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Mexican national Edgar Gonzalez Barragan, has been charged with carrying out various robberies across Washington State, targeting banks and casinos.
After the 32-year-old robbed a bank in Shoreline, Washington, in August, he was arrested by the police. They were already looking for him concerning a few other casino robberies.
At the start of the month, Gonzalez walked into Quil Ceda Creek Casino on the Tulalip Indian Reservation and brandished a silver handgun towards the staff.
Allegedly, he told the cashier that he would “shoot the guards” unless money was handed over to him. Despite this, the cashier refused to do so, and Gonzalez left abruptly.
Just two days later, the Mexican attempted to rob another casino, and this time he came away with $18K from the Silver Reef Casino, located on the Lummi Nation Indian Reservation.
Edgar Gonzalez Barragan is suspected of being behind more crimes
Three surveillance images of an armed robbery suspect at Little Creek Casino. Credit: Mason County Sheriff’s Office
Just under a week after his $18k haul from the Silver Reef Casino, Gonzalez tried his luck once more, this time at Little Creek Casino in Kamilche, Washington.
“On 8/9/2025 at about 11:24 AM, a suspect entered the casino’s supervisor station, displayed a handgun, and demanded money. When told there was no money in the till, he fled on foot,” said the sheriff’s office in a statement following the incident.
Later that same day, Gonzalez managed to steal a hydraulic rescue tool worth $12k from a fire engine. The incident was reported by the Riverside Fire Authority, and these tools can help criminals easily break ATM machines.
After stealing just $1,500 from the US Bank in Shoreline, the 32-year-old was stopped by the police.
Furthermore, Federal agents went on to raid his home, finding clothes that he wore the same day of the Little Creek robbery earlier that month.
Elsewhere, his three phones displayed location data which placed him at the scene of the crime for all robberies and attempted robberies.
Featured image: Centralia, WA Police Department via Facebook
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TheLotter has, this week, announced its operations in New Jersey will now be suspended, as it instead focuses towards expanding services in other states.
The company launched in Arizona earlier this year and New York last year, but this new change-up is said to be due to a ‘strategic shift’ that is expected to support stronger nationwide growth.
“First and foremost, we want to thank our loyal customers for their continued support. This decision was not easy, but we believe it will enable us to reach more players across the country. By redirecting our efforts and resources, more customers will be able to order tickets for their favorite lotteries quickly and conveniently,” said Barry Golombek, TheLotter US General Manager, in the announcement.
It has been confirmed that the New Jersey site will stop accepting orders as of November 19, 2025. For any existing orders, whether through a subscription or in multi-draw packages, these will be canceled and refunded to customers in full.
“We’re truly excited for the future. Alongside our broader expansion plans, we’ve been rolling out our brand-new website, and early feedback from players has been overwhelmingly positive,” Golombek continued.
TheLotter has stated that it has already notified all registered players of the upcoming changes and made it clear that they can withdraw funds through to February 17, 2026.
Now, the company’s new US-focused website is available for players in Minnesota, Arizona, and Oregon. In September, it announced that it plans to expand its upgraded platform to more states.
New Jersey is one of a few states that welcomes lottery couriers under regulatory oversight. In April, Arizona’s lottery gave the green light to start regulating them, much like Texas. Some states, such as Connecticut, have flirted with the idea of just banning them outright.
What is TheLotter?
TheLotter is described as an online lottery courier service that enables customers to order official tickets for multistate games. This includes games such as the Powerball and Mega Millions, as well as local lottery games too.
It was founded over 23 years ago, in 2002, and works by TheLotter’s agents purchasing official tickets from licensed retailers when a player’s order is processed. They then scan and upload them to the player’s account, where the ticket can be seen prior to the draw. If a player wins, TheLotter then assists them with claiming their prize at the official lottery offices, with no commission taken.
Featured Image: Via TheLotter US blog
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A study by GambleAware has shown that over 5 million people in the UK want to either quit or reduce their gambling habits.
Of the 5 million people, around 3.9 million are looking to do this, despite not suffering from severe or problematic gambling issues.
The data was taken from the charity’s yearly Treatment and Support survey, which is conducted by YouGov.

Research from our recent Treatment and Support Survey estimates over 5M people in Britain want to reduce or quit gambling — showing the growing need for early support and prevention to keep people safe from harm.
To learn more: https://t.co/LrvqVKlZgC pic.twitter.com/Cwicrby7RW
— GambleAware (@gambleawaregb) November 14, 2025

Those in the 18-34 age bracket appear to be the biggest concern, with 2 million individuals wanting to quit gambling, hinting at a shift towards early intervention in preventing their problems from escalating.
In July last year, GambleAware launched a service finder, allowing anyone to search for support organizations within their local area.
Since launching 16 months ago, the service has already seen 42,000 users, with more than 13,000 referrals to support providers during that time.
GambleAware has also developed services such as its Self-Assessment tool, while for more in-depth issues, the GambleAware Spend Calculator calculates how much time and money someone using the service spends on gambling.
“Five million people want to reduce or quit their gambling, which highlights just how much our tools and services are needed, as well as those that sit within the National Gambling Support Network. However, gambling is making you feel, there is help available,” said Anna Hargrave, Chief Executive of GambleAware.
“Wherever you are in your journey, I want to take this opportunity to remind people that help and support continues to be available for people in need now and within the new statutory gambling harms system. For free advice, tools and support, visit gambleaware.org.”
Teenagers spending money online could lead to future gambling issues
With the GambleAware study stating that 2 million people between the ages of 18-34 want to stop gambling, this number could rise in the future.
A report carried out by the Gambling Commission last year showed that more and more 11-17-year-olds are spending money via online gaming.
Games such as FIFA, Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto are all notorious for featuring in-game purchases such as skins, packs and points.
It follows on from a Norwegian study which correlates the link between gaming in adolescents and potential future gambling issues.
Once again, the impact of buying skins and other in-game purchases could lead to problems with gambling once they reach adulthood.
“Through simulated gambling, young people are socialized into gambling, they learn the technical skills, but they learn a distorted reality where it is easy to win. It is clearly problematic when these young people get older and are exposed to other gambling,” said Professor Ståle Pallesen, who helped conduct the survey.
Featured image: Canva
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Horse racing is set to be unaffected by Rachel Reeves’ proposed two-tier system for taxing sports betting as part of the Autumn Budget, according to a report from the Financial Times.
The Chancellor is now planning on leaving the rate of general betting duty (GBD) at 15%, a figure which would remain unchanged from its current rate.
It was initially suspected that Reeves was going to hike the GBD from 15% to 30% in next week’s budget, and this would have had consequences for those involved in the industry.

The Government’s proposed tax raid could kill off racing. It's time to #AxeTheRacingTax and protect one of Britain's most successful home-grown industries pic.twitter.com/mGH3fvoGt5

— British Horseracing Authority (@BHAHorseracing) November 17, 2025

With Reeves aiming to fill the void in the UK’s finances, betting is an area that will be largely affected. The Chancellor even stated that the gambling industry must be ready to pay its “fair share” of tax.
This signals another significant U-turn by Reeves in her efforts to tax the gambling industry, as the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and the British Horse Racing Authority (BHA) have played their part.
Tax rises could still see job losses and the closure of betting shops
Despite it appearing as though the GBD is to remain at 15%, Reeves is planning on raising tax on remote gaming and gaming machines, which can be found in betting shops across the country.
In the UK, there are around 5,800 betting shops, which provide 40,000 jobs in the industry.
Should the Machine Gaming Duty (MGD) tax rise to 50% as planned, British racing could lose £84m ($110m) while around 3,400 betting shops would close.
“If machine games duty or taxes on self-service betting terminals are increased, thousands of betting shops could be at risk of closure, resulting in the loss of millions in media rights payments to racing and removing a critical source of funding for the sport,” said a spokesperson from the BGC.
“We have also consistently warned that further tax rises will push customers towards the unsafe, unregulated black market, where there are none of the safer gambling tools or protections offered by licensed UK operators. This would mean less revenue for the exchequer, fewer safeguards for consumers, and reduced funding for sport.”
Featured image: British Horseracing Authority
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The Florida House of Representatives is set to look at a broad gambling proposal on Tuesday (November 18). The Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee will take up HB 189, a bill that brings some major changes to how gambling is handled in the state. It includes new criminal penalties aimed at protecting the integrity of sports betting, gives the state more power to go after illegal gambling, and officially defines and regulates daily fantasy sports contests.
The bill was introduced by Republican Representative Dana Trabulsy and would make a number of updates to Florida’s gambling laws. One of the biggest changes involves updating how the state handles bribery in sports competitions.
Florida House gambling bill would make sports bribery a felony
The bill states that any person who “stakes, bets, or wagers any money or other thing of value upon the result of any professional or amateur game, contest, match, race, or sport with knowledge that the results of such professional or amateur game, contest, match, race, or sport are prearranged or predetermined” commits “a felony of the third degree.” It comes in the wake of several sports leagues facing investigations over illegal wagering by some of their stars.
Florida’s Gaming Control Commission has been working with authorities to take down illegal slot machines. Credit: St Petersburg Police Department
The legislation also updates and strengthens Florida’s tools for cracking down on illegal gambling operations. It targets things like slot machine trafficking and efforts to rig or manipulate games, giving the state more power to enforce the law effectively. Under the bill, a person who “knowingly and willfully transports, or procures the transportation of, five or more other persons into or within this state when he or she knows or reasonably should know that such transportation is for the purpose of facilitating illegal gambling commits a misdemeanor of the first degree.”
Under the bill, it would be a felony to transport minors or anyone aged 65 or older for the purpose of illegal gambling.
Legalization of daily fantasy sports
Another key part of HB 189 is the official recognition of daily fantasy sports. The bill creates a new section called “Fantasy sports contests; conditions for conduct,” which lays out the rules for how these contests can legally operate in the state. It defines a fantasy sports contest as one “in which a participant pays an entry fee and manages a fantasy or simulation sports team composed of athletes from a professional sports organization with the opportunity to win a cash prize.”
Fantasy contests would have to meet strict criteria to be allowed under the new rules. The proposal requires that “prizes and awards for the winning participants are established and disclosed to contest participants before entry” and that “all winning outcomes reflect the relative knowledge and skill of the fantasy sports contest participant.”
A winning outcome may not be based on “the score, point spread, or performance of a team or combination of teams” or “the single performance of an individual in a single event.”
Operators who don’t follow the rules could face serious penalties. The bill authorizes a fine of up to “$100,000 per violation” for any website, platform, or application offering contests unlawfully. Additionally, such an operator “commits a felony of the third degree.”
The proposal also makes a number of changes to how the Florida Gaming Control Commission is run and how it operates. It adds new reporting requirements such as “the number of complaints received by the commission categorized by subject matter or type of complaint” and “a list of property seized by the commission during the course of investigations.”
It also broadens the conflict of interest rules, banning commissioners and staff from certain activities, from working with any entity that “conducts or facilitates an activity regulated, enforced, or investigated by the commission, including fantasy sports contests and other betting activities.”
HB 189 also revises the penalties for a range of gambling-related offenses. This includes changes to how the state handles illegal slot machine possession, running gambling houses, and manipulating cardroom games. A new section makes it a first degree felony for a person who “knowingly sells, purchases, manufactures, transports, delivers, or brings into this state more than 15 slot machines or devices” with escalating fines that can reach “$500,000.”
The bill also makes it clear that the state has full authority over all gambling-related issues, reinforcing statewide control over these matters.
If the subcommittee approves HB 189, the bill will move on to other committees in the House for further review. The subcommittee meeting is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Webster Hall.
Featured image: Canva
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