EndGame: Polymarket's Advertising Drama, Sorsby Sidelined

The U.S. sports betting world moves quickly and unpredictably in 2026. 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.

Sorsby’s options shrinking

Former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby won’t play in the NFL of CFL this fall. The NFL announced Tuesday it had declined to hold a supplemental draft, and the CFL announced Friday that it would not allow teams to sign Sorsby or register him to play in the league. In the NFL, the supplemental draft is reserved for players who didn’t declare for the April draft but somehow lost their college eligibility before mid-June. In this case, Sorsby admitted to having a gambling addiction (and betting on his own team), and after the Big 12 sued Texas Tech, which wanted to allow him to play, he declared for the supplemental draft. Sorsby, who now has an agent, is no longer eligible to play in college.

From here, Sorsby has several options. He could sit on the sidelines and watch quarterbacks like Arch Manning and Dante Moore cement their status as first-round picks while hoping the NFL will allow him in and a team will take him. Or he could head to an alternative league — if one will have him — put his head down, stay out of trouble, and pray for a chance in … say, 2030.

“Upholding the integrity of the league and ensuring fair competition are paramount to the CFL,” the league said in a statement shared with USA Today. “The allegations involving Brendan Sorsby are serious and concerning.”

Just in: NFL is declining to hold a supplemental draft this summer, currently leaving the 2027 Draft as the only way for QB Brendan Sorsby to enter the NFL.

A letter is being sent to Sorsby, and to all 32 NFL teams, to inform them of the league’s decision.

The league continues… pic.twitter.com/1rwIunWLml
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 23, 2026

Bowyer isn’t exactly repentant

Illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer told NBC LA Monday that he doesn’t regret having run an illegal bookmaking business in which he netted up to $1 million a month. Bowyer served a seven-month prison term, and is now serving two years probation, which includes a ban on gambling and mandatory attendance at gambling addiction meetings.

“I regret some of the poor choices I made — but I don’t regret it because it made me who am today,” Bowyer told the TV station. Among Bowyer’s clients was former Shohei Ohtani interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who is serving a 57-month sentence in federal prison for bank fraud and filing a false tax return after he admitted to stealing about $17 million from Ohtani to fund his gambling addiction.

Add us as a preferred source on Google Get our content prioritized in your search results

Polymarket pandemonium

The Wall Street Journal published an investigative piece on Saturday in which it discovered that Polymarket was using fraudulent advertising. Per the story, the prediction platform “flooded social media with videos … which appear genuine at first glance. In reality, Polymarket built near-perfect copies of its website, then instructed creators to make simulated trades on those dummy sites and hide that they were being paid by Polymarket.”

Polymarket responded Tuesday by telling CBS News that it is doing an internal audit of its promotional material. Per the Wall Street Journal story, Polymarket paid and trained at least 10 content creators to make at least 1,100 videos that it pushed out in the hopes of having some go viral.

Polymarket’s bigger concern should be if the Federal Trade Commission decides to get involved — false or deceptive advertising is a clear violation of the rules and could result in a significant fine.

Bet365, BetMGM express interest in MA

Bet365 and BetMGM responded to the the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s invitation to file a notice of intent for interest in getting licensed. The commission opened a window in May to gauge interest in its remaining licenses. Bet365 would be a new entry in the state, and BetMGM is already live in partnership with MGM Springfield, but has expressed interest in a standalone mobile license.

The commission voted to consider new interest in April, but has not yet set a timeline for a scoping survey or for accepting applications.

Kalshi in Canada

Prediction markets will be coming to Canada this summer, though sports event contracts won’t be available to trade. CBC reported Tuesday that Wealthsimple will be offering Kalshi contracts on the economy, financial markets, and the weather on its app.

But Steve McAllister wrote in Gaming News Canada that even though sports event contracts — as well as political contracts and contracts on “unlawful activities” — aren’t currently legal in Canada, that could change. Unlike in the U.S., where prediction markets are regulated federally, they are regulated at the provincial level in Canada, which could ultimately mean difference guidance or availability in different provinces. McAllister also lamented Canada’s “loss of innocence” as it has followed the U.S. in allowed legal sports betting and iGaming and now prediction markets are coming.

“But the rise of prediction markets is yet another chapter in the great gambling expansion and, thus, a further loss of our collective naivety,” he wrote.

Bye, bye, bad actors

Fanatics Sportsbook announced on Thursday a new partnership to combat “online hostility toward athletes” on social media. Called the “Bad Actor Program,” the company is partnering with IC360 and Signify Group to monitor harassment across social media platforms. Anyone identified “targeting athletes, organizations, and teams on open source social media” will be put onto ProhiBet’s Bad Actor platform, and will be suspended or banned from Fanatics’ sites. The program, which will use the Signify “Threat Matrix” to identify abuse, is set to roll out at the start of the 2026 football season.

IC360 will share information on the Bad Actor platform with other sportsbooks that join the program, as well as sports leagues and teams.

Politico poll: Plurality say ban election betting

A Politico poll released Monday revealed that a plurality of Americans surveyed believe that election betting should be illegal. The poll also showed that more of those surveyed (53%) believe that sports event contracts should be legal than those who believe that election betting (30%) should be allowed. Independent U.K.-based polling firm Public First surveyed 2,035 American adults online between May 17-19.

Respondents were asked what topics they believe should be legal or illegal to place bets on. Sports event contracts were followed by the weather (46%) and awards shows (45%) in terms of how many think they should be legal. Twelve percent of respondents said it should be legal to bet on acts of terrorism, and 17% said it should be legal to bet on the “outcome of wars.”

Odds and ends

Penn Entertainment shareholders voted last week to reduce CEO Jay Snowden’s compensation. Snowden’s total compensation for 2026 can top out at $17.4 million vs. $25.3 million for 2025.
Novig shared on Tuesday that it has hired ex-Kalshi and CFTC executive Elie Mishory as its chief regulatory and legal affairs officer. Mishory was the head of regulatory affairs and chief counsel at Kalshi, and served as counsel to former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz, helping him develop the statement on sports event contracts “that helped shape the modern regulatory discussion surrounding sports-related event markets,” according to a press release. Mishory also worked in Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
BetMGM and MGM Resorts announced Tuesday that they have renewed their partnerships with Major League Baseball. BetMGM will continue to market its brand and products across MLB platforms and its integration across MLB content on Apple TV.
On the 10th anniversary of the date he was awarded an NHL expansion team, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley announced Monday that he is putting together a bid for a Las Vegas NBA team, reported News3LV. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is said to be considering Las Vegas and Seattle as expansion cities.
Derivatives operator Cboe announced Tuesday that it launched Cboe Predicts, which are based on the Mini-S&P 500 Index (XSP). The contracts are available to interactive brokers, with plans to make them available via Charles Schwab and other retail brokerage platforms.