Spin Cycle: Michigan’s War With Offshores, Evolution’s War With Playtech 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 …

MGCB refuses to cease or desist

No state regulatory agency has shown more aggression against offshore operators than the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB), and that reputation was upheld Tuesday when the regulator announced it had sent 45 new cease-and-desist orders over the last four months.

“The scope of this action sends a clear message: Michigan will not tolerate illegal operators targeting our residents or undermining the lawful businesses that have invested in complying with state law,” MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams said in the release. “Our investigators work with unwavering focus to identify, document, and act against every unlicensed site that puts Michigan players at risk. This is an ongoing effort, and we will continue to take action against illegal gambling operators.”

BetOnline.ag, SportsBetting.ag, and America’s Card Room are the most recognizable names among the 45 online gambling sites targeted, while the rest are mostly rather obscure. But a couple of the names at least gave us a chuckle: The Online Casino scores points for a remarkable lack of creativity, and does anyone feel safe depositing their money on a site called Anonymous Casino?

Latest evolution of Evolution suit 

Evolution AB is seeking to add rival Playtech as a defendant in its long-running New Jersey defamation lawsuit, alleging Playtech hired intelligence firm Black Cube in late 2020 to produce a bogus report aimed at getting Evolution’s U.S. gaming licenses revoked.

Evolution claims Playtech offered Black Cube six-figure success fees tied to specific outcomes, including getting a negative article published and triggering a regulatory investigation. The report was submitted to New Jersey and Pennsylvania regulators, both of which ultimately found no evidence to support its claims; the New Jersey Superior Court later called it “objectively baseless.”

Evolution’s amended complaint adds allegations of trade libel, fraud, and racketeering, and accuses Playtech CEO Mor Weizer of personally participating in the scheme while misleading investors about the company’s involvement. Playtech spent years fighting to keep its role hidden, per the filing. The court will decide whether the amended complaint can proceed.

— Jeff Edelstein

NFL getting back into casino partnership game?

It’s not quite the hottest topic that came out of the NFL annual meetings in Phoenix last week — that designation is reserved for speculation around photos of Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini making light contact poolside — but the Sports Business Journal reported last Friday that partnerships between the NFL and major casino properties may soon be on the table.

According to SBJ, a spokesman said the NFL is exploring “various partnership structures,” one of which is casinos, a category that’s been backburnered of late with the league partnering with online sportsbooks instead. Caesars became the NFL’s official casino partner in 2019, but that soon shifted to a partnership with Caesars Sportsbook. Now, however, with Caesars putting less promotional money into that sportsbook, it may want to again become the official brick-and-mortar casino of the NFL — if a competitor like MGM doesn’t lock in a deal first.

The fact that the NFL is bringing the Super Bowl to Las Vegas in 2029 — for the second time in six years — would certainly seem to suggest the league isn’t afraid to intertwine its business with casino gambling.

More news you can peruse

Other notable nuggets from around the gambling universe during this busy news week:

• The UNLV International Gaming Institute has opened registration for the 19th International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking, scheduled for May 26-28 at Bellagio in Las Vegas. Said UNLV IGI Executive Director Dr. Brett Abarbanel in a statement: “The International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking is more than just a conference. It’s the intellectual heartbeat of the global gambling field. … Attendees will be joined by experts in government, academia, gambling and gaming, technology, and more to discuss the many ways risk-taking continues to grow into an ever-more important part of daily life.”
• Paysafe announced Tuesday a new payment product, Pay with Crypto, specifically designed to enable U.S.-based iGaming customers to fund accounts with cryptocurrency. The product is powered by MoonPay. Paysafe President of Global Gaming Zak Cutler described Pay with Crypto in a press release as “a forward-thinking solution that strongly positions U.S. operators for their customers’ changing transactional preferences — the future of how they pay when they play.”
• We got a significant update Thursday on the situation at The Lodge Card Club in Round Rock, Texas, which was raided March 10 as part of an investigation into suspected money laundering and illegal gambling: The state is no longer pursuing money laundering allegations, and no criminal charges have been filed, but Texas officials continue to look into alleged illegal gambling and have, for now, retained possession of over $2 million of the poker room’s money. PokerNews reported that it’s expected the legal process will drag on for several more months and that the popular cardroom will remain closed throughout that time.

House Rules: Insights from around our network

TYSONS PUNCH-OUT: Virginia governor vetoes plans for casino in Tysons Corner [by Jeff Edelstein]

SWEPT AWAY: Maine Gov. Mills signs sweepstakes ban into law [by Chris Altruda]

TOTAL PACKAGE: ‘All-Inclusives’ catching on in Vegas, sign of a city responding to shifting economic winds [by Eric Raskin]

KICKED OUT: FIFA branding monopoly knocks name off Hard Rock Stadium, ousts gambling logos [by Brant James]

ZIP, ZERO, ZILCH: Ruddock Report: Trifecta of states goes 0-for-3 in online casino adoption [by Steve Ruddock]

FUGGEDABOUTIT: Poll: New Jerseyans are (still) against casino expansion outside Atlantic City [by Jeff Edelstein]

DEAL OR NO DEAL: Cardrooms seek injunctions as new California regulations take effect [by Brian Joseph]

THREE-STATE SOLUTION: First Sunday Million tournaments of new era arrive this weekend [by Eric Raskin]

AD, SUBTRACT: Australia curtails gambling ads, and US state legislatures may not be far behind [by Jeff Edelstein]

SPIN DOCTORS: Bettor who says BetMGM changed rules during big slots promotion gets his case heard next month [by Jill R. Dorson]

QUEENS GAMBIT: New judge named in Metropolitan Park casino license lawsuit [by Chris Altruda]

THE DICE AGE: Native Americans were rolling bones before the Bronze Age [by Jeff Edelstein]

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, I welcomed Jill R. Dorson, the managing editor of InGame and a regular contributor on this site as well, to share her perspective from the Indian Gaming Association conference she attended last week in San Diego. We talked about the tribes’ battle against prediction markets, a possible timeline for legal sports betting in California, the ever-outspoken Victor Rocha, and more.

I also offered a rant of sorts on the McKay Coppins “Sucker” piece in The Atlantic that just refuses to go away, plus I shared my quick thoughts after a few days of playing on the new PokerStars Exclusively on FanDuel app.

Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

RUNNING COLD: A downturn in Las Vegas could signal tough times for the nation [The New York Times]

TEMPERS FLARE: Nevada Gaming Control Board clashes with manager of hedge fund that owns Penn stock [CDC Gaming]

CASH PLAYS: Alabama governor’s race: Tommy Tuberville gets $30,000 donation from controversial gambling company [AL.com]

SELLER’S REMORSE: Mark Cuban says he regrets selling Mavericks to Adelson, Dumont families [ESPN.com]

LIFE AIN’T GRAND: Downtown Las Vegas casino owners default on $90M loan, property in receivership [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

NEVA ENDING STORY: Cal Neva Hotel to reopen as Lake Tahoe Proper Resort and Casino after $298 million financing [Hotel News]

BOARDWALK BACKSLIDE: Atlantic City casino profits fell almost 4% in 2025, more cause for concern with NY casinos coming [The Press of Atlantic City]

THE SCHONFELD CHRONICLES: Governor names civil litigator to Nevada Gaming Commission [CDC Gaming]

HOT IN HERE: Potawatomi Casino evacuated due to fire [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

SMART MOVE: Optimove bolsters marketing efforts with Smartico acquisition [SBC Americas]

NO TO KENO?: NH voters to decide whether to ban keno, limit more casinos [The Berlin Sun]

NEVER FORGET A FACE: Facial recognition spreads as Nevada casinos seek to spot trouble [Reno Gazette Journal]

The Bonus Round

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

• If you know anything about controversial poker player and social media influencer Dan Bilzerian, you know why maybe it’s best that we just present this news item without comment: Bilzerian is running for Congress as a Florida Republican, looking to take the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives currently held by fellow Republican Randy Fine.

• BetMGM announced this week it has been named the exclusive “home of Gold Blitz” in the U.S., meaning BetMGM Casino and Borgata Online Casino will be the first to feature forthcoming games in the popular slots franchise from Games Global.

• The 25th anniversary of Mohegan Sun Arena is around the corner, and the venue within the Connecticut casino is celebrating with two Metallica concerts. The shows on Nov. 19 and 21 will be the metal band’s first two shows ever at Mohegan Sun. As with all two-night Metallica performances these days, it’s a “no repeats” situation, where fans who attend both shows are guaranteed not to hear the same song twice.

• Building on the success of its proprietary jackpot engine in Michigan, Hard Rock Bet launched on Thursday the same multi-level progressive mechanic in New Jersey. As a press release explains, players can “opt in to Hard Rock Bet Jackpots by adding a small per-bet contribution for a chance to win four progressive jackpot tiers — Mini, Minor, Major, and Mega — each seeded to scale with a balance of frequent wins and significant payouts.”

• Speaking of jackpots, Mandalay Bay delivered a huge one last week when a Triple Red Hot 7s Spitfire Multipliers machine turned a lucky gambler’s $5 spin into $10,486,432.04. Gotta love the ol’ 2,097,286X return.