Eric Ramsey
North Carolina
Data analyst. Builder @TickerTracker_. Previously @LSPReport. Poker before that.
Articles by Eric Ramsey
Crimes And Punishments: Inside Information At Sportsbooks Vs. Prediction Markets
G2E is where the global gaming industry comes together to navigate what’s next—delivering an all-in-one experience designed to move business forward. With actionable insights, high-value connections, and real-world solutions, G2E delivers value that extends far beyond the event itself. G2E takes place September 28–October 1, 2026 at The Venetian Expo. Register today: http://g2e2026.com/ClosingLine Correction: Before we get to today’s lead, I want to offer an apology.
We Might Get A House Hearing On Little League Baseball Betting
A Congressman is up in arms about offshore sportsbooks that offer betting on the Little League World Series. Rep. Kevin Kiley — a congressman from California who chairs the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education — appears to have some desire to rein in betting on the LLWS.
The Cashout: New Jersey Maintains Brisk July Pace For US Sports Betting Revenue
The Closing Line provides gambling industry data and analysis in The Cashout every week to paid subscribers, along with a news roundup for free subscribers. July’s sports betting performance is coming into focus with the addition of a few more data points last week, including another strong report from New Jersey. But first, the gambling news: DeWine called for a prop betting ban a year ago.
Everybody In Sports Betting Is Building The Same Thing: Parlays (Or Combos)
Parlays now account for roughly one-third of all money wagered with American sportsbooks—and closer to two-thirds of operator revenue. Those numbers are trending even higher for prediction markets. Underdog launched its federally regulated exchange in mid-July with just a handful of sports markets before adding its first combo contracts (aka parlays) on July 30. Two weeks later, those combos already account for half of all trading on the platform.
There’s A Lot Of Polymarket On MLB TV
G2E is where the global gaming industry comes together to navigate what’s next—delivering an all-in-one experience designed to move business forward. With actionable insights, high-value connections, and real-world solutions, G2E delivers value that extends far beyond the event itself. G2E takes place September 28–October 1, 2026 at The Venetian Expo.
NY Sports Betting Revenue Falls On Knicks Win Despite Record June Handle
Regulated NY sports betting operators recorded their busiest June yet, with two marquee multi-day sporting events conspiring to create a big local betting interest. Total handle came to $2.26 billion, up 36% from last June to a new same-month record. Revenue tumbled 44% to $117 million, though, a foreseeable consequence of the success of both the U.S. Men’s National Team in the FIFA World Cup and the hometown New York Knicks.
DraftKings, FanDuel Hit The Arkansas Sports Betting Market Running
The recent addition of DraftKings and FanDuel to the sports betting market in Arkansas is having an immediate impact. Together with BetSaracen, the three Arkansas online sports betting brands reported a combined $86.6 million in handle for March, up 40% from last year to a new state record. The two newcomers accounted for more than 60% of that total despite officially launching with just 12 days left in the month.
Missouri Sports Betting Cools Off Again Ahead of Spring Slowdown
Sports betting is off to a lukewarm start in Missouri, at least in raw financial terms. Regulated operators handled $276 million in February, slipping 28% from January and down almost 50% from launch month last December. February is a short month, of course, but Missouri’s downturn is the sharpest among the top half of US markets and a firm reminder of its newness.
Missouri Sports Betting Handle Drops 30% In January
Missouri sports betting handle took a big step back in its second month, dropping almost 30% to $384 million. Revenue also tumbled nearly 50% to $53.3 million according to the January report released Friday. The dip was mostly a byproduct of a reduction in operators’ promotional spend as compared to the days and weeks that immediately followed launch in December. First-month overperformances have been a facet of recent sports betting launches in some other markets, including Vermont and Ohio.
Bettors in Missouri wagered $542 million in December, the inaugural month of legal betting in their state, with operators winning a combined $104 million. Data comes from a Friday report published by the Missouri Gaming Commission, their first since the launch of Missouri sports betting on Dec. 1. After the statutory allowance for the deduction of promotional costs related to sign-up bonuses, operators recorded a net loss of $20.8 million for the month.
Legal US Betting On Super Bowl 60 To Approach $1.75 Billion
Super Bowl 60 will extend a years-long run of record betting handle as the industry’s profile continues to shift from rapid expansion to incremental growth. The meteoric rise of prediction markets, fantasy prop contests, and other alternative gambling products complicates the outlook and creates the potential for fragmented engagement. The Super Bowl remains a major event for sportsbooks, where acquisition, cross-sell, and long-term retention matter as much as the outcome of the game itself.
Illinois Sports Betting Thrives In October, But Climate Could Be Changing
Illinois sports betting continues to climb at a double-digit clip in the face of new taxes and policy proposals targeting the country’s largest legal operators. Sportsbooks in the state handled $1.60 billion in wagers in October, up 11% from last year to a new local record. Almost 98% of betting was conducted online. Statewide hold of 8.7% was slightly below market for the month but still equated to $139 million of revenue and $42.9 million in taxes.
Pennsylvania Sports Betting Sets New Records In November
Sports betting operators in Pennsylvania recorded their best-ever month in November, even as novel forms of sports gambling continue to compete for bettors’ attention. Pennsylvania sportsbooks wrote $991 million in tickets for the month, up 6% from last November to a new state record. Revenue surged 21% to $125 million, also a single-month record courtesy of a hefty 12.7% hold.
Missouri Sports Betting Hits Arrowhead Stadium For First Time
Geolocation supplier GeoComply has processed more than 18.5 million location checks in Missouri since the launch of legal sports betting there one week ago. Those checks came from more than 520,000 sports betting accounts across the state, per a release from the company. Missouri sports betting launched last Monday at midnight with eight online sportsbooks for local bettors to choose from, including national leaders FanDuel and DraftKings.
Missouri Sports Betting Launches With 250,000 Accounts
Missouri sports betting is meeting heavy demand in the immediate aftermath of Monday’s launch. More than 250,000 Missouri sports betting accounts were active on launch day, according to numbers released Tuesday by geolocation supplier GeoComply. Approximately 188,000 new accounts were created during the early sign-up period in the last two weeks of November, it said.
October Sports Betting Overshadowed By Online Casino Records
October is peak season for sports betting in the US, the annual sweet spot on the calendar where all four major sports are in action together. Sportsbook operators are indeed riding the seasonal wave once again, but it is their online casino offerings that are making the biggest splash. Online casinos have posted a record month in each of the six reporting markets, combining to produce more than $950 million in total operator revenue and $250 million in state taxes.
Illinois Sports Bettors Quickly Adapting To New Ticket Tax
Illinois sports betting is already feeling the effects of a new per-wager tax, but perhaps not in the way lawmakers hoped. Bettors in the state wagered $1.42 billion in September, up 9% year over year to reach a new record for the first month of football season. Ticket count tumbled 15% to 30.6 million, though, with DraftKings and FanDuel enduring the biggest drops. The two top national brands both instituted a per-bet surcharge in Illinois beginning on Sept.
Props, Parlay Markets Growing In Popularity For Kalshi
The new props and parlays markets on Kalshi are slowly starting to catch on with traders. Thursday night’s NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants generated more than $45 million in volume on the winner, with an another $9.4 million traded across a handful of secondary markets. Kalshi began rolling out these additional options around the start of the season, a big step forward but still very much a work in progress.
Sports Trading Pushes Kalshi Past All-Time Volume Records
Prediction platform Kalshi has set a new personal best for trading activity twice on consecutive days. Volume this past Saturday surpassed $260 million, topping the previous all-time Kalshi record from Election Day 2024 ($245 million). Sunday’s action was even heavier, with trades soaring above $275 million for the first time ever. Kalshi’s growth coincides with increasing interest on sports contracts, which are currently legal to trade in all 50 US states pending litigation.
Football Trading Surges On Prediction Platforms
Kalshi is trending sharply upward as football betting season begins in the US. Trading volume on the prediction platform topped $300 million over the weekend, including a massive $196 million on Sunday alone. It was the third-biggest day ever for Kalshi and its busiest since the election last November. More than 95% of all trading involved sports contracts, which the site launched nationwide earlier this year.
Fanatics Sportsbook
Fanatics has secured its spot in the Missouri sports betting market. A top-five brand nationally, Fanatics Sportsbook has entered into a first-time partnership with Boyd Gaming to earn its access point. The multiyear deal, announced on Monday, includes both online and retail operations in the state. Six Missouri sports betting licenses are now accounted for as the landscape begins to come into focus ahead of its Dec. 1 launch.
US Sports Betting On Record Pace As Football Season Begins
Legal sports betting operators in the US are riding a heater into the busiest stretch of the year, poised for another string of record-setting revenue reports to close out 2025. Football betting season has arrived again, and with it comes a huge surge in overall interest from a wave of new and reactivated customers. The next five months of results will go a long way toward determining the winners and losers for the year.
Online Casino Helps Drive PA To Record $600M Month
The gambling industry in Pennsylvania continued its growth streak last month with a record $602 million in taxable revenue across all segments, thanks in part to online casino and sports betting. Total revenue was up 16% from last May. Tax revenue from all forms of gaming surpassed $255 million, also a monthly record for the Commonwealth. May’s gross online casino revenue was $292 million, up 35% year over year and just a couple million shy of the all-time record set in March.
The Billion-Dollar Illinois Sports Betting Grudge
Neil Bluhm doesn’t need anything from anybody. The 87-year-old Illinois native is one of the richest people in the world, a self-made billionaire with a substantial list of assets and accomplishments. He is the co-founder of Rush Street Gaming and Rush Street Interactive, most relevantly, the wallet behind the regional success of Rivers Casino and its BetRivers digital brand.
Kentucky Derby Figures To Extend Growth Spurt For Horse Betting
The most exciting two minutes in sports occupy a unique position in the US betting landscape. While the Super Bowl and March Madness are by far the biggest events on the sports calendar, the Kentucky Derby offers a betting experience and tradition that in some ways remain unmatched.
Madness of NCAA Betting Puts US On Pace For March Record
Partial reporting from March paints a pretty pleasant picture for US sports betting. Of the 16 states that have reported their monthly numbers so far, 11 saw increased betting activity from last year. Volume is trending up 10% in same-state reporting, though revenue is slumping by the same amount on the heels of an NCAA basketball tournament that was dominated by betting favorites.
February A Mixed Bag For Pennsylvania Sportsbooks
Pennsylvania sportsbooks had a February of mixed emotions, enjoying a significant surge in volume while also enduring a sharp decline in revenue. Operators in the commonwealth combined to generate $757 million in handle for the month, up 14% year over year to reach a new February record. Gross revenue tumbled 33% to just $34.0 million, though, the market’s lowest output in 18 months. Effects on net revenue were further magnified by a 30%+ increase in promo spend.
US Sportsbooks Barreling Toward Record-Setting Super Bowl 59
Regulated sportsbooks in the US are once again gearing up for the biggest event on the calendar: Super Bowl Sunday. The NFL season peaks on Feb. 9 with a powerhouse Super Bowl 59 matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs that will generate more than $1.5 billion in legal wagers nationwide. Record-setting handle for the game creates nine figures of revenue potential for sports betting operators, though how much customers win or lose hinges on the result.
Super Bowl Betting Poised For Another New Record With No. 59
Total Super Bowl betting handle across regulated US markets will grow more than 15% to surpass a record $1.5 billion. Nevada is the historical epicenter for Super Bowl betting, but New York might have enough inertia to take the top spot for the first time this year. The emergence of prop-based fantasy products and event contract trading could have a profound effect on the total amount of financial exposure to the game among American sports speculators.
Turning The Page On A Record 2024 For US Sports Betting
The online gambling industry has almost closed the books on another record-breaking year of regulated operations in the US. In preliminary 2024 totals, licensed sportsbooks across 33 reporting markets combined to generate nearly $150 billion in handle and more than $14.2 billion in operator revenue. This report includes all published results to date and projections for months not yet reported.
October US Online Gambling Revenue Strong In Big 3 States
October revenue reports are still trickling in, but partial numbers have it on pace to be an all-time record month of volume for legal online gambling in the US. Of the 26 markets that have reported so far, 16 set new single-month handle records in October. Same-state handle grew 12% YoY for the reporting group, though revenue has slumped by double digits nearly across the board. The running hold of 7.3% would make it the leanest month for sportsbooks since last November.
Missouri Sports Betting Outlook & Forecast
Missouri voters heading to the polls this week will decide the future of sports betting in their state. Amendment 2 appears on the 2024 Missouri ballot after garnering more than 250,000 verified signatures as its prerequisite for certification. A Yes vote by the majority would amend the state constitution to include language authorizing single-game sports betting.
Would DraftKings Surcharge Makes Dollars And Sense?
LSR analysis shows DraftKings could collect as much as $220 million annually by imposing a surcharge on winning bets in Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. Whether states consider the surcharge taxable could shift revenue projections by up to $100 million. The DraftKings surcharge would require bettors to win at a 53.3% rate to break even, a sharp increase from the standard rate of 52.4%.
Analysis: Alternative Data Illuminates Who, Where Of US Online Gambling Spend
Millennials are by far the largest demographic group, accounting for around 60% of all players and money spent on online gaming. Gen X customers are meanwhile the most valuable to operators, on average. PrizePicks ability to draw from the pool of younger players sets it apart from traditional online gambling products, as does its outsized presence in the sparsely regulated southern region.
Which States Have March Madness Betting Restrictions?
There used to be a time not so very long ago when the NCAA refused to host collegiate tournaments in states with March Madness betting. Things sure do have a way of changing quickly in this industry: of the 14 host sites for this year’s men’s tournament, 11 are located in states with legal March Madness betting. Most notably, that includes the Final Four and Championship games being played at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.
Why NC Sports Betting Will Exceed Expectations
North Carolina this week became the 29th state with legal online wagering, and it appears NC sports betting is poised to beat even optimistic projections over time. Eight licensed NC sports betting apps are serving up props and parlays to customers from Blowing Rock to Bald Head Island, and everywhere in-between. Legislative researchers forecast about $65 million in tax revenue from the first year of regulated operations, the statutory 18% cut of an estimated $360 million in gross revenue.
How Data Suggests Super Bowl 58 Broke Betting Records
Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest day of the year for sports fans and sports bettors across the country, and the 2024 edition of the Big Game exceeded most expectations. Super Bowl betting volume appears poised to pass an estimated $1.3 billion for the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, topping last year’s record by around 20%. Final numbers are still pending in a majority of states.
Online NC Sports Betting Set For $7 Billion Wagered In First Year
The forthcoming launch of online NC sports betting could produce $7 billion in handle in the market’s first 12 months, according to LSR projections. Regulated online NC sports betting would generate at least $600 million of gross revenue in its first full year of operation at that rate, with some additional room to grow that over time.
Why Nevada Super Bowl Betting Record Still Leaves Room For More
Historically the epicenter for Super Bowl betting, Nevada once again broke its own single-game record for wagering, while likely still leaving money on the table. Bettors in the state wagered $186 million in bets on Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, beating their 2022 record ($180 million) to reach a new all-time Super Bowl betting high. Volume grew 21% year over year as sportsbooks in Las Vegas capitalized on their city’s first-time role as host.
Super Bowl Betting Expected To Reach Record $1.3 Billion In 2024
Overall Super Bowl betting in legal US markets will grow nearly 20% over last year. Super Bowl 58 host state Nevada projects to see the most money wagered at $170 million, followed by New York and New Jersey. More than 175 million adults now have access to a legal, regulated sports betting option in their home states. Super Bowl betting is again poised to break its own single-game record for a sporting event in the United States.
Super Bowl Betting Expected To Reach Record $1.3 Billion In 2024
Overall Super Bowl betting in legal US markets will grow nearly 20% over last year. Super Bowl 58 host state Nevada projects to see the most money wagered at $170 million, followed by New York and New Jersey. More than 175 million adults now have access to a legal, regulated sports betting option in their home states. Super Bowl betting is again poised to break its own single-game record for a sporting event in the United States.
Analysis: FanDuel Reclaims Top Sports Betting Spot, For Now
FanDuel seemingly survived another summertime showdown with its longtime rival and closest threat, DraftKings. The US sports betting leader briefly fell back into second place this summer but retook the top spot as the fall betting calendar continued to thicken. Following some encouraging developments in the first part of the year, DraftKings again returns to the second step after another impressive summer.
Nevada Sports Betting Rebounds With Big September
Sports betting operators in Nevada handled $811 million in wagers for the month of September, nearly doubling August’s output with the welcome arrival of football season. Those bets yielded $62.3 million in gross revenue for operators and $4.21 million in taxes for the state. Nevada’s volume for 2023 to date now sits at $5.67 billion, slightly down from last year’s total over the same span but moving in a positive direction.
October 10 is World Mental Health Day
First, the basics. More than 50 million Americans have a mental health condition of one variety or another. That number is very likely under-reported, and it's definitely not getting smaller. Adding up individual estimates for specific disorders, it's probably over 100 million. More than 1 million mentally ill people are in jail. The six states which incarcerate people at the highest rates are all in the bottom ten when it comes to providing mental healthcare for their residents.
Projecting Kentucky Sports Betting Numbers
The centuries-old Bluegrass State gambling industry is on the cusp of another modern expansion, with legal online Kentucky sports betting sites set to go live Thursday. Kentucky sports betting could generate $1 billion in handle and $100 million in revenue before the end of 2023, according to LSR projections. National leaders FanDuel and DraftKings are stomping in the starting gates, eager to add more turf to their ever-growing territorial empire.
Analysis: What To Watch For During NFL Betting Season In The US
Like a holiday that lasts half the year, NFL betting season is back in the United States. NFL betting kicked off last week, ushering in a six-month stretch of nonstop sports and gambling opportunities that will rise to an unprecedented level this year. NCAA college football is also underway, with basketball and hockey ready to arrive at the end of the baseball season. There is even a week in late October where all four major US sports will be in action simultaneously.
Analysis: How We Reached $250 Billion In US Sports Betting Handle
July reporting brought the US sports betting industry across another big milestone, surpassing $250 billion in lifetime handle since the repeal of PASPA in 2018. Those bets have yielded more than $20 billion in gross revenue, representing an operator hold of 8.1%. That number, like many in US sports betting, is artificially inflated by a big injection of promotional credits and localized bonuses.
Analysis: How ESPN Bet Will Perform For Penn
Penn Entertainment fired a shot across the industry’s bow last week, securing the most coveted branding partnership in US sports betting through a deal for ESPN Bet. Disney finally loaned the ESPN name to a gambling company, locking in a guaranteed $150 million in annual payments from Penn for the next 10 years in exchange for the use of its brand and the marketing apparatus behind it.
Bally's Trying To Turn The Corner On Sports Betting
Bally’s is working hard to reinvigorate its position in the American gambling landscape. The company last week announced record Q2 revenue of $606 million, up almost 10% year over year in mixed economic conditions. Its core casino segment anchored the growth with an 11% increase to a record $333 million for the quarter. Bally’s continues to back its full-year revenue guidance of $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion, targeting $665 million to $700 million in adjusted EBITDAR.
Analysis: Does DraftKings Offer For PointsBet Make Business Sense?
Days after the conclusion of the 2023 NBA Draft, PointsBet is on the clock with DraftKings and Fanatics. Shareholders of the Australian gaming company are set to decide on the path forward for the US-facing segment during their upcoming June 30 meeting. The proposed $150 million deal with Fanatics Betting & Gaming announced last month is suddenly mired in some uncertainty.
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