Weekly News Desk
Here are some stories you may have missed from another whirlwind week
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Now on to the News!
Professional Amateurs. The NCAA inked a deal late last week with Genius Sports to provide college athletics data to sportsbooks for the first time.
Why does it matter: The NCAA has gone to great lengths to keep gambling away from its sports and its “amateur” athletes. Like its professional sports league counterparts the NCAA now seems to be fully, if cautiously embracing sports gambling even as multiple gambling-related investigations involving its athletes are ongoing.
New Kid on the Block. Sportico reported yesterday that Sporttrade is seeking the go-ahead of the CFTC to offer sports prediction markets nationwide. Currently it offers these prediction markets with the approval of state regulators.
Why does it matter: Sporttrade would be another entrant to the growing field and another sports betting/sports prediction platform under federal regulation. Though the Feds have done their best to deny their role in regulating sports gambling, slowly but surely platforms like Sporttrade are backing them into the role. At some point federal legislators might want to take note and hold hearings or write some laws about it.
Kalshi News. Is it even a week if there isn’t Kalshi news? Some good news for the prediction market start-up this week, as a New Jersey judge granted them a preliminary injunction against the cease-and-desist letter they received.
Why does it matter: Kalshi operates its prediction markets in all 50 states, and has received cease and desist letters from at least 7 of them who argue they are running afoul of state gambling laws. Everyone is waiting to see what the CFTC does about the issue but in the meantime, this is the second courtroom win for Kalshi, even if just a temporary or preliminary one.
Not News. Kalshi has made splashes around big sports events the past few months, offering sports markets for the NCAA tournaments, the Super Bowl and the Masters. One sport most often associated with gambling is horse racing and yet Kalshi has no market for this weekend’s Kentucky Derby.
Why does it matter: I don’t think we’ll get an answer but I’m sort of curious why they are letting this pitch go by. Maybe it’s just that the popularity of the Triple Crown races is not what it used to be? Maybe it’s something else. [And yes, no link here. It’s the lack of a story here that stands out to me.]
Fine Time. The NFL fined the Atlanta Falcons and its Defensive Coordinator following the coach’s prank call to Shedeur Sanders during the broadcast of the NFL Draft last week.
Why does it matter: The coach’s son, who has since apologized, could have done any number of things with Sanders’s phone number. He could have published it. He could have threatened Sanders. He could have been more earnest or gone further in his attempt to fool Sanders. Any number of scenarios could have come to pass. The fine for the team and the coach seem fair to me, and hopefully serve as a deterrent and cautionary tale for others entrusted with that sort of data.
Cancel Culture. Last week the CFTC canceled its long-planned public roundtable on prediction markets.
Why does it matter: I, (and probably others), was hoping to get some clarity from the CFTC in their thinking about prediction markets. Prediction market platforms are in the midst of legal back and forth with several states and the CFTC has not given any indication of their feelings about the legal status of sports markets in particular. Maybe the CFTC is waiting for a permanent chair to be confirmed? Maybe there is another political reason it was canceled? Regardless clarity still eludes the situation.