"Getting rich by betting on inside information is corruption, plain and simple," Hochul said in a statement. "Our actions will ensure that public servants work for the people they represent, not their own personal enrichment."
He actually cannot stop. He's really addicted to this. This case is an important first step in holding these gambling platforms accountable. Gambling addiction in minors is steadily increasing, and it's not happening by accident.
From Plato to Charles Barkley, great minds have warned about the destructive power of gambling. The way societies have usually managed the vice is to cordon it off. It's legal, but contained to disreputable places, such as red-light districts, riverboats, and Nevada. This was true in much of the United States until 2018, when a Supreme Court ruling opened the door to legalized sports betting nationwide.
Within the letter, which is addressed to league commissioners and leaders, the commission says it is re-examining all player prop bets and single game specific multi-leg individual player parlays. They say this is taking place after recent allegations, investigations, and prosecutions have come to light. Once the review has been complete, if it requires the outright elimination of certain bets, the Gaming Commission states it'll use its regulatory authority to prohibit them.
The problem here is 100% the ability to resell the items from the loot boxes. A loot box/gacha mechanic is fine when you can't turn around and resell the items because you're not getting something of value. When Valve is also providing a marketplace for those items, they've added the third element.
The legislation is about restoring balance between federal oversight and long-standing state and tribal control of gambling. It will reaffirm existing tribal and state government authority to regulate sports betting, limit online gambling, or in some cases - continue to prohibit all forms of gambling.
HB1885 serves as the House companion to Senate Bill 2136, which has already cleared key stages in the Tennessee Senate. If the legislation ultimately becomes law, it would expand the state's ability to investigate and pursue companies running sweepstakes-style online casino platforms and other illegal internet gambling operations.
I am not, by temperament, a gambling man. As a suburban dad with four kids, a mortgage, and a minivan, I'm more likely to be found wrestling a toddler into a car seat than scouring moneylines or consulting betting touts. And as a practicing Mormon, I am prohibited from indulging in games of chance.
