Casino News Roundup: Nevada AML Crackdown & Wisconsin Targets Prediction Markets
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.
Nevada Casinos Face Sweeping New Anti-Money Laundering Rules
Nevada casino regulators have adopted sweeping new anti-money laundering compliance rules that are set to fundamentally reshape how the state's casinos operate.
The regulations - adopted on April 24 by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and described by state officials as "long overdue" - aim to overhaul how casinos structure their compliance programmes, supervise employees and monitor the outside agents who bring in high-value gamblers, known as junket operators or casino agents.
The changes follow a turbulent 12 months in which four Las Vegas Strip casinos were fined a combined $32million by state regulators for compliance failures.
Among the most high-profile cases was Resorts World Las Vegas, which paid a $10.5m fine after regulators found it had accepted $8m in cash from an illegal bookmaker with suspected drug cartel links.
The Venetian and other major Strip properties also faced enforcement actions related to anti-money laundering programme deficiencies.
Under the new rules, casinos must implement more rigorous internal oversight structures, with clearer lines of accountability for compliance staff and more detailed monitoring requirements for agents who introduce wealthy international players to Nevada properties.
The regulations are understood to place particular emphasis on the handling of large cash transactions and the vetting of third-party player introduction agents - a segment of the business that regulators have long identified as a vulnerability.
Nevada is home to some of the highest-volume cash gambling in the world, and the state's compliance framework has historically lagged behind the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's expectations for financial institutions of equivalent scale.
The new rules represent a direct effort to close that gap.
For players who prefer to play at the best online casinos, the tightened framework is a reminder that the industry's biggest operators are being held to increasingly rigorous standards.
Wisconsin Sues Five Prediction Market Platforms For Illegal Sports Betting
Wisconsin has become the latest state to take legal action against prediction market platforms, with Attorney General Josh Kaul filing three lawsuits on April 23 targeting Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood, Coinbase and Crypto.com.
The state accuses the companies of facilitating illegal sports betting by disguising wagers as financial event contracts - a tactic Kaul described bluntly as "thinly disguising unlawful conduct."
The suits point to the companies' own marketing as evidence, including Kalshi Instagram ads billing it as "The First Nationwide Legal Sports Betting Platform."
Kaul said the companies "collect a fee for every bet that's made," generating significant revenue from Wisconsin residents through what the state alleges are violations of its gambling laws.
The filings allege that on April 3, traders on the platforms could buy contracts on the University of Michigan winning its Final Four matchup - paying around $0.54 per contract and receiving $1 if Michigan won, mimicking a traditional sports bet in every meaningful sense.
Kalshi is alleged to generate more than $1billion annually from sports contracts, representing around 90% of its estimated total revenue.
Wisconsin recently signed a law legalising online sports betting - but only through tribal compacts, with servers housed on tribal land.
The Oneida Nation voiced support for the lawsuits, with tribal chairman Tehassi Hill saying the companies are "skirting gaming laws by labelling bets as prediction markets."
Robinhood pushed back, saying its event contracts are federally regulated and that it intends to defend itself vigorously.
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Trump Says World Has "Become a Casino" While Distancing Himself From Prediction Markets
President Trump wrong-footed the prediction markets industry by distancing himself from a sector his own administration has done much to support.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he was "never much in favor" of prediction markets, adding: "The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino.
"I don't like it conceptually, but it is what it is now."
He was responding to questions about Polymarket users who made significant profits correctly predicting details of the US rescue mission during the Iran war - an episode that has drawn intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill over insider trading concerns.
The remarks are notable given the gap between Trump's words and his administration's actions.
The Biden-era push to restrict Polymarket's US operations was quietly ended after Trump returned to office.
His family's media company has been involved with prediction market platforms, and his broader deregulatory stance has been a significant tailwind for the sector.
The CFTC - whose leadership was appointed by Trump - has actively sued three states to assert federal jurisdiction over prediction markets and filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit arguing that state gambling laws cannot apply to event contracts.
Whether Trump's comments represent a genuine shift in policy thinking or a moment of off-the-cuff ambivalence remains to be seen - but the timing, just days before the CFTC's public comment window closes on April 30, has not gone unnoticed.
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UK Gambling Advertising Faces Sweeping New Restrictions As Pressure Mounts On Ministers
The UK government is facing intensifying pressure to overhaul gambling advertising rules, with a cross-party coalition of lawmakers and campaigners pushing for measures that could dramatically reduce the industry's public visibility.
Proposals under consideration include a ban on gambling advertisements during live sports broadcasts, tighter controls on online and social media advertising, and restrictions on sponsorship deals between betting operators and Premier League clubs.
The push comes against a backdrop of ongoing regulatory change in the UK gambling sector - including the doubling of Remote Gaming Duty to 40% in April, which is already squeezing operators - and growing public concern about the speed at which gambling has expanded into everyday life.
The Betting and Gaming Council has moved to prepare for what is expected to be a significant period of regulatory pressure, appointing Kane Purdy - managing director of Gamesys Operations - as its new non-executive chair, replacing Michael Dugher.
Purdy brings two decades of gaming industry experience to the role and is expected to take a more operationally focused approach to the trade body's regulatory engagements.
The appointment comes as the BGC faces pressure not only on advertising but also on affordability checks, responsible gambling obligations, and the broader rollout of the UK Gambling Commission's post-White Paper reform agenda.
