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.
What if SCOTUS rules against prediction markets?
On Wednesday’s episode of the New Normal tribal gaming webinar, hosts Victor Rocha and Jason Giles discussed with their guests — tribal lawyers Scott Crowell (Crowell Law Office Tribal Advocacy Group) and Joe Webster (Hobbs Strauss) — what would happen if the Supreme Court ultimately takes a case about prediction markets and rules that their sports event contracts are not legal.
Rocha said he believes that “once Kalshi loses sports [contracts], they are going to flip and become a sports betting company because that’s where the money is.”
Giles, the Indian Gaming Association executive director, wondered if tribes should consider offering markets like weather or entertainment. “Maybe people do want to bet on the weather and when Taylor Swift will get pregnant. And maybe a tribal casino should be offering that stuff.”
Rocha said that in London, those markets are available, but it’s “not a glamorous market. … It’s supposed to be an exciting, life-changing experience, and it’s the truth machine, but that falls apart under closer inspection. Do we stop looking at it through sovereignty and look at it through another lens? And the answer is, you look through all lenses. This is a multi-pronged fight — you can’t just say this is how we are going to take it. You have to fight on all levels at all times.”
Crowell cautioned against the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” pathway. He said going down that road “loses the tribal governmental gaming aspect of everything that we’re doing. We have to beat them. … If there is a commercial opportunity outside of traditional gaming that you can do outside of prediction markets once the dust settles, well, yeah, I think tribes should look at that like any other potential business venture.”
— Jill R. Dorson
Caesars Sportsbook fined in New Jersey
Caesars Sportsbook has been penalized by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for various violations relating to responsible gambling regulations, SBC Americas reported.
The sportsbook agreed to pay a $251,250 fine and to disgorge $45,465 in funds that “should not have been realized by Caesars Sportsbook” as its penalty, according to an agreement between the operator and regulator. Among the violations cited, the sportsbook failed to display required responsible gambling language; failed to send a daily self-exclusion list to the state; and permitted self-excluded patrons the opportunity to wager through other platforms.
LeForbes sentencing pushed back
The sentencing hearing for Damien LeForbes, the illegal bookie who pled guilty to two federal criminal counts in August 2024, was continued Monday from Sept. 3 to Oct. 15.
LeForbes, a professional poker player, pled guilty to money laundering and operating an illegal gambling business. He was initially set to be sentenced in December 2025, facing up to 15 years in prison. LeForbes has been free on $50,000 bond.
Federal prosecutors revealed in court documents that LeForbes wagered $148 million over a two-year span and ran an illegal betting business via an offshore website and call center.
— Jill R. Dorson
NFL continues DK, FD partnerships
The NFL announced Thursday that it has renewed sports betting partnerships with DraftKings and FanDuel. The news came about a week after Fanatics Betting & Gaming announced a new, non-exclusive deal with the league.
Per the league’s press release, all three partners will be able to use NFL marks on their platforms and at retail locations, in addition to being able to access “real-time, official play-by-play statistics, proprietary Next Gen Stats, and BetVision through Genius Sports, the league’s exclusive data distribution partner.” The benefits also include a presence at major events such as the Super Bowl and the ability to offer VIP experiences tied to the NFL.
— Jill R. Dorson
Odds and ends
- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie now serves as a strategic advisor to the American Gaming Association, including as a spokesman critical of prediction markets, and he gave CNBC’s Squawk Box some of the reasons why this week. He said tax revenue is being siphoned from states and those under 21 are susceptible to harm, and he hopes the Supreme Court ultimately shuts down the prediction markets’ sports contracts.
- Criminal charges of illegal bookmaking have been withdrawn against William West Roberts, a professional gambler with a tout service in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Roberts admits to heavy gambling, but he maintained the criminal case leading to his arrest in April was a “witch hunt” stemming from a custody dispute with the mother of his child. Roberts had allegedly taken bets through a website based in Costa Rica and commingled funds with his tout service, Wild Bill Sports Consulting Inc.
- In a follow-up to the recent mini-scandal involving FanDuel’s use of a Bryce Harper video as part of its VIP program encouraging a gambler, the Major League Baseball Players Association has indicated it would support a ban on such marketing involving athletes and sportsbooks. Some federal lawmakers previously went on record wanting such practices stopped, and the players union this week said it would support restrictions in a new bargaining agreement.
ICYMI
Prediction Markets Have Broken The Sports Betting Information Business
DraftKings Predictions Launches Ad Campaign Targeting Biggest Non-Sportsbook States
LSU Football Coach Kiffin’s Bonuses Hedged Using $3 Million Kalshi Trades Placed By Outside Firm
Kalshi And Polymarket Test CFTC’s Injury Contracts Stance With ‘Player Participation’ Bets
Connecticut Sues Kalshi In State Court, But Judge Rejects Request For Immediate Sports Contracts Ban
Montana Federal Court Judge Denies Kalshi’s Motion For Preliminary Injunction
BetMGM’s Latest App Updates Borrow A Few Features From Prediction Markets
Sports Betting Alliance Members Betting On Georgia
Nebraska Online Wagering Petitions Approved For November Ballot
