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CFTC Sends Message to Prediction Markets: You Are Not a Sportsbook
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August 11, 2026
CFTC Sends Message to Prediction Markets: You Are Not a Sportsbook
By: John Mikuta
In recent guidance, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has made clear that event contracts offered by regulated prediction-market entities must not be marketed in a format commonly used by casino gambling bookmakers. The CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight and Market Participants Division issued a notice to all CFTC-regulated entities and affiliates regarding their obligations to refrain from engaging in misleading or deceptive practices when advertising, listing, or transacting event contracts. The notice highlights the CFTC’s growing concerns about the promotion of event contracts using the “American odds” format associated with sports betting and casino operators rather than nominal or percentage terms that reflect market pricing. The notice stresses that this practice could create confusion about the nature of the…
Nicole Kardell on Keeping iGaming Clients Nimble Amidst Ever-Evolving Privacy Regulations
August 3, 2026
Nicole Kardell on Keeping iGaming Clients Nimble Amidst Ever-Evolving Privacy Regulations
By: Ifrah Law
For iGaming companies, protecting customer privacy is paramount: Nicole Kardell acts as their guardian against federal, state and civil actions that could damage their reputations and profitability. Nicole performs on the leading edge of privacy law, helping to keep Ifrah’s clients in compliance with U.S. and international regulations governing the handling of customers’ confidential information. A certified privacy professional with expertise in European privacy law…
Betting on Technology: Bipartisan Proposal for Requiring Facial Recognition to Keep Minors from Wagering Online
July 29, 2026
Betting on Technology: Bipartisan Proposal for Requiring Facial Recognition to Keep Minors from Wagering Online
By: Lauren Scribner
“As every parent knows, when you tell a kid not to do something, they almost always end up trying to do it,” said Congresswoman Kristen MacDonald Rivet (MI-8) about the recently introduced bipartisan “Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act” (“proposed Act”).[1] She continued, “[k]ids under the age of 18 shouldn’t be making bets, but now it’s just a few taps away on their phones. Our…
Maryland Sports Betting Bill Moving Ahead, Includes Preferences for Minority Owned Operators
January 28, 2022
Maryland Sports Betting Bill Moving Ahead, Includes Preferences for Minority Owned Operators
By: Ifrah Law
Sports betting is now legal in Maryland. As part of the 2020 election, Maryland voters approved a Constitutional amendment to allow sports betting. The Maryland legislature is now racing to legalize and regulate sports gambling in the state. On February 2nd, 2021, the Maryland House of Delegates released a sports betting bill that would create a new Sports Wagering Application Commission to evaluate both online…
D.C. Becomes First Place in U.S. to Legalize Online Poker
January 28, 2022
D.C. Becomes First Place in U.S. to Legalize Online Poker
By: Ifrah Law
April 7, 2011 saw a historic moment in igaming as the District of Columbia became the first American jurisdiction to enact a law that allows online poker wagering. The amendment, called the “Lottery Modernization Act of 2010” for the year it was introduced, is part of a larger budget bill passed by the D.C. Council in December 2010 and enacted after passing through Congress unblocked….
Now That Sports Betting Is Legal, Here’s How You Get Paid
January 28, 2022
Now That Sports Betting Is Legal, Here’s How You Get Paid
By: Ifrah Law
Congratulations, you won a sports bet! What happens now? In the five states where sports betting is now legal, any qualifying individual who places and wins a sports bet can exchange their winning ticket for payment. That means any individual who can prove they are over 21 through an in-person check or the latest digital identity verification technology could soon be a winner. But just…
iDEA Growth Members Correctly Optimistic about 2022 in iGaming and Sports Betting Legalization
January 21, 2022
iDEA Growth Members Correctly Optimistic about 2022 in iGaming and Sports Betting Legalization
By: Ifrah Law
In a survey published this week by iDEA Growth, a national trade association for the online sports betting and iGaming industry, over 63 percent of those surveyed believe that between three and five states will legalize sports betting in 2022, with most naming Ohio, Massachusetts, and Kansas as the three states most likely to do so. Industry members also believed that Indiana was the most…
Uses and Abuses of Decentralization in Gambling
December 7, 2021
Uses and Abuses of Decentralization in Gambling
By: Jake Gray
Decentralization has been the selling point of many platforms using blockchain-based technologies including cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Many believe that decentralization by blockchain has the potential to disrupt multiple industries from finance to art. These decentralized equivalents are called ‘dapps.’ And over the past few years there have been several attempts to decentralize and disrupt the gambling industry with these applications. Decentralized applications differ from…
