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Gambling on Skill: Enforcement of Gambling Laws Against Skill Games in Outlier States
FEATURED
March 10, 2026
Gambling on Skill: Enforcement of Gambling Laws Against Skill Games in Outlier States
By: Jordan Briggs
In many states, people can legally pay entry fees to participate in a skill game and win cash prizes. For most states that allow participants to wager on their own skilled gameplay, the analysis for whether a certain game qualifies as a legal skill game turns on whether the game is one of chance or of skill. Each state has its own test to determine if a game is chance or skill, but these tests fall into three categories. The most common test is the “predominant factor” test, which recognizes that all games have some element of chance but hinges on whether skill dominates the contest. If factors like superior knowledge, dexterity, and practice contribute largely to the outcome (i.e.,…
CFTC Plants the Flag on Regulating Prediction Markets
March 4, 2026
CFTC Plants the Flag on Regulating Prediction Markets
By: John Mikuta
On February 25, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), the governmental body primarily responsible for overseeing prediction markets, took a significant step toward consolidating its authority to oversee trading activities on prediction-market platforms.[1] The CFTC’s Division of Enforcement issued a “Prediction Markets Advisory” describing two enforcement actions brought by Kalshi, the world’s largest prediction market.[2] Both enforcement actions involved trades by Kalshi users who…
Jeff Ifrah Talks iGaming M&A: Opportunities, Strategies, and Smart Plays
February 18, 2026
Jeff Ifrah Talks iGaming M&A: Opportunities, Strategies, and Smart Plays
By: Ifrah Law
One of the best-known power players in iGaming, Jeff Ifrah is both the team captain and the founding MVP of Ifrah Law’s nationally ranked Online Gaming and Sports Betting practice. His strength as a litigator is matched by his depth as a business strategist and counselor. A respected dealmaker, Jeff has helped to incubate, structure and advise on many of the industry’s game-changing M&A transactions…
Will Legalized Sports Betting Save NFL Television?
September 27, 2019
Will Legalized Sports Betting Save NFL Television?
By: Jeffrey Hamlin
The growth of proposition and in-play sports betting may be just what the NFL needs to sustain a revived interest in televised games. From 2016 to 2018, the NFL experienced a two-year ratings slump when viewership decreased by 17%. Theories abound as to why ratings fell. Some point out that traditional television viewership was (and is) down generally due to younger viewers who are ditching…
What About Gaming? The House Passes the SAFE Banking Act, Putting Cannabis Ahead of Regulated Gambling
September 26, 2019
What About Gaming? The House Passes the SAFE Banking Act, Putting Cannabis Ahead of Regulated Gambling
By: George Calhoun
The inability to secure banking services has created enormous difficulties for state level, legal cannabis industries. Eleven states and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and a majority of states also have legal medical marijuana programs. Nonetheless, “marihuana” remains a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act and its sale or possession can be a federal crime. As a…
A Comeback Victory: Appeals Court Says Monmouth Park Owner is Entitled to Recover Damages from NCAA and Sports Leagues
September 24, 2019
A Comeback Victory: Appeals Court Says Monmouth Park Owner is Entitled to Recover Damages from NCAA and Sports Leagues
By: Ifrah Law
It has been over a year since the Supreme Court found that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was unconstitutional in Murphy v. NCAA, and countless states have legalized sports gambling in the time since, but the legal fallout from the Murphy case is still weaving its way from the courts. Early in the Murphy case, when the sports leagues and NCAA requested…
North Carolina on the Verge of Legal Sports Betting
July 29, 2019
North Carolina on the Verge of Legal Sports Betting
By: George Calhoun
In April, I spoke to the North Carolina Bar Association concerning the future of sports betting in the state. At the time, a bill to legalize sports betting was making its way through the legislative process. Last week, the North Carolina legislature finally passed a bill authorizing sports wagering at the state’s two Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian casinos. The bill explicitly adds sports betting…
New Hampshire Federal Court Finds Wire Act Is Limited to Gambling on Sporting Events
June 4, 2019
New Hampshire Federal Court Finds Wire Act Is Limited to Gambling on Sporting Events
By: Ifrah Law
On June 3, 2019, Judge Paul Barbadoro of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire issued a 60-page opinion holding that the Wire Act is limited to sports gambling. Judge Barbadoro’s opinion resolved litigation between the New Hampshire Lottery Commission, its service provider (NeoPollard), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), over a 2018 opinion by the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel…
