San Francisco city attorney cracks down on drug and gambling dens

The City Attorney of San Francisco, David Chiu, has issued a statement as they say they are cracking down on gambling and drug dens that allegedly front as convenience stores.
This update also comes as the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is looking to expand the nighttime safety ordinance that prohibits certain retail stores in high-traffic, ‘drug market areas’ from operating late at night.
In the last year and a half, the City Attorney’s Office has sued or shut down nine stores that allegedly violated the nighttime safety ordinance or engaged in other illegal activity. “These convenience stores were magnets for drug activity, and, in some cases, the stores were selling illegal drugs themselves,” said City Attorney Chiu in his newly-released statement.
“Most businesses contribute positively to our neighborhoods, but a handful of late-night retail establishments, like the ones we have shut down, attract significant criminal activity.
“The nighttime safety ordinance has been helpful in putting these stores on our radar and giving us additional tools to shut down problematic businesses. SFPD has been an incredible partner in this work to eradicate drug activity and protect our communities.”
He continued to say they are looking forward to working with the community and utilizing the nighttime safety ordinance further if the Board of Supervisors pass legislation to extend and expand it.
Nine stores shut down in San Francisco, statement says
The nighttime safety ordinance was originally passed in July 2024 and was developed in partnership with Tenderloin neighbors as part of a strategy to disrupt open-air drug markets.
Once passed, a two-year pilot program began, prohibiting certain retail stores in areas of the Tenderloin from operating between 12:00AM and 5:00AM. Generally speaking, the ordinance applies to convenience stores and corner stores, rather than restaurants, bars, or event halls.
The SFPD Chief Derrick Lew has also weighed in on the situation too: “The San Francisco Police Department is committed to keeping our streets clean and safe, and that includes cracking down on businesses violating the Nighttime Safety Ordinance or engaging in other illegal activity.”
“We will continue to be relentless in our enforcement against illegal drug markets in every way imaginable. Thank you to City Attorney David Chiu and our other city partners in this crucial work.”
Featured Image: Via the City Attorney of San Francisco
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BetMGM reports record FY 2025 results, but questions remain on sustainability

BetMGM shared a business update on Wednesday (February 4), stating that 2025 turned out better than expected, and the company is moving firmly toward profitability.
For the 2025 fiscal year (FY 2025), BetMGM posted net revenue of $2.8 billion, up 33% from the year before. That growth came from strong performances across both sides of the business. iGaming revenue climbed 24%, while online sports betting jumped a sharp 63%. The company credited better player engagement, product improvements, and a more disciplined approach to managing players for the gains.
Profitability also took a big step forward. BetMGM reported EBITDA of $220 million for the year, a $464 million improvement compared with 2024, officially shifting the business out of the red and into positive earnings territory.
The momentum was especially strong in the fourth quarter. Net revenue hit $780 million, up 39% year over year, with online sports betting revenue nearly doubling after a 93% increase. The boost was helped by higher player activity in December and more favorable betting results than the same quarter last year. BetMGM was also able to return $270 million in cash to its parent companies during the fourth quarter.
BetMGM FY 2025 ‘turning point for business’
Chief Executive Officer Adam Greenblatt characterized the year as a turning point for the business. “2025 was a record year for BetMGM, outperforming expectations with the execution of our refined strategy coming together at scale,” Greenblatt said in a press release. He added that “BetMGM’s meaningfully improved profitability and material EBITDA generation now sees us returning cash to our parent companies and marks a clear inflection in our growth trajectory.”

We’re officially live in Missouri
Shout out to @Chiefs Kingdom for celebrating with us outside Arrowhead on Sunday, especially @moneybomusic! pic.twitter.com/0hotfYyTsS
— BetMGM (@BetMGM) December 8, 2025

On the operations side, BetMGM said it made noticeable improvements to its platforms over the year. Apps are reportedly running faster, reward tracking is clearer, and players now have access to newer betting tools like live same-game parlays and cash-out options. The company also continued to expand geographically, launching online sports betting in Missouri on day one, December 1, which brought its total footprint to 30 legalized U.S. states.

@BetMGM announced a suite of cutting-edge features for its mobile app ahead of football season. The enhanced experience offers players a faster, more seamless way to build wagers, place bets and earn rewards.
https://t.co/KuPC2uKBlL
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER pic.twitter.com/zxKR1S9OTi
— BetMGM News (@BetMGMNews) August 20, 2025

In terms of market position, BetMGM reported a 13% share of gross gaming revenue across active markets. That included a strong 21% share in iGaming and an 8% share in online sports betting, keeping the company firmly among the leading digital gaming brands in the U.S.
User growth was steady but not explosive. Average Monthly Actives increased 4% year over year, which BetMGM said was expected given its more selective approach to acquiring new players. Instead of chasing volume, the focus has been on higher-quality customers.
While user growth was modest, net gaming revenue per active player rose much faster. In other words, BetMGM made more money from the players it already had, due to better monetization and more efficient betting behavior, rather than relying on rapid customer expansion.
BetMGM future outlook
Looking ahead, the company expects net revenue of $3.1 billion to $3.2 billion in FY 2026, with Adjusted EBITDA between $300 million and $350 million. Management also said it remains confident in reaching $500 million in Adjusted EBITDA by FY 2027.
BetMGM also flagged a change in how it will report financials starting in 2026. Under its joint venture agreement, the company will begin paying “Parent Fees” to MGM and Entain. The fees will be recorded as operating expenses, which is why BetMGM plans to emphasize Adjusted EBITDA, defined as EBITDA before those Parent Fees, so results remain comparable with earlier years.
While the company says this change should give clearer insight into cash flowing back to its parent companies, it does add some complexity for investors and analysts trying to compare future results with past EBITDA figures.
Overall, the FY 2025 results suggest BetMGM has reached meaningful scale and tightened up its financial discipline after years of heavy investment and losses. Moving into positive EBITDA and returning cash to its parents marks a major milestone in a U.S. online gaming market where consistent profitability has been tough to achieve.
That said, the outlook isn’t without risks. Continued success depends on favorable betting margins, stable regulations, and BetMGM’s ability to keep player value high without ramping up costly promotions again. With customer growth slowing and competition heating up across legalized states, the big question is how well the standout parts of 2025’s performance hold up if market conditions become less forgiving.
Nevertheless, as Greenblatt stated, “the strong underlying metrics and health of the business continue to reinforce our confidence in our outlook as we enter the next phase of growth.”
Featured image: BetMGM
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Jim Cramer says the tech sell-off proves why this old investing rule still matters

Tech is not the only investable part of the market, CNBC’s Jim Cramer stressed Wednesday.

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Stripe alumni raise €30M Series A for Duna, backed by Stripe and Adyen execs

Having raised a €30 million Series A round led by CapitalG, business identity verification startup Duna is now among the most well-capitalized European startups founded by Stripe alumni.

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Alphabet won’t talk about the Google-Apple AI deal, even to investors

Alphabet CEO skipped an analyst’s question about Apple on the company’s earnings call.

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Broadcom, Nvidia shares rise on surging Google capital expenditures for AI

Much of Google’s AI software doesn’t run on industry-standard Nvidia chips, but instead on its own tensor processing units. Broadcom helps Google make its TPUs.

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Google’s Gemini app has surpassed 750M monthly active users

Google revealed a significant milestone for it’s Gemini app, announcing over 750 million monthly active users as it competes with ChatGPT and Meta AI.

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The Wayback Machine debuts a new plug-in designed to fix the internet’s broken links problem

Should a linked web page go offline, the new feature will then redirect readers to the archived versions, so that there is no drop in service. The tool also archives a user’s own posts, helping to ensure their longevity.

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Snap shares rise on fourth-quarter earnings that beat on sales

Snap released on Wednesday its fourth-quarter earnings that beat on sales but missed on revenue guidance.

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Qualcomm stock sinks as memory shortage drags on forecast

“We’re starting to see that memory is going to define the size of the mobile market,” Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said in an interview.

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