Casino News Roundup: Hard Rock Guitar Hotel Tops Off & Prediction Markets Bill Lands
Welcome to the Casino Daily News Roundup - your briefing on the latest news from the global casino industry. We bring you the biggest stories from across the sector, covering everything from major business deals and revenue figures to new openings and regulatory developments.
Hard Rock's Guitar Hotel Tops Off On Las Vegas Strip
The most significant construction project on the Las Vegas Strip in two decades has reached a defining moment.
Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming hosted a topping-off ceremony on May 1 to mark the placement of the final structural beam atop the 660-foot Guitar Hotel - exactly 19 months after ground first broke at the former Mirage site.
The moment was marked by executives, construction partners, and local officials signing the ceremonial beam before watching it raised into place atop the 42nd floor, with the Las Vegas skyline stretching out below them.
Hard Rock acquired the Mirage from MGM Resorts for $1billion in December 2022 and closed the iconic property in July 2024 to begin its full-scale transformation.
The guitar-shaped tower - designed to resemble two back-to-back electric guitars and clad in blue glass with elements resembling guitar strings - will be one of the most recognisable structures on the Strip when it opens in the second half of 2027.
The total project cost is estimated at $4bn to $5bn, making it one of the most expensive resort developments in Las Vegas history.
"We sit here at the foot of a structure that will change the skyline, will bring in millions more visitors to the Las Vegas Strip, and also employ up to 6,000 Las Vegas residents from our community," said Joe Lupo, president of Hard Rock Las Vegas.
When complete, the property will feature more than 3,700 hotel rooms - combining the new Guitar Hotel suites with the renovated Mirage tower - approximately 175,000 square feet of gaming space, over 200,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, multiple pools, new dining and retail, and a full entertainment programme.
Hard Rock chairman Jim Allen called it "the most significant transformation the Strip has seen in two decades."
Rising construction costs across Las Vegas are expected to limit major new developments for years to come, potentially making the Guitar Hotel one of the last projects of its kind on the Strip for the foreseeable future.
For those eager to experience the best online slots while the resort takes shape, Hard Rock's digital gaming platform offers a taste of what is to come.
Kalshi Launches Consumer Protections As Bipartisan Prediction Market Bill Hits Congress
Kalshi has announced a package of new consumer protection measures as political pressure on prediction market platforms reaches its highest point yet.
The company is introducing mandatory facial recognition when opening the app for the first time, selfie verification requests for users deemed at higher risk of problematic trading, and promoted two-factor authentication.
It is also launching a new feature called Inner Circle - which allows users to share their trading activity with friends and family, including parents - and will suggest deposit limits to individual users based on signs of unhealthy trading, in some cases asking for proof of funds.
The moves come as Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Dave McCormick introduced the bipartisan Prediction Market Act of 2026, which would require self-exclusion programmes and mandatory age verification across all prediction market platforms.
The NBA has separately written to the CFTC calling for prediction markets to raise the minimum trading age to 21 - matching American sportsbooks and casinos in most states.
US senators also voted unanimously last week to bar themselves from trading on prediction markets, amid growing concerns over insider trading.
Meanwhile the SEC has delayed the launch of the first prediction market ETFs - tied to midterm and presidential election outcomes - after seeking further clarity on mechanics and risk disclosures from asset managers including Roundhill Investments and Bitwise.
The CFTC has also now sued both New York and Wisconsin to block state-level restrictions on event contracts, widening the federal-state legal battle further.
Those looking for fully regulated online casinos will find the licensed alternatives continue to offer the most consumer-protected gaming experience available.
US Online Casino Revenue Hits $3 Billion In Q1 As iGaming Boom Continues
US online casino revenue reached $3bn in Q1 2026 - a landmark figure that underlines the pace of the iGaming boom.
The total represents growth of around 20% year-on-year, driven by continued expansion across key states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Connecticut.
Rush Street Interactive led the operator pack with 41% revenue growth in Q1, while BetMGM's iGaming arm grew 9% and Caesars Digital posted record first-quarter numbers.
The data reinforces a trend that has now held firm for several consecutive quarters: iGaming is growing faster and more consistently than online sports betting, and is considerably less exposed to the competitive disruption that prediction markets are placing on sportsbooks.
With Resorts World New York City now fully open and New York's iGaming legalisation bill advancing in Albany, the addressable market for US online casino operators looks set to expand further through 2026 and into 2027.
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UK Gambling Commission Says Industry Misrepresented Financial Risk Checks
The UK Gambling Commission has hit back at criticism of its financial risk assessment pilot, with Director of Policy Ian Angus saying the gambling industry "misrepresented" the checks in its public communications and in media coverage.
Angus said the pilot showed that 97% of assessments could be completed with no customer interaction at all - far above the 80% target set by the previous government - and that the checks are far less intrusive than industry lobbying suggested.
He also warned operators that the Commission is closely monitoring how the reforms are being characterised publicly, and that misleading statements about the checks will not be tolerated.
The comments add fresh tension to an already strained relationship between the regulator and the industry ahead of a final board-level decision on whether to roll the assessments out more widely.
The issue has been one of the most contentious in UK gambling regulation for the past two years, with operators arguing the checks risk driving customers to unregulated offshore sites - a concern given fresh weight by Evoke's warning last week that black market penetration is already growing in the UK following the doubling of Remote Gaming Duty.
