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State of the Union: CFTC staff to dwindle; Tush Push lives for now, more

23rd May 2025 | By Matt Rybaltowski | Reading Time: 5 minutes

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

CFTC acting chair, commissioner set to depart

Beset by a wave of departures, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission will undergo a further transition period in the coming months.

Speaking at an appearance on 16 May in Amsterdam, CFTC acting Chair Caroline Pham announced that she will leave the agency when Brian Quintenz is confirmed by the US Senate. Following Pham’s announcement, Kristin Johnson, a Democratic commissioner, indicated days later that she plans to leave later this year.

In the sports betting industry, the CFTC has gained attention in recent months due to a high-profile case involving prediction markets on sports. Kalshi, a popular prediction market, has been subject to a wave of litigation on the state level.

Since late March, Kalshi has won two preliminary injunctions that have allowed the company to continue to offer event contracts on sports in New Jersey and Nevada. Separately, the CFTC dropped an appeal against Kalshi in a federal case involving election betting contracts.

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The departure of Pham and Johnson will leave only one member on the five-person commission. By month’s end, two other commissioners – Summer Mersinger and Christy Goldsmith Romero – will also leave the CFTC. Bloomberg first reported Johnson’s departure on 21 May.

Last month, the CFTC delayed a highly anticipated roundtable on prediction markets without providing an explanation. In February, Pham wrote in a statement that certain anti-innovation policies have restricted the CFTC’s ability to “pivot to common-sense regulation of prediction markets.” Earlier this week, InGame reported that the CFTC will hold a conference call with tribal gaming leaders regarding prediction markets on 29 May.

Kalshi announced a content deal with Elon Musk’s xAI on 20 May, before reneging on the partnership later in the day. Quintenz, a former CFTC commissioner, currently serves as a member of Kalshi’s board of directors. Kalshi has also appointed Donald Trump Jr to the board.

Tush Push avoids ban, Lions table playoff rule change

Heading into this week’s NFL Owners’ Meetings in Minneapolis, the future of the “Tush Push” appeared on shaky ground.

Needing 24 votes to permanently ban the short-yardage, scrum-like play, a contingent of league owners were poised to pass the rule change at Wednesday’s meeting. The proposal had garnered considerable media attention throughout the off-season. But the effort fell just short of the requisite votes, as the measure failed by a 22-10 margin, ESPN reported.

Contending that the play is responsible for player-safety issues, the Green Bay Packers petitioned the NFL to penalise teams for running the push in short-yardage situations. Armed with one of the most prodigious offensive lines in recent memory, the Philadelphia Eagles have executed the push to near perfection.

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According to ESPN research, Philadelphia and Buffalo ran the play 163 times over the past three seasons. The amount is more than the rest of the NFL combined. When the two teams ran the push, they converted on a first down or a touchdown at a rate of 87%, ESPN found. Despite the outcome, the Eagles’ odds to repeat as Super Bowl champions remained unchanged on Wednesday at +650.

Also at the meetings, the Lions withdrew a proposal that sought to re-seed playoff teams by record. At the moment, division champions receive a home game in the Wild Card round.

Under the proposal, the Vikings (14-3) would have opened the 2024 playoffs at home despite finishing second in the NFC North. The Lions pulled the proposal due to a lack of support.

Moore signs Maryland OSB tax hike into law

Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed a bill on Tuesday that will bring a higher percentage of online sports betting revenues to the state.

With the tax hike, Maryland joins Illinois and Ohio among states that have approved tax increases since legalising sports betting. Filed as House Bill 352, Moore signed the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025 into law this week. Under the bill, Maryland increased the tax rate on sports betting gross gaming revenue from 15% to 20%.

A portion of the tax proceeds, specifically 5% from an operator’s mobile sports wagering GGR, will now be directed into the state’s general fund. The remaining amount will fund initiatives associated with education. The tax rate on retail sports betting will remain at 15%. Since December 2021, more than $160 million in legal sports wagering tax revenue has gone to the state’s Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund.

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Sportsbook operators could have been hit harder. At first, Moore’s administration pushed for a doubling of the tax from 15% to 30%. Instead, the House Ways and Means Committee passed an amended bill by a vote of 13-5. Last year, Ohio and Illinois approved tax rate hikes on sports betting revenue. At present, Ohio is considering another tax increase.

During the current legislative session, legislators in North Carolina and Louisiana have also held debate on lifting their respective rates. In Colorado, Governor Jared Polis signed a bill into law that will eliminate deductions on sportsbook promotions across the state.

Previously, operators could deduct 2.25% of the value of promotional non-cash wagers placed by bettors. The deduction will sunset on 1 July 2026.

Vegas man sentenced to five years for running Ponzi scheme

An Ohio judge sentenced a Las Vegas man to 65 months in prison on Wednesday in connection with running a sports betting Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of millions of dollars.

Matthew Turnipseede received the penalty months after pleading guilty to four counts of wire fraud. According to the indictment, Turnipseede operated a scheme that promised investors double-digit profits through a variety of sports wagering businesses.

The defendant ran multiple sports betting companies, namely Moneyline Analytics and Edgewize, LLC. Turnipseede, according to prosecutors, enticed investors with false promises that his proprietary betting algorithm could generate returns in excess of 10%. Turnipseede was indicted in 2022 on 13 counts of defrauding 72 investors of more than $8.5 million.

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The defendant’s claims were persuasive enough to convince a mathematician and author of multiple academic papers on sports wagering to join his venture. According to court filings, Turnipseede also deceived a 72-year-old female investor, who is currently battling cancer. The unnamed woman, who retired in 2021, wrote in a victim impact statement that she now needs to return to work because of the lost funds. Prosecutors later determined that Turnipseede bilked investors out of $7.4 million, down about $1.1 million from the 2022 indictment.

According to the indictment, Turnipseede used investor funds to pay for personal expenses, including family vacations to Disneyland and Hawaii, spa treatments and lease payments on multiple vehicles.

The court also required Turnipseede to pay restitution of $4.7 million. Turnipseede is scheduled to surrender to federal authorities within 90 days from the date of his sentencing.