Spin Cycle: DK Settling, Cali Scheduling 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 …

DraftKings goes on a settling spree

DraftKings kept its lawyers busy in July, as the company settled two separate lawsuits accusing the online gaming giant of taking advantage of problem gamblers.

The much-publicized suit filed by New Jersey’s Lisa D’Allesandro, claiming that DraftKings’ VIP program led her husband to drain their children’s saving accounts, was dismissed with prejudice according to documents filed in Essex County Superior Court.

D’Alessandro said her husband gambled nearly $15 million on DraftKings between 2020-24, losing over $940,000, and she sued DraftKings for negligence, fraud, and violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Earlier in the month, DK settled with psychologist Dr. Kavita Fischer, the subject of a February 2024 Wall Street Journal story about her addiction to online gambling and loss of more than $150,000. Those terms were not disclosed either.

Both plaintiffs were represented by the same attorney, Matthew Litt, who also represents Sam Antar in his thus far unsuccessful suit against BetMGM.

Pause on California sweepstakes bill

The assorted powers-that-be in California have been relentless in recent months in trying to shut down various forms of gambling, but here’s some relative relenting: The efforts to deem sweepstakes gaming sites illegal isn’t going to progress for the next three-plus weeks.

As attorney Daniel Wallach noted on LinkedIn on Tuesday, AB 831 is scheduled for its third committee hearing — with the Senate Appropriations Committee — on Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. PT. It was last amended on July 16, when it passed out of the Public Safety Committee unanimously.

Assemblyman Avelino Valencia’s gutted-and-amended bill seeks to outlaw all online gambling with sweepstakes prizing, including casino and sports betting operations. In addition to targeting operators, the bill also takes aim at payment processors, geolocation services, platform providers, gaming content suppliers, and affiliate marketers.

More to come … but not until Monday, Aug. 18.

The Empire strikes CAC

After the first four Community Advisory Committees (CACs) jumped headlong into their duties as part of the New York downstate casino licensing process, the CAC for MGM Empire City on Thursday opted to solely address the technical aspects in its initial meeting: naming a chair, reviewing rules regarding public hearings, and keeping information confidential to maintain the integrity of the selection process among others.

The chair for the MGM Empire City CAC is Yonkers Deputy Mayor James Cavanaugh, who was appointed by Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano. The mayor has already publicly backed Empire City, saying the venue has proven its worth and shouldn’t even be subject to this bidding process.

The rest of the committee is comprised of New York State Deputy of Education Maria Fernandez, selected by Gov. Kathy Hochul; Larry Wilson of the Hyatt Association of Southeast Yonkers, tabbed by state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins; Yonkers Democratic Party Executive Director Frank Jereis, picked by state Assemblymember Nader Sayegh; and Joe Apicella, a real estate development executive with MacQuesten Development named by Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins.

— Chris Altruda

House Rules: Insights from around our network

BUCKEYE BLOCKADE: Ohio governor on online casinos: not on my watch [by Jeff Edelstein]

KINGS > EMPERORS: Study: DraftKings apps lead in customer satisfaction, Caesars lags behind [by Brant James]

POWER OUTAGE: NJ Lottery report shows decline in Powerball, Mega Millions sales [by Eric Raskin]

YOU DOWN WITH VGTS?: Chicago alderpersons introduce ordinances to license VGTs [by Chris Altruda]

PAY THE LADY: Michigan woman steps closer to collecting disputed $3.2 million from BetMGM [by Jeff Edelstein]

LOSING BATTLE: D.C. one vote away from amending loss recovery act, making lawsuit irrelevant [by Jill R. Dorson]

KENTUCKY DIRTY: Newport was gambling’s bridge to Vegas [by Brant James]

MI MONEY: Michigan online casino revenue reaches $240 million in June [by Chris Altruda]

THEREIN LIES THE HUB: AiR Hub connects AI with responsible gambling [by Ella Gorodetzky]

GRINDS MY GEARS: Mizrachi’s Hall of Fame induction is a total misplay [by Eric Raskin]

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, Jeff Edelstein and I welcome Safer Gambling Strategies President Keith Whyte to share his insights on the state of responsible gambling at a time when access to action is expanding rapidly. Here’s a taste:

Jeff and I also discuss the wildly different payout rates between live and online slots, a study that won’t please the cannibalization crusaders, the forthcoming Kalshi-Polymarket duel, distrust in the Pepsi Challenge, Morty Seinfeld vs Jack Klompus, and more. Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

JOBS DRYING UP: Las Vegas unemployment rate rises again amid tourism slump [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

MONUMENTAL AT MONMOUTH: Takeaways from a record-setting Haskell Day at Monmouth Park [Asbury Park Press]

SOLID SANDS: Las Vegas Sands reports gains in revenue and adjusted earnings in Q2, continues stock buybacks [CDC Gaming Reports]

A PATRIARCH PASSES: Real estate mogul Donald Soffer, father of Fontainebleau CEO, dies at 92 [Las Vegas Sun]

PILOT TAKES OFF: Atlantic County receives $15M PILOT settlement from state [Press of Atlantic City]

SWIPE WRONG?: Credit card bans: common sense, or nonsense? [iGaming Business]

ROARING RAPIDS: Cedar Rapids casino project moves forward as Riverside Casino opts not to appeal decision [CBS2Iowa]

ENTER THE MATRIX: EveryMatrix expands US reach with Boyd Interactive launch in New Jersey [Complete iGaming]

The Bonus Round

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

• Related to the Dina Titus social media post above, Jon Bruford offered perhaps the quote of the week on The Gambling Files podcast, regarding the tax deduction rule: “It does sound like one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read. It’s like reading a story about someone who went out on a cold night, and instead of taking a jacket, they took some lighter fuel and some matches and set themselves on fire to get warm.”

• Another quote worth sharing: Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said on the company’s Q2 earnings call that prediction markets are a “fascinating subject,” but “it isn’t something that we’re real concerned about.” Counterpoint: If there’s one thing Kalshi has shown this year, it’s that no form of gambling is safe from prediction markets attempting to step on their turf.

• One of these days, I’m going to gamble and get a 285,527X return. That’s what happened to a Washington couple at The Palms in Las Vegas last week, who turned a $4 Wheel of Fortune 4D Collector’s Edition slot machine spin into a $1,142,108.23 jackpot. Just think of how many vowels they can buy with that kind of money …