EndGame: ESPN Bet New IL Minimum, Podcast Ends, More

The U.S. sports betting world moves quickly and unpredictably in 2025. In order to properly take stock of it all, we offer InGame’s “EndGame,” an end-of-week compilation of the top storylines, some overlooked items, and all the other news bits from this past week that we found interesting.

ESPN Bet imposes Illinois bet minimum

ESPN Bet joined three other digital sports betting platforms in imposing a bet minimum in Illinois in response to the state’s new per-wager tax. As of Aug. 8, the minimum bet is $1. BetMGM ($2.50), BetRivers ($1), and Hard Rock Bet ($2) previously announced bet minimums while DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, and FanDuel have plans to add a per-bet surcharge beginning next month.

Illinois lawmakers in May approved a first-of-its kind per-wager tax of $0.25 for each of the first 20 million bets and $0.50 all additional bets. The industry has pushed back against this increase, which was the second tax hike in the state in a year.

ESPN Bet did not formally announce the minimum, but rather, included it in an updated version of its house rules, per Covers. Three Illinois operators — Bet365, Ceasars Sportsbook, and Circa Sports — have not publicly addressed how or if they will respond to the next tax.

Gambling podcast ‘Against All Odds’ ends

Fans of the sports betting podcast Against All Odds woke up to sad news on Wednesday, with a new episode appearing in their feeds titled, “The Final Episode.”

The primary gambling-focused pod in Spotify-owned The Ringer’s network, Against All Odds debuted in 2017 — a year before the fall of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act — and according to host “Cousin” Sal Iacono, lasted 888 episodes. It started on The Ringer network, left in 2020 to become the flagship title in Iacono’s Extra Points venture, then returned to The Ringer in 2024, with Iacono saying they released 458 Ringer episodes and 430 while under the Extra Points umbrella.

But, without warning for the audience, Wednesday’s episode was the last.

“This is our final episode together,” Iacono said moments into the pod. “The Ringer and Spotify shuffled the deck, and our podcast was not renewed.”

Iacono — cousin of late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and a former writer for Kimmel’s show — built Against All Odds around his relationship with three childhood friends he referred to as “The Degenerate Trifecta” (or “D3”): Harry Gagnon, Brian “Brother Bri” Szokoli, and Darren “The Parlay Kid” Szokoli. All three were with him for the farewell episode, reminiscing about highlights and lowlights from the podcast’s run.

Against All Odds stood out from most sports betting podcasts for its embrace of humor and tendency not to take the wagering too seriously. They talked odds, they talked best bets, they talked bad beats (or “betaches,” as they called them), but they never pretended to be betting experts. Rather, they were betting enthusiasts — who were equally enthusiastic about busting each other’s chops.

The timing of the cancellation is mildly curious both because it seemed to come out of nowhere, and because NFL season — prime sports betting season in the U.S. — is just three weeks away.

Eric Raskin

OCCC also probing Guardians pitchers

The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) Wednesday sent a press release indicating that it has opened its own investigation into Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase. Both are currently on administrative leave while Major League Baseball investigates gambling concerns surrounding first-pitch bets.

“On June 30, the Commission was notified by an Ohio licensed sportsbook of suspicious wagering activity on Cleveland Guardians wagering events and was also promptly contacted by Major League Baseball regarding the events,” the OCCC wrote in the release. “Under the Commission’s statutory responsibilities, an independent investigation commenced.”

It is the first time since the news of Ortiz’s suspension that the OCCC acknowledged its investigation. The agency also wrote that it will have no comment until its investigation is complete. MLB placed Ortiz and Clase on “non-disciplinary leave” through Aug. 31.

Jill R. Dorson

Arizona launches statewide RG campaign

The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADoG) launched a statewide public education campaign on Monday, the first of its kind in the state. The campaign aims to protect consumers, promote public awareness, and reduce the risks of unregulated gambling.

Arizona in 2021 became the first Western state outside of Nevada to launch digital sports betting, and every major U.S. wagering operator is live in the state. It is one of a handful of states that allows professional sports teams to partner with betting operators. The new campaign will educate bettors on the risks of unregulated gaming, point bettors in the direction of legal betting options, and spread awareness of responsible gaming resources, such as the 1-800-NEXT-STEP mental health helpline.

The ADoG has created a resource page called Check Your Bet with responsible gaming information. The ADoG launched public service announcements (PSAs), available in English and Spanish, that will play across media platforms in the state, or as a playlist on their YouTube channel.

OLG adds horse racing

Ontario Lottery and Gaming added wagering on horse racing to its ProLine sports betting platform, it announced Wednesday. The move comes ahead of one of Canada’s bigger races, the King’s Plate at Woodbine Racetrack. Bet365 is the only other platform in Ontario to offer parimutuel wagering through a sports betting platform. The bets are routed to Woodbine’s tote system and remain parimutuel bets, wrote Steve McAllister on The Parleh.

The hope is that profits from the parimutuel betting will “remain within the industry and not to leave through an expat entity,” Woodbine CEO Michael Copeland told The Parleh.

Jill R. Dorson

Fanatics launches loyalty points program

Fanatics ONE, the new loyalty program offered by the operator, launched Tuesday, giving bettors a way to unlock new offers. The program will run across all Fanatics products. Players will have the chance to earn FanCash, which they can redeem for rewards, including fan apparel, trading cards and collectibles, online sports betting and casino bonuses, event or game tickets. Members also get 5% FanCash back on app purchases and up to 10% back on all Fanatics bets.

The new cross-business loyalty program will bring attention to everything Fanatics has to offer. Users who already made purchases were automatically enrolled in a Fanatics ONE membership, and as members show more engagement and earn more points, they can get upgraded memberships and earn more perks.

They actually had to say this?

Little League Baseball, which leverages children for a $7.5 million television rights package with ESPN, is imploring its fans to stop “exploiting the success and failures of children” by betting on World Series games.

Legal sportsbooks in the United States are not allowed to offer these wagers, but some offshore sites do.

We feel strongly that there is no place for betting on Little League games. pic.twitter.com/kzvuFXrQHC
— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 14, 2025

ROGA, BetBlocker partner

The Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) announced a partnership with BetBlocker Tuesday to spread awareness of blocking software as a tool for responsible gaming. BetBlocker and ROGA will provide free blocking software for bettors across the United States, which allows users to voluntarily block gambling operator websites and apps.

The partnership deal will include ROGA featuring BetBlocker’s software on its website, platforms, and channels, as well as spreading the awareness to operators. ROGA is comprised of Bally’s Corporation, BetMGM, bet365, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting & Gaming, FanDuel, Hard Rock Digital, and PENN Entertainment.