The New York Casino “Gold Rush”
Just this week (December 16, 2025), New York regulators officially approved three full-scale casinos for the NYC area, ending years of high-stakes bidding drama.
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The Winners: Hard Rock (at Citi Field), Resorts World (Aqueduct Racetrack), and Bally’s (the Bronx).
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The Drama: High-profile bids from celebrities like Jay-Z were rejected. Resorts World is aiming for an “accelerated” opening of table games as early as March 2026.
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The Ripple Effect: New Jersey is already bracing for a “border battle,” as Atlantic City is expected to lose significant revenue once these NYC locations open.
The “Sweepstakes” Crackdown
2025 has become the “Year of the Cease-and-Desist.” Regulators are targeting platforms like Chumba and Luckyland (sweepstakes casinos) that use “Gold Coins” and “Sweeps Coins” to bypass gambling laws.
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Recent Bans: New York and California officially passed bans this month.
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Legal Battles: Regulators in Arizona and Michigan have sent over 100 cease-and-desist letters to operators, calling the sweepstakes model a “loophole” for illegal gambling.
RICO Lawsuit at Resorts World Las Vegas
In a rare move, a civil RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) case was filed against Resorts World Las Vegas earlier this month. While details are unfolding, such cases are uncommon in the casino industry and suggest allegations of deep-seated organized activity or fraud.
🎟️ Lottery Drama & Winner Stories
The “Joker” Who “Rigged” the Texas Lottery
One of the biggest stories of 2025 involves an Australian gambling savant nicknamed “The Joker” (Zeljko Ranogajec) and his partner Bernard Marantelli.
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The Scheme: They exploited a math loophole where the jackpot was so high that buying every combination guaranteed a profit. They used warehouses full of printers to churn out 99% of all possible combinations for a $95 million Texas jackpot.
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The Fallout: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called it the “biggest theft from the people of Texas in history.” The state has since introduced software caps to prevent bulk-buying.
The Held-Hostage Jackpot
Kristen Moriarty, a winner of an $83.5 million jackpot, finally received her payout this August after a massive legal battle.
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The Drama: The Texas Lottery Commission initially refused to pay because she bought her ticket through Jackpocket (a third-party app). State officials questioned the legality of the app after the fact.
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Outcome: She settled for a cash value of roughly $45.8 million, but the case led Texas to formally ban lottery courier apps in early 2025.
⚖️ Regulation & Tax Alerts
The “90% Cap” Crisis
A major piece of legislation signed in July 2025 (the OBBBA) includes a provision that has professional gamblers in a panic.
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The Rule: Starting in 2026, gamblers can only deduct 90% of their losses.
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The Math: If you win $100k and lose $100k, you still owe taxes on $10k of “phantom” profit. There is a massive lobbying push right now to repeal this before it takes effect on January 1st.
Federal “SAFE Bet Act”
Congress is currently debating the SAFE Bet Act, which aims to ban the use of AI by sportsbooks to track individual player habits or create “predatory” personalized promotions.
