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This may not be the story of the century, but it's pretty damn close when it comes to the gambling sector. Scroll down for all the latest headlines from the world of gambling and sports as well as our top trending stories and searches.
Reports began surfacing early Thursday that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker made $1.4M playing blackjack at a casino in Las Vegas last year, but his campaign claims he will donate the money to charity.
“I was incredibly lucky. You have to be to end up ahead, frankly, going to a casino anywhere. It was in Las Vegas. I like to play cards," he said.
Pritzker and his wife reported nearly $10.7 million in total income in 2024, according to federal and state tax filings the campaign shared with news outlets.
So far, the US president, Donald Trump, is yet to mention Pritzker's gambling. The two men have been at loggerheads every since Trump vowed to send the National Guard to Chicago. Pritzker has deemed the National Guard's presence in the country's second largest city as unncessary.
Not surprisingly, the haters were out in full force, especially via X (formerly known as Twitter).
ILSenateGOP tweeted out:
"Pritzger's administration recently imposed a tax hike on sports betting firms operating in Illinois as part of the state's 2026 fiscal budget."
There were a fair share of conspiracy theories as well.
Fox News correspondents gleefully reported on Pittzker's casino winnings, one suggesting "this must be chump change" to a billionaire like Pritzger.
For thos unaware, the Pritzger family owns the Hyatt Hotel chain.
To be clear, there is nothing that appears to be wrong with Prtitzger's gambling activity outside of the obvious jaw-dropping loss figure that represents under 5% of the average American's salary....and we are probably being conservative with that figure.
Pritzger's administration was among the first to embrace regulated mobile sports betting after the US Supreme Court overturned decades of prohibition against the activity in May of 2018.
In recent month's, Pritzger's administration has supported a new two-part tax increase that has resulted in a handful of websites imposing fees on winnings.
The new tax structure works as follows:
Graduated revenue tax: This new structure replaced the previous flat 15% tax rate on sportsbooks' adjusted gross revenue (AGR).
- 20% on the first $30 million of AGR.
- 25% on AGR between $30 million and $50 million.
- 30% on AGR between $50 million and $100 million.
- 35% on AGR between $100 million and $200 million.
- 40% on any AGR exceeding $200 million.
Per-wager excise tax: This is a new tax applied to each individual online sports wager.
- $0.25 per wager for the first 20 million wagers an operator accepts in a fiscal year.
- $0.50 per wager on all wagers exceeding the 20 million mark.
(correction: a previous version of this story featured a headline that the governor lost $1.4 million when in fact he won that amount)
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(Prediction Markets) - Ohio Latest Move Against Kalshi - Ohio becomes the second state to engage outside counsel in litigation against Kalshi, joining Nevada (which turned its fortunes around when it retained Mayer Brown and SCOTUS litigator Nicole Saharsky). Smart move by Ohio. Still waiting on a hearing date for the PI motion. (source: Daniel Wallach)
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(Crime) - Two Individuals with Ties to Malta and Cyprus Busted in Online Gambling Scheme - European authorities, coordinated by Eurojust, have identified a massive illegal online gambling ring with sales of nearly a billion euros ($1.17 billion). Two individuals have been charged with running several illicit online casino websites.
- A cross-border investigation unveiled a network of companies involved in illegal games targeting mostly French citizens. Some of the site managers were based in Cyprus. The persistent difficulties in withdrawing money led to French authorities issuing repeated warnings about suspected money laundering.
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- “Investigations revealed fund transfers totalling more than €100 million between 2022 and 2025.”
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(Gambling News) - Illinois Gov. J.B. PritzkerReveals Massive Gambling Winnings - Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker raked in a massive $1.4 million in gambling winnings last year. A Pritzker spokesman said his income tax returns, filed with his wife M.K. Pritzker for 2024, included “winnings and losses from a casino” in Las Vegas. It did not divulge which casino or in what game exactly the Pritzkers had made the modest fortune. The filings also show the Democratic Governor, who doesn’t draw a salary from his public office but is independently a billionaire, had an adjusted gross income of more than $10 million, representing more than triple the $2.8 million he and his wife had reported for 2023. It’s the highest income year for Pritzker, whose family owns the Hyatt hotel chain. He spent hundreds of millions of dollars on his campaigns and those of other Democrats across the country. (source: Daily Beast)
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(Gambling News) - Gambling May Have Played Role in DC Councilmember's Alleged Bribery Scheme, Court Records Suggest - Gambling May Have Played Role in DC Councilmember's Alleged Bribery Scheme, Court Records Suggest - Prosecutors plan to introduce 767 pages of MGM casino records as evidence at Trayon White's bribery trial suggesting gambling debts may have played a role in the alleged crimes. The court filings show prosecutors have asked a judge to admit casino records documenting the Ward 8 councilmember's activity at MGM Resorts International. The documents are part of a broader collection of evidence that includes banking records and financial disclosures. White, 40, faces federal bribery charges after prosecutors allege he agreed to accept $156,000 in cash payments beginning in June 2024 in exchange for using his position to pressure government employees to extend millions in violence intervention contracts. The alleged scheme was captured on video, according to charging documents.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
