Spin Cycle: New Coalition Of B&Ms, Barrage Of Michigan C&Ds 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 …

That NAAiG-ing feeling

Need one more acronym in your life? This week, a coalition of executives from retail casino operators — representing Cordish Companies, Red Rock Resorts, Monarch Casino & Resort, Churchill Downs Incorporated, Jack Entertainment, and others — went public with the formation of the National Association Against iGaming, or NAAiG.

And the NAAiG released a study that — you’re not gonna believe this — concludes that online gambling expansion is bad.

Churchill Downs Senior Director of Government Relations and NAAiG board member Shannon McCracken offered the most alarmist quote in the release, saying, “iGaming is eroding our communities.” It’s worth noting that online casino gaming is presently legal and regulated in only seven of the 50 states. And in at least one of those states, Pennsylvania, Cordish Companies is actively participating in the iGaming market with its own PlayLive! brand.

“As a leader in the gaming industry, Cordish understands the importance of innovation and this site certainly illustrates our ability to enhance the traditional launch timeline of our new casino projects,” said Rob Norton, President of Cordish Gaming Group, at the time of the brand’s announcement.

Of course, the cannibalization and/or demand shift debate rages on with different sets of data used to support different viewpoints. For now, here at Casino Reports, we’ll sit tight and wait for iGUANA (iGaming United Against National Associations) to present a counter-study, then we’ll assess.

Ceaseless activity from MGCB

The Michigan Gaming Control Board has long been among the most aggressive in the nation in terms of cracking down on illegal as well as unregulated gambling. (See here, here, here, here, and countless other articles.) On Wednesday, the MGCB further brandished its reputation by announcing it had issued cease-and-desist letters to nine additional unlicensed iCasino sites.

What perhaps made this batch of C&Ds stand out most was the fact that even experienced industry observers had hardly heard of any of the operators in question:

• BetAnySports (BAS)
• CoolCat Casino
• Diamond Sportsbook International, d/b/a BetDSI.eu (BetDSI)
• Solar Game LTD and Busan Trade Office (Go Go Gold)
• My Dreams Casino
• NonStop casino
• Palace of Chance
• Xbet Casino
• WagerWeb

The operators have 14 days to comply or else face possible further legal action from the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.

“These unlicensed operators are not only in violation of Michigan’s laws but also pose significant risks to consumers by offering limited and often unreliable withdrawal options. Our role is to protect Michigan residents by ensuring that all online gambling activities are carried out legally and responsibly. These operators have 14 days to cease their illegal activities or face further legal action.”

— MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams

Expeditious Entain exit

Entain, the European group that owns BetMGM as part of a 50/50 joint venture with MGM Resorts International, announced a surprising shakeup on Tuesday, revealing in an investor update that CEO Gavin Isaacs was stepping down after just five months.

In a statement, Entain described Isaacs’ departure as a “mutual agreement,” and announced Stella David would would return to the interim CEO role she held from December 2023 to September 2024. On LinkedIn, Isaacs, 60, updated his work status to “taking a break.” Reuters reported that Davy Research analysts who spoke to Entain said there were “unreconcilable differences” between Isaacs and the Entain board.

Meanwhile, MGM Resorts International announced this week record consolidated net revenue of $17.24 billion during the 2024 financial year, powered by growth in China. In the U.S., MGM revenue was flat.

RIP, Miami John

The poker world said farewell on Monday to the all-time leader in live tournament cashes, “Miami” John Cernuto, who died of colon cancer at age 81.

Cernuto, an air traffic controller before he started playing poker full-time, totaled $6.4 million in career tournament cashes, making the money 597 times in total, with three World Series of Poker bracelets to his credit — won in 1996, ’97, and 2002. He cashed in at least one WSOP event every year from 1992 to 2024.

Poker Twitter was filled this week with calls from fellow pros for Miami John to receive posthumous induction into the Poker Hall of Fame.

House Rules: Insights from around our network

WHO YOU GONNA CALL?: Why Florida’s problem gambling helpline gets zero funding from the state [by Matthew Bain]

LEGISLATIVE LATEST: GRIT 2, Addabbo wants awards betting in New York [by Chris Altruda]

NOBODY ELSE’S BUSINESS: Virginia lottery winners will gain new privacy protections, pending governor’s signature [by Jeff Edelstein]

SURCHARGE CITY: Fee and loathing in Las Vegas [by David McKee]

MAKING ILLI-NOISE: Illinois lawmakers file online casino bills, gaming board sends C&Ds [by Chris Altruda]

MURPHY’S LAW?: Tax hike proposal may be looming for online gambling in New Jersey [by John Brennan]

ARMAGEDDON ANALYTICS: When 2.3% is terrifying: a gambler’s guide to the asteroid apocalypse [by Jeff Edelstein]

LONE STAR START: Joint resolution to legalize sports betting filed in Texas House [by Chris Altruda]

LOTTO LOOK-AHEAD: IGT’s report on future of lottery growth has eye-opening stats [by Matthew Bain]

EMPTY JAR: Let me give you a tip — ‘no tax on tips’ is easier to promise than to deliver [by Richard Schuetz]

CHAIR RAISING: Trump nominates Brian Quintenz for CFTC chairman, Kalshi continues to push envelope [by Jeff Edelstein]

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, my co-host Jeff Edelstein and I welcomed our colleague, Third Planet Chief Content Officer Brett Smiley, for a conversation ranging from Smiley’s breakout season playing DraftKings Showdowns to where Kalshi fits in on the sports betting landscape. Here’s a taste:

We also covered the likely next CFTC chair’s conflict of interest, bills to shut down sweepstakes operators, early numbers for Super Bowl handle and hold, and more. Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

MINNESOTA ICE: Legal sports betting chances dim after state senate committee hearing [iGB News]

LOW 5: High 5 Games ordered to pay $25M in landmark social casino class action [Yogonet]

TICKER TALK: DraftKings 2024 fourth-quarter revenue up 13% year-over-year [CDC Gaming Reports]

KEYSTONE COMPLIANCE: IC360, Pennsylvania announce partnership [CDC Gaming Reports]

JUST RIFFING: PointsBet Canada CEO says tariffs, trade war with the U.S. could impact gambling business [Gaming News Canada]

PATENTLY WRONG: Evolution’s Lightning Roulette lawsuit against L&W dismissed [SBC Americas]

BAMA SLAMMED: Refusing to license, regulate gambling, Alabama is hurting itself, not crooks [Alabama Political Reporter]

GONE TOO SOON: BHA announces passing of industry stalwart Joe Saumarez Smith [iGaming Business]

THE TABLES HAVE TURNED: Lawsuit: Mount Airy Casino Resort owes over $5M in wages to table games dealers [The Times-Tribune]

WEBULLS WOBBLE BUT THEY DON’T FALL DOWN: Webull connects to Kalshi to offer investors innovative prediction markets [PR Newswire]

TAKING FLIGHT: A major step for Las Vegas’ new airport to begin in 2025 [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

POP THE CHAMPAGNE: New Cedar Rapids casino to open on New Year’s Eve 2026 [Corridor Business Journal]

TYSONS KO’D: House subcommittee kills Fairfax County casino referendum [WVTF]

The Bonus Round

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

• We’re trying something a little different with this week’s “Bonus Round”: an all Super Bowl betting numbers edition. Leading it off: GeoComply reported 14% year-over-year growth in active regulated online accounts, with nearly 725,000 new accounts created across the country just over Super Bowl weekend.

• Pennsylvania bettors were the big winner — no surprise, with the local team winning and covering in the big game. According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, handle on the game was a state-record $101,548,073, and in total, customers beat the books to the tune of $6,532,147 — an operator hold of negative 6.4%.

• FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM each reported record volume on the game, with BetMGM hailing it as “one of the best single game results in company history.”

• CFTC-regulated Kalshi reported about $27 million staked on the game — a little more than one-sixth of how much was bet at Nevada sportsbooks.