Spin Cycle: PG In The Military, DK Atop The Rankings 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 …

Problem gambling marching orders

One precise, deliberate, coordinated step at a time. That’s how military servicemembers march, and that’s how research into gambling addiction in the U.S. military is being approached.

The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) announced Monday an incremental step in the process of addressing the military problem gambling issue, as the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a provision in the FY26 Senate Defense Appropriations Bill that would make gambling addiction an eligible research topic.

The bill containing the provision next heads to the full Senate for consideration.

“Servicemembers and veterans facing gambling addiction deserve the same level of support and understanding we’ve worked to build around PTSD, depression, and other behavioral health challenges,” said Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, the lawmaker leading the charge. “This provision is a critical step toward recognizing the realities our military community faces and ensuring the federal government invests in the basic, foundational research needed to support recovery.”

According to the NCPG, servicemembers are twice as likely as civilians to experience gambling problems.

Top app, no cap

Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG) released its latest round of regulated online casino app rankings Friday, and the top score went to DraftKings — for the third report in a row.

The rest of the top four:

• 2. Golden Nugget
• 3. Caesars
• 4. FanDuel

EKG noted that DraftKings’ “arcade game” style products are helping set it apart, while FanDuel’s “Rewards Machine” was highlighted as most popular free-to-play game. (Random personal opinion: Rewards Machine is cool, but it could stand to move a little faster.)

BetRivers is on the decline in the rankings, whereas bet365 is rising rapidly, from 21st place two reports ago to seventh in the latest rankings.

Increase your Intel

Call this a shameless plug for a product adjacent to Casino Reports if you want … I prefer to think of it as a raising awareness throughout the industry of a product that you’ll soon find indispensable. 

On Thursday, InGame (a Third Planet Media website, just like the one you’re reading right now) launched “InGame Intel,” an AI chat bot loaded with data gathered by Alfonso Straffon ready to instantly provide answers (and charts and tables) for any regulated sports betting handle/revenue/tax query you can think of.

Should it be called “ChatGGR” instead of “InGame Intel”? Perhaps. But what’s done is done.

Seriously, take InGame Intel for a spin. I didn’t think it was possible to answer questions about sports betting data quicker than my colleague Chris Altruda can off the top of his head, but this AI tool has proven me wrong on that front. (It’s still a close race, though.)

House Rules: Insights from around our network

THERE’S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR: Will legalization trend reverse in 2026? [by Steve Ruddock]

IMITATION GAME: DraftKings copies Fanatics, and signals the next round of the sportsbook wars [by Jeff Edelstein]

BUNCH OF LOOZAS: Circa’s Slotapalooza spins up interest in downtown Vegas [by Todd Shriber]

Q2 EARNINGS, DRAFTKINGS EDITION: DraftKings: If surcharge is taxable, expect lousier odds in Illinois [by Daniel O’Boyle]

Q2 EARNINGS, PENN EDITION: Penn announces Q2 online losses, but touts ESPN Bet as path to profitability [by Brant James]

Q2 EARNINGS, FANDUEL EDITION: Flutter CFO doesn’t expect Illinois surcharge tax, contradicting DraftKings [by Daniel O’Boyle]

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: Shohei series, ‘Baccarat Machine’ — what other gambling scandals need Hollywood treatment? [by Eric Raskin]

BAD VIBES: How WNBA sex toy stunts became a betting goldmine [by Jeff Edelstein]

WISH BLASTING: Regulators need to go beyond management by prayer [by Richard Schuetz]

WHO YOU GONNA CALL?: 1-800-GAMBLER is in limbo — why, and what could happen if it goes away [by Ella Gorodetzky]

GIVE AND TAKE: More like ‘Intra-Not’ — Maryland Lottery revokes vendor contract [by Eric Raskin]

MAKING THE CASE: Op-Ed: California’s communities deserve a voice in the future of gaming [By Kyle Kirkland]

VEEPS AND BOUNDS: Pence’s think tank: Gambling losses shouldn’t be tax deductible at all [by Daniel O’Boyle]

NEWS YORK CITY: The New York casino weekly roundup [by Chris Altruda]

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, Jeff Edelstein and I welcome Zoe Ebling, the vice president of interactive at game developer AGS, to talk about omni-channel slot releases, AI in slots, reaching the next generation, the value of a signature franchise game like Rakin’ Bacon, and more.

Jeff and I also discuss what the massive NFL-ESPN agreement may mean for ESPN Bet, Ohio’s governor calling for a ban on prop bets, the Lotto Texas winner getting her money, and the impact (or lack thereof) of 50 AGs banding together against the offshores. Here’s a taste:

Check out the full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

BOOKING A WIN: Wynn Resorts bucks Las Vegas Strip results with strong showing in Q2 [CDC Gaming Reports]

SIN-LESS CITY: NY real estate scion builds casino-free zone for Vegas revelers [The Spokesman-Review]

SHUFFLING ALONG: Petersburg dealer institute classes delayed as work continues on temporary casino [WRIC]

CHAPEL GROAN: The Las Vegas wedding industry battles a new wave of economic uncertainty [Las Vegas Weekly]

MORE CASINOS, MORE MONEY: New Hampshire casinos see 61% revenue increase year-over-year in June from casino openings [CDC Gaming Reports]

BEARER OF AD NEWS: Illinois Gaming Board announces new advertising rules for gambling [MyWabashValley]

MO’ MONEYBALL: Fisher says cost for the Las Vegas A’s ballpark has risen above $2 billion [The Nevada Independent]

The Bonus Round

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

• Caesars announced Thursday the launch of its third fully in-house-developed iCasino title, Signature American Roulette. Said Caesars Digial Senior Director of Game Products and Head of Studio Scott Krell in explaining what makes the roulette game unique, “From player-selectable wheel spin direction and speed to our intuitive favorite bets system, every detail is crafted to boost engagement.” The game is available only in New Jersey for now.

• A couple of seven-figure jackpots to report this week: At the Palazzo in Las Vegas, a guest over the weekend turned a $25 spin on $1 Million Dragon Link into slightly more than the name of the game, hitting for $1,064,095. And at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Mississippi last Friday, a $50 bet on Panda Magic hit for $1,283,086, the biggest jackpot of the year at that particular casino — by a margin of about $800,000.

• We have a new contender for worst televised poker play of all-time. At a Celebrity Poker Tour event, reality TV star Savannah Chrisley held a 10-7 with the 7 of hearts on a flop of 5-6-8, all hearts. In other words, she had an open-ended straight flush draw. Action checked around to Chrisley … and she mucked her hand, even though she wasn’t facing a bet. The turn card was the 9 of hearts, which would have completed the straight flush, if only Chrisley hadn’t folded her cards for no reason. (I’m starting to wonder if maybe getting famous on reality TV isn’t directly correlated with possessing high intelligence.)

• I’ll give the last word this week to my friend Patrick Everson, who’s out here on social media making a whole lot of sense: