Weekly News Desk
Here are some stories you may have missed from another whirlwind week
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Now on to the News!
McCullers Update. ESPN updated a story this week about Astros pitcher Lance McCullers and his family receiving death threats after an outing earlier this year. The police investigation found that an intoxicated bettor located outside the United States admitted to the threats.
Why does it matter: It’s not just that social media allows angry fans an avenue to vent their frustrations. It’s that gambling gives some, whether inebriated or not, extra fuel to their fire of invective. And if you don’t want to wait for a loss you can use the avenue to try and distort fair play by threatening an athlete before their match.
More threats of violence. CNN reported this week that American Gold Medalist Gabby Thomas was the target of threats and harassment at a track meet in Philadelphia last weekend. The harasser bragged about targeting her to increase his chances of winning his wager on social media and FanDuel subsequently closed his account.
Why does it matter: Thomas has been the target of harassment and threats since she rose to stardom as an Olympic athlete and she has been fairly public about it. She joins a growing list of female athletes who have been targeted especially in individual sports like track and tennis. A study that came out last year attributed half of online abuse directed at athletes to angry gamblers. Given the pervasive nature of the threat it would be helpful across sports for Grand Slam Track to release the findings of their investigations so other sports can learn and improve prevention efforts.
CFTC Watch. You’ve read my writing here about prediction markets like Kalshi and their regulators at the CFTC. Well nominee to head the CFTC, Brian Quintenz will have his nomination hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on June 10.
Why does it matter: Quintenz will surely get asked about a multitude of topics, but prediction markets are bound to come up given that gambling, and sports gambling in particular, is a hot button topic for several of the committee’s members— including members from Illinois and New Jersey. It will be worth watching to see if he gives any indication to his thinking on the topic.
Europe Watch. A Dutch gambling regulator issued a warning to BetMGM for running an ad featuring a 17-year old soccer player (aka footballer). Ads featuring “role models” and ads targeting minors are prohibited in the Netherlands, prompting the warning.
Why does it matter: I can’t see such prohibitions on role models or celebrity endorsers passing Congress these days but I do like to keep tabs on what our European counterparts are doing in terms of regulation. They are farther down the gambling (and gambling regulation) road than we are here in the U.S. so it’s interesting to see what they are trying and what works. I’d like to see some data on the effectiveness of such a ban. Evidence and hard facts can sometimes sway politicians.
Kalshi Corner. Would it be a week if there wasn’t some sort of update on Kalshi? In the past week Kalshi rolled out single game bets on NFL games.
Why does it matter: Kalshi has slowly been expanding its sports offerings. First it was individual March Madness games, then NBA and NHL playoff games, and then individual baseball games. Presumably college football is coming next. Then what— player props? Something else? Under CFTC rules they can self-certify adding new types of markets so they can add things on their own timeline. Only about 79 days until college football kicks off. Stick around to see what next week brings.
Thanks for reading and have a good weekend.