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Kalshi suffered a damaging setback on Friday when a federal court in Maryland rejected its request for a preliminary injunction against the state’s enforcement of gambling laws against the prediction market platform. 
US District Judge Adam B. Abelson denied Kalshi’s position, in what is a significant defeat for their aims to offer prediction markets nationwide under federal jurisdiction and oversight.
Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated platform that offers event or outcome-based ‘contracts’, typically on sports and political outcomes. The company had argued that the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) pre-empts state gambling laws, granting exclusive regulatory authority to the CFTC. 
Conversely, Maryland, like several other states, issued a cease-and-desist order, claiming Kalshi’s sports event contracts constitute illegal gambling under state law.
Judge Abelson has now ruled in their favor.
Specifically, he outlined that the financial exchange and prediction market (which recently secured a partnership with xAI) had not demonstrated its prospects for success in proving Congress intended the CEA to take precedence over state gambling laws, especially for sports-related markets. 
Abelson stressed the importance of upholding the states’ authority on gambling, as ceding in Kalshi’s favor against Maryland would have wide-ranging consequences for state-level regulations across the entire United States, including federal arrangements such as the Wire Act and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. 

Federal judges in different states have now issued conflicting rulings on whether states can use sports betting laws to regulate Kalshi and its sports-based event contracts, or whether states are preempted. This debate could wind up at U.S. Supreme Court: https://t.co/KgSQp7puN8.
— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) August 3, 2025

What happens next in the prediction market debate?
The judge continued to note inconsistencies with Kalshi’s legal position, as it had initially claimed sports betting did not carry economic importance in a separate election market legal wrangle. The company later changed its stance, arguing that the above comes under the remit of the CFTC.
As for what happens next, Kalshi has appealed Judge Abelson’s ruling to the Fourth Circuit, opening up the potential for a Supreme Court review. This would be a ruling on resolving conflicts of federal or state authority over prediction markets. 
This case reflects the ongoing discord between state authorities and the prediction market platforms, but it appears to be an issue that is finally moving toward a conclusion. 
The Maryland ruling doesn’t augur well for Kalshi, in contrast to its previous success in Nevada and New Jersey when federal judges did award injunctions, supporting the argument of CFTC authority. 
As we move closer to a conclusion, the outcome is likely to set a defining precedent on the status of prediction markets across all of the United States.
Image credit: Kalshi
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The Star Entertainment Group announces that its discussions with joint venture partners Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium International have been terminated.
After being unable to reach an agreement on a number of ‘outstanding commercial issues,’ The Star proposed to the Joint Venture Partners an extension of a negotiation date to 6 August, but this was not accepted.
As a result, the heads of agreement (HoA) termination notice has taken effect, and it has been officially terminated. The discussions date back to March when Star Entertainment planned to sell its stake in the Destination Brisbane Consortium (DBC) and Destination Gold Coast Consortium (DGCC) to its joint venture partners.
Now that the deal has fallen through, The Star will retain its 50% equity interest in DBC and its ⅓ equity interest in DGCC. “The Star will also retain the Treasury Brisbane hotel and car park and its 50% equity interest in the Charlotte Street Car Park (Festival),” the ASX announcement states.
The Star must also repay $10 million of proceeds it received from the Joint Venture Partners, with the amount payable by 6 August 2025.
The Star will retain its 50% equity interest in the Destination Brisbane Consortium
In addition to the repayment, The Star must reimburse the Joint Venture Partners for its share of equity contributions that have been made by them to the DBC since 31 March 2025. This amount is currently anticipated to be approximately $31 million and is payable by 5 September 2025.
As for the Joint Venture Partners, they are required to reimburse The Star for their share of equity contributions that have been made by The Star to DGCC since 7 March 2025 under the terms of the HoA. This is expected to be around $1 million.
“The Star is continuing to engage with the Joint Venture Partners and will provide an update if there are any material developments regarding the parties’ respective interests in DBC and DGCC,” the announcement says.
“Given the termination of the HoA, The Star is considering what alternative options may be available to it in relation to its 50% equity interest in DBC, along with the Treasury Brisbane hotel and car park and its 50% equity interest in the Charlotte Street Car Park (Festival).”
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
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The casino company Kangwon Land is aiming to strengthen its illegal gambling surveillance as it launches a monitoring group.
Around 30 college students will be recruited to the ‘College Student Online Illegal Gambling Site Monitoring Group’, and the ‘Offline Illegal Gambling Professional Monitoring Group’ will be expanded upon, too.
The recruitment period will last until the 14th, with the aim of implementing social responsibility through the eradication and prevention of illegal gambling.
“This monitoring team recruitment was prepared to minimize public damage by strengthening the existing monitoring system as illegal gambling advertisements and publicity impersonated Gangwon Land due to the rapid spread of online illegal gambling recently,” Kangwon Land says in a news release.
Kangwon Land has opened recruiting for monitoring groups
“In particular, the newly recruited ‘University Student Online Illegal Gambling Site Monitoring Group’ plans to recruit 30 college students who are familiar with the digital environment, and they will actively participate in blocking illegal gambling by monitoring online illegal gambling sites and related promotional posts in real time and proofing and reporting whether they are illegal.”
The ‘National Participation Offline Illegal Gambling Professional Monitoring Group’ will be for the general public, with an effort to recruit those with field experience and practical capabilities to strengthen the monitoring and reporting of illegal gambling.
In order to encourage ‘active participation in illegal gambling surveillance activities,’ the brand will pay up to 60 million won for reporting rewards based on activity performance to monitoring members.
Choi Cheol-gyu, CEO of Gangwon Land, said, “In order to respond more systematically and effectively to illegal gambling that is spreading ingeniously online and offline, we have expanded and operated the monitoring group,” and “We will take the lead in minimizing the social damage caused by illegal gambling and establishing a sound social culture.”
This comes just a month after the brand co-hosted its first addiction prevention forum alongside the Korean gambling problem prevention and care center.
The event was held on July 3, with a slogan from the day translating to “Korea without gambling addiction, we will take care of it together!”
Featured Image: Credit to Kangwon Land news release
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The Illinois Gaming Board has revoked the video gaming license for Firebird Enterprises Inc., the company behind Steak N Egger – Racine, saying the owner misled regulators, hid a history of illegal gambling, and had ties to organized crime.
The board pulled the license for Firebird Enterprises Inc., which is owned by Jeffrey Bertucci and runs the restaurant at 5647 W. Ogden Ave. A spokesperson for the gaming board said the video gambling machines were shut off on Friday, the day after the decision came down.
Illinois regulators allege organized crime ties to Steak N Egger owner
In a 2023 complaint filed by the Illinois Gaming Board, officials said Jeffrey J. Bertucci, the sole owner of the Cicero restaurant Steak N Egger – Racine, gave false information in his application for a video gaming license. The Board said Bertucci left out key details about a long history of illegal gambling operations at multiple locations in Illinois.
When asked on the application if he or any of his owners had ever “facilitated, enabled, or participated in the use of coin-operated amusement devices for gambling purposes,” Bertucci answered “No” and certified the accuracy of his response under penalty of law.
But later, the board uncovered records showing that Bertucci had testified in a 2009 federal criminal trial involving alleged mob figures. During that trial, he admitted to using illegal gambling machines as far back as the early 1990s.
According to the complaint, “Bertucci testified at trial that he operated illegal gambling machines at his Cicero business in 2004 and removed them after receiving a grand jury subpoena in July of that year.” He also “reinstalled the coin-operated devices… [and] kept the illegal gambling machines at his Cicero location until he received a subpoena about them in 2009.”
The board pointed out that this sworn testimony clashed with what Bertucci told agents in a 2018 interview, when he claimed his involvement was limited to one Stickney location and only lasted “five or six years” in the early 2000s.
Bertucci admitted in 2023 that he ran illegal gambling machines in multiple locations, a key factor in the state’s license revocation. Credit: Illinois Gaming Board
In a follow-up interview on May 19, 2023, Bertucci came clean, admitting that he kept gambling machines in Chicago between 1990 and 1995 and in Cicero from 2004 to 2009. That testimony came years later during the trial of Michael Sarno, who was accused of leading the Cicero street crew of the Chicago Outfit. Sarno was eventually sentenced to 25 years in prison for racketeering. The board said, “He further explained that he removed the devices because they were not legal.”
Ultimately, the body found that Bertucci had “intentionally made the false statements and disclosures to IGB Gaming Agents in the 2018 Interview in connection with the video gaming license application,” and said Steak N Egger was “subject to discipline pursuant… for making false statements” and misrepresentation.
Illinois revokes license
Because of all this, the board decided to revoke the license, adopting parts of an Administrative Law Judge’s recommendation and rejecting others. It’s one of several recent enforcement moves the agency has made as it continues to crack down on operators who aren’t playing by the rules.
According to the board’s rules, it’s against the rules to lie on a license application. The board can also take disciplinary action for any reason that would’ve led them to deny the application in the first place.
As of now, Firebird Enterprises, Inc. no longer holds a valid license to operate video gaming machines in Illinois.
Featured image: Canva
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