The Closing Line

I am not a lawyer, but I like to talk to lawyers to get smarter and so they can say stuff that I don’t want to. So with me this week on the podcast is Peter Hammon, who is Senior Of Counsel at Vela Wood, and is uniquely positioned in today’s world of gambling and prediction markets. Fun fact: Peter wrote something at Legal Sports Report a decade ago when I was at the site! I also talk about some of the big issues in gambling at the top of this week’s podcast.

The National Council on Problem Gambling will be looking for a new leader. The board of directors of the NCPG announced today that Executive Director Heather Maurer has resigned from her role. Maurer will continue in the role through Oct. 16 to aid in the leadership transition. The NCPG indicated that the search to replace Maurer would begin immediately. The NCPG announced Maurer was joining the organization in November of last year, and she started the role in January.

Pennsylvania is the latest major state to add its numbers to August’s sports betting data, bringing the count to 20 reporting markets so far for the month. Here were the vitals for August: August is typically one of the quieter months on the sports betting calendar before football arrives in earnest, and Pennsylvania’s handle came in about as expected for this time of year — down 3.3% from last August. It’s a slightly gentler decline than the 5.3% drop across the reporting markets as a group.

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. People gamble because they are bad with money or don’t understand that the casino always wins. Right? Actually, no.

I will be in Las Vegas for G2E next week, if you want to grab a drink, or heckle me, or tell me how much you love my tweets. Just reply to this newsletter, email me at dustin@closinglineconsulting.com, send a passenger pigeon, etc. I am not sure I will get to every panel here based on my meeting schedule, but below is what I would attend if I were you. First, if you want to attend, some links: First off, if you’ve never been or even if you have, it’s always a daunting scene.

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.

New Jersey is the latest major market to add its numbers to August’s sports betting data and the second-largest state to report so far behind New York. Here were its monthly totals (and year-over-year deltas):

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. • August sports betting handle is down across reporting states so far. • Kalshi rides the weekend to new weekly and daily records driven largely by parlay volume.

Maryland is among the early wave of reporting state for August, adding another key piece of the sports betting picture in the lead-up to this football season. Here were the vitals for the month:

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. Maybe this isn’t shocking, but the biggest apps in terms of NFL Week 1 betting downloads were prediction markets, not sportsbooks.