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Caesars Entertainment, which operates three casinos in Missouri, has donated $4.15m to a campaign opposed to an initiative supported by the state’s professional sports franchises.

Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment was on September 10, which was followed the next day by a $1.3m donation by the Tropicana St. Louis, which is known as the Horseshoe St. Louis, according to a report filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission (MEC).

Caesars Enterprise Services donated $156,202, Harrah’s North Kansas City donated $1.4m, and Isle of Capri Boonville donated $1.3m on September 12. According to the MEC, a report needs to be filed within 48 hours if any contribution of more than $5,000 is received by any committee from any single donor.

As of Monday (September 16), Caesars was the only casino company to back the opposition to legal wagering in Missouri. 

On the other hand, Winning for Missouri Education has more than $6.52m in contributions from DraftKings, FanDuel and Betfair Interactive U.S.

The measure sets the sports-betting tax rate at 10 percent and includes deductions for promotional play of up to 25 percent of the operator’s total cash received for a month and federal excise tax. Missouri’s four professional sports franchises, along with 12 casinos, could also operate retail and online sports betting.

Amendment 2 also would make two online betting platforms eligible to receive a license.

France’s Consumer Authority has cleared the acquisition of Kindred (Unibet) by France’s national operator, Française des Jeux (FDJ).

However, to mitigate the risk of creating a gambling conglomerate due to Kindred offering online sports betting, horseracing and online poker, FDJ will apply and supplement the same commitments it made in September 2023 to clear the acquisition of ZEturf, according to the authority's  on September 13.

When FDJ acquired ZEturf it pledged not to exploit its monopoly gaming activities (lottery games online and at points of sale and sports betting at points of sale) for the development of competitive games (online horseracing and sports betting).

Additionally, FDJ has now made a new brand separation commitment that competitive games will eventually be marketed under one or more brands specific to them and not sharing a common root or logo with the FDJ or Parions Sport Point de Vente brands, or any other brand under which FDJ markets its monopoly games in France.

In light of the commitments made by FDJ, the authority cleared the transaction following the phase 1 examination.

In January 2024, FDJ made an offer, unanimously recommended by the Kindred board of directors, of SEK130 (€11.39) per share, which values the Stockholm-listed company at €2.6bn.

A prefiled House bill in Alabama seeks to increase the penalties for illegal gambling in the state, which are currently recognized and charged as a misdemeanor with lenient penalties.

House Bill 41, authored by Republican state Representative Matthew Hammett, seeks to change the classification of illegal gambling offenses from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony.

According to the bill, people convicted of illegal gambling would face between one and ten years in prison, along with fines of up to $15,000. Currently, a Class A misdemeanor conviction for illegal gambling can be punished by up to one year in prison along with a fine up to $6,000.

Under the proposal, repeat offenders would face a Class B felony charge, which is subject to imprisonment between two and 20 years, as well as a fine of up to $30,000.

Hammett’s proposal would also specify that electronic games of chance, including electronic bingo, video lottery terminals and historic horseracing machines, are illegal gambling devices and prohibited by law.

Illegal gambling remains a problem in Alabama, with reports saying previously seized illegal gambling machines were discovered during police searches that were part of a criminal investigation. The machines were previously seized from locations that were shut down.

Bally’s Corp. and SC Gaming have terminated their agreement to build a $130m satellite casino in Centre County, Pennsylvania, the companies announced Friday (September 13).

After three years, since the deal was executed, Bally’s corporate long-term priorities have shifted elsewhere, prompting the Rhode Island-based company to exercise its option to end the partnership. Terminating the deal also allowed Bally’s to “allocate resources towards other priorities,” the company said in a statement.

SC Gaming confirmed that the casino project is on schedule and there was no impact from Bally’s decision on the project’s progress. The Category 4 casino was expected to open during the first half of 2026.

George Papanier, president of Bally’s, said as their “strategic focus evolves, we have made the difficult decision to conclude out relationship.” Bally’s had predicted that construction on the project would begin in 2025.

SC Gaming had already paid the $10m for the satellite-casino license. In July, Bally’s agreed to be acquired by its largest shareholder, Standard General, in a deal that valued the gaming company at $4.6bn, including debt.

Standard General had already owned nearly 23 percent of Bally’s and agreed to pay $18.24 per share in case for the rest of the shares it did not own.