State of the Union: Quintenz plans to leave Kalshi board if confirmed, Aces partner with BetMGM, more
Quintenz to resign from Kalshi board if confirmed as CFTC chair
After months of uncertainty regarding his ties to Kalshi, Brian Quintenz finally broke his silence on the matter.
Quintenz, a member of Kalshi’s board of directors, plans to resign from the board if confirmed as chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Kalshi, a leading prediction market, is seeking clarity from the agency on regulations pertaining to sports event contracts. The Republican Quintenz received a nomination from US President Donald Trump to serve as chair of the CFTC in February.
Quintenz made the disclosure in a letter to CFTC Deputy Counsel John Einstman. In addition, Quintenz disclosed that he holds unvested and stock options with Kalshi that vest on a monthly basis. If confirmed, Quintenz wrote that he plans to divest the options no later than 90 days after his confirmation.
“The purpose of this letter is to describe the steps that I will take to avoid any actual or apparent conflict of interest in the event that I am confirmed,” Quintenz wrote. “It is my responsibility to understand and comply with commitments outlined in this agreement.”
A former commissioner with the CFTC, Quintenz penned the letter ahead of the derivative regulator’s conference call on Thursday with a group of tribal gaming entities.
In February, a contingent of tribal groups submitted formal comments to the agency stating their opposition to federal regulations on sports derivatives. Regulations on the federal level that allow prediction markets on sports events imperil tribal sovereignty, the groups contend.
WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces notch partnership with BetMGM
Three years after the Las Vegas Aces won their first title as a WNBA franchise, the franchise secured a partnership this week with a major US sportsbook.
On Tuesday, BetMGM became the exclusive online casino and sportsbook partner of the Aces, marking the operator’s first partnership with a women’s professional sports franchise. Under the deal, BetMGM will receive commercial inventory on nationally televised games, rights to co-branded content across its digital and social platforms and WNBA tickets for VIP customers.
“This initiative is a beautiful example of what can happen when business, sports and community merge together,” said Nikki Fargas, president of the Aces.
The Aces play their home games at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, a property that is home to an expansive BetMGM sportsbook.
In the relatively near future, BetMGM plans to release a WNBA-branded online slot game in jurisdictions where its iGaming platform is live, the company announced. The product represents BetMGM’s first WNBA online casino game. The partnership will run through 2027.
“As we enter this era of tremendous growth in women’s sports, BetMGM could not have two better organisations to partner with than the WNBA and the Aces,” said BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt. “Not only do the Aces play in our backyard at Mandalay Bay, but they share our commitment to giving back to the community.”
Indiana seeks to remove ‘duplicative’ sports betting regulations
One day after taking office in January, Indiana Governor Mike Braun signed two executive orders aimed at reducing or eliminating burdensome costs for small businesses. Now, months later, the Indiana Gaming Commission is taking advantage of the orders to ease licensing requirements on sports wagering registrants.
Beginning 1 July, the IGC will no longer enforce a requirement that sports wagering operators can only conduct business with licensed sports wagering registrants.
The proposed amendment is expected to save thousands of dollars for market participants collectively. The impact will likely be felt most by payment processors, marketing firms and others that manufacture sports wagering support systems.
At the same time, the IGC will eliminate the state’s sports wagering registrant licensure requirement and associated fees, the commission wrote on its website. Since 2020, total fees collected by the IGC have averaged around $60,000 a year, according to IPB News, which first reported the story.
Onerous regulations
At present, there are nearly 600 companies that are licensed with the state as sports wagering registrants. The commission requires sports wagering service providers to pay a non-refundable licensing fee of $10,000. For sports wagering registrants, the fee is much less at $500 per applicant.
Key persons and substantial owners for SWSPs and registrants will not require licensure, according to the commission.
The proposed amendments are pursuant to Executive Order 25-17 on reducing regulation, as well as Executive Order 25-18 on professional licensing deregulation.
The new licensing requirements will be implemented pending an administrative change. Elsewhere in Indiana, the Pacers’ odds to win the Eastern Conference Finals moved to -370 on Thursday night after a Game 5 loss to the Knicks.
Indiana still has two chances to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. A few astute bettors are sitting on a large payout, with ECF futures placed at the start of the season. Indiana opened the regular season with odds of +5000 to win the NBA title, placing the team around the middle of the pack in futures’ prognostications.
DraftKings lone defendant left in MLB Players Union suit
After reportedly securing settlements with the majority of sportsbook operators in a lengthy name, image and likeness dispute, the MLB players union faces only one remaining hurdle in the months-long litigation.
Last September, MLB Players Inc filed a lawsuit against DraftKings and Bet365 in federal court in Pennsylvania claiming the companies misappropriated the likenesses of hundreds of players without their personal consent. MLBPI also filed suit against Underdog and FanDuel in New York state court.
Of the four companies, it appears that only litigation against DraftKings remains unsettled. The players union dropped a suit against Underdog on 20 May.
On Tuesday, a federal judge set a deadline on pretrial memos for both sides. The parties have some time, as the deadline will not expire until next April. In March, US District Judge Karen Marston rejected DraftKings’ motion to dismiss the case. On the same day, reports surfaced that the union dismissed its lawsuit against Bet365.
Months earlier, FanDuel and MLB Players agreed to voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit with prejudice. The designation indicates that the suit cannot be refiled.
Legal interpretation on rights of publicity
In the September lawsuit, attorneys for the union argued that DraftKings used the players’ likeness as a mechanism for generating revenue by placing images of the baseball players next to a variety of sports wagers.
“These bettors do not consider a player’s picture when making their bets, as an image cannot convey any relevant statistics about said player or their condition, and therefore does nothing to improve their understanding of the bet and does not impact their decision-making process in any way,” union attorneys wrote.
Earlier this spring, DraftKings filed a motion to certify an order for interlocutory appeal, or a non-final order with the court. In civil matters, a judge may rule on such appeals during the normal course of court proceedings. In a 14-page brief, Marston applied a four-prong test to evaluate whether the court could certify the order for appeal.
The judge found that MLBPI “plausibly alleged” that the sportsbook operator violated the publicity rights of the players, noting that the players’ NIL rights were properly assigned through a sublicensing agreement with the union.
She also analysed questions on whether a cause of action can be dismissed in a “right of publicity” case when there is no relationship between the parties.
While Marston ruled that the question presented a “closer call” for the court, she determined that DraftKings did not establish that an immediate appeal would materially advance the litigation. The judge set a trial date for 12 May 2026.
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