Massachusetts, Mississippi, and Virginia lawmakers fail to advance online gaming measures
The first Friday of March Madness may be one of the least productive workdays of the year, but don’t expect Gambling Insider’s Bingos & Busts to take the day off.
Especially since we’re just in our second week.
It was another busy week in gambling. Not only did the NCAA Tournaments tip off, but we also saw several state legislatures wind down their sessions with decisions on gambling bills.
Here’s a look at some of the good and some of the not-so-good.
BINGO: March Madness Never Disappoints
The first afternoon of NCAA play Thursday saw several double-digit seeds post upsets and bust brackets across the country.
Speaking of brackets, Kalshi garnered some attention for its free-to-play $1 Billion Perfect Bracket Challenge. Going 63-0 is next to impossible, but the entrant with the best bracket will walk away with $1 million, and the prediction market operator also announced a sizeable contribution for charity and scholarships.
That’s good.
BUST: Kalshi’s Tarek Mansour Goes Too Far
We can lavish praise and also wrap knuckles at the same time.
Late Thursday morning, Kalshi’s co-founder and CEO gave one final pitch on X to get people to enter, and well…
It’s one thing to offer $1 billion for something that’s harder than hitting the Powerball, but to say you owe it to your grandkids is a bit much. Several responses called him out for his over-the-top pitch.
It’s also the kind of comment that won’t help Kalshi win over people who are skeptical of prediction markets.
BINGO: MLB inks deals with Polymarket, CFTC
Whether or not it’s a tipping point remains to be seen, but Thursday’s news that Major League Baseball signed a massive partnership deal with Polymarket and reached an agreement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on safeguarding games is significant.
Prediction markets are going to be around for some time, even if states win injunctions in court. It’s good to see MLB take a proactive approach.
BUST: Online sports betting, iGaming measures fail
This week saw Mississippi once again punt on allowing online sports betting, giving a win to smaller independent casinos that have fought against the proposed expansion for years.
In addition, lawmakers in Virginia could not reconcile differences to move forward with a measure to legalize online casino gaming. Similarly, lawmakers in Massachusetts chose to punt the subject until next year.
Meanwhile, bettors in those states will continue to use offshore operators, and those states will continue to miss out on tax revenue.
There are still chances Wisconsin and Minnesota will legalize online sports betting, and Maryland could join Maine and move forward with iGaming.
BUST: Legal battle between Churchill Downs and HISA bad for horse racing
The Road to the Kentucky Derby has included stops at Gulfstream Park, Fair Grounds, Aqueduct, Santa Anita and Oaklawn Park. However, in recent years, there have been stops in the U.S District Court regarding the nation’s biggest race.
After winning court cases against trainer Bob Baffert, Churchill Downs is back in court again. This time, the Louisville-based gaming company is taking the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to court over fees the national regulator seeks from Churchill’s tracks.
Earlier this week, a HISA tribunal ordered Churchill to pay nearly $5.3 million to cover fees for its namesake track and three others it owns. Two days later, the two sides argued in a Louisville courtroom, with Churchill Downs indicating it may seek a stay from the court if it can’t resolve the issue with the authority.
If the fees are not paid, HISA could keep Churchill from running its spring meet or barring its races from being available for out-of-state simulcasting.
It may not impact this year’s Kentucky Derby, which is just six weeks away, but it could have major ramifications for the future of the sport.
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