Kalshi inks agreement with CNN, New York approves three casino bids

In an unexpected turn of events, Fanatics, the leading sports merchandiser operating the popular Fanatics Sportsbook, has gone live with prediction markets. Surprising its rivals, the betting platform confirmed the launch of its prediction markets for 24 states, including California, Texas, and Florida, among others. In addition to sports event contracts, Fanatics Sportsbook will offer financial and culture trading.

Ahead of the much-anticipated Casino Guru Awards, renowned for their ethics-driven criteria, independent valuation and focus on player protection, Casino Guru proudly unveiled the list of sponsors for the upcoming Casino Guru Awards 2026. As a result, iGaming industry leaders RedCore, Bragg, PayOp, and SPRIBE joined as early supporters of the upcoming Casino Guru Awards.

The start of this week marked the first day of legal sports betting in Missouri. Coinciding with the market launch, two leading betting and iGaming operators, FanDuel and BetMGM, rolled out their betting offering. While FanDuel successfully deployed its leading sports bettingapp, BetMGM introduced its mobile betting app along with a retail sportsbook at Century Casino and Hotel Cape Girardeau.

Black Cube released the full report detailing its investigation into Evolution Gaming. The damaging report commissioned by rival Playtech caused Evolution's stock to plunge recently. Now, in the latest development, a New Jersey judge turned to Evolution, ordering it to produce the required documents and information for the gambling regulators in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in relation to the investigation into the allegations of the Black Cube report. Court filings shared by the expert gambling lawyer, David Wallach, reveal that Evolution was given a deadline of December 5, 2025, to provide the required documents.

Business and finance

Brightstar Lottery teamed up with Spin Master Toys UK Limited to develop lottery games themed after the world-famous Rubik's Cube. The new exclusive five-year deal enables Brightstar Lottery to develop and distribute retail and digital lottery games based on the globally recognizable puzzle game.

The regulated exchange and prediction market, Kalshi, announced a major agreement with CNN. Inked earlier this week, the deal designated Kalshi as CNN's Official Prediction Market Partner. The collaboration comes amid scrutiny and legal pushback from gambling regulators against prediction markets.

The alliance is expected to further strengthen the two leading companies' presence in their respective industries. At the same time, CNN and Kalshi expect that their agreement will enable them to spot early trends and reach new audiences.

IGT, the leader in providing gaming, digital and financial technology solutions and content, ushered into a new era with Hector Fernandez officially assuming the role of CEO. In addition to his stepping into the important senior-level role, the company revealed that Nick Khin, who was CEO of IGT's Gaming business unit and interim enterprise CEO, will be transitioning to a strategic advisor role.

As announced by local media outlets, the first iGaming operators launched their services in the UAE. Reportedly, two brands identified as Dream Island and TrueWin have launched sports betting and casino gaming options to their customers in the jurisdiction. The two brands are owned by Momentum, which is the only operator holding a license to operate a lottery product in the UAE, at least for the moment.

Regulation and laws

In the UK, the Gambling Commission issued a £825,000 fine against Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Limited, trading as Betfred. According to the gambling watchdog, the operator allegedly breached social responsibility and anti-money laundering policies. In addition to the hefty monetary sanction, the Gambling Commission said it is expecting remedial action from the operator.

Across the ocean, in New York, the downstate casino licensing race hit a major milestone. Earlier this week, the state Gaming Facility Location Board approved three proposals for a downstate casino license.

The bidders that made it to the finish line are Bally's Corporation, Resorts World and Metropolitan Park. After this groundbreaking development, the bidders are now looking forward to final approval by the New York Gaming Commission. Such a decision is expected at the end of this year.

Elsewhere, in Nevada, the state's gambling regulator, the Nevada Gaming Control Board, once again cautioned operators to refrain from offering sports event contracts. The warning comes in the context of a recent court ruling against Kalshi, ordering the company to discontinue offering sports event contracts in Nevada.

Earlier in the week, the KSA, the gambling watchdog in the Netherlands, issued a fine against Unibet’s operator, Optdeck Service Limited. According to the KSA, the operator failed to uphold its duty of care obligations. As a result, the company was hit with a hefty €4m fine, marking one of the largest sanctions issued against a licensed gambling operator in the Netherlands.

Responsible gambling

The donors of the ICE Barcelona ’25 Sustainable Gambling Zone made a major contribution toward the launch of the first industry-led education initiative in Catalonia. This effort seeks to stop digital dependence and prevent behavioral addiction in adolescents. A number of recognizable companies from the gaming sector, including Betsson Group and Novomatic Group, to name a few, contributed to the cause.

Reaffirming its dedication to player safety and responsible gambling, AdmiralBet joined forces with BetBlocker. Focusing on Spain, the partnership seeks to strengthen safer gambling locally, and represents another major milestone for BetBlocker in 2025.

The voice of the industry

During SiGMA Rome 2025, which wrapped up only recently, Casino Guru News had the opportunity to talk to Communications Hub's CEO, Viktoriia Yefimenko. She spoke about her inspiration when launching Communications Hub and highlighted the importance of making communication management easier.

Casino Guru News also had the pleasure of sitting down and talking to the Managing Director of the Deutscher Online Casinoverband (DOCV), Julia Lensing. In an exclusive interview, Lensing addressed a number of challenges Germany's regulated iGaming market continues to face, acknowledging that the core objective of channelizing players into the legal market is yet to be achieved.

During the recent SiGMA Rome 2025 had the chance to catch up with RedCore's Talent Acquisition Team Lead, Uliana Soroka. Soroka spoke about the importance of long-term career opportunities, highlighting that the company seeks proactive and brave people, who can grow and succeed in the sector.

Šimon Vincze, the Head of Sustainable & Safer Gambling at Casino Guru, was joined by Dr Margaret Carran, Associate Professor in Law and Associate Dean, City St. George’s University of London and Tracy Parker, Vice-President, Policy, Standards and Accreditation, Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) during Safer Gambling Week 2025. In an effort to strengthen player protection, the trio discussed the Online Self-Exclusion Scheme Recommended Code of Practice.

Casino Guru News had the opportunity to sit down for an interview with Evenbet Gaming's CEO, Dmitry Starostenkov, at SiGMA Rome 2025. Speaking to Casino Guru News, he discussed the latest innovation from the company, Evenbet Spins, highlighting that it successfully fuses poker and casino mechanics.

In another exclusive interview at SiGMA Rome 2025, Casino Guru News talked to RedCore's Investment Portfolio Manager, Andrei Alexandrov. He spoke about RedCore's investment division, revealing it's not about money anymore but identifying growth projects that can succeed across various spheres.

Khalid Ali, IBIA's CEO, joined Casino Guru News for an exclusive interview. He acknowledged that most sporting events across the globe are free from manipulation and corruption and spoke about the importance of a well-regulated betting environment. What's more, Ali also pointed to IBIA's growing monitoring capabilities, enabling it to detect suspicious betting patterns.

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