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I will start today’s newsletter with a few notes:
You cannot bet on the Little League World Series at state-regulated sportsbooks.
You cannot bet on the Little League World Series at federally regulated prediction markets in the US. (Polymarket offered markets in 2024, but not since.)
You can bet on the Little League World Series at offshore sportsbooks.
It feels like every summer we go through a cycle of discovery and outrage when people learn/remember that offshore sportsbooks take bets on kids playing baseball. Some people get mad, the betting happens anyway, the event ends, and we all move on with our lives.
The Little League World Series even condemned it a year ago:
Little League@LittleLeague
We feel strongly that there is no place for betting on Little League games.
9:09 PM · Aug 14, 2025 · 6.82M Views
924 Replies · 1.21K Reposts · 20.7K Likes
It would be one thing if it just kind of happened in the background. But every year I am pretty sure BetOnline brazenly starts talking about odds to win, and how much action there is, etc. To wit:
Dave Mason@DaveMasonBOL
California is getting bet like they are the 1998 Yankees. Almost half of the bets are on the youngins' from the Golden State. They are currently the odds-on -150 favorites.
Dave Mason @DaveMasonBOL
LLWS USA champ: California +200 Texas +250 Jersey +500 Bama +550 Iowa +650 Massachusetts +750 Pennsylvania +1000 Nevada +1200 Ohio +1600 Washington +2500 Cali getting the early love from the bettors.
8:21 PM · Aug 17, 2026 · 78.6K Views
7 Replies · 3 Reposts · 69 Likes
There’s a press release this year!
“We offer Little League World Series odds because there’s a massive demand for it,” BetOnline Brand Manager Dave Mason said. “Our customers request these odds every year, and we’ll take more bets on the LLBWS over the next two weeks than on established markets such as the WNBA, Major League Soccer, pro tennis or golf.”
To protect tournament integrity, BetOnline strictly limits maximum wager sizes.
“We recognize gambling isn’t for everyone, and throughout our 25-year history, we’ve prioritized responsible gaming,” Mason added. “We’re not forcing anyone to bet, and our platform is strictly for adults who choose to participate.”
After handle (total money wagered) doubled from 2024 to 2025, BetOnline projects record-breaking LLBWS volume again this year. Player props and game lines will be available in the coming days.
People seem pretty indifferent about offshore betting in general; it’s been around for decades. And the odds of anyone trying to stop it seemingly get longer with each passing year.
Joe Maloney@joeymaloney
The Feds and law enforcement have all the powers in the world to stop this nonsense, yet we look the other way. It needs to end. Unregulated and illegal books offer markets on middle schoolers playing baseball — just astounding we can’t summon the resources to stop it.
Kendall Baker @kendallbaker
Please stop betting on youth baseball games
1:49 AM · Aug 18, 2026 · 129 Views
4 Likes
Me (or anyone) calling on the US Department of Justice to do something isn’t going to result in any action.
What I would like to see (this is also unlikely) is for offshore sportsbooks to decide that betting on youth baseball is gross and stop offering it. In a world where athletes are getting harassed over gambling, it would be neat if we could avoid the possibility of people yelling at 12-year-olds over wagers.
The world will continue to spin and offshore sportsbooks will be just fine without the added revenue from Little League betting.
If offshore sportsbooks are going to be here, it would be cool if they could exercise the tiniest bit of self-restraint.
NFL lands Fanatics, loosens sportsbook sponsor bottleneck (Sports Business Journal): “Fanatics has signed on as an official sportsbook of the NFL, breaking a logjam that left the sponsor category vacant for the league since multiyear deals with FanDuel, DraftKings and Caesars expired at the end of March.”
“The company also secured official status for its online casino, available in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.”
🔍 Might this move the needle for Fanatics? It already had a relationship with the NFL through its massive apparel/collectibles business, and its sportsbook brand is currently locked in a three-way battle for third place nationally. It will be interesting to see if this deal shows up in Fanatics’ data over the course of the coming football season.
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Sports betting, other special interests spend big on Georgia elections (Atlanta Journal-Constitution): “Independent political committees have spent more than $25 million to influence this year’s elections in Georgia, already surpassing the total spent during the 2022 midterms, new campaign disclosures show.”
“Sports-betting advocates accounted for nearly half the independent spending, pumping $12.3 million into legislative races across the state.”
🔍 Georgia’s reluctance to legalize sports betting gets overshadowed by California and Texas, but it is still a top-ten state with a population of more than 11 million people—a massive market in-waiting and one that is at least theoretically in play in the near term. Some crude math tells us that competitive Georgia sports betting would produce at least $750 million in gross operator revenue annually.
Sports betting petitions could reach November ballot despite fraud concerns (Lincoln Journal-Star): “Tax Relief Nebraska is confident it has enough valid signatures to put two petitions to legalize online sports betting in the state on the Nov. 3 ballot despite Lancaster County's top election official flagging some of the signatures as potentially fraudulent.”
Massachusetts Regulators Bring Back Popular Table Tennis Sports Betting Markets (Sports Betting Dime): “The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) unanimously approved a DraftKings event petition to allow sports betting on TT Elite Series table tennis events, which had been removed from the regulated Massachusetts sports betting catalogue earlier this year.”
“The Sports Wagering Division of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission conducted a review of TT Elite Series and determined the organization strengthened its integrity controls and showed improved integrity performance for its markets.”
Tonko Unhappy With FanDuel’s Response, Calls For Passage Of SAFE Bet Act (Legal Sports Report): “U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) is not satisfied with FanDuel‘s answers to Congress, and he’s using the response to renew his call for federal sports betting reform.”
“‘Unsurprisingly, FanDuel is using the broken “responsible gaming model” to shield themselves from any possible wrongdoing and place the blame entirely on the consumer,’ Tonko explained. ‘FanDuel and other sportsbooks have proven themselves to be incapable and unwilling to protect their customers from this dangerous, addictive product.’”
Australia: Facebook is advertising illegal gambling, and the watchdog is powerless to stop it (Sydney Morning Herald): “Social media giant Meta is under fire for running Facebook and Instagram ads promoting illegal online casinos to Australians, due to a legal loophole that leaves the regulator powerless.”
“‘To make an advertising breach finding the ACMA needs to be satisfied that where ads are appearing on websites the majority of persons who are accessing the site are physically present in Australia,’ the regulator’s spokesman said.”
Polymarket Test-Launches Parlays On US Exchange, Months After Self-Certifying Them (InGame): “Polymarket’s regulated U.S. site has finally launched parlays, though only in a beta test environment at the moment, as the exchange’s trade data shows thousands of multi-leg trades were placed last week.”
“Polymarket U.S. finally processed its first parlay trade on Aug. 5, the exchange’s trade data shows, as part of a beta test that may be laying the groundwork for a wider launch in time for football season.”
🔍 At this point in the prediction market story arc, you’re not going to be competitive unless you’re offering parlays/combos/whatevers. Polymarket is (somehow) playing catch-up on the product side, but at least it’s getting this format off the ground in time for football season.
Kalshi files for S&P 500 perpetual futures in challenge to traditional exchanges (Reuters): “Prediction market startup Kalshi filed with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Tuesday to launch equity index perpetuals, a type of futures contract that would let traders take leveraged long or short positions on stock market benchmarks such as the S&P 500 without owning the underlying shares.”
“Kalshi’s filing for equity index perpetual futures would put the prediction market operator in more direct competition with traditional derivatives exchanges by offering a product that tracks a major U.S. stock indexes without a fixed expiration date.”
Latest newsletter and roundup at The Event Horizon:
Novig Sues Fifth State After Launching Sports Event Contract Markets (Sports Betting Dime): “Novig filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin against Wisconsin Attorney General Joshua L. Kaul and John Dillett, administrator of the Wisconsin Department of Administration Division of Gaming. The complaint requests declaratory and injunctive relief against the state, also requesting Wisconsin be enjoined from enforcing preempted gambling laws against Novig’s federally regulated sports event contract transactions.”
“The preemptive lawsuit is similar to four others filed in New York, New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Washington.”
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PENN Entertainment Announces Plans to Relocate Boomtown Casino New Orleans Riverboat and Construct New $195 Million Landside Hollywood Casino New Orleans (press release): PENN Entertainment, Inc. today announced plans to invest approximately $195 million to relocate its Boomtown Casino & Hotel New Orleans riverboat casino operations to a new landside property on adjacent land and rebrand the property as Hollywood Casino New Orleans, pending regulatory approval.
If approved, Hollywood Casino New Orleans is expected to open in 2029 and will include roughly 140,000 square feet of new development, approximately 875 slot machines, 45 table games, a retail sportsbook, and multiple dining options. The existing riverboat will be vacated upon opening of the new property, and PENN expects to keep the existing hotel open at this time.
DraftKings Announces Launch of $600 Million Term Loan B Facility and Upsized $750 Million Revolving Credit Facility (press release): DraftKings Inc. today announced the launch of syndication for a proposed senior secured term loan B credit facility (the “Term Loan B”) in an aggregate principal amount of $600 million. DraftKings intends to utilize the net proceeds of the Term Loan B for repurchases of a portion of its existing Convertible Notes due 2028 (subject to availability and market conditions) and other general corporate purposes.
In connection with the Term Loan B, DraftKings has launched syndication of, and secured commitments for, a new $750 million senior secured revolving credit facility maturing in 2031 (the "New Revolving Facility") to enhance liquidity and provide additional financial flexibility, which will replace its existing $500 million senior secured revolving credit facility maturing in 2029. DraftKings intends to utilize borrowings under the New Revolving Facility for general corporate purposes; however, the Company expects the New Revolving Facility to remain substantially undrawn at closing.
Fewer U.S. Adults Say They Gamble (Gallup): “Americans are significantly less likely than they were 10 years ago to say they participate in a variety of gambling activities. The sharpest drops are in the three most common activities: buying a state lottery ticket, gambling in person at a casino and participating in an office pool. Participation in less common forms of gambling, such as playing bingo for money or video poker, has also declined.”
“These reports of individual gambling activity may seem at odds with growth in the gambling industry, generally, as measured by gambling revenue in dollars. However, increased gambling revenue may result from a smaller pool of Americans gambling more frequently or paying higher prices to gamble than in the past. It could also reflect that gambling revenue may be easier to track now that gambling activity has shifted primarily to formal, government-sanctioned activities and away from informal means that may have been harder to measure.”
ROGA Releases Marketing and Advertising Code Establishing Standards for Responsible Online Gaming Marketing (press release): The Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) announced today that it has released its Marketing and Advertising Code, which represents a commitment by ROGA’s members to uphold a set of consistent marketing standards that advance consumer protection.
The Code outlines expectations across four key areas, including:
Legal Age Protections: Marketing must avoid content designed to appeal to minors, run only on platforms where at least 75 percent of the audience is expected to be legal age or older, and cannot appear on college campuses or feature underage collegiate athlete endorsements.
Message Content Standards: Marketing must accurately represent odds and outcomes, clearly disclose promotional terms, and avoid language — including “risk-free” claims — that frames gaming as a financial strategy rather than entertainment.
Digital Marketing Requirements: Influencer partnerships must involve only individuals of legal age, clearly disclose paid relationships, and adhere to member-established responsible gaming marketing guidelines.
Responsible Gaming Commitments: Members must provide responsible gaming resources, give customers the ability to restrict or revoke their own access, and refrain from targeting individuals identified for responsible gaming concerns.
From Substack:
The summer of soccer in numbers: The data behind football’s biggest betting event (iGaming Business): “The 2026 World Cup final generated a betting margin roughly six times higher than the tournament's group stage, despite accounting for less than 4% of total turnover. iGB's latest report breaks down the numbers behind football's biggest betting event.”
Michigan Online Casino Revenue Passes $12 Billion Lifetime With $302.8 Million In July (Sports Betting Dime): “With July’s numbers factored in, iGaming platforms have now recorded $12,255,126,898.72 in Michigan online casino revenue since launching in January 2021. That has led to $3.18 billion in tax revenue throughout the state.”
🍌 Banana for scale: Online sports betting has produced a comparatively meager $2.6 billion in operator revenue and around $130 million in tax proceeds across the same timeframe in Michigan.
Underdog launches “Crash” format for baseball (X/Twitter):
Underdog@Underdog
Introducing CRASH, a new way to play on Underdog! Enter a live at-bat and watch the multiplier climb as each pitch goes by. Cash out before the at-bat ends to lock in your payout 💰
3:31 PM · Aug 17, 2026 · 728K Views
36 Replies · 17 Reposts · 257 Likes
The MGM Resorts Foundation Awards More Than $4.6M to Local Charities (press release): More than $4.6 million is headed to nonprofit organizations in communities where MGM Resorts employees live and work. The MGM Resorts Foundation has awarded 211 grants, fueled by contributions from employees and guests. Recipients span communities in Nevada, Michigan, Ohio, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts, as well as the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
This year’s grant recipients range from local grassroots nonprofits to organizations making an impact across multiple MGM Resorts’ communities, including:
Shoes That Fit, which provides new athletic shoes and other essentials to children facing financial hardship, received support in five regions, including Southern Nevada, Southern Mississippi, New Jersey, Westchester & Bronx Counties and Western Massachusetts.
Gamers Outreach, which provides hospitalized children with therapeutic gaming experiences, received funding in six regions, including Southern Nevada, Southern Mississippi, Michigan, New Jersey, Westchester & Bronx Counties and Western Massachusetts.
Professor at Rhodes charged with ‘fraud’ by horse racing group, faces lifetime ban (The Commercial Appeal): “Marshall Gramm, a horse owner and professor of economics at Rhodes College in Memphis, is facing a lifetime ban from the sport after being charged with fraud for ‘unauthorized access’ to confidential horse health information, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority announced Aug. 17.”
“Gramm, a noted sports bettor, is being accused of ‘deliberately and methodically’ using the HISA Portal to gain access to veterinary records and data on each of the nine horses he claimed during a period from early May to mid-June 2026.”
“Gramm took to social media to defend himself, posting a lengthy statement on X.”
Marshall Gramm@marshallgramm
My statement on HISA Matter HISA has unfortunately decided to pursue disciplinary proceedings against me regarding data I accessed through the HISA Portal. I made a good-faith effort to resolve this matter with HISA, and we came very close to doing so. Ultimately, we could not
5:42 PM · Aug 17, 2026 · 145K Views
210 Replies · 37 Reposts · 218 Likes
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