Online gambling

Utah Attorney General Derek Brown filed criminal charges against prediction market platform Kalshi and co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, alleging illegal promotion of online gambling, including a pattern of unlawful activity felony and multiple felony and misdemeanor counts. Charging documents cite an undercover agent placing sports bets on the platform in September, after a federal judge ruled in August that federal law did not bar Utah from enforcing its gambling statutes against Kalshi.

The move follows Brown's earlier civil lawsuit and comes a day after the CFTC sued to block Utah's enforcement. Kalshi called the charges political overreach and vowed to fight them, as it did successfully in Arizona, the only other state to bring a criminal case.

Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-Fla.) sent a letter on Oct. 22 to ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips and the conference's board, asking the conference to disclose its sports betting policies for employees, officials and others connected to its competitions, and to explain how it protects competition integrity. Patronis tied the request to the ACC's support for the Protect College Sports Act, a Senate-passed bill on NIL, agent registration and transfer rules, arguing transparency should accompany the conference's push for federal help. He requested a response before Congress returns in November. The letter carries no legal force, and the ACC's current betting policy and response remain undisclosed.

The request comes as the NCAA maintains its ban on athlete and staff betting after Division I schools voted in November to rescind a proposed rule change that would have permitted wagering on professional sports.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed two lawsuits in Hillsborough County Circuit Court against operators of prominent online "sweepstakes" casinos, including Stake and VGW's Chumba Casino, Luckyland, and Global Parker, along with the payment processors that support them. The suits allege the platforms run illegal online gambling operations in violation of Florida's gambling laws and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The complaints target a dual-currency model — combining "gold coins" with "sweep coins" or "stake cash" — that allegedly disguises real-money wagering as free social entertainment while offering slots, blackjack, roulette, and poker. Uthmeier argues these platforms exploit Floridians, including minors and seniors, through deceptive marketing while evading licensing, taxation, and consumer-protection rules. The state is seeking permanent injunctions barring operations in Florida, forfeiture of consumer losses, disgorgement of profits, civil penalties, restitution, and attorneys' fees. The case adds to mounting legal and regulatory scrutiny of sweepstakes casinos across multiple U.S. states, a sector prediction markets have increasingly tracked amid questions over its long-term legality.