From gambling scandals to the election year craze to multiple industry and regulatory challenges, it’s been a wild year for gaming in North America.
Here’s a look at the most influential people and top newsmakers of 2024:
Baseball star’s interpreter gets caught
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani was caught up in a gambling scandal in March when his interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara stole nearly $17 million from one of baseball’s best players to pay off gambling debts. Mizuhara pleaded guilty in June to bank and wire fraud charges while Ohtani was exonerated from any wrongdoing and went on to lead the Dodgers to a World Series title.
Mizuhara’s bookie
The guy behind the interpreter scandal, Mathew Bowyer took millions of dollars in illegal wagers from Mizuhara and other clients. He and a group of co-conspirators funneled those winnings through Las Vegas casinos, landing them and casino executives in hot water with the feds and gaming regulators. The California resident pleaded guilty in August to charges of operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering, and subscribing to a false tax return.
NBA bans Jontay Porter for sports betting scandal
One of the biggest stories in all of sports in 2024, a gambling scandal involving an NBA player shook the entire industry. Former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter manipulated his playing time and player prop totals to pay off gambling debts to a group of conspirators that ended up with federal charges. Porter also bet on his own team, earning a lifetime ban from the sport and leading to hard questions about player prop offerings at U.S. sportsbooks.
The NBA's investigation into Jontay Porter found:
— Covers (@Covers) April 17, 2024
- He disclosed confidential information to sports bettors
- Limited his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes
- Bet on NBA games (including Raptors games) for a total payout of $76,059, resulting in net… pic.twitter.com/lNWWwCkPqb
Other betting scandals
MLB handed San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano a lifetime ban, suspended four other players, and disciplined umpire Pat Hoberg for violating the league’s gambling policy. Former Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon received a 15-year show-cause penalty in February for sharing player information with bettor Bert Neff Jr., who received a three-year prison sentence in July for his role in the 2023 scandal. Temple men’s basketball had some betting irregularities last season that cost a recent Virginia Tech transfer his NCAA eligibility.
Regulated gambling is coming to Alberta
Alberta moved in 2024 to join Ontario as Canada's only regulated sports betting and online casino gaming provinces. Alberta is still working through its legislation to form the necessary regulatory measures to launch. PENN Entertainment is one of several operators looking to get in on the new gaming province, but it’ll likely be 2025 before a launch date is announced.
Boxing’s most-bet bout ever
One of the most anticipated boxing matches in years didn’t live up to the hype in the ring or on Netflix, but it made quite a stir with sportsbooks. Boxer/influencer Jake Paul vs. former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was the most-bet combat sports event ever for multiple sports betting operators, which made out well as the majority of wagers were on the underdog Tyson.
Wild odds ride of Bronny James
The son of Los Angeles Lakers great LeBron James was 200-to-1 to be the NBA Draft’s No. 1 pick in the futures market during the summer. Bronny James, who wasn’t even projected to be a first-round pick by most analysts, was BetMGM’s biggest liability to go first overall. The team that would take him also took twists and turns, and in the end, those who bet on the Lakers taking Bronny, which they did in the second round, cashed.
Election betting takes the nation by storm
The U.S. got a big taste of legal wagering during the 2024 Presidential Election. Prediction-outcome site Kalshi received a federal ruling that allowed the company to accept more than $400 million in “contracts” or wagers on who would win the election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Polymarket, a controversial global exchange not regulated in the U.S., took in nearly $4 billion on election-event outcomes with customers capitalizing from Trump’s win. This budding form of gaming could expand into sportsbooks four years from now.
Sportsbook downsizing
A great year for market leaders FanDuel and DraftKings and state tax collectors ended up hurting smaller outfits that were pushed out of multiple jurisdictions. SuperBook ceased all online operations outside of Nevada during the summer. Betway, ClutchBet, and Unibet left the U.S. market entirely. SI Sportsbook continued downsizing. Betfred exited Maryland, Arizona, and Ohio. Sahara Bets also closed up shop in the Grand Canyon State. Betsafe left Colorado.
Feds get involved
The federal government has left sports betting and iGaming legalization and regulation up to individual states, but 2024 showed signs of a potential shift in that practice. U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-New York) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) introduced the SAFE Bet Act in September which would be the first U.S. government involvement in regulating sports betting since PASPA was overturned in 2018. As expected, the idea of federal oversight not been met with universal acceptance.
Big casinos in the Big Apple
Multiple fascinating parties have shown interest in submitting bids for three coveted New York City casino licenses. Mets owner Steve Cohen, Wynn Resorts, Bally’s, Genting, Caesars Entertainment/Jay-Z's RocNation partnership, Las Vegas Sands, MGM, and others are vying for an opportunity to build billion-dollar gaming complexes in the most populous city in the U.S. The deadline to submit is in 2025, but interested developers have already been working to secure land to build entertainment, hotel, and casino properties.
Bettors crush sportsbooks in October
An unprecedented run by NFL favorites in the middle of October put U.S. sportsbooks in a position few had ever seen before. Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg called it “the single worst combination of sports betting outcomes we've seen since we started the business.” DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said his company had never seen such a “customer-friendly stretch of sport outcomes” before, and the online operator even lowered their 2024 guidance early in the fourth quarter because of it.
New U.S. states launch legal sports betting
In 2024, Vermont and North Carolina became the 37th and 38th U.S. jurisdictions to launch legal sports betting. FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics Sportsbook went live in the Green Mountain State on Jan. 11. On March 11, eight online operators, including FanDuel, DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, BetMGM, bet365, Caesars, ESPN BET, and Underdog Sports launched in the Tar Heel State, which has generated a more than $4.8 billion handle through November.
Other states fall short
Not all states were successful in getting regulated sports betting legalized. Minnesota’s legislative attempt came down to the final day of the 2024 session but pro-betting lawmakers couldn’t cross the finish line. Georgia continues to inch its way closer and has a pro-gambling governor, but the Peach State still has work to do in 2025. Texas and California showed no signs of moving toward legalization in 2024.
Missouri legalizes sports betting
Through an influx of millions of dollars, pro teams unifying, and a strong ad campaign/petition, Show-Me State residents made Missouri the 39th legal sports betting state on Election Day. Amendment 2 passed by just 2,961 votes on the ballot of nearly three million voters. Political action committee Winning for Missouri Education was funded with $40 million by FanDuel and DraftKings, the most any group had ever received to help get sports betting passed.
College player prop issue
NCAA president Charlie Baker called upon all legal sports betting states in March to prohibit sportsbooks from offering college player prop wagers due to harassment issues. Maryland, Ohio, Louisiana, and Vermont complied. Other states where college player props are allowed discussed potential changes but made none. The NCAA conducted a study on the harmful harassment, and players like former North Carolina star basketball player Armando Bacot spoke out about abuse from bettors.
DraftKings and the courts
One of the top online sports betting operators in the U.S. spent a lot of time in courtrooms in 2024. DraftKings engaged in a public legal battle with former VIP executive Michael Hermalyn, who left the company to join Fanatics Sportsbook. DraftKings was also part of a group of operators sued by the MLB players union for using player photos to promote its site and social media accounts without legal rights. The online sportsbook has also battled class action suits as well as a recent lawsuit filed by a father of two who gambled away $1 million.
DraftKings floats surcharge
The popular online operator took a chance when CEO Jason Robins considered putting a surcharge on winning wagers in states with a 20% tax rate beginning in 2025. The idea didn’t go over well across the industry, and several competitors, including FanDuel, clearly stated they would not introduce such a practice. DraftKings pretty much killed the idea after that and the story went away … for now.
Illinois moves to escalating tax rate
One of the reasons DraftKings came up with the surcharge idea was to combat tax changes in Illinois. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a progressive tax rate into the state budget in June, allowing Land of Lincoln to go from a 15% tax rate on sports betting operators to a scale in July that starts at 20% and goes as high as 40% based on revenue tiers. Illinois’ decision has sparked industry conversations about high rates hurting operators’ chances of staying in certain markets.
NFL’s Big Game goes to Sin City
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league has had to embrace sports betting since PASPA was overturned in 2018. No sign of that was bigger than allowing Las Vegas to host the Super Bowl LVIII after decades of opposing any form of gambling. The NFL had strict protocols for players and personnel during the two-week event in the desert, but there were no reported incidents. And the league had no gambling suspensions at all in 2024.
Chiefs’ Super Bowl win hits sportsbooks hard
The Kansas City Chiefs beating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime in Super Bowl LVIII in February was the worst-case scenario for operators. Bettors loved the Chiefs, the total fell between two numbers offered, and multiple heavily-bet props hit throughout the game. While the Super Bowl generated a record-setting handle of $185.6 million in Nevada, a lot of operators suffered losses. BetMGM lost $9.6 million that week in New York alone, and New Jersey sportsbooks watched revenue decline 33% year-over-year.
THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (+600) ARE YOUR SUPER BOWL LVIII CHAMPIONS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Scx56VvueI
— Covers (@Covers) February 12, 2024
Swifties invade the NFL
Singer Taylor Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce didn’t just dominate national headlines. They affected sports betting in 2024 as well. The dating duo led sportsbooks to offer a plethora of Super Bowl props, like how many times shown during the broadcast, and it even carried over into the next season. FanDuel offered betting markets for Swifties when one of the most famous celebrities in the world right now visited Ontario.
Brazil builds toward 2025
Shortly after legalizing the regulatory gaming framework at the end of 2023, the Brazilian government began the complicated task of figuring out what and who is allowed to operate in the popular wagering market in 2025. DraftKings, FanDuel, Hard Rock, and BetMGM were among a group of more than 180 sports betting and iGaming operators looking to land a coveted license. The nation’s leaders, however, were also concerned about responsible gaming issues plaguing the country.
Circa Survivor contest explodes
Four contestants split the $9.2 million prize pool in the Circa Sports Survivor contest in early 2024. When the contest, which requires one team to win to get players through to the next week, kicked back up in the fall, a record 14,266 entries handed over $1,000 each. The $14.26 million prize pool is still up for grabs this season, but it took some wild turns early in the season with just 1.5% of entries making it past Week 5 in the NFL.
Caitlin Clark impacts betting
Betting on women’s sports leaped light years in 2024 with the emergence of Caitlin Clark and her phenomenal basketball skills. From taking Iowa to the Final Four to being the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, the Indiana Fever star helped increase attendance and impact the women’s game forever. Her player props became extremely popular at sportsbooks. PENN Entertainment and BetMGM both reported more than 100% handle increases year-over-year in 2024.
Olympic interest soars
The Paris Olympics drew huge TV ratings compared to the previous Summer Games, thanks to better viewing times and many American stars participating. The extra attention hit sports betting. FanDuel’s Olympic handle tripled compared to 2021. With 38 legal U.S. markets and a tremendous sports catalog, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, swimming, and gymnastics took plenty of wagers. There was even a betting controversy surrounding payouts on the gold medal count.
Florida vs. Flagler
West Flagler Associates challenged the Seminole Nation’s monopoly as the only sports betting operator in Florida. The state’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of the tribe’s Hard Rock Bet and shut down legal challenges. A peace agreement was struck in October as the Seminole Nation agreed to add Jai Alai to the Hard Rock Bet app in exchange for Flagler ceasing any other legal action.
Cease and desist
It was a big year for states standing up to illegal and offshore gaming operators. Florida, Arkansas, Michigan, and Kansas were among the states that sent cease-and-desist letters to daily fantasy sites like PrizePicks and Underdog that mimic traditional sportsbooks with prop-style betting. Multiple regulated sports betting states, including Massachusetts, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, took action against offshore sportsbook Bovada to end its ability to offer illegal wagering to residents.
Sweepstakes gaming under fire
Sweepstakes gaming was all the rage at the 2024 Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. Since then, multiple people and groups, including the Indian Gaming Association’s Victor Rocha, have been waging war on an industry that’s largely unregulated and untaxed but extremely profitable. Industry trade group American Gaming Association urged legislators and regulators across the U.S. to take action against the pay-for-coins online gambling that mirrors mobile casinos and sportsbooks.
Fanatics makes waves
This was a big year for Fanatics Sportsbook. The sports betting operator completed its platform migration in every U.S. market after acquiring PointsBet’s U.S. assets in 2023 and is now operating sports betting in 23 U.S. jurisdictions and iGaming in three. Fanatics has moved into the third spot in terms of handle and revenue in recent months in lucrative New York, and it’s cut into market share from competitors like BetMGM, Caesars, and ESPN BET in several other states.
