Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has proposed a new sports betting tax on Illinois operators. Johnson’s 2026 budget includes a 10.25% local tax on sports betting revenue on top of the state’s levy, which his office released last week. The budget, worth over $16 billion, would take effect on New Year’s Day 2026 and the sports […]
Betfred has threatened to shut all betting shops across the United Kingdom if plans for tax harmonisation are made official. The firm’s co-founder and chairman Fred Done, who set up Betfred back in 1967 with his brother, admitted 7,500 jobs are at risk. Done told the BBC that 300 of his shops were “currently losing […]
An English footballer was fined £50,000 – all of his winnings over a ten-year gambling career. James Byrne was slapped with the biggest FA fine in non-league history after admitting to placing a total of 992 bets on football matches from the start of 2015 to the end of 2024. Byrne amassed winnings of almost […]
Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians have been banned from the Dominican Winter League as the MLB continues its gambling probe. ESPN’s Enrique Rojas reported earlier this week that the DR Baseball League has prohibited the Estrellas Orientales from adding the pair to their active roster for the season. In July the […]
Paddy Power has announced it will close 57 shops across the UK and Ireland, putting nearly 250 jobs at risk. The closures make up nearly 10% of the firm’s 608 licensed betting offices and a decision was made following a review of their estate. Paddy Power’s parent company, Flutter Entertainment which also owns the likes […]
William Hill is preparing to close up to 200 shops in the event of a widely expected gambling tax hike later this year. The operator behind William Hill, Evoke – formerly known as 888, which acquired the bookmaker in a £2 billion takeover in 2022 – is planning for disaster ahead of Rachel Reeves’ autumn […]
The NCAA Division 1 Administrative Committee is considering allowing student-athletes to bet on pro sports. On Wednesday the committee adopted a proposal to allow both student-athletes and athletic department staff to bet on professional sports, a shift in the longtime policy that has since become increasingly difficult to enforce following the regulation of sports betting […]
A gambler who lost £1.5 million betting on football is suing Betfair for his money back. Lee Gibson, 47, of Leeds – a multimillionaire ‘problem gambler’ and buy-to-let property tycoon – told a court he placed more than 30,000 bets through betting exchange Betfair between 2009 and 2019. Gibson admitted he initially found gambling ‘enthralling […]
Over 5,000 visible gambling advertisements were spotted during a recent Premier League match despite a ban introduced to reduce exposure. Research from the University of Bristol found 5,262 instances of gambling ads during coverage of Manchester City’s 4-0 win over Wolves on August 16. 91% of the ads were visible during live play with the […]
Entain CEO Stella David fears the upcoming gambling tax hike in the United Kingdom could force the closure of numerous betting shops. Entain, the global sports betting, gaming and interactive entertainment group which owns the likes of Ladbrokes and Coral, is preparing for disaster in the event Chancellor Rachel Reeves goes ahead with the controversial […]
The UK’s first land-based casino sportsbook has been opened in London. The Hippodrome Casino in the English capital is operated by Flutter Entertainment’s Paddy Power and billed as a first of its kind for Europe. The prospect of a sports bar in a casino setting is something completely alien to residents of the UK but […]
The gambling market in France has enjoyed continued growth throughout the first half of 2025 with sports betting leading the charge. The country’s gambling regulator, the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €5.7 billion for the first six months of the year – marking a 3.5% rise from the same […]