Arkansans Wagered $56.6M+ on Sports in August

Gambling,

Arkansans wagered more than $56.6 million on sports betting in August, according to data Family Council received from the Department of Finance and Administration.

Sports betting is legal to varying degrees across most of the country, and Arkansans are on track to wager nearly a billion dollars on sports this year. But a growing body of evidence shows sports betting is corrupting sports and ruining lives.

Federal prosecutors have announced indictments in connection with bribery and point-shaving schemes to fix college basketball games.

Major League Baseball players have been accused of rigging pitches to defraud sportsbooks. The NFL and the NBA have also dealt with corruption and scandals tied to sports betting.

The Institute for Family Studies (IFS) reports almost one in four young men say they gamble daily. That’s concerning, because research shows that young men who wager on sports may be at increased risk of physical and mental harm. Some studies have also linked legal sports betting to increases in divorce, binge drinking, domestic violence, and violent crime.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, researchers at UCLA, and bankruptcy attorneys across the country all say sports betting is driving a wave of financial problems like credit card delinquencies and bankruptcies.

Can Arkansans really afford to wager millions of dollars on sports every month?

Family Council has prepared a list of practical steps Arkansas could take to address predatory sports betting.

As powerful corporations try to make gambling part of everyday life, it’s important for Arkansas to protect its citizens and families from predatory gambling. Otherwise, gambling addiction will simply continue wrecking lives and hurting families in our state.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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DraftKings Allegedly Used AI to Target Problem Gamblers

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Photo Credit: WPT European Championship via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0).

A bombshell investigation by The New York Times alleges that sportsbook DraftKings built an artificial intelligence model specifically designed to identify the gamblers most likely to lose — and then showered them with promotions to keep them betting.

The report raises serious questions about sportsbooks’ ethics, oversight, and regulation.

Sports betting is legal to varying degrees in most U.S. states — including Arkansas, where people are on track to wager nearly a billion dollars this year on sports betting alone. But a growing body of evidence shows this type of gambling is causing serious harm.

According to The New York Times, DraftKings developed a machine-learning model that scored users based on their playing frequency, daily account balances, and the ratio of their losses to total wagers. The higher a user’s score, the more DraftKings targeted them with promotions. A former DraftKings data analyst who helped build the system told the paper, “The best investment would be a problem gambler.” A second former analyst put it even more bluntly: “It is as predatory as it sounds.”

In other words, DraftKings used cutting-edge technology to identify and target the gamblers who may have been most vulnerable to addiction.

The article says DraftKings disputes the characterization, saying its promotions go to customers who show “sustained, engaged use” of the platform.

We have written before about how predatory sports betting is. It’s corrupting sports, and it’s ruining lives.

A growing body of evidence shows sports betting is causing serious financial problems. People who gamble on sports may be twice as likely to suffer from gambling problems — and when it happens online, the rate is even higher.

Legalized gambling has become a blight nationwide — including Arkansas. Arkansans wager an average of $2.5 million a day on sports betting alone. But the tax revenue from sports betting has not improved Arkansas’ roads or boosted the economy.

It’s worth pointing out Arkansas could stop sportsbooks from using AI to target gamblers the way DraftKings has been accused of doing.

Sports betting is not a harmless pastime. As powerful corporations try to make gambling part of everyday life, it’s important for Arkansas to protect citizens and families from predatory gambling. Otherwise, problem gambling will simply hurt more and more people in our state.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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“Prediction Market” Gambling Platforms Finally Face Scrutiny in Court

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“Prediction market” gambling platforms have suffered a series of blows in court over the past few weeks.

Prediction markets are companies that exploit loopholes in federal law to bring casino-style gambling to anyone with a smartphone. While traditional gambling operates under state oversight and state law, prediction market platforms claim protection under federal commodities laws.

But instead of letting people invest in futures for gold or crude oil, companies like Kalshi and Polymarket let people “invest” in the future outcome of a ballgame, tomorrow’s weather, foreign policy, and so on.

But calling it an “investment” does not change reality. When prediction market platforms let users “trade” hundreds of millions of dollars on who will win the Super Bowl, that’s gambling. But unlike other forms of gambling, prediction markets are not accountable to state gambling laws.

However, prediction markets seem to be facing more scrutiny in court.

Earlier this summer Kentucky’s attorney general announced lawsuits against Kalshi and Polymarket for “bypassing” consumer protections and tax requirements in the state’s gambling laws.

Last month, the City of Baltimore sued Kalshi and Polymarket for violating consumer protection laws “by operating illegal, unlicensed sports-betting platforms and misleading consumers about the legality and regulatory status of their products.”

The State of Connecticut has also sued Kalshi for conducting unlicensed internet gambling in violation of state law.

In August a three-judge panel from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal law does not prevent states from regulating prediction markets like Kalshi.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin joined an amicus brief in that case against Kalshi. Griffin previously issued an opinion that Kalshi’s operation likely violates Arkansas law.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Iowa rejected Kalshi’s request for a preliminary injunction to block Iowa from regulating Kalshi under state gambling laws. Like the 9th Circuit, the judge said federal law likely does not prevent the State of Iowa from regulating prediction markets.

We have written before about how prediction markets are particularly troubling. Up until now, they have operated without state oversight. In particular, sports betting is big business on prediction market platforms. This type of gambling is out of control. It’s ruining lives and corrupting sports.

It’s good to see our federal courts finally taking steps to let states restrict this type of predatory gambling.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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