Author: Maisie Morrison

TLDR California Assembly Bill 2617 would block gambling and prediction market ads from targeting minors Operators must verify user ages before granting access, with full requirements kicking in by January 2028 Violations carry penalties of $2,500 each, and minors can seek up to $1 million in civil damages The bill bans paid ads, influencer marketing, and algorithm-driven promotion of gambling to under-18s The Attorney General and city attorneys would gain enforcement powers to bring civil actions against violators California lawmakers have introduced Assembly Bill 2617 to stop online gambling and prediction market platforms from advertising to minors. The bill was…

TLDR Major League Baseball announced a deal with Polymarket as its Official Prediction Market, valued at $150-300 million over three years MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and CFTC Chair Michael Selig signed a memorandum of understanding focused on protecting baseball’s integrity Polymarket gets exclusive access to MLB logos, digital asset placement, and official league data from Sportradar The NHL, MLS, and UFC already have prediction market partnerships, making MLB the largest US sports league to join The NFL and NBA remain without prediction market deals, though both leagues have signaled interest Major League Baseball has struck a deal with Polymarket, making…

TLDR Alberta’s gambling regulator AGLC has banned all political betting including elections and leadership contests ahead of the province’s new online gambling market launch The amendment to Alberta’s Standards and Requirements for Internet Gaming expressly prohibits wagers on political events Alberta’s regulated online gambling market is expected to go live this summer Unlike Ontario, which allows election betting, Alberta is charting its own course with stricter rules and a higher tax rate Prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket continue to offer election betting outside of traditional regulated markets Alberta will not allow election betting when its new regulated online…

TLDR A new experiment tracked 227 Australian gamblers over two weeks and found direct marketing from betting companies leads to heavier gambling and more harm Gamblers who opted out of free bet offers made 23% fewer bets and 39% fewer wagers than those who kept receiving promotions The opt-out group experienced 67% fewer short-term gambling-related harms, including emotional pain tied to gambling Researchers say this is the first real-world study to show direct gambling marketing can causally increase harm, not just correlate with it The findings are fueling calls for stricter advertising rules and could even support a full ban…

TLDR Morgan Stanley forecasts Macau casino GGR to rise 6% in 2026, compared to just 1% growth for Singapore and Las Vegas Macau’s 2025 GGR already hit MOP247.40 billion (US$30.63 billion), up 9.1% year over year Despite revenue growth, Macau EBITDA is expected to rise only 2% due to rising cost pressures Morgan Stanley downgraded its Macau gaming outlook from “attractive” to “in-line” Singapore gaming volumes are expected to rise but EBITDA is projected to decline 1% in 2026 Macau’s casinos are on track to outgrow their competitors in Singapore and Las Vegas this year in terms of gross gaming…

TLDR An Argentine judge has ordered a nationwide block on Polymarket for operating without a gambling licence Google and Apple have been instructed to remove the Polymarket app from their stores in Argentina The investigation found Polymarket allowed rapid account creation with no identity verification or age checks Portugal and the Netherlands have also taken enforcement action against Polymarket in recent months Brazil’s betting regulator said it is monitoring prediction markets after Kalshi launched in the country A Buenos Aires court has ordered a nationwide block on Polymarket, the cryptocurrency-based prediction market platform. The judge ruled the platform was operating…

TLDR Polymarket collected over $11.2 million in trading fees in just 70 days after ditching its zero-fee model Weekly revenue climbed from $560,000 to $1.84 million over the past 10 weeks The platform uses a dynamic fee system that charges more on 50/50 bets and less on lopsided ones Fees have expanded from 15-minute crypto markets to all crypto events and some sports betting Binance estimates suggest Polymarket could generate up to $360 million in annual revenue Prediction market platform Polymarket has pulled in more than $11.2 million in trading fees over the past 70 days. The milestone comes after…

TLDR Arizona became the first state to file criminal charges against prediction market platform Kalshi, accusing it of running an illegal gambling operation The 20-count criminal case includes charges for election wagering on the 2028 presidential race and 2026 Arizona races A federal judge denied Kalshi’s emergency restraining order and questioned whether his court should even hear Kalshi’s federal lawsuit Kalshi called the charges “seriously flawed” and “gamesmanship,” saying they were timed to dodge federal court review CFTC Chairman Mike Selig called the criminal charges “entirely inappropriate” and said the agency is evaluating its options Arizona has become the first…

TLDR Portugal’s online gambling market generated €337.6 million in gross revenue in Q4 2025, up 4.5% year-over-year and 13.6% quarter-over-quarter. Casino games drove €214 million in revenue, up nearly 16% from last year, making up over 63% of total market revenue. Sports betting revenue fell about 10% to €123.6 million despite a 7% increase in total betting volume. Players wagered €5.9 billion during the quarter, with slots accounting for over 80% of all bets placed. The regulator blocked 116 unlicensed websites and reported over 361,000 self-exclusion requests by year-end. Portugal’s online gambling market closed out 2025 on a high note.…

TLDR Polymarket bettors sent death threats to a military reporter, demanding he change his coverage of an Iranian missile strike on Israel to help them win bets from a $14 million prediction pool The reporter refused to alter his story and filed a police report, handing all threat messages to authorities U.S. lawmakers introduced the Death Bets Act to ban prediction markets involving war, assassinations, and human fatalities Polymarket banned the threatening users and removed a market asking users to bet on a nuclear weapon detonation Despite the controversy, Kalshi processed over $10 billion and Polymarket nearly $8 billion in…