Two college hoop teams investigated over gambling
Just over two weeks ahead of Selection Sunday, college basketball is getting more black eyes. Two universities have opened gambling investigations.
College basketball analyst Jeff Goodman 26 February tweeted that the four University of New Orleans (UNO) players who have been benched since late January are now under investigation for gambling. In addition, on the West Coast, Fresno State sat two players 22 February in the midst of a gambling investigation.
The gambling investigations are the latest in a string, and at least one may be tied to the bigger wagering scandal involving Jontay Porter of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. Porter pled guilty in federal court last year after he was accused of illegally betting and removing himself early from games so that co-conspirators could win bets.
According to NOLA.com, top scorers James White, Jah Short, Dae Dae Hunter and Jamond Vincent have not played for UNO since 27 January. UNO athletic director Vince Granito said the quartet was suspended for “violating team rules,” but he did not specify which rules.
ESPN reports that the UNO investigation could be connected to the bigger illegal betting ring. Bets from that group may have been placed on two UNO games. The McNeese State and Southern Louisiana games “attracted bets from the sportsbook accounts associated with the betting ring, according to the sources,” ESPN said. “The point spread moved significantly against the Privateers in three other games this season.”
At Fresno State, Mykell Robinson was removed from the roster in January. Jalen Weaver was removed this week, and Zaon Collins is being investigated for betting on pro sports teams. Both were benched for the 22 February game against Air Force. Both the university and the NCAA are investigating the matter.
Oklahoma governor: I offered ‘solid, fair plan’
Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt isn’t backing down from the legal sports betting proposal he floated in 2024. The deal would allow tribes the exclusive right to in-person betting, but also permit commercial entities to offer digital betting. The proposal flies in the face of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and a 2024 interpretation of Indian gaming rules.
Oklahoma’s tribes have not publicly responded, but they have previously had a contentious relationship with Stitt. Under IGRA, federally recognised tribes have the right to exclusivity for Class III gaming and a right to maintain their sovereignty. Stitt’s proposal violates both issues. Previously, the state’s 30-plus tribes have long said that they will wait until Stitt term-limits out in 2027 to seriously address the issue.
The state legislature is currently considering multiple legal sports betting bills, including one that would allow the tribes to offer retail sports betting but give the Oklahoma City Thunder the rights to digital wagering. SB 585 would limit the number of mobile platforms in the state to one and require that all gross gaming revenue from the Thunder’s platform be “shared with all tribal entities that have entered into Model Gaming Compact.”
SB 585 was reported out of committee to the senate floor 19 February, but the full senate has not yet entertained the bill. Other sports betting bills in Oklahoma City have not gotten out of committee.
Prime Sports founder ‘stepping away’
Writing that “change is necessary” in the the legal sports betting landscape, Joe Brennan on 23 February announced via LinkedIn that he is “stepping away” from the sharp betting site he helped found. Prime Sports is known for it’s “old-school” ways, including taking high wagers. Brennan was instrumental in the fight to get the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act overturned in 2018.
Brennan wrote of his frustration that “for every dollar wagered with regulated operators, at least one dollar is still being bet with unregulated ones.” He plans to go out into the gambling world and listen to ideas and thoughts as be begins to form a plan for how to effect change.
“Many of you have generously shared your insights, and if I happen to reach out to you, I’d be grateful for a few moments of your time to listen to your thoughts on what’s needed in this space,” he wrote. “I’m not selling anything—just listening and trying to step outside my own experiences. … This industry needs more—more differentiation, more competition, more protection, more innovation, and more participation. Above all, we need to be good shepherds.”
Titus: Prediction markets a ‘back door’
US representative Dina Titus of Nevada weighed in 21 February with her thoughts on allowing prediction markets to offer sports betting, writes Casino Reports. In a letter to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) acting chairwoman Caroline D. Pham, Titus wrote, “This year, platforms have started to offer contracts on sporting events. Event contracts on sporting events bring this relatively new industry directly into conflict with state-regulated gaming operators.”
Prediction sites are not regulated in the same way that legal sports betting platforms are in US states. Kalshi won a legal victory to be able to offer the contracts last fall, though the company is still in court. In addition, it offers election betting, including on last November’s presidential election.
When it comes to sports, Kalshi and Polymarket are among the platforms that have begun offering betting markets. They offer contracts on many sports events, from betting on the Super Bowl to selecting winners of tennis tournaments. The gambling industry is opposed to this, saying consumers aren’t properly protected. The sites are not subject to the same stringent regulations that traditional betting sites are.
“Permitting prediction contracts on sporting events has several troubling effects that the Commission should address before issuing any rulemaking,” Titus wrote. “Prediction contracts on sports create a backdoor way to legalize sports betting in states that have not authorised it. The regulation and legalisation of sports betting have traditionally been dealt with at the state level in the United States.”
NY Gaming Facility Location Board has new member
The New York State Gaming Commission on 24 February appointed Teryl Brown, vice president and general counsel at Pace University, to the gaming facility location board. That group will determine which three locations and bids will be awarded licences for New York’s three downstate casinos.
The appointment is the third in a month. Brown replaces Carlos P. Naudon. The commission unanimously voted Brown onto the board.
“The Gaming Facility Location Board’s work can be transformational for the State of New York,” Commission Chair Brian O’Dwyer said via press release. “Ms. Brown brings a wealth of experience, expertise and public service to the team that will evaluate casino proposals. I thank her and the entire Board for its ongoing work and service to New York State.”
Brown has spent much of her career as a New York public servant. She was acting counsel to former governor David Paterson and first assistant counsel to former governor Eliot Spitzer.
Colorado tribes legal deadline approaches
Colorado’s Ute tribes must respond by March 7 to a motion to dismiss their wagering lawsuit against the state. How the court rules on the motion will determine whether the tribes’ claim that the state has cut them out of digital sports betting will move forward. If it does, the ultimate decision could be a game changer for tribes around the US.
Per IGRA, the tribes have the right to offer in-person sports betting on their reservations. In Colorado, both tribes offer wagering at retail casinos. For several years, at least one of the tribes offered statewide mobile wagering. But the state in 2023 declined to let the Southern Ute tribe relaunch its platform. At the time, it said the tribe must pay the state tax to take bets outside of Indian Country.
Days after the the US Supreme Court declined to hear the Florida case of West Flagler vs. Haaland, the Southern Ute tribe filed against the state. The Ute Mountain Utes joined the lawsuit last fall. The West Flagler case, decided in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, made it legal for the Florida Seminoles to offer statewide mobile betting.
As the Colorado case unfolds, tribes around the country will be watching. And one tribal attorney said that if the court finds in the Ute tribes’ favor, the decision could be more far-reaching than the West Flagler decision.
In other news …
The Ohio Casino Control Commission seized 184 illegal slot machines after raiding three Columbus locations, it announced 26 February. Over time, the OCCC has executed 160 search warrants and “seized/disabled” 7,386 slot machines. It says that is more than the number of machines at the four state casinos combined.
WTOP reported that FanDuel shuttered its retail sportsbook at Audi Field in Washington, DC 20 February. The location was open for four years.
FanDuel 27 February had a ribbon cutting at its new Newport, New Jersey office. FanDuel has had offices in New Jersey since 2016 and employs more than 400 in the state.
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Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/sports-betting/online-sports-betting/gambling-investigations-oklahoma-state-of-the-union/
