Insights < BACK TO ALL INSIGHTS
Peering into the Future: Kids, Games, and Regulation
FEATURED
April 10, 2026
Peering into the Future: Kids, Games, and Regulation
By: Steven Hess
This March, a California jury found Google and Meta (which operates Facebook, Instagram, and other websites) liable for negligently causing a child user’s depression and anxiety. Driven by a desire to protect children from perceived vices,[1] this is likely to be the first in a wave of new lawsuits and legislation aimed at regulating online spaces. Although limited to protecting children for now, these efforts show that there is a societal desire for online platforms to affirmatively protect consumers from real or perceived dangers. Online Platforms under Fire Across the world there is increased pressure on internet platforms that are perceived as harmful. The European Union has already fined Google billions for its advertising practices. But a growing trend in…
Maryland’s Ever-Changing Gaming Landscape: Evolution, Adaptation, and Legal Tension
March 23, 2026
Maryland’s Ever-Changing Gaming Landscape: Evolution, Adaptation, and Legal Tension
By: Abbey Block
Maryland’s Ever-Changing Gaming Landscape: Evolution, Adaptation, and Legal Tension Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend the 3rd annual Town Hall Meeting, hosted by Morgan State University’s Center for Data Analytics and Sports Gaming Research and National Council of Legislators from Gaming States and participate in a lively discussion about the ever-changing face of gambling. Our panel covered the latest and greatest developments…
Major League Development: CFTC and MLB Agree to Monitor the Integrity of Prediction Markets
March 19, 2026
Major League Development: CFTC and MLB Agree to Monitor the Integrity of Prediction Markets
By: John Mikuta
In a watershed moment for the prediction market industry, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Major League Baseball (“MLB”) today. According to the CFTC’s press release, the groundbreaking agreement “establishes a framework for the CFTC and MLB to discuss, cooperate, and exchange information concerning issues of common interest including protecting the integrity of professional baseball and the relating…
Department of Justice Enters Historic Agreement with PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker
July 31, 2012
Department of Justice Enters Historic Agreement with PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker
By: Jeff Ifrah
Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and the U.S. Department of Justice announced today that PokerStars will acquire Full Tilt Poker’s assets in a transaction that ends the DOJ’s civil forfeiture case against Full Tilt. Both Full Tilt and PokerStars ran online poker sites in the U.S., and in 2011 the DOJ charged both of them with violating U.S. anti-gambling laws. Jeff Ifrah, founding partner of Ifrah…
After Legislature Acts, Delaware Ready to Become 2nd State to Legalize Online Gaming
June 29, 2012
After Legislature Acts, Delaware Ready to Become 2nd State to Legalize Online Gaming
By: Ifrah Law
Delaware is now poised to become the second state to legalize online gaming. On Wednesday, that state’s Senate passed a bill that would legalize web table games, including poker, video lottery games, and traditional lottery games to be offered online. Democratic Governor Jack Markell supports the bill and is expected to sign it into law soon. Earlier in the month the bill passed the state’s…
New York Mah Jong Ruling May Help Cause of Online Poker
January 29, 2012
New York Mah Jong Ruling May Help Cause of Online Poker
By: Rachel Hirsch
Mah Jong, the ancient Chinese tile-based table game, can now count itself as a winner in the old debate of games of skill vs. games of chance, according to a New York state judge, who recently ruled that the game demands more than luck. On January 4, 2012, Criminal Court Judge John H. Wilson declared in People v. Feng that “the court declines to declare…
New DOJ Opinion Paves Way to Legal Online Poker
December 26, 2011
New DOJ Opinion Paves Way to Legal Online Poker
By: Ifrah Law
On December 23, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that it has reversed a long-held position by stating that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting. This marks a major change in policy for DOJ, which has long contended that the Wire Act prohibits all forms of Internet gambling, including poker. Late that day, the DOJ released a 13-page legal opinion dated September…
Illinois Court Ruling Upholds State’s New Video Gaming Act
August 2, 2011
Illinois Court Ruling Upholds State’s New Video Gaming Act
By: Ifrah Law
In a 7-0 decision, the Illinois Supreme Court recently upheld legislation that will allow video gaming in the state for the first time. Earlier this month, the court ruled in favor of the Illinois legislature’s 2009 omnibus bill for funding capital projects that included the Video Gaming Act. The legislation had been challenged by Chicago Blackhawks owner and liquor distributor Rockwell Wirtz as violating the…
