Spin Cycle: Two Opposite Casino Smoking Situations 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 …

Where there’s smoke, there’s casino news

In New Jersey, the continued failure to ban smoking in casinos is leading toward a possible workers’ strike of sorts, while in Rhode Island, the impending ban on smoking in casinos has the state’s only operator asking for more money.

During a protest Wednesday on the Atlantic City Boardwalk ahead of New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s address at the annual East Coast Gaming Congress, representatives of Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) called upon casino workers to pick a Tuesday in August and stay home from their jobs to show the industry what it would be like without them. The stated goal is for 90% of casino workers to call out sick on the same day.

It’s a different picture in Rhode Island, where a casino smoking ban is set to go into effect in January 2027. Bally’s Corporation operates the state’s two casinos and has, for the second year in a row, made a request to the state for more marketing dollars, claiming revenue will decline once smoking is banned. Rhode Island Lottery Director Mark Furcolo estimated in speaking to the House Finance Committee that the Bally’s request would cost the state anywhere from $3 million to $11 million in 2027 if granted.

Maryland legislature approves HHR study 

Off-track betting facilities won a small victory in Maryland Monday. The House and Senate passed an amended version of HB 1587, a bill that mandates a comprehensive study and appoints a workgroup to examine the effect of adding additional electronic instant bingo machines and historic horse racing (HHR) terminals across the state. The workgroup must report its findings to the legislature by Dec. 1. 

On the list of things to be studied is “the impact of sports wagering and other expansions of gaming on satellite simulcast facilities that are not located at video lottery facilities or horse racing facilities over the years.” In addition, the workgroup must look at how much money is being lost to neighboring states and the projected increase in revenue to the state if more machines are added.

OTBs have been lobbying to add HHR machines to their offerings for several sessions. 

— Jill R. Dorson

Casumo latest casualty in Canada

About three months away from the launch of regulated iGaming in the province of Alberta, a different Canadian province, Ontario, is losing an operator. Casumo, which was founded in Sweden and is now based in Malta, will exit Ontario on April 30 and close all player accounts May 14 (with outstanding player funds forfeited).

Casumo has not disclosed a reason for its exit, but Ontario is a highly competitive, crowded market, with 82 regulated online casinos at last count. Casumo continues to operate in other countries and regions, including the U.K.

Ontario launched regulated iCasino in 2022 and Casumo went live that November. Casumo is not the first operator in the province to fall by the wayside, nor is it the most noteworthy name to pull out of part or all of Canada — that would be massive sweepstakes operator VGW, which withdrew from Canada last year.

‘Face card’ does about-face in poker scandal

Damon Jones, the former NBA player and Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach accused by federal prosecutors of helping lure victims to rigged Mafia-run poker games, will have a change-of-plea hearing on April 28, the Eastern District of New York announced Thursday.

Jones, who asked to change his plea on sports corruption charges the same day in the Terry Rozier insider information case, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges in the poker indictment in November. The poker case, U.S. v. Aiello et al, also ensnared Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, who remains on indefinite leave.

Charging documents described both as “face cards” in the scheme to draw in high-value targets to poker games where tables fitted with sophisticated equipment ensured losses.

Federal prosecutors said in March that they expected at least a dozen of the 31 co-conspirators to cut plea deals. Jones’ attorney, Kenneth Walker, told ABC News in New York that his client was “not cooperating” in the sports betting case.

— Brant James

House Rules: Insights from around our network

Gamblers Have One Year From Today Before The 90% Cap Hits Home

New Cardroom Regulations Are A Crisis For Some California Cities — But Not All

FanDuel Sets (Another) New Jersey iGaming Record In March

Bet365 Launches Online Casino In Michigan

UNLV Study: Gambling Industry Has Work To Do With Artificial Intelligence

WSOP And PokerStars Both Announce Major Series, US Tournament Scene Stacks Up

The Sky Is (Not) Falling On Atlantic City

Under The Influence: Prediction Markets Are Harnessing Modern Joe Camels

Two Louisiana Sweeps Ban Bills Progressing In Legislature

New Harrah’s Oklahoma Feels Familiar In The Best Possible Way

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, I welcomed old friend, veteran professional gambler, and author of the new book All About Sports Betting Blair Rodman for a conversation spanning his tales of sports betting in the 1990s, his takes on sports betting in the 2020s, why he stopped playing poker, why everyone he knows stopped playing casino tournaments, and more.

I also offered my quick takes on the BetMGM Q1 earnings report, a new iGaming bill in D.C., two gambling bill vetoes in Virginia, and Powerball’s expansion to the U.K., plus I told a quick story about my impatience at the online poker tables and gave out a -900 sports wager that I endorse (but won’t be betting).

Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

Keisha Lance Bottoms Pitches Casino Revenue For Education As Georgia Governor Race Intensifies [WJCL ABC 22]

Strip Room Rates Gradually Increasing, Analyst Says [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

Reno Soccer Stadium Plans Include Hotel-Casino, Dining, Retail [Reno Gazette Journal]

Boyd Gaming’s Steve Schutte Appointed To Las Vegas Tourism Board [CDC Gaming]

New Hampshire Towns Block Casinos Using New Opt-Out Law [Concord Monitor]

Chicago Video Gambling Terminal Fight Continues As Aldermen Try To Jump-Start Approval [Chicago Tribune]

Grand Island Casino Resort Generates Nearly $250 Million In Economic Impact During First Year [KSNB 4]

Could New Gambling Options, All But Dead Legislatively, Patch Holes In Virginia’s Budget? [Radio IQ]

Construction Of Massive Madera Casino Will Continue Despite New Ruling, Tribe Says [The Fresno Bee]

The Bonus Round

Completing the Spin Cycle with a few of our favorite social media posts of the week: