Prediction markets, sports betting regulation and responsible gaming are reshaping the future of the US gaming industry. At SBC Summit Americas 2026, Martin Lycka sat down with Brandt Iden, VP of Government Affairs at Fanatics Betting & Gaming and former Michigan State Representative, to discuss the biggest issues facing the industry today. The conversation explores…
When U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren took to X earlier this year to denounce what she called a “$10 junk fee just to fund a $20 bet”, she was not merely chastizing payment processors. Warren was signalling that the politics of how gamblers move their money is shifting, and payment rails – once the plumbing of the industry – are becoming a stage for public scrutiny.
South of the border, it feels like a movement is happening. Most major online gambling operators have stopped accepting credit card deposits across their entire U.S. operations, including:
bet365
BetMGM
Caesars
DraftKings
FanDuel
Meanwhile, numerous states already restricted their use for some forms of gambling before 2026, and several others have passed legislation or regulations this year to ban them for online sports betting. What began as a gripe about fees has morphed into a debate about whether gambling with borrowed money should exist at all.
Last week, I asked sports betting companies about Americans getting sc..
The Gambling Commission’s calls for calm over the impact of Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) on the growth of the black market seem to be falling on deaf ears, as sources have emphasised to iGaming Expert that industry trepidation is only escalating.
Despite the best efforts of the GC, warnings continue to ring loudly over a lack of clarity when it comes to the implementation of FRAs.
An industry source told iGaming Expert that the move represents a ‘huge windfall’ for the illegal market, as concerns over an exodus to the black market refuse to go away for players who ‘believe they should be able to spend their money the way they want to’.
They added that the government is simply ‘doubling down’ on the stresses placed on the regulated sector by supporting FRAs after previously implementing a significant tax hike on the online gambling sector in November.
Anger from within the industry has been encapsulated by the Betting and Gaming Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Grainne Hurst,..
Read any reputable study about gambling disorders and one conclusion that will rise to the surface is that young men are perhaps the most vulnerable demographic. So why is that?
Kindbridge Behavioral Health welcomed American Institute for Boys and Men Policy Lead Jonathan D. Cohen and UCLA Clinical Professor Dr. Timothy Fong to discuss the issue on an hour-long webinar on Thursday. It yielded an insightful and thought-provoking assessment of why the modern online gambling climate contributes to what Cohen called “a toxic cocktail” of factors and hardships.
The game has changed
In short, gambling is not what it used to be. As the session’s moderator, Kindbridge’s Dr. Daniel Kaufmann, put it, gone are the days when combating difficult gambling habits meant driving home from work via a different route to avoid the casino.
“The phone is the casino now,” Kaufmann said. “And you’re not going to live life without that.”
With online sports betting apps, online casinos, prediction market p..
The global rise of prediction markets globally could throw a spanner in the works of gambling harm prevention and treatment programmes in countries like the UK, writes SBC News’ Editor, Ted Orme-Claye.
Driven by a combination of industry responsibility, regulatory pressure and public demand, betting companies in the UK have placed a much heavier onus on player protection, education and responsibility in recent years.
Prediction markets, however, are a relatively new phenomenon which bridge the gap between betting and financial trading – though some would argue that they are betting exchanges with a different skin.
It has also been documented that people working in financial services, particularly trading environments, may be more at risk of suffering from problem gambling and gambling-related harm than those working in other industries.
Yesterday, FT Adviser revealed that financial services and investment company Hargreaves Lansdown is asking potential investors about whether or no..
As expectations around player safety continue to evolve, operators face increasing pressure to detect signs of gambling-related harm earlier and implement more effective interventions. Against this backdrop, the Player Protection Symposium will examine the tools, policies, and partnerships needed to strengthen player protection efforts.
Taking place on Wednesday, 30 September, the symposium will bring together regulators, operators, responsible gambling specialists, and technology providers to examine how the industry can shift from a compliance-focused mindset to a more preventative and player-centric approach.
Through a series of expert-led discussions, the symposium will focus on three key areas of player protection: balancing regulatory objectives with efforts to combat the black market, the role operators play in safeguarding players, and the growing role of technology in identifying and supporting at-risk players.
“Gambling harm prevention is a challenge shared by every regula..
In this episode, SBC Media Director Martyn Elliott is joined by Shawn Fluharty, Chair of the Better Gambling Forum. Together, they discuss how collaboration, regulation, and innovation are shaping the iGaming sector to drive sustainability, player protection, and responsible growth. Key Topics: The mission of the Better Gambling Forum and its global approach The importance…
The proliferation of sports betting in America is causing key stakeholders in professional and amateur sports to discuss the integrity of competition amid recent gambling scandals.
The discussion of how to protect the integrity of competition for operators, leagues, and regulators continued at SBC Summit Americas 2026 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where a group of industry experts spoke about protecting the future of sports wagering in North America.
The panel, moderated by Princeton Global Strategies Managing Partner George Rover, included NCAA Managing Director of Enforcement and Development Mark Hicks, as well as PropSwap CEO Luke Pergande and Legacy Consulting Group CEO Tony Amormino.
How the NCAA is navigating challenging landscape
The NCAA has dealt with a series of gambling-related scandals over the past two years, leading to questions and concerns regarding the impact gambling has on amateur sports.
In 2025, more than 15 former NCAA men’s basketball players were implicated in ..
The summer football fever is upon us, with mere hours to go until the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This has prompted gambling regulators across Europe to ask bettors not to let excitement cloud their rational judgement.
As the tournament kicks off this Thursday, 11 June, football fans will witness the biggest edition of the World Cup in its entire history, with 48 teams locked in a battle across three countries in North America and the prestige golden trophy at stake.
The size of the competition has prompted gambling operators to scramble their global marketing teams and capitalise on the increased exposure.
Balancing that out, however, are the regulators on the other side, who in the World Cup lead up have worked overtime to ensure that bettors do not forget about controlling their gambling behaviour.
France
The French team is being touted as one of the odds’ favourites when it comes to lifting the trophy this year. As such, the national regulator ANJ anticipates a high vol..
Jake Pollard
Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin’s term as president of the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) ends on 15 June .
Interviewed by SBC correspondent Jake Pollard, she reflects on developments of the French and European gambling sectors including taxation, the normalisation of gambling and the regulatory evolution of the online sector.
Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin has chaired the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) since 2020 and, just as she took the helm of the French gambling regulator amid a global uncertainty linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, the creation of the authority also marked a major change: under the new structure, all gambling activities in France are now placed under the supervision of the ANJ.
Until then, horseracing, land-based casinos and lottery activities had fallen under the remit of the relevant ministries (Interior, budget, Agriculture etc.). The aim in 2020 was to harmonise regulation across the various verticals, including the digital sector of course, and to..