Spin Cycle: NCAA’s Study, Sporttrade, AGA’s Buddies 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 …

Online and out of line

The NCAA and Signify Group released the results Thursday of an extensive study of online harassment of college athletes, and the findings did not reflect positively on the sports betting world. 

If there’s “good news” for the gambling industry, it’s this: Betting-related abuse was not the most prevalent type of abuse found in this study of 1.3 million social media posts and comments. Abusive comments of a sexual nature took that top spot, at 18% of all messages flagged.

But sports betting-related abuse was No. 2, at 12%.

Of course, the takeaways here are largely a matter of perspective and framing. The study found high rates of abuse that were categorized as racist (10%), homophobic/transphobic (9%), or violent (6%). So a reasonable person could conclude that the true issue here is social media — and the people who use it — and that venting at student-athletes for reasons related to sports gambling is emblematic of larger societal problems.

Then again, this statement within the NCAA’s release is hard to ignore: “While 12% of the abuse detected was directly tied to sports betting based on the exact language within the posts, deeper analysis suggests that much of the abuse in other categories (e.g., sexism, racism, etc.) was influenced by sports-betting behaviors, creating overlapping abuse targeting student-athletes and officials.”

As ESPN’s David Purdum reported, NCAA President Charlie Baker said the organization is following up on the study by discussing with sportsbooks the possibility of a reduction in player prop betting options on college sports. Not everyone sees that as a solution:

Poker stream producer Vertucci out

In other news regarding abuse and harassment, there’s a major controversy in the poker world: Nick Vertucci, a co-owner of the popular Hustler Casino Live stream, is no longer involved in the production in the face of a rising tide of accusations of sexual harassment and intimidation of female players.

Vertucci’s removal (or resignation, depending on how one chooses to interpret it) came just a few days after former HCL regular Julia McBride posted screenshots of their text conversations showing him making sexual comments toward her while in a position of power as a producer of the show. McBride asked others to share their stories, and several women did — including accusations that he showed them lewd photographs while at the poker table.

A statement attributed to fellow HCL co-owner Ryan Feldman and shared on the company’s social media accounts said: “Effective immediately, Nick Vertucci will no longer be involved with High Stakes Poker Productions.”

Vertucci has not commented on the matter publicly.

Gaming associations, assemble!

On Thursday, the American Gaming Association announced a collaboration with two of its international counterparts, the European Casino Association and the U.K.-based Betting & Gaming Council, to work together in addressing major issues in the gaming industry.

“This new partnership is a significant step forward in our collective efforts to advance the legal gaming industry and protect consumers around the globe,” AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said in the release announcing the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the three bodies. “By sharing our unique resources, we will expand our fight against illegal gambling to new fronts, work together to strengthen responsible gaming, and innovate around business best practices.”

The triumvirate noted that its first initiative will be a “law enforcement roundtable” on combating illegal gambling that’s planned for January 2025.

Trading up

While fellow exchange wagering sites Prophet Exchange and Novig have elected to go in different directions, Sporttrade remains committed to the model and is making significant moves.

For starters, Sporttrade will be launching in Virginia, its fifth state, this month. “Expanding will always be a priority for us,” founder and CEO Alex Kane told Earnings + More this week. “Five states feels like a solid foundation and a sizable TAM.”

On top of that, Philadelphia-based Sporttrade — which currently operates in New Jersey, Colorado, Iowa, and Arizona — announced that SIG Sports Investments has made a strategic investment in the company. The size of the investment was not publicly disclosed. Probably SIG’s most notable previous investment in the gaming space came when it bought a 12.8% stake in PointsBet in 2022.

The Shuffle: Other news and views

HOW SWEEP IT IS: At G2E, industry insiders and investors are swept up in sweeps talk

GLOBAL EXPANSION: UAE issues first commercial gaming license to Wynn Resorts

MEGA MAKEOVER: Mega Millions confirms 2025 overhaul with bigger jackpots, improved odds

CHASE THE ACE: Michigan regulator issues cease & desist to Costa Rican bookie clearinghouse

GOING DOWN: The Tropicana goes out in a blaze of glory

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE: Here’s how much Massachusetts and Connecticut sports betting is squeezing Rhode Island

ROCK WITH ME: Hard Rock CEO open to partnerships in Florida with DraftKings, FanDuel

TAX TALK: Support for raising tax threshold for jackpots is bipartisan in Congress

GAMING BIZ MEETS HORROR MOVIE PLOT: Tribe wants Alabama casino built on its burial grounds to be torn down

RIDING HIGH: How has sports gambling in Kentucky affected horse racing? So far, so good

BOOKIN’ AIN’T EASY: The unrelenting challenge of being a real bookmaker

I SPY: Playtech sues Games Global for IP infringement after spying claims

GLACIAL PROGRESS: Meet Lotto Alaska — the state lottery that isn’t really a state lottery

ESPN BETTER?: ESPN Bet gaining momentum, Jefferies analyst says

THE BID APPLE: Debate intensifies over proposed Coney Island and Queens casino projects

SEGA SAGA: Nevada approval edges Sega Sammy closer to GAN acquisition

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN: California tribes revive talk of legalizing sports betting, with 2028 the likely target

WHEELS UP: IGT expands Wheel of Fortune to video poker, ETG games

LONE STAR STIR: Texas gambling legalization prospects for 2025 looking bright, insiders say

DRAGON DOWN: Deutsche Bank analyst assesses damage to Light & Wonder from Dragon Train injunction

CLASS ACTION: Athletes, coaches, administrators share candid thoughts on sports betting’s presence on college campuses

The Bonus Round

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

• “Jason Jensen wins slot machine jackpot at Mississippi casino” isn’t a terribly interesting headline. But “YouTube star ‘Greatness Reinvented’ hits jackpot in Biloxi while fleeing Hurricane Milton” sure is. That was the Sun Herald’s headline this week after a man with about 858,000 YouTube subscribers, known to those followers as “Greatness Reinvented,” evacuated his home in Florida due to the coming storm and decided to take shelter at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi — where he hit for $146,250 on a Dragon Link slot. For what it’s worth, Jensen is known for performing acts of kindness, so, if some YouTuber had to luck-box his way to a big win, it may as well have been him.

• Number of the week: 2000. That’s how many pounds of explosives were required to turn the Tropicana into just another Vegas casualty.

• DraftKings Sportsbook had a major system outage for about four hours on Thursday, during which users were unable to place bets. Word to the wise: Next time this happens, log on and try to make a wager. That’s what I did, and when the outage was over, there was an email in my inbox, telling me, “We saw you might have experienced issues placing bets earlier today, therefore we are giving you a bonus bet as a courtesy. Thank you for your patience and loyalty!” (That $10 bonus bet quickly became worth zero dollars when the first leg of my four-leg longshot parlay failed, but … it’s the thought that counts.)