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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 line with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) transformation from cryptocurrency enemy 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 hospitable regulatory approach to the industry, one 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CFTC Staff Advisory No. 18-14 and the subsequent 2023 guidance, CFTC Staff Advisory No. 23-07, have been officially withdrawn, marking a clear departure from the agency’s previous cautionary stance.[1][2] What’s In the Advisories The CFTC’s first digital asset advisory, Letter No.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 spot…
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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…
Google Now Allows Daily Fantasy Sports Advertisements in Limited States
July 18, 2024
Google Now Allows Daily Fantasy Sports Advertisements in Limited States
By: Jordan Briggs
On July 15, 2024, Google Ads updated its Gambling and games policy (the “Policy”)[1] to allow Daily Fantasy Sports (“DFS”) and lottery couriers to advertise in certain US states. Advertisers for DFS or lottery couriers must be licensed by at least one state and certified with Google prior to running these ads. Even after these steps, DFS advertisers may only advertise in seventeen states. The…
Six Ways to Delay a Supplier’s Licensure to Service Gaming Operators
July 5, 2024
Six Ways to Delay a Supplier’s Licensure to Service Gaming Operators
By: Jeffrey Hamlin
Ifrah Law specializes in matters related to sports betting and gaming, so it is no surprise that we have helped many businesses apply for and obtain the credentials they need to service the gaming industry. Because gambling is generally a matter of state law, entities that want to participate in that industry must go through the licensure process in every state in which they want…
Ontario Lottery Survives Legal Challenge by the Mohawk Council of the Kahnawà:ke
May 20, 2024
Ontario Lottery Survives Legal Challenge by the Mohawk Council of the Kahnawà:ke
By: Jeffrey Hamlin
The Ontario Superior Court handed a clean victory to Ontario’s internet gaming (“iGaming”) regulator and Attorney General last Monday, when it declared that Ontario’s regime for online gaming comports with Canada’s Constitution and Criminal Code. The much-anticipated decision disposed of a lawsuit that the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (the “Council”) filed in November 2022, alleging that (i) Canadian law prohibits lottery schemes (to include sports…
Sports Betting Advertisement Numbers Actually Decreasing
May 2, 2024
Sports Betting Advertisement Numbers Actually Decreasing
By: Jordan Briggs
Legal online sportsbetting, is still relatively new in America.[1] Over the last six years, as more states have legalized online sportsbetting, Americans have noticed more and more ads, leaving some feeling inundated with these ads.[2] But have Americans really seen more online sportsbetting ads, or have they only noticed more ads? Today, the American Gaming Association (“AGA”) published a summary of its research finding that…
Ad-Tech Europe: The Moving Target Marking Targeted Advertising
April 26, 2024
Ad-Tech Europe: The Moving Target Marking Targeted Advertising
By: Nicole Kardell
The European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) recently published an opinion on the legality of pay-or-consent models for online platforms offering services in Europe. While the opinion is non-binding and limited to “large online platforms[1],” companies that offer platforms large and small in Europe should pay attention to the EDPB’s analysis—it will inform their future guidance for entities large and small. The upshot: Pay-or-consent models [for…
