It’s been another hectic week in the gambling industry. Here are some names, entities and verticals that made the headlines.
The Final Four is set for this weekend in Indianapolis, signaling a start to a bit of a lull in the sports calendar. Sure, The Masters is on tap next week and the NBA and NHL playoffs are about to begin, but it’ll be several months until football-driven handle picks back up for sportsbooks.
The gambling industry as a whole knows no such lull, especially during these turbulent times. With the news cycle as busy as ever, here are some good and not-so-good developments from the past week.
Bingo: Kentucky Tweaks Gambling Regulations
A bill sent to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk makes progressive and reasonable changes to the state’s gambling laws, including raising the minimum age from 18 to the more national standard of 21, banning ‘under’ bets on in-state college players, green-lighting fixed-odds horse racing, and prohibiting operators from offering prediction markets within the state. There’s still some confusion about the prediction markets provision, but the scaled-back version allows the largest operators to continue doing business in the state.
Bust: New York Proposal Misses the Mark
We applaud well-intentioned efforts to create a safer gambling industry, but the measures proposed by the New York State Gaming Commission at the urging of Gov. Kathy Hochul – which include arbitrary deposit limits, quick triggers on gambling patterns that don’t necessarily indicate a problem, and biometric requirements for age verification – are overreaching, far too broad and nearly impossible to enforce.
Bingo: Las Vegas Lands Second Super Bowl
For decades a bane of professional leagues, Las Vegas was announced this week as the site of the 2029 Super Bowl, marking the second time the city will host the most marquee event in all of US sports. Meanwhile, the NBA is evaluating Sin City as the home for a potential expansion team, and with the A’s moving into their new digs on the Strip in 2028 and the Golden Knights long established, the stigma is long gone.
Bust: Eradication of Sweepstakes Continues
2025 was a bad year for sweepstakes casinos, and 2026 isn’t shaping up to be much better. Multiple states advanced bills this week to shut down or even criminalize the dual-currency model. With the signature of Gov. Janet Mills, Maine would become the second state this year, after Virginia, to institute a ban, and legislation is also moving forward in Tennessee and Iowa. In Louisiana, there’s a bill to prosecute sweepstakes operators under racketeering laws.
Bingo: Massachusetts Renews Jordan Maynard
Jordan Maynard’s chairmanship of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission continues under a new five-year term. Under Maynard, the MGC has at least been open to listening to the players’ point of view, becoming the first state regulatory body to require transparency from operators about limiting customers. It was the first step, player advocates hope, in curbing some perceived unethical practices by online sportsbooks.
Bust: Sports Betting Has an Image Problem
Whether it’s because of game-fixing scandals, harassment of athletes or incessant marketing, sports betting is rubbing many people the wrong way. According to an Ipsos poll released this week, 56% of Americans believe that gambling lessens the integrity of games, a seven percent increase from November 2025. Also, for the first time since the pollsters began tracking the data in 2023, more Americans oppose (44%) than support (25%) allowing online sports betting in their state, and the gap increases among sports fans (47% vs. 31%).
Bingo: Vinny Magliulo Announced as Hall of Fame Inductee
Described by the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame as “Bookie from Brooklyn”, Vinny Magliulo joins an esteemed group of bookmakers, bettors and other industry pioneers who are honored with plaques on the wall at Circa Sportsbook in Las Vegas. Currently the Sports Book Director at Gaughan Gaming, Magliulo has held lead roles at Wynn and Caesars and is credited for helping innovate prop betting and advancing pari-mutuel legislation in Nevada.
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