August soccer boost for US sports betting; New York sues Polymarket for illegal gambling operation; People Inc. withdraws proposal to acquire MGM Resorts; Gaming Intelligence Awards North America 2026 shortlist revealed; plus the week’s other news from North America.
US sports betting: August soccer boost
Early data from several states suggest there has been a boost to August’s soccer betting in the wake of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Vermont, for example, reported a strong rise in soccer betting of 147 per cent in August.
The Oregon Lottery and Maryland both managed double-digit growth in their soccer betting for August.
Oregon posted a 53 per cent year-on-year increase in monthly soccer handle, and Maryland had 36 per cent growth versus August 2025.
Ontario
Ontario reported a 20 per cent rise in iGaming wagers for August to C$9.74 billion. Online casino games were responsible for 90 per cent of monthly wagers with a 22 per cent increase to C$8.78 billion. Sports betting grew by 10 per cent to C$843 million but online poker wagering fell by 19 per cent to C$122 million. Monthly revenue from all activities was up by 18 per cent to C$396.3 million, but dropped below C$400 million for the first time in five months.
Nebraska
South of the border, gaming revenue from Nebraska’s casinos rose by 17 per cent in August to $27.5 million, including retail sports betting. Slot machines generated the majority of the monthly total at $24.2 million, followed by table games with $2.9 million. Revenue from retail sports betting was down by 56 per cent year-on-year to $386,049. WarHorse Omaha led the market on revenue of $10.3 million, ahead of WarHorse Lincoln on $7.8 million.
Louisiana
Louisiana’s sports betting showed less than 1 per cent growth in August with total wagers of $272.1 million. Mobile betting increased by 4 per cent to $260.7 million but overall growth was reduced by a 32 per cent decline in retail betting to $11.4 million. Net proceeds from sports betting fell by 2 per cent to $32.8 million and resulted in monthly betting tax of $6.8 million.
In the state’s gaming sector, Louisiana’s revenue at its riverboat and land-based casinos fell by 6 per cent to $175.1 million in August, as visitor admissions fell by 4 per cent to 1.67 million. L’Auberge Lake Charles had 217,629 admissions and the highest revenue of $28.7 million, ahead of Caesars New Orleans’ $24.0 million and Golden Nugget Lake Charles’ $23.6 million.
Mississippi
Mississippi’s casinos reported a 7 per cent decline in revenue for August to $201.4 million. Revenue from slot machines was down by 5 per cent to $167.6 million, while table games revenue had an 8 per cent decrease to $28.6 million. The casinos’ retail sports betting was 36 per cent lower than August 2025 at $14.1 million. Adjusted gross win from sports betting was down by 45 per cent to $2.1 million, at a margin of 14.9 per cent.
Massachusetts
Online sports betting in Massachusetts grew by 5 per cent to $566.4 million in August. DraftKings remained the leading brand in online wagers, which were unchanged versus a year ago at $275.1 million, followed by FanDuel at $144.5 million. Sports betting gross win fell by 15 per cent to $48.0 million, as the margin dropped by 2 percentage points to 8.5 per cent.
In the state’s land-based sector, Massachusetts’ three land-based casinos saw their revenue drop by 3 per cent in August to $102.4 million, including retail sports betting. Slot machine revenue in the casinos fell by 1 per cent to $73.1 million, while table games win was 8 per cent lower at $28.8 million. Retail sports betting in the casinos decreased by 36 per cent to $450,291.
Vermont
Vermont’s sports betting showed just 1 per cent growth in August, taking total wagering for the month to $13.6 million. Soccer betting continued to perform well following the FIFA World Cup and monthly bets increased by 147 per cent to $2.1 million. Baseball bets rose by 13 per cent to $4.1 million, while tennis betting fell by 5 per cent to $1.6 million. Monthly gross win from sports betting fell by 24 per cent to $1.3 million because of a lower margin of 9.5 per cent (August 2025: 12.8 per cent).
Kansas
Kansas’ sports wagers dropped by 15 per cent to $162.1 million in August, as online wagering fell by 14 per cent to $160.7 million and retail betting dropped 55 per cent to $1.4 million. DraftKings was the leading brand on wagers of $62.5 million, ahead of FanDuel’s $56.4 million. Monthly sports betting win fell was down 47 per cent at $10.2 million, with online betting earning $10.1 million in gross win and retail gross win contributing $91,366.
In the state’s land-based sector, Kansas’ four casinos saw gaming revenue fall by 2 per cent in August to $36.7 million, with every casino seeing a decrease. Hollywood Casino was the leading property but had a 1 per cent decline in monthly revenue to $14.9 million. Kansas Star’s revenue was down by less than 1 per cent to $14.6 million, while Boot Hill Casino’s revenue declined 6 per cent to $3.9 million, and Kansas Crossing’s revenue declined 5 per cent to $3.3 million.
Oregon
The Oregon Lottery saw sports wagers rise by 20 per cent in August to $72.4 million. Baseball was the leading sport for wagering with a 13 per cent increase in monthly wagering to $26.1 million, while table tennis betting grew by 16 per cent to $12.9 million. Betting on soccer continued to enjoy a post-World Cup boost and was up 53 per cent at $8.5 million. Gross win did not match the rise in wagers and had just 1 per cent growth to $7.2 million, with the monthly margin falling by 1.8 percentage points to 10.0 per cent.
Missouri
Missouri’s 13 land-based casinos reported a combined 3 per cent fall in gaming revenue for August to $171.4 million. Slot machine revenue was down by 1 per cent to $150.2 million, but table gaming saw an 18 per cent drop in revenue to $21.1 million. The state’s gaming revenue fall was accompanied by a 2 per cent decrease in admissions to 2.44 million during the month.
Gaming Intelligence is delighted to announce the shortlist for the North America edition of the Gaming Intelligence Awards 2026.
The State of New York is suing Polymarket for running an illegal gambling operation through its prediction market platform.
People Inc. has withdrawn its proposal to acquire MGM Resorts, sending MGM shares down by more than 10 per cent in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) is pushing back against criticism of its work with prediction markets provider Kalshi.
OpenBet has appointed Nikos Konstakis as its next chief executive, with incumbent CEO Jordan Levin transitioning to the role of chairman.
This week’s games round-up features BGaming, Yggdrasil, Play’n GO, Playtech, Relax Gaming, Pragmatic Play, 1spin4win, plus new releases from Evolution’s Big Time Gaming, Nolimit City and Ezugi.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an advisory that addresses the listing and trading of “mention market” event contracts.
Loto-Québec has reported a 2.1 per cent increase in total revenue to CA$782.6 million for its fiscal first quarter ended 29 June, with net profit growing to $398.1 million.
The Kansas Lottery reported a 31 per cent increase in sales for August to $48.6 million, with all of the growth coming from its growing iLottery platform.
IGT has appointed Jamie Knight as its new chief studios officer, succeeding Jean Venneman who will retire at the end of this year.
Gaming Realms has secured the licensing rights to develop Slingo versions of Aristocrat Interactive’s popular Buffalo and Mo’ Mummy game franchises.
BetMGM is bringing in-person wagering to guests of the Tailgate Beach Club at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino through a new cabana sportsbook.
Evolution has signed a new agreement to become the exclusive provider of live dealer content across Boyd Interactive’s North American online casino operations.
The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana has become the first tribal nation to enter the prediction markets sector through a partnership with Kalshi.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has issued cease-and-desist letters to six of the leading prediction market operators offering sports event contracts to Missourians.
Merv Digital Solutions is bringing once-in-a-lifetime experiential prizes to its eInstant and iGaming content through a partnership with Atlas Experiences.
Interblock Gaming has appointed former Las Vegas Sands and OpenBet executive Cathryn Lai as its new chief product officer.
Fast Track has launched its latest product innovation, True Value, which measures the underlying economic value of a player’s activity.
Caesars Entertainment has launched Remote Roulette, a new game which allows online and land-based players to participate in the same game.
Soft2Bet has expanded its B2B management team with the appointment of James Hancock as vice president of B2B marketing and Harry Heynes as business development director.
Independent test lab RiskCherry can now service clients in 24 regulated markets after securing approval in five new jurisdictions during the past quarter.
Polymarket has brought in Collin McKinney Hill as vice president of operations, who joins from DoorDash.