The Gambling Wire: VGW Pays New York $8M as Robinhood Takes Prediction Fight to SCOTUS
VGW responds to New York’s $8 million sweepstakes casino settlement. Meanwhile, Robinhood and Kalshi pursue different paths after the Ninth Circuit ruling, and sportsbooks roll out new products for the football season.
While prediction markets have lately dominated gambling industry news, the sweepstakes casino sector led a busy day, with New York securing an $8 million settlement from VGW.
That didn’t mean there were no significant developments in prediction markets. Robinhood and Kalshi took separate legal paths following the Ninth Circuit’s ruling on sports event contracts, while Underdog sued five states.
Elsewhere, Betr, Caesars, FanDuel and Novig rolled out new products and campaigns around football season.
The Big Story: VGW Pays $8M in New York Sweepstakes Casino Settlement
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the $8 million settlement with VGW on Sept. 9 following an investigation into the company’s sweepstakes casino operations in the state.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, VGW offered New Yorkers casino games through Chumba Casino beginning in 2012, before adding Global Poker in 2016 and LuckyLand Slots in 2018. The platforms operated using a dual-currency model that included Sweeps Coins, which could be redeemed for cash or prizes.
New York investigators found that VGW’s operations violated multiple state laws. Those include the promotion of gambling and possession of gambling records, as well as a law prohibiting repeated fraudulent or illegal acts.
The Attorney General’s Office said its investigation found players could obtain approximately one Sweeps Coin for every dollar spent on the platforms, rejecting VGW’s position that the coins were provided for free and therefore did not constitute gambling.
The settlement requires VGW to pay $8 million in disgorgement, restitution, penalties and costs. It also requires the company, for one year, to allow certain former New York customers who did not receive its earlier phaseout notice to request redemption of eligible Sweeps Coins remaining in their accounts as of June 2, 2025.
Our state’s gambling laws are designed to protect New Yorkers,” James said. “Online sweepstakes casinos like Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and Luckyland Slots posed a dangerous threat to New Yorkers and their financial and mental health.”
The settlement follows a cease-and-desist letter sent by James’ office in April 2025, after which the company stopped offering Sweeps Coins in the state. New York subsequently passed a law banning dual-currency online sweepstakes casinos, becoming one of roughly a dozen states that have targeted the sector.
VGW Says Settlement Is Not Admission of Liability
VGW issued its own response Thursday. The company said that it “welcomes the conclusion of this matter.” It emphasized that it voluntarily stopped allowing New York players to collect Sweeps Coins on June 2, 2025.
VGW also pointed to language in the Assurance of Discontinuance stating that the agreement is “not intended, and should not be construed, as an admission of liability” by the company.
The company said it will continue operating its online social games in New York solely through Gold Coins play.
Prediction Markets: Ninth Circuit Fallout Spreads
Robinhood Takes a Different Path From Kalshi
While Kalshi has asked the Ninth Circuit to rehear its Nevada case en banc, Robinhood is taking its prediction-market fight directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gaming attorney Daniel Wallach reported that Robinhood had filed a petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Ninth Circuit’s decision on sports prediction markets, shortly after Kalshi filed for rehearing en banc.
Wallach described the moves as a likely “tag-team strategy,” with Kalshi continuing to challenge the ruling within the Ninth Circuit while Robinhood seeks Supreme Court review. He suggested getting a Ninth Circuit case to the Supreme Court quickly could allow the justices to consider the Ninth and Third Circuits’ divergent approaches to sports event contracts simultaneously.
New Jersey has separately asked the Supreme Court to review the Third Circuit’s ruling in favor of Kalshi, which reached the opposite conclusion from the Ninth Circuit on federal preemption.
Arizona Looks to Undo Kalshi Injunction After Ninth Circuit Ruling
The effects of the Ninth Circuit decision are already showing up elsewhere. State officials in Arizona are preparing to ask the Court to summarily vacate a May preliminary injunction that has blocked the state from enforcing its gambling laws against Kalshi’s sports event contracts.
In a Sept. 4 status report, the state said the Ninth Circuit’s ruling should result in the May preliminary injunction being vacated as it applies to sports contracts. Arizona is separately seeking a remand for further proceedings involving election contracts.
Kalshi has indicated it will oppose the move as it is seeking rehearing of the Nevada decision. The CFTC requested until Sept. 11 to consider Arizona’s proposal.
Underdog Sues Five States
Underdog became the latest operator to enter the prediction-market litigation arena. Days after surrendering its daily fantasy sports licenses in seven states, Underdog filed federal lawsuits against regulators in Massachusetts, Ohio, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Washington.
Like most of the other prediction-market challenges, the lawsuits seek to prevent the states from enforcing gambling laws against Underdog’s sports-event-contract business, with the company arguing that the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state regulation.
Betr Goes Live With Polymarket Prediction Markets
Another operator is now live with prediction markets. Betr has begun rolling out Polymarket-powered markets to eligible users in select states.
The product is launching in beta, with a broader release planned for later in the football season. Betr said it is the first consumer app to integrate with Polymarket. It will initially offer sports contracts before expanding into other event categories.
The launch is part of Betr 2.0, putting prediction markets in the same app as its Picks, Social Sportsbook, Social Casino and Arcade products.
Fanatics Brings Injury Protection to Prediction Markets
Fanatics is extending its Fair Play injury protection program to prediction markets, offering FanCash refunds on certain eligible player-prop trades affected by injuries.
The protection applies when a player exits during the first half due to injury and does not return. Fanatics is also offering Forward Progress Protection, which can return a trade amount in FanCash if negative yardage moves a player back below a cleared prop line.
The program currently covers professional football and certain baseball markets, with additional sports set to follow.
Novig’s Sydney Sweeney Ad Draws Attention
Novig drew widespread attention this week with a provocative national advertising campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, who also joined the company as a strategic partner and equity holder.
The “Novig is Just Sports” ad features Sweeney nude, strategically covered by sports equipment, to promote the company’s sports-only prediction market model. The campaign also takes an explicit shot at other prediction platforms by stressing that Novig does not offer markets on politics, war or death.
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Novig said the campaign will continue through football season, with additional creative and activations planned this fall.
Sports Betting: Operators Gear Up for Football Season
With the NFL season underway, sportsbooks are rolling out new promotions, products and contests while bettors are already piling into Super Bowl futures.
Super Bowl Favorite Rams Also Bettors’ Favorite
The Los Angeles Rams are entering the season as Super Bowl favorites, and bettors are backing them accordingly.
DraftKings listed Los Angeles at +500 to win Super Bowl LXI, with 20.2% of its Super Bowl futures handle backing the Rams. Buffalo ranked second with 9.8%, according to figures reported by ESPN. BetMGM also reported the Rams leading both its ticket and money percentages.
“It’s usually not in this scenario of going into the season where we have a liability on the Super Bowl favorite,” Caesars Sportsbook head of football Joey Feazel told ESPN.
ESPN added that no team entering the season at +500 or shorter has won the Super Bowl since the 1994 San Francisco 49ers.
Circa Football Contests Top $30M
More than $30 million is up for grabs across Circa Sports’ three major football contests this season.
Circa Survivor carries a $20 million guaranteed prize, while Circa Million VIII guarantees another $6 million. The high-stakes Grandissimo Survivor contest, which carries a $100,000 entry fee, has generated a $5.5 million pool from 55 entries.
Caesars Puts Updated Sportsbook in Spotlight
Caesars has rolled out a new advertising campaign featuring former NFL linebacker Clay Matthews. The campaign is built around a simple message: its sportsbook has “had some work done.”
Among the additions are Injury Protection, Flex Parlays and Squad Builder, an in-app game through which customers can earn Bonus Bets and Profit Boosts. Caesars said it is also entering the season with its largest football betting menu to date.
FanDuel Makes Injury Protection Free for September
Injury protection is emerging as a theme across both sportsbooks and prediction markets this football season.
FanDuel is offering its Bet Protect+ feature for free throughout September on eligible NFL bets, including live wagers.
The promotion applies to eligible player props and same-game parlays, with protection running from the first quarter through the end of the game. Bet Protect+ is automatically applied to qualifying bets during the month at no additional cost.
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