The power of big brands in Arkansas; IG Group to acquire Underdog for $1.3 billion; New York sues Kalshi for illegal gambling; Fanatics acquires its own prediction market exchange; Massachusetts Lottery goes online; plus the week’s other news from North America.
Arkansas: the power of big brands
Arkansas might not be the centre of sports betting in the United States, but the state does show the power of the big brands when they enter a market.
The three casinos in Arkansas have offered mobile sports betting since 2022, and Saracen Casino was the market leader with a 52 per cent market share in 2025.
It was only in March of this year that FanDuel and DraftKings entered the market, in partnership with Oaklawn Casino and Southland Casino respectively.
Arkansas’ mobile betting market changed immediately, and the state had its first $100 million month in April.
In the second quarter of 2026, Saracen Casino dropped to third place and its market share was just 14 per cent (Q2 2025: 55 per cent).
Oaklawn and Southland Casinos now battle it out for pole position by handle in Arkansas.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s wagering on sports and iGaming topped $1 billion in the first half of 2026 at $1.09 billion, after June’s total rose by 15 per cent. Monthly wagering was $173.0 million, which was made up of $141.6 million in iGaming bets and $31.5 million in sports wagers, both up 15 per cent year-on-year. Online sports wagers were $27.6 million and retail contributed $3.9 million.
In the state’s land-based market, Rhode Island’s two casinos won $51.6 million in gaming revenue for June, unchanged from the same month last year. Revenue from slot machines rose by 0.3 per cent to $42.0 million but table gaming win was down by 3 per cent to $9.6 million.
South Dakota
South Dakota’s combined gambling turnover rose by 12 per cent in June to $154.7 million, and was above $150 million for the first time in eight months. Turnover from slot machines rose by 12 per cent to $146.3 million, while table gaming wagers were up by 8 per cent to $8.0 million. Retail sports handle fell by 16 per cent to $427,086, including $75,117 from soccer as the World Cup got underway.
Delaware
Delaware’s wagering on sports and iGaming climbed by 37 per cent in June to $380.1 million, with growth in both sectors. Sports betting rose by 29 per cent to $18.6 million and iGaming bets were up by 37 per cent to $361.5 million. Revenue also grew strongly during the month and jumped by 46 per cent to $13.8 million. Monthly revenue included a 57 per cent increase in iGaming revenue to $12.6 million, but betting revenue slipped by 13 per cent to $1.3 million.
Colorado
Colorado’s 33 land-based casinos won $95.6 million in June gaming revenue, which down by less than 1 per cent year-on-year. Slot machines recorded a 1 per cent fall in revenue to $81.7 million, while table gaming win increased by 5 per cent to $13.9 million. Blackjack won the casinos $4.4 million and baccarat tables earned revenue of $3.6 million, with poker bringing in $3.0 million.
Nevada
Nevada’s casinos grew gambling revenue by 3 per cent in the first half of 2026 to $8.04 billion, after June delivered 1 per cent growth. Monthly gambling revenue was $1.34 billion and included a 3 per cent increase in slot machine revenue to $923.1 million. At the state’s gaming tables, baccarat revenue fell by 21 per cent to $102.1 million, ahead of Twenty One with a 4 per cent rise to $88.3 million. Craps improved revenue by 12 per cent to $38.3 million, while roulette revenue climbed 24 per cent to $35.5 million and sports betting revenue was up 20 per cent at $50.5 million.
Ohio
The Ohio Lottery has reported a 5 per cent rise in video lottery terminal (VLT) revenue for June to $120.5 million, and every venue saw year-on-year growth. Northfield Park Racino led the way on revenue of $25.9 million, ahead of Miami Valley on $21.0 million and Scioto Downs’ $19.3 million.
West Virginia
West Virginia reported a 20 per cent increase in wagering on sports and iGaming in June to $881.1 million, split $849.3 million from iGaming (+20 per cent) and $31.8 million from sports betting (+19 per cent). Mobile sports wagers were 21 per cent higher at $29.4 million but retail betting dropped by 4 per cent to $2.4 million. Monthly revenue from sports betting and iGaming rose 37 per cent to $42.9 million, comprising $40.0 million in iGaming revenue and $2.9 million from sports betting.
Maryland
Maryland’s sports wagering climbed by 30 per cent in June to $523.3 million, as soccer betting surged during the FIFA World Cup. The split of wagering was $515.4 million from mobile betting (+30 per cent) and $8.0 million from retail (+4 per cent). Soccer was the most popular sport for wagering, which surged 248 per cent to $62.6 million. Monthly gross betting revenue fell by 4 per cent to $54.6 million, despite the strong betting growth.
Nebraska
Nebraska’s land-based gaming revenue grew by 20 per cent in June to $24.9 million. Slots contributed the bulk of the monthly total on $21.6 million, with table games adding $2.7 million. Retail sports betting revenue fell by 1 per cent to $663,226. WarHorse Casino Omaha was the leading venue on revenue of $9.7 million, ahead of WarHorse Gaming Lincoln’s $7.0 million.
Oregon
The Oregon Lottery reported a 34 per cent increase in sports wagers to $88.0 million in June, with record soccer betting of $28.1 million, a surge of 422 per cent year-on-year. The state’s previous best monthly soccer betting total was $7.7 million, showing the impact of the World Cup. Baseball bets were $22.2 million and $13.7 million was wagered on basketball. Overall gross win fell by 21 per cent to $7.8 million, at a margin of 8.8 per cent – the lowest margin since September 2025.
Illinois
Illinois’ VLT market recorded 7 per cent wagering growth in June to $2.97 billion, with revenue up by 9 per cent at $275.5 million. There were 49,738 machines in operation during the month, 462 more than in June 2025. Springfield was the municipality with the highest wagering of $53.8 million from 808 machines, while Decatur was in second place on wagering of $42.2 million from 482 machines.
Back into May, Illinois’ sports wagers dropped by 10 per cent to $1.14 billion, which was the lowest total of 2026 so far. Online wagers were down by 10 per cent at $1.12 billion, while retail betting decreased by 25 per cent to $20.3 million. Adjusted gross revenue (AGR) from sports betting fell by 2 per cent to $118.9 million, which was divided $116.9 million from online betting and $2.0 million from retail.
Arkansas
Arkansas’ three land-based casinos reported 8 per cent growth in June revenue to $63.4 million. Slot machines had 6 per cent growth in monthly revenue to $52.0 million and table gaming win was 18 per cent higher at $5.6 million. Sports betting revenue rose by 18 per cent to $5.8 million on a 92 per cent jump in wagering to $72.1 million. Monthly sports betting revenue was split $5.6 million from mobile betting and $217,696 from retail betting.
MGM Resorts International reported a 1 per cent increase in revenue for the second quarter of 2026 to $4.45 billion, driven by higher casino and food & beverage revenue.
Rush Street Interactive raised its full year guidance after posting a 46 per cent increase in revenue to a record $393.8 million for the second quarter of 2026.
VICI Properties’ revenue growth continued into the second quarter of 2026 with a 6 per cent improvement on the same period last year, although net income fell by almost 40 per cent.
Churchill Downs Incorporated reported a 5 per cent increase in net revenue to a record $980 million for the second quarter of 2026, taking adjusted EBITDA to an all-time high of $477 million.
Caesars Entertainment grew net revenue by 3 per cent to $2.99 billion in the second quarter of 2026, with net loss narrowing to $62 million.
BetMGM reported a 4 per cent increase in total net revenue to $1.41 billion for the first half of 2026, with growth from both its online sports betting and iGaming offerings.
BetMakers Technology Group posted a 9 per cent increase in revenue to A$24.2 million for the final quarter of its financial year ended June 30.
Codere Online reported a 20 per cent increase in net gaming revenue to €133.8 million, buoyed by a record performance in the second quarter.
Gaming Realms expects to post a 3 per cent drop in revenue to £15.5 million for the first half of 2026, pushing adjusted EBITDA down by 12 per cent to £6.6 million.
Prediction Market News
London-listed financial trading provider IG Group is betting on the continuing growth of prediction markets with a $1.3 billion deal to acquire Underdog.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James are taking legal action to bring Kalshi into compliance with state law.
Novig has been unveiled as the exclusive official prediction market partner of Major League Baseball (MLB) side, the New York Mets.
Fanatics will be able to offer customers its own federally regulated prediction market exchange after agreeing to acquire Water Street Labs and CX Clearinghouse from Nasdaq-listed BGC Group.
A federal judge in Wisconsin has dealt a setback to the CFTC in its effort to keep state regulators from enforcing gambling laws against prediction market platforms.
Meanwhile, a coalition of 44 state attorneys general have sent a letter to the CFTC, arguing that the agency lacks jurisdiction to regulate sports-related event contracts offered on prediction market platforms.
Kalshi is withdrawing its prohibited event contracts from Nevada under an agreement with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB).
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed an executive order to prevent state employees from using non-public information for insider trading on prediction markets.
ProphetX has raised $35 million as it looks to scale its sports-native prediction market and B2B platform.
Kalshi has sent Netflix a cease-and-desist letter accusing the streaming service of defamation over promotional footage for a newly released documentary about prediction market platforms.
US District Judge Katherine Menendez has temporarily blocked Minnesota from enforcing its ban on prediction markets.
All Other News
The Massachusetts Lottery made its online debut this week, giving players access to a range of instant and draw-based games via the Mass Lottery app and website.
Churchill Downs Incorporated has entered into an agreement to acquire the New York Racing Association’s 49 per cent stake in United Tote.
This week’s games and platform integrations round-up features Play’n GO, Playtech’s Rarestone, Pragmatic Play, 1spin4win, Relax Gaming and Galaxsys.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed Senate Bill 2749 into law, classifying gambling disorder as an addiction.
Scientific Games is looking to enhance the Iowa Lottery’s Scratch Game offering through a new portfolio management agreement.
Great Canadian Entertainment has completed the sale of Elements Casino Chilliwack, one of the leading casino properties in the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia.
The Pennsylvania Lottery reported a 1 per cent increase in sales for May to $428.1 million, with retail lottery sales unchanged at $352.9 million and iLottery sales up by 7 per cent at $71.5 million.
DraftKings is bringing free-to-play sports prediction games to adult passengers of Delta Air Lines with the launch of SkyPicks.
A legal dispute over casino player data in Massachusetts has come to a close after the state’s gaming regulator moved to satisfy requirements it had been accused of ignoring for more than a decade
Caesars Entertainment is powering a new era of sports betting at Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
FanDuel and DraftKings have filed motions in Philadelphia seeking dismissal of a lawsuit which accuses the operators of profiting from betting practices that allegedly fuelled gambling addiction in two men.
Las Vegas-based performance marketing group Vectiq has acquired one of Canada’s longest-standing iGaming affiliates, PlayCanada.com.
The Rhode Island Lottery recorded a 6 per cent sales increase in June to $25.4 million, with instant game sales up by 4 per cent at $12.0 million.
A proposal to make New Jersey the first state to ban micro bets on online sportsbooks is drawing renewed attention, as a recent State House briefing renewed pressure on lawmakers to act.