SBC Americas

Rep. Josh Gottheimer is leading a legislative effort in Congress to ensure prediction markets and online sportsbooks to verify they accept only age-appropriate users via facial recognition.

On Wednesday, Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced the Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act, a measure that would require prediction markets and licensed online sports betting operators to deploy facial recognition technology to verify the age of users who want to trade or wager.

Gottheimer introduced the bipartisan bill amid concern regarding the availability of trading and gambling to consumers under the age of 18. According to data provided by Common Sense Media, about 40% of boys aged 14 to 17 have gambled in the past year.

“We’re asking our kids to self-police their way past a system built entirely on the honor code. A kid can log into a parent’s, an older sibling’s, or a friend’s account and place a bet with no verification at all. Nobody checks. That’s it. That’s the whole system,” said Gott..

As more states reassess the state of play of their gambling industries, there is a push on multiple fronts happening in Pennsylvania right now for the state to implement a range of new measures aimed at protecting online gamblers.

The bipartisan Joint State Government Commission released a report on Monday that proposes a number of changes, and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has put forth suggested regulatory amendments of its own.

What are Pennsylvania legislators suggestions for gambling?

The bipartisan and bicameral research agency of the state General Assembly published a lengthy study on July 13, after being mandated by House Resolution No. 60 to review how sports betting and iGaming are affecting the state and its population.

The ‘Sports Betting and Related Interactive Gambling in Pennsylvania‘ report was written by staff and overseen by the commission’s assistant general counsel. It cites several studies as evidence that increased gambling addiction in Pennsylv..

Amazon is resolving a lengthy legal dispute over the distribution of virtual casino chips that could allow members of a class-action lawsuit to receive more than $200m.

According to court documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Amazon filed a motion for preliminary approval to settle the suit that was initially filed in November 2023 by Nevada resident Steven Horn.

Horn accused Amazon of violating the Consumer Protection Act and Washington gambling law by “brokering illegal gambling transactions on social casino apps available through the Amazon Appstore.” The suit takes issue with Amazon being the “exclusive payment processor for in-app purchases of virtual casino chips in those apps.” It also concerns developers and acknowledges Amazon taking a 30% cut of each transaction.

Amazon immediately disputed the allegations made by Horn, but is now settling the matter.

What an approved settlement for Amazon could look like

The proposed settle..

After weeks of contemplation, the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) has officially announced its intention to ban the use of credit cards for sports betting in the state.

The OCCC sent a notice on Tuesday to confirm that it has formally proposed an amendment to state law to remove credit cards as a permissible funding method. It first revealed in May that it was considering the rule change, which must then be submitted to and ratified by each of the Common Sense Initiative and the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review in order to go into effect.

The regulator has opened up a comment period until Friday, July 17, for operators and other stakeholders to have their say on the idea. The OCCC will then hold a public hearing on a yet-to-be-announced date. The OCCC’s next two public meetings are scheduled for July 15 and Aug. 19.

Many Ohio sportsbooks already scrapped credit cards

The Ohio regulator does not seem likely to meet much opposition from its licensed online sportsbooks, giv..

Monday’s federal indictment of former NBA player Malik Beasley is drawing new gambling concerns for a pro sports league that made history by embracing sports betting before its counterparts.

In 2014, NBA commissioner Adam Silver voiced support for the legalization of sports betting in an op-ed for the New York Times, four years before the overturning of PASPA. The decision allowed the NBA to become the first U.S. pro league to sign a gambling partnership deal.

Since then, the proliferation of online sports betting has reached through America, with the NBA benefiting from its popularity but also dealing with its consequences.

The growth of sports betting has allowed gambling scandals to come to light, with Beasley being the latest brush the NBA has had with a criminal probe into alleged illicit betting.

Details of Beasley’s alleged illicit NBA betting activity

According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Beasley informed co-co..

Polymarket is facing a new lawsuit over allegations of deceptive marketing practices

That is according to a report from the Wall Street Journal detailing the alleged illicit activity. According to documents filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Polymarket is being sued by the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) for allegedly deploying a “pattern of flagrantly deceptive and unfair marketing” to mislead American consumers to risk their money to “place bets” on Polymarket platforms.

In addition to deceptive marketing of the Polymarket platforms, the NACA is accusing the prediction market of deceptive failure to disclose material connection and unfair promotion of the Polymarket platforms to college-aged Americans.

The association cites the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA), alleging that Polymarket’s marketing practices violate the statute.

The suit also names Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan and Chief Marketing Officer Matthew..

Integrity concerns surrounding NCAA prop bets were discussed during a business meeting Thursday between the NCAA and the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC).

The meeting ended with stagnation on implementing an NCAA prop ban in Indiana, with IGC commissioners unanimously deciding to table an NCAA request. The tabled request allows the IGC to collect data and evaluate the impacts of a potential ban.

During the business meeting, IGC commissioners met with key stakeholders from the NCAA to discuss a potential ban on college prop bets offered by licensed sports betting operators across the Hoosier State.

Why does the NCAA want a prop ban?

The NCAA submitted a request to the IGC for a ban on all college prop betting markets, leading to Thursday’s meeting on the matter.

The college sports organization wants to prohibit bettors from wagering on NCAA prop markets amid a slew of gambling-related scandals impacting the most popular U.S. sports.

The Indianapolis-based sports body wants to prote..

Florida’s Attorney General says the state has sent cease-and-desist letters to several major payment companies to warn that they are violating state laws by providing services to unauthorized gambling operators.

James Uthmeier announced the move in a press conference on June 10, during which he detailed authorities’ collaborative effort to shut down unlicensed gambling sites. In a Florida AG’s office press release, he cautioned that payment processors’ facilitation of illegal online gaming may implicate the state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act).

Uthmeier wrote on X that Florida has targeted multiple renowned payment companies, including:

American Express

Mastercard

Visa

“Payment processors such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express undermine Florida law by facilitating transactions for foreign-owned illegal online gaming,” added Florida’s AG in a post on June 10. “Today, they’re receiving a cease and desist. My office will take appropriate legal..