Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

AU10TIX announced the launch of a free Child Safety Age Assurance Risk and Readiness Assessment and Age Assurance Readiness Guide designed to help businesses better understand their risk and tailor their strategy to meet regulatory obligations. They support AU10TIX’s Selfie-based Age Estimation service, which delivers the industry’s most precise and unbiased age assessment in just two seconds. In the US, federal legislation such as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires parental consent for users under 13, while the California Consumer Privacy Act mandates age verification for websites accessed by users under 16. Additionally, 19 U.S. states now enforce mandatory age checks for adult content and gambling platforms. Similar regulations are impacting social media and online services in the UK, EU and Australia.

Caesars Entertainment has launched its third fully in-house developed proprietary online casino title: Signature American Roulette. Now live in New Jersey, the game is available across Caesars Palace Online Casino, Caesars Sportsbook & Casino and Horseshoe Online Casino, bringing another standout addition to the Company’s Signature table game series. Developed by Empire Creative, Signature American Roulette reflects Caesars’ growing investment in building its own proprietary content, a cornerstone of its online casino strategy aimed at delivering a best-in-class player experience. Signature American Roulette follows the recent launches of fan-favourite Signature titles, Caesars Palace Signature Multihand Blackjack Surrender in May and Signature Blackjack Surrender in June, both also developed by Empire Creative.

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Novig announced the successful close of an $18 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Forerunner, with participation from existing investors Y Combinator, NFX, Perceptive Ventures and Gaingels. Founded by Jacob Fortinsky and Kelechi Ukah, Novig is reimagining sports predictions as a transparent and fair marketplace. Unlike traditional sportsbooks, Novig allows users to trade directly with one another, rather than against the house, eliminating hidden fees, biased odds and the risk of being penalised for winning.

Partnerships

IGT announced that it has secured a multi-year sports betting technology and services agreement with Hipodromo de Agua Caliente SA de CV and Distribuidora Internacional de Equipos de Juego, S. De R.L. De C.V. that will significantly extend IGT PlaySports’ footprint to Mexico and Latin America via Corporación Caliente. Per the agreement, 42 Caliente sportsbooks in Mexico will leverage the IGT PlaySports platform and services from the Company’s Trading Advisory Services Team. Through a phased rollout, Caliente will also be able to provide select sportsbooks operators throughout Latin America access to IGT PlaySports’ technology, extending the technology’s reach to more than 100 additional venues across eight countries.

CT Interactive has announced a strategic partnership with Ondiss. Through this collaboration, CT Interactive’s top-performing titles are now integrated into the Ondiss platform, significantly expanding the company’s reach within the region’s regulated iGaming market. This integration adds value to the broad Argentine audience of Casino & Hotel Casino Magic S.A., which successfully uses the Ondiss platform. With CT Interactive’s certified and player-favourite content now available, operators on the platform are empowered to diversify their offerings and meet the increasing demand for engaging, high-quality games.

PAGCOR, the Philippine gaming regulator, has opposed a proposed ban on online gambling, despite mounting nationwide calls to criminalise it over soaring numbers of addiction, debt and mental health cases.

The online gambling sector in the Philippines has been growing exponentially, with gross revenues jumping from $140M in 2022 to $2.4B in 2024, according to Senate Committee on Games and Amusement data.

The committee held a hearing last week, highlighting the human cost of the industry, with its members demanding to outlaw it, saying the country was facing a full-blown public health and social crisis.

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Sen. Erwin Tulfo, who led the hearing on online gambling, warned that “as long as online gambling exists, we are breeding the next generation of addicts, debtors, and broken families.”

He called for a ban and to “prosecute not only the operators, but also the enablers — in the government and in the private sector — who profit from this misery.”

PAGCOR, which is both an operator and regulator, said it “is not in favor of a total ban and instead advocates for stricter regulation.”

The regulator said that illegal operators are the real problem.

“Unfortunately, many of these unregulated online operators are based overseas who target Filipinos, most of whom do not realize that the sites they are playing on are not licensed by PAGCOR. This is where problems arise, especially regarding age restrictions.”

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But a survey cited by senators indicates that age was not the main issue. It indicated that 66% of Filipinos aged 18 to 40, and 57% of those aged 41 to 55 were engaged in online gambling. Nearly a third bet multiple times a week, some wagering up to $53 per session.

Majority Leader Joel Villanueva warned online gambling is a “growing national crisis” in the Philippines.

“People are not just risking their hard-earned money. They are putting their futures, families, and lives on the line. The lure of instant wealth has already led many down a path of addiction, debt, and despair,” he said.

“Online gambling is not just a matter of financial loss. It is strongly associated with serious mental and physical health issues, broken relationships, family conflict, increased cases of domestic violence and suicide, crime against persons and property, and ultimately, the erosion of opportunities and dignity in the lives of many Filipinos.”

The UNLV International Gaming Institute has launched a new AI Research Hub (AiR Hub) to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing the gaming industry’s digital transformation.

Co-founder Kasra Ghaharian, the institute’s director of research, said the AiR Hub will address critical questions reshaping the sector: How is artificial intelligence transforming gaming operations? What governance frameworks should guide AI implementation in this traditionally regulated industry? Which emerging technologies must operators master to stay competitive? And how can the sector effectively integrate responsible AI practices with cutting-edge academic research?

“So all of these things that you might expect a research institution to do,” Ghaharian said, “we wanted to do specifically for this intersection of AI with gambling.”

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While scattered research around AI in gaming has existed, Ghaharian said there hasn’t previously been a central hub for it. He and AiR Hub co-founder Simo Dragicevic, an International Gaming Institute (IGI) adjunct fellow, saw the opportunity to generate evidence, research and insight that could help the industry better understand and navigate AI technology.

“I think IGI has always had this place to be a thought leader in terms of knowledge, insights for the breadth of stakeholders across the gambling industry. And with the growth and expansion of this new technology, which is artificial intelligence, I think it’s important for us to continue that reputation,” Ghaharian said.

AI is and will continue to have a fundamental impact on all aspects of society, said Dragicevic, who is an industry veteran with experience in gaming software, regulation and AI.

As the gaming industry naturally focuses on product innovation and growth, it’s important someone is also looking at the potential safety aspects that may arise from AI — and AiR Hub is prepared to take on this critical role, Dragicevic said.

“Given the arguably controversial nature of the gambling industry and the gambling product, when it intersects with this technology — which, in and of itself, is controversial — I think that highlights the need for scrutiny; for some research to help guide the ship,” Ghaharian said.

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The AiR Hub has received financial support from a variety of industry stakeholders, Ghaharian said. Founding industry members will also serve on an industry advisory panel to ensure that what the hub is doing is practical and relevant.

“It’s kind of that analogy of the ivory tower, right?” he said. “We don’t want to be just in a silo, not speaking to the industry, doing research that we think is relevant, that might not be applicable.”

There’s a reason the new entity is called a “hub” and not a “lab,” Dragicevic said, and that’s to emphasize its collaborative nature.

AiR Hub will build a framework and tools for regulators to help them ask the right questions before making any decisions on whether regulations need to adapt to change, he said, by inviting them to work with academics and partner universities in the early stages of projects.

It will also be important to engage the industry to ensure framework and tools are practical and factor in the complexities and nuances of the industry, Dragicevic said.

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