The World Cup has kicked off and the U.S. is at the epicentre of history’s biggest betting boom, but beyond the record-breaking betting projections, not everything is adding up. Welcome to the latest edition of iGamingFuture’s Letter From America.
Half-Booked
Things may be heating up in stadiums across the country, but World Cup tourism figures are falling short of the hype, as hotels in host cities report underwhelming bookings.
Live reports are backed by data from an American Hotel & Lodging Association member survey in May, which revealed that 80 percent of hoteliers said bookings were tracking below initial forecasts.
65 percent to 70 percent of hoteliers said visa barriers and geopolitical concerns were impacting international appeal. And only 25-30 percent of respondents reported a pre-tournament surge.
Preliminary data for June from the National Travel and Tourism Office confirmed international arrivals are down 3.4 percent, year-on-year.
All Skill, No Game
For years, Pennsylvania’s bars, convenience stores and social clubs have hosted gambling machines operating in a legal grey area.
But on Monday a long-awaited state Supreme Court ruling dropped the hammer, finding these skill-based machines akin to slots – and therefore illegal outside casinos.
The judge stipulated 120 days before enforcement can begin, giving lawmakers a tight window to create a regulatory framework or plan for removal.
If they opt for the former, taxation is expected to generate more than US$1 billion (£755.5m) in additional annual revenue for Pennsylvania.
Cha-ching.
CFTC New Rules
With all eyes on the World Cup, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has published its newly proposed rules.
The 267-page document defines key terms, including gaming and confirms sports-related contracts are permitted, provided they are not contrary to “public interest”.
Contracts remain self-certified. But if the CFTC believes a contract is contrary to public interest, it can initiate a 90-day review. Examples include micro bets, such as player injuries and singular in-game actions or occurrences. And games of chance, which means casino-based event contracts or swaps, are firmly off the table…for now.
The public has until July 27 to submit comments.
NC Raises Taxes
Starting July 1, operator tax rates in North Carolina are set to rise–from 18 percent to 23 percent–as lawmakers seek to plug a rather large hole in the state’s strained budget.
While the increase is incremental, compared with other states, like Illinois, budget negotiations are still ongoing.
Still, word on the industry wire is that the tax increase itself is already settled.
Cloak And Dagger
We’re unsure if this is a genuine case of business espionage or an attempt at free PR – a strategy that prediction markets are so adept at leveraging. Either way, we’ll bite.
Polymarket has come out against its chief U.S. rival, Kalshi, accusing the latter of copying its marketing strategies, including competing New York grocery store promotions from earlier this year.
“There have been too many coincidences,” Matthew Modabber, Polymarket’s Chief Marketing Officer, told the New York Post.
“There is bad intention in how they copy us. They’re breathing down our neck.”
And there have also been accusations of moles being planted and corporate spying.
This feels less like Silicon Valley and more like a self-published, cloak-and-dagger crime novel. We’ll pop it back on the shelf for now.
Influenced
Speaking of questionable marketing strategies. According to a Politico investigation, Polymarket’s Chief Marketing Officer, Matthew Modabber, paid 20 content creators at least US$350,000 (£265,771) to hype routine odds shifts as breaking news on X.
That figure is likely underreported.
According to the publication, between January 2025 and February 2026, Modabber moved a total of US$2.5 million (£1.9m) through his personal PayPal account to over 800 recipients, suggesting a much larger scheme at work.
Prediction markets have described themselves as “truth machines”, taking the public temperature faster than traditional sources. Investigations like this, alongside ongoing cases of insider trading, undermine the hype in no small measure.
Unravelling
There are plenty of questions surrounding the Brendan Sorsby case.
Did the University of Cincinnati know? Should the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) change its rules? Should Congress pass the Protect College Sports Act? Which universities are boycotting? And why isn’t Texas Tech doing more to uphold sports integrity and its own reputation?
This is a case that deserves much more attention than we can give it and, as more details unravel, we’ll find out more about exactly how this situation occurred.
Until then, here are the the latest developments:
The NCAA has appealed the injunction that will allow Sorsby to play, asking for an expedited hearing to settle the matter before the August 27 start of the college football season. No date for this has yet been set.
And building on Georgia and Nebraska’s boycott, the Big 12 has now sued Texas Tech for the right to sanction the school for games that Sorsby plays in.
