SharpRank’s weekly updates on Compliance, Audit, Legislation, Ethics, & Regulation within the Sports Betting Industry.
Topics 6/11/25:
- Illinois Sides with BetMGM in Voiding Bets Over Odds Error
- Rhode Island Senate Moves to End Betting Monopoly, Eyes Multi-Operator Market
- Alberta Enacts Key Parts of New Sports Betting and iGaming Law
- X Taps Polymarket as Official Prediction Market Partner
- Crypto.com Seeks Injunction to Block Nevada Sports Betting Cease-and-Desist
- New York AG Cracks Down on Illegal Gambling, Shuts Down Sweepstakes Casinos
- KSA Warns of Ad Ban Amid New Regulatory Cooperation Push
Illinois Sides with BetMGM in Voiding Bets Over Odds Error
The Illinois Gaming Board dismissed a complaint from Mark Aiello, a Roselle, Illinois veteran, who claimed he was wrongfully denied nearly $389,000 in winnings from four $500 parlays placed on an NBA game, citing BetMGM’s correction of inflated odds from +35,000 to between +1,860 and +3,600 due to a human error in pricing updates; Aiello, whose story gained attention, argued the bets were reviewed and accepted, but gaming consultant Elihu Feustel supported BetMGM’s actions as standard, comparing the error to a bank typo, making the transaction voidable under gaming and contract law.
Rhode Island Senate Moves to End Betting Monopoly, Eyes Multi-Operator Market
The Rhode Island Senate approved SB 748 on June 4 by a 30-2 vote, proposing to replace the exclusive sports betting contract with International Game Technology (IGT) with a competitive bidding process for three to five operators starting in 2026, potentially allowing apps like DraftKings and FanDuel to enter the market; proponents argue this would enhance user experience and boost tax revenue, as Rhode Island’s current $38 per-capita sports betting revenue lags behind states like Massachusetts, but IGT and the Rhode Island Lottery oppose the change, citing strong fiscal returns from the current 51% tax rate and 17% Bally’s host fee, warning that a multi-operator model could reduce state revenue despite higher wagering volumes.
Alberta Enacts Key Parts of New Sports Betting and iGaming Law
On June 4, Alberta’s government proclaimed parts of Bill 48, the iGaming Alberta Act, into force, establishing the legal framework for a competitive online gambling market modeled after Ontario’s, set to launch late 2025 or early 2026 with private-sector operators like DraftKings and FanDuel; the legislation creates the Alberta iGaming Corporation to manage online lottery schemes, including sports betting and casino games, under provincial regulation, aiming to protect consumers and ensure market integrity while replacing the monopoly of the government-owned Play Alberta, with the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis agency designated as the market regulator to oversee responsible gambling standards.
X Taps Polymarket as Official Prediction Market Partner
X, formerly Twitter, announced on June 6, 2025, a partnership with Polymarket, a platform launched in 2020 that allows users to bet on real-world events using cryptocurrency, to launch an integrated product combining Polymarket’s real-time prediction market data with X’s social media insights and Grok’s AI analysis; this collaboration, which follows Polymarket’s 2024 partnerships with Perplexity and Substack, aims to provide contextualized insights to millions of users, with over $8 billion in predictions made on Polymarket in 2024 across politics, current events, and pop culture, marking the first of a planned suite of integrations to enhance user engagement and decision-making.
Crypto.com Seeks Injunction to Block Nevada Sports Betting Cease-and-Desist
Crypto.com, through its derivatives arm, sued the Nevada Gaming Control Board in U.S. District Court on June 3, 2025, challenging a May 20 cease-and-desist order that labeled its sports event contracts as illegal gaming, arguing that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has exclusive jurisdiction under the Commodity Exchange Act, as supported by prior federal rulings in favor of Kalshi; the platform, with 11,900 Nevada users, claims the state’s actions cause market uncertainty and potential user loss, following a similar successful injunction by Kalshi against Nevada, which Crypto.com references extensively in its legal arguments.
New York AG Cracks Down on Illegal Gambling, Shuts Down Sweepstakes Casinos
New York Attorney General Letitia James, in collaboration with the New York State Gaming Commission, issued cease-and-desist letters to 26 online sweepstakes casinos, including Chumba, Luckyland, and Zula Casino, for violating state laws that prohibit gambling with virtual coins redeemable for cash or prizes; these unregulated platforms, which offered slots, table games, and sports betting, lacked audits and consumer protections, posing risks of fraud, financial loss, and gambling addiction, particularly among minors, prompting concerns from officials like Gaming Commission Chairman Brian O’Dwyer and Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., with all targeted operators agreeing to halt sweepstakes coin sales in New York.
KSA Warns of Ad Ban Amid New Regulatory Cooperation Push
At the Gaming in Holland Conference on June 5, 2025, Renske Fikkers of the Netherlands’ Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) outlined the “regulator 2.0” strategy, aiming for a more open and flexible relationship with operators to address industry challenges, while warning that persistent advertising rule breaches could lead to a total gambling ad ban, a measure the KSA currently deems undesirable; the Dutch Lottery and trade body VNLOK called for banks and tech firms to help combat illegal gambling sites, with KSA seeking enhanced powers to blacklist sites, block ads, and restrict payment services, as exemplified by a lawsuit against illegal operator Lalabet.
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