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CFTC Withdraws Specialized Guidance On Cryptocurrency Derivatives
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March 31, 2025
CFTC Withdraws Specialized Guidance On Cryptocurrency Derivatives
By: Jake Gray
In step with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) transformation from cryptocurrency adversary to ally, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) is now following its sister agency’s lead. By withdrawing its specialized guidance on digital currency derivatives, the CFTC signals a more accommodating regulatory approach that recognizes the growing maturity and mainstream acceptance of digital asset markets. As of March 28, 2025, both CFTC Staff Advisory No. 18-14 and the subsequent 2023 guidance, CFTC Staff Advisory No. 23-07 have been officially withdrawn, marking a clear departure from the agency’s previous cautionary stance.[1][2] What’s In the Advisories The CFTC’s first digital asset advisory, Letter No. 18-14, came in 2018 when digital asset derivatives products and their underlying spot markets were new,…
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Sweepstakes Issues Draw Focus at Next.io Summit
March 27, 2025
Sweepstakes Issues Draw Focus at Next.io Summit
By: Jordan Briggs
Social casinos were one of the many hot topics at the Next.io summit in New York March 12-13, so much so that they got their own well-attended summit on March 11. Generally, there are three types of online social casinos: social casinos with no option to purchase any plays; social casinos with the option to purchase plays and the only thing a user can win…
YouTube Fills Federal Policing Void on Gambling
March 17, 2025
YouTube Fills Federal Policing Void on Gambling
By: Sara Dalsheim
The ultimate inhibitor of the regulated gambling industry is the illegal ever-present offshore market. The regulated industry has been consistently asking for assistance from law enforcement to assist them in stamping out the illegal market – that, unlike the regulated industry, is not required to abide by any of the mechanisms that protect consumers. The federal government has failed to answer the call, so the…
Legalized Online and Retail Sports Betting on its Way to Maine
April 26, 2022
Legalized Online and Retail Sports Betting on its Way to Maine
By: Sara Dalsheim
This week, Maine’s state House and Senate both approved a bill that would legalize online and retail sports betting. The legislation provides the state’s four federally recognized Indian tribes with a monopoly on mobile sports betting rights. The state’s two casinos, the Oxford Casino and the Hollywood Casino and Raceway in Bangor have the ability, under the legislation, to offer an in-person sportsbook. The bill…
Pennsylvania Finally Drops Under 5% Shareholder Licensee Registration Requirement
April 25, 2022
Pennsylvania Finally Drops Under 5% Shareholder Licensee Registration Requirement
By: Steven Eichorn
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (Board) issued a letter to enact a policy change to raise the ownership interest threshold from one percent to five percent for ownership interests held in privately-owned entities. This immediately impacts the licensing requirements of “principal” applications in Pennsylvania and is effective for both existing licensees (or pending applications) and to future applicants. Who Does This Apply To? Further, it…
State Securities Regulators Intervene In Virtual Casino NFT Sales
April 18, 2022
State Securities Regulators Intervene In Virtual Casino NFT Sales
By: Jake Gray
State regulators in three states took the first steps in regulating non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) as securities, issuing cease-and-desist orders against the online casino developer Sand Vegas Casino Club (“Sand Vegas”) and its co-founders for allegedly offering unregistered securities and violating various other securities-related regulations. As we have written, NFTs use smart contracts to offer holders novel functionality, like granting them access to certain services, events,…
ADA Accessibility Guidance for the iGaming Industry
April 5, 2022
ADA Accessibility Guidance for the iGaming Industry
By: Jake Gray
The broader gambling industry is transitioning into an increasingly online and mobile-based industry. Proliferation and popularity of online and mobile sports betting have evinced a burgeoning consumer demand for web-based gaming options. As the internet gaming (“iGaming”) market expands, gaming companies need to follow the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) new Guidance on web accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) to ensure customers’ adequate…
Fantasy Sports Passes the Test: New York High Court Rules Fantasy Sports Are Legal
March 22, 2022
Fantasy Sports Passes the Test: New York High Court Rules Fantasy Sports Are Legal
By: Steven Eichorn
In the lull of a midweek break from March Madness, New York’s highest court made noise Tuesday when it finally handed down its fantasy sports ruling, confirming that fantasy sports contests are legal in the state. Fantasy sports players might not have even noticed it was a question: Tens of millions of people play fantasy sports in the United States and Canada alone, and the…
