public view. State lawmakers adjourned for the summer without advancing a bill to merge the Illinois Gaming Board with the state Racing Board under a streamlined Department of Gaming Regulation and Enforcement — one that’s not subject to open meetings that are accessible to the public and press.
Read more: Mitchell Armentrout, Chicago Sun-Times
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Regulators need more tools, cooperation to combat illegal gambling sites
Sports Betting Regulators Association CEO Ed Martin admitted the job of regulators involved in policing illegal gambling is tough. “Some of the state regulators are civil regulatory agencies,” Martin said during the SBC Summit Americas session “Crackdown on Unregulated Gaming: Where States Draw the Line.” “They don’t have police powers. Some do, but illegal gaming crosses state lines. The technologies, in terms of the resources for some of the regulators to deal with what they are responsible for dealing with, are adequately funded and equipped, others are not. You’ve got a bunch of individual agencies all trying to do the best they can with what they have, and this is much bigger.”
Read more: Rege Behe, CDC Gaming
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Wall Street Bets: Las Vegas Strip, Churchill Downs, DraftKings, MGM Resorts
Wall Street Bets is a roundup of recent notes from analysts covering the gambling industry.
Truist Securities’ Barry Jonas examined the Las Vegas Strip on June 15: “Last week, we met with Las Vegas Strip and Locals operators along with various industry contacts. Following our recent MGM upgrade and recent M&A, Strip commentary feels more positive, with growth potential of easier comps and all-inclusive pricing improving the ‘value narrative.’ Locals sound generally positive as well, with strong core/regional play while destination play not any worse."
Read more: Rege Behe, CDC Gaming
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Las Vegas business leaders target five industries to break the city’s reliance on tourism
The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance has launched a three-year strategic plan that organizational leadership characterizes as a “regional alignment strategy” with stakeholders and other partners to diversify the local economy. The “North Star” of the plan is to “create a more diversified economy by increasing higher-wage trade-sector industries,” according to a summary shared with the Sun. Trying to get more jobs that diversify the local economy is one thing, but diversifying in the right sectors to bring quality jobs to the market is the real trick, said Danielle Casey, president and CEO of the LVGEA.
Read more: Katie Ann McCarver, Vegas Inc
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Kansas casino revenue hits $39.8 million in May, up 5.5%
Kansas casinos generated $39.8 million in revenue for May, up 5.5% year-over-year. The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission figures show that slots accounted for most of the combined figure with $35.1 million, up 5.4%, while table games generated $4.7 million, up 6.5%. Kansas Star Casino posted the largest revenue for the month, up 8% to $16.3 million, the highest revenue increase of the four casinos. Slots at the casino were up 6.6% to $13.7 million, and table games rose 15.5% to $2.6 million. Hollywood Casino recorded the second-highest revenue for the month, rising 3.6% to $15.5 million.
Read more: Charlotte Capewell, Special to CDC Gaming
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Gamblers lose appeals over $12,500 winnings on sports parlay and blackjack
The Nevada Gaming Control board turned down an appeal by two gamblers who said casinos in separate cases deprived them of what should have been their winnings, totaling $12,500. LaJarrius Hall asked the Board to overturn a decision by a hearing examiner to deny payment of his $8,900 with the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. Hall argued that MGM improperly added a third game to what he intended as a two-team parlay wager in April 2025, causing his bet to be graded as a loss. Hall said that while attempting to make a parlay wager on the San Diego Padres (-165) to beat the Oakland Athletics in Major League Baseball and Florida (-115) to beat Houston in NCAA basketball, the MGM ticket writer at MGM errantly added a wager for the Los Angeles Dodgers (-185) to beat the Washington Nationals in baseball.
Read more: Buck Wargo, CDC Gaming
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Kentucky: Coalition sues to block state’s new 14.25% prediction markets tax
A coalition that includes Kalshi, Crypto.com and Polymarket filed a lawsuit Friday challenging Kentucky’s first-in-the-nation excise tax on prediction markets. The Kentucky General Assembly in April enacted a 14.25% tax on prediction market operators’ transaction fees, a levy the lawsuit says is discriminatory, unconstitutional and preempted by federal law. Prediction markets are platforms where customers can buy, sell or trade event contracts — a form of derivative that allow placing trades based on whether real-world events, such as election results or economic indicators, will or won’t happen.
Read more: The Associated Press
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Missouri: Gambling companies pour campaign money into fight over video lottery bill
Four days after Missouri lawmakers adjourned in May, a company hoping to crack open the state gambling market with video slot machines donated $200,000 to three of the proposal’s biggest boosters in the General Assembly. Conservative Leadership for Southeast Missouri, the political action committee aligned with state Sen. Jason Bean, a Holcomb Republican, received $100,000. Bean is likely to become state Senate president pro tem in 2027. Bean publicly championed the proposal this year, including using Senate floor time in May to showcase support among members expected to return in 2027.
Read more: Rudi Keller, Missouri Independent
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Also in the industry...
New Mexico: CFTC sues state over prediction market regulation
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued New Mexico in a dispute over how sports-related prediction markets are regulated. The suit, filed in the US District Court for the District of New Mexico on 12 June 12, names New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Attorney General Raúl Torrez, and other state officials as defendants.
Read more: Charlotte Capewell, COMPLETE iGAMING
Playtech expands North American reach with FanDuel online poker launch
Playtech has launched its online poker network in North America through FanDuel’s PokerStars. According to Playtech, its poker network will power poker games for FanDuel customers in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ontario. The network is one of Playtech’s longest-running brands and operates in multiple international regulated markets.
Read more: Charlotte Capewell, COMPLETE iGAMING
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MGM’s US$10 billion Japan integrated resort could add US$31 per share in value upon opening in 2030
MGM Resorts International’s Japan integrated resort project could add US$31 per share to the company’s value upon opening in 2030, according to latest analysis by J.P. Morgan, reflecting a modest estimate of US$1.5 billion in annualized EBITDA and over US$600 million in free cash flow. The US$10 billion MGM Osaka could also be worth US$19 per share today on a discounted basis, although the fact that opening is still four years away – beyond many investors’ time horizons – means the stock is unlikely to fully reflect its value anytime soon.
Read more: Ben Blaschke, Inside Asian Gaming
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The Last Word
Edited by Ken Adams
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“While Japan’s demo/macro profile remain a structural concern, we view these as well understood and more than offset by inbound tourism momentum, policy support and Osaka’s regional scale, particularly for what will likely be Japan’s sole integrated resort at opening.”
J.P. Morgan analysts Daniel Politzer, Samuel Nielsen and Michael Hirsh
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