Latest Gambling News: California Sweeps Ban Bill Amended, and more...

Catch up on some of the stories our gambling compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

California Sweeps Ban Bill Amended

A California bill strongly opposed by some gaming tribes and sweepstakes operators has been amended for the second time in the Senate since it was gutted and amended in June to specifically outlaw dual-currency sweepstakes casino games or sports betting.

Assembly Bill 831, authored by Democratic Assemblyman Avelino Valencia, was awaiting a vote on the Senate floor after being unanimously approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

But on Wednesday (September 3), the bill was amended a third time at a third reading, and ordered to be sent back for a second reading. Among several changes, there was an effort to make sure the kind of promotions and sweepstakes offered by companies such as fast food chain McDonald’s were not criminalized.

“The bill would specify that these provisions do not make unlawful game promotions or sweepstakes conducted by for-profit commercial entities on a limited and occasional basis as an advertising and marketing tool that are incidental to substantial bona fide sales of consumer products or services and that are not intended to provide a vehicle for the establishment of ongoing gambling or gaming.”

AB 831 also clarifies that it is not trying to restrict the California State Lottery’s operations, nor “lawful games and methods used by a gambling enterprise under the Gambling Control Act.”

The last day either chamber of the California legislature can pass bills is September 12.

Swedish Trade Group Asks Government For New Gambling Inquiry

The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) has penned a letter to the Ministry of Finance asking the government to launch a new gambling industry inquiry, specifically to propose regulations to strengthen the legal gambling market.

The release of the BOS letter on Thursday (September 4) comes as the Swedish gaming regulator, Spelinspektionen, found 15 percent of online betting was unregulated, equal to an 85 percent channelisation rate in the country.

That figure was below the regulator’s policy goal of 90 percent. BOS secretary general Gustaf Hoffstedt pointed to the differences in channelisation rates reported by vertical, with online casinos having a “catastrophic” rate of 72 percent to 82 percent.

“We hope that the government will take note of the serious situation for the licensed gambling market, most recently confirmed in the [Swedish Gambling Authority's] report on the proportion of unlicensed gambling in Sweden,” Hoffstedt wrote.

Hoffstedt also called for the appointment of a “broad investigation” designed to prevent leakage from the regulated into the unlicensed market, a key measure to “protect and strengthen the legal regulated gambling market”. He urged the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) to begin the investigation before Sweden goes to the polls in September 2026.

One suggestion from BOS to strengthen the attractiveness of the legal market was to “relax somewhat” the prohibition on bonuses and loyalty offers. Hoffstedt did acknowledge that “a completely unregulated bonus procedure or other promotional measure in the gambling market is neither desirable nor relevant”.

He went on to urge the government to also consider ISP/DNS blocking of unlicensed operators, following in the footsteps of neighbouring Denmark.

Hoffstedt’s call for an investigation coincides with the planned departure of Camilla Rosenberg, SGA’s director general, on November 1 to take a position with the Swedish Real Estate Agents’ inspectorate. Rosenberg’s replacement has not been named yet.

FanDuel Recruits Keith Whyte As Responsible Gaming Strategist

FanDuel has hired Keith Whyte, former executive director with the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), as a responsible gaming strategic adviser.

Whyte left the NCPG in January after 26 years with the organization to form Safer Gambling Strategies LLC. In his new role, he will advise FanDuel on shaping its responsible gaming strategy and programs moving forward, including identifying new opportunities for advocacy and advancing partnerships.

Whyte will also consult on and create new content for FanDuel’s Trusted Voices: Conversations About Betting program, which was created last year in partnership with EPIC Global Solutions.

“We are honored to have Keith Whyte join our team as a strategic adviser for our responsible gaming programming,” said Cory Fox, FanDuel senior vice-president of public policy and sustainability.

Fox said the operator is confident Whyte’s “experience and subject matter knowledge will further strengthen our leadership in this space.”

Prior to joining the NCPG, he was the director of research at the American Gaming Association. Besides starting his own advisory firm, Whyte joined the board of the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling in March.

In a statement, Whyte said he has “long admired their proactive approach,” and efforts in promoting responsible play.

Texas Senate Leader’s Re-Election Bid Lowers Odds For Gambling Expansion

Texas Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s decision to seek another four-year term is likely to continue to block efforts to put the question of casino and sports betting legalization on the ballot anytime soon.

Patrick, who has been Senate president since January 20, 2015, controls what bills are debated on the floor, and has signaled in the past about there being not enough support on the part of Republicans to pass any gaming expansion legislation.

“Dan Patrick has chosen his words very carefully over the years. He has said time and time again that the votes in the Senate aren’t there, and he’s right,” Mike Lavigne, a gaming consultant with Texas Access Partners, told Vixio GamblingCompliance on Wednesday (September 3).

Efforts to pass bills on casinos and sports betting amendments never received hearings during the 2025 legislative session. Instead, lawmakers focused on the fate of the Texas Lottery, eventually abolishing the lottery commission and moving supervision to the state Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Lawmakers also banned lottery courier services, blocked ticket sales, and requires the Sunset Advisory Commission to review the lottery’s operation before 2029.

Texas Sands PAC has $9.34m in the bank after donations from Miriam Adelson, a majority owner in Las Vegas Sands, and the company that operates casinos in Macau. Adelson is also the majority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

“Sands can continue to spend millions on C-grade commercials between Hulu episodes, but it won't change that,” Lavigne said. “They are going to have to play in Republican primaries but they've yet to do that with any real success that doesn't just breed more enemies.”

CFTC Clears Polymarket For Return To USA Markets

The Commodity Futures Trading Corporation (CFTC) has issued a no-action position statement on QCX and QC Clearing LLC for prediction market offerings, clearing the way for Polymarket to return to U.S. prediction markets.

Polymarket acquired the licensed derivatives exchanges in July. The CFTC’s decision allows Polymarket to re-enter the legal U.S. prediction market in time to offer sports-event contracts on the National Football League, which kicks off on Thursday (September 4).

“Polymarket has been given the green light to go live in the USA by the CFTC,” CEO Shayne Coplan said in post on X. “Credit to the commission and staff for their impressive work. This process has been accomplished in record timing.”

Coplan did not announce a start date for Polymarket to re-enter the U.S. On Wednesday, Polymarket Sports' X account proclaimed that “legal sports betting on the world’s largest prediction market is coming to all 50 states.”

Polymarket left the U.S. market in 2022, when the CFTC fined the prediction markets company $1.4m for “offering off-exchange event-base binary options contracts and failure to obtain designation as a designated contract market or registration as a swap execution facility.”

Polymarket also received a cease-and-desist notice for violating the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.

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