TLDR The CFTC and U.S. government sued Minnesota over its new prediction market ban, calling it the most aggressive state crackdown yet Minnesota’s SF 4760 makes it a felony to create, operate, or facilitate prediction markets, taking effect Aug. 1, 2026 The CFTC argues the law threatens traditional derivatives markets including weather and crop contracts used by farmers since the 1990s The agency has now filed lawsuits against six states over prediction market restrictions Minnesota also passed a separate law banning political candidates from betting on their own elections Federal Agency Takes Legal Action Against Minnesota’s Prediction Market Law The…
Author: Maisie Morrison
TLDR Evolution AB authorized a €2 billion share buyback program, one of the largest in its history, to reduce share capital and return excess cash to shareholders The company secured a €300 million revolving credit facility with JP Morgan and Citibank Europe as backup liquidity during the repurchase period Under Swedish law, Evolution can repurchase up to 19.9 million shares, roughly 10% of outstanding shares, and may cancel shares to make room for more buybacks The buyback follows a Q1 earnings report showing growth driven by North and Latin America rather than Europe, with 48% of revenue from regulated markets…
TLDR Sportradar is facing a class action lawsuit after its stock fell over 22% in one day following reports linking it to illegal gambling operators. Muddy Waters and Callisto Research both published reports claiming 20–40% of Sportradar’s revenue may come from unlicensed betting markets. Sportradar’s share price dropped from $16.84 to $13.04 on April 22, 2026, after the reports were released. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses the company and executives of securities fraud. Sportradar denies the allegations and says it has a four-level process to ensure it only works…
TLDR Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed SF 2289, giving the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission new tools to pursue unlicensed gambling operators and illegal sweepstakes The law allows regulators to issue cease-and-desist orders and seek injunctions against unlicensed operators, taking effect July 1, 2026 Unlike Indiana, Maine, and Oklahoma, Iowa did not ban sweepstakes casinos outright but instead strengthened existing enforcement authority Oklahoma lawmakers overrode Governor Stitt’s veto to pass SB 1589, which outlaws sweepstakes casinos using dual-currency systems Several other states including Tennessee and Louisiana have pending legislation targeting sweepstakes casinos, while efforts failed in Florida, Maryland, and others…
TLDR Bally’s reported Q1 2026 net revenue of $755.72 million, up 28.3% year-over-year, powered by the Intralot acquisition and digital expansion in the UK and Spain. The company posted a net loss of $161.91 million, more than triple the prior year’s loss, largely due to a $63.4 million debt extinguishment charge and $145.8 million in non-operating hits. Bally’s opened a new $1.1 billion credit facility and completed a $700 million sale-leaseback to push major debt maturities from 2028 to 2031. The $1.7 billion Chicago casino hit a construction milestone with its steel topping out, and Bally’s secured a gaming license…
TLDR North Carolina lawmakers are debating raising the state’s sports betting tax rate from 18% to between 20% and 30% to help plug budget gaps. The state has generated over $287 million in tax revenue since launching legal online sports betting in March 2024. Other states are also hiking taxes on sportsbooks, with Massachusetts pushing a bill to raise its rate from 20% to 51%. The Sports Betting Alliance is running campaigns warning that higher taxes will hurt bettors through worse odds and fewer promotions. Prediction markets like Kalshi are growing fast and operate outside state sportsbook tax structures, giving…
TLDR Spain has opened a public consultation on major changes to its Gambling Regulation Act, running until June 22, 2026 Proposed rules would restrict celebrities and influencers from appearing in gambling ads and promotions Regulators want to limit gambling operators from showing up in organic search results unless the search is directly related to betting Spain is also developing a mandatory algorithm to detect problem gambling early, expected to improve detection by ten percentage points Gambling ads in Spain will soon carry health-style warnings similar to tobacco packaging, including stats like a 75% chance of losing money Spain is taking…
TLDR Turkish authorities arrested 233 people across multiple provinces in coordinated raids targeting illegal sports gambling networks Investigators uncovered over TL 18 billion ($395 million) in illicit transactions linked to unlicensed betting operators A parallel operation in Mersin led to 50 arrests and seizure of luxury cars, apartments, and other assets The Adana investigation led to charges against bank executives, police officers, and lawyers for enabling money laundering Turkey’s financial crimes board froze TL 5.1 billion ($131 million) in accounts tied to illegal gambling operators Coordinated Raids Sweep Across Turkey Turkish law enforcement has launched one of the country’s largest…
TLDR Sporttrade is closing all US sports betting operations, with New Jersey users losing access May 25 and remaining states by June 26 The shutdown comes just three months after Sporttrade applied to the CFTC for approval as a designated contract market Customers in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia have until June 25 to withdraw funds before the platform goes offline Sporttrade had been operating in New Jersey since 2022, predating rival Kalshi’s sports contracts by over two years The company initially tried to work under state gaming regulators before pivoting to the CFTC, but neither path led to a…
TLDR A Wall Street Journal investigation found that over 60% of active UMA voters resolving Polymarket disputes could be linked to Polymarket accounts, raising conflict-of-interest concerns Nine connected Polymarket accounts allegedly made $2.4 million in profits with a 98% win rate betting on Iran-related military events A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier was federally charged for using classified information to place bets on prediction markets The New York Times identified more than 11,000 Polymarket accounts with suspicious betting patterns tied to military and political events Former SEC Chair Jay Clayton questioned whether prediction markets can maintain public confidence without stronger…