Spin Cycle: Brazil Going Online, California Going After High 5 Highlight Week In Gambling

Welcome to “Spin Cycle,” Casino Reports’ weekly Friday roundup of all things impactful, intriguing, impressive, or idiotic in the gambling industry. Pull up a chair, grab a stack of chips and a glass of your beverage of choice, and take a spin with us through this week’s news cycle …

Brazil, go nuts

As non-U.S. gambling business stories go, this is a big ‘un: After a long wait, the South American nation of Brazil launched regulated online gaming on New Year’s Day, permitting both real money iCasino and sports betting within its borders.

Fourteen operators are fully licensed out of the gate (including one familiar name in North America, BetMGM), with a whopping 38 more awaiting full approval. Among those in the latter group is Caesars, whose Brazilian brand has been granted a provisional license.

The iGaming legislation was approved all the way back in November 2018, but it took until December 2023 before Brazil’s government finished signing off on the measure, and another year or so to finalize regulations and approve licenses.

Here’s a look via GeoComply at the early location-pinging action upon launch:

Among the rules and details of Brazil’s regulation: There is no funding with credit cards or cryptocurrencies, the total effective tax rate on operator revenue is about 36%, and customers will pay a 15% tax on winnings above the equivalent of about $450 in U.S. currency.

Ho-hum, another lawsuit against a sweeps operator

Apparently there will never be another week that goes by in our industry without someone somewhere suing an online sweepstakes gaming site for allegedly operating illegally, and the latest entrant in that category was filed in the San Francisco Supreme Court against High 5 Entertainment.

The suit, filed just before year’s end by plaintiff Thomas Portugal, accuses High 5 of violating California’s laws by operating what it calls the “Internet Café Gambling Scam,” comparing sweeps gaming prizing to internet café bonus offers from some 20 years ago. The suit cites California case law in arguing that sweepstakes operators like High 5 are illegal.

(If you don’t understand how sweepstakes gaming works, this “idiot’s guide” is well worth a read.)

The first sweeps-focused lawsuit in California was filed against Pulsz in November, and other suits have been filed in Georgia (dismissed), New York, Washington, and … well, pretty soon it will be quicker to list the states where a lawsuit hasn’t been filed yet.

OK to bet on sports?

The Sooners are getting around to it later than most, but Oklahoma is considering legalizing sports betting in 2025, with Senate Bill 125 pre-filed by Sen. Dave Rader last Friday.

The legislation opens by stating:

“SB 125 authorizes tribes who have entered into a compact with the state with respect to gambling to offer ‘sports pools’ if federal law permits such an expansion. The tribes must execute a supplement to the compact outlined in the measure to offer such services. Sports pools are defined by the measure as any in-person wagering and wagering conducted on a mobile device on the outcome of sporting events or other events, other than horse or other animal races.”

Oklahoma’s legislative session begins Feb. 3. The bill would permit the state’s tribes to amend their compacts to offer both retail and online sports wagering. Gov. Kevin Stitt, however, has butted heads in the past with the tribes on various issues, and insiders are generally not optimistic for sports betting legalization this year.

House Rules: Insights from around our network

SCHRODINGER’S COLUMN: Gambling’s quantum state: everyone’s all in [by Jeff Edelstein]

CUTTING IT CLOSE: Indiana couple claims $1 million Powerball prize mere hours before deadline [by Erik Gibbs]

MEET MISS BROWN: Reel Lives: Gina Fiore on gambling, writing, and explaining her job to her son [by Jeff Edelstein]

THAT SETTLES THAT: DraftKings and Fanatics settle legal dispute over executive defection [by Erik Gibbs]

LOTTERY LOOK-AHEAD: 9 bold predictions for US lottery industry in 2025 [by Matthew Bain]

HEY, THAT’S MY DATA!: Swish Analytics sues rival odds providers for alleged misappropriation of proprietary data [by Erik Gibbs]

NUMBER NINE ALL-TIME: Winning $1.22 billion Mega Millions ticket sold in Cottonwood, California [by Jeff Edelstein]

The Shuffle: Other news and views

LION EYES: BetMGM to assume ‘key-employee’ status for MGM’s Nevada sportsbooks [CDC Gaming Reports]

FINISH LINE: End of an era: Final races held at Freehold Raceway [News12 New Jersey]

CRYSTAL CLEAR: Reno couple breathes life into Crystal Bay Club: Casino now ‘epicenter of Lake Tahoe entertainment’ [Tahoe Daily Tribune]

GOOD CHALK: NFL betting favorites on verge of completing historic season [ESPN.com]

PUTTING THE ‘I’ IN ILLINOIS?: Illinois lawmakers could add internet gambling to state’s bevy of betting options [Chicago Sun-Times]

ALLWYN ALL IN: Allwyn agrees to acquire controlling interest in online sports betting and gaming operator Novibet [press release]

IGA AGENDA: Indian Gaming Association Tradeshow & Convention to focus on iGaming, sports betting [CDC Gaming Reports]

SINGING SOPRANO: ‘Lady Mafia’ scammer finally breaks her silence after blowing $10M of her clients’ cash in Vegas [Daily Mail]

VIRGINIA IS FOR BETTORS: Virginia sets sports betting revenue and handle records in November [iGaming Business]

NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE: Kansas Supreme Court: ‘Skill-gaming’ company lacks standing in lawsuit against state regulators [Kansas Reflector]

SMALL-MARKET STRUGGLES: Analyst: ‘2024 a year to forget’ for regional casino operators [CDC Gaming Reports]

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Bally’s to sell Chicago casino ownership stakes to women, minority investors [Chicago Sun-Times]

The Bonus Round

Completing the Spin Cycle with some odds and ends and our favorite social media posts of the week:

• It’s 2025. It’s time to admit that slowly lowering a giant ball in Times Square to signify the changeover in years is lame. Look, that was cutting edge 117 years ago, the first time they did it, but now? If you want cutting edge, look to The Sphere in Las Vegas, which rang in the new year with a new display every hour on the hour as each time zone around the world entered 2025.

• This right here is pure pain. Just an insane hit on a 4,535-to-1, three-leg (but really, six-leg) touchdown-scorer parlay … and the bettor hit the panic button at the exact wrong time:

• Quick update on interstate play for Pennsylvania online poker: According to Pokerfuse, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Communications Director Doug Harbach said he expects shared liquidity to launch in the first quarter of the year — comfortably before this year’s World Series of Poker begins on May 27, meaning a big bump in interstate satellites to WSOP events. As a great man once said: “The arc of the regulated online poker universe is long, but it bends toward interstate liquidity.” (I’m pretty sure that’s the quote.)