BLOG
Posts by I. Nelson Rose

Tribes Win It All: California Gives Up Regulating Five Casinos
The Attorney General of California has agreed that the state will now have no role in regulating five tribal casinos. More Indian casinos may follow. A federal trial court, and then, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that California lost its right to...

My Look Back at 2023
Gaming law is becoming more and more interesting, and international. The big boom in the U.S. is sports betting, and not just for the 35+ states that have legalized in the last few years. I have advised nearly a dozen professional bettors, all winners, on such diverse...

Can Macao (Macau) Become Asia’s Las Vegas?
I was recently featured in an insightful article that poses a fascinating question: Can Macau transform itself into Asia’s Las Vegas? This discussion takes center stage as Macau, the world's largest gambling hub, embarks on an ambitious journey to diversify its...

Featured in the San Francisco Chronicle | Sports Gambling in California
I was recently featured in a San Francisco Chronicle article titled "Sports gambling in California is illegal. Super Bowl bets will soar, anyway." This piece delves into the intriguing scenario surrounding sports betting in California, especially in light of the Super...

What “Best Practices” Really Means
In the past few years, I testified as an expert witness in two major hearings where “best practices” had important and surprising roles. The Bergin Inquiry reexamined the entire system of regulating casinos in New South Wales, Australia. Five years earlier, NSW had...

Hiding an Elephant in a Mousehole
The federal D.C. Court of Appeals just ruled that the Seminole Tribe has a monopoly on internet sports betting in Florida. The legal gambling world is abuzz about whether this means every tribe in America can now operate online sports books and take bets from...

50 Shades of Black Markets
Gray markets have become big business. The American Gaming Association estimates Americans bet $511 billion with illegal and unregulated operators, costing legal sites $44.2 billion in gross gaming revenue and states $13.3 billion in taxes. American regulators...

Judge Rules Taking Bets from Black Markets No Big Deal
“The French don’t care what they do, actually, as long as they pronounce it properly.” - My Fair Lady An online sportsbook can report taking millions of dollars in bets from gray and black markets, as long as the numbers they report are accurate. This is the...

Featured on NBC News | NFL suspends 5 players for alleged violations of gambling policy
I was recently quoted on a NBC News article titled "NFL suspends 5 players for alleged violations of gambling policy". Following is the complete article: The NFL hit four Detroit Lions and one Washington Commander with heavy suspensions for allegedly violating league...

Trapped in Macau
On Saturday, Macau awarded “provisional licenses” to the six current casino operators. These will allow them to continue to operate until they are awarded their official concessions in January. No surprise there. In fact, the biggest surprise is that another...

What’s Next for California Sports Betting?
Some of the richest, most powerful political players in the world of legal gambling just spent the most money ever on ballot propositions, nearly half a billion dollars, and won... nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. It’s important to not only see what proponents of...

Featured in CalMatters Article | Sports Betting in California
I was recently featured in an article by CalMatters that covers the recent rejection of propositions 26 and 27 in California. This article was also published on Daily Press, SFGate, and Jefferson Public Radio. Following is the full article: After stockpiling nearly...

California Tribes Would Get Sports Betting, If They Didn’t Hate Cardclubs So Much
The extremely rich and politically powerful gaming tribes in California are spending nearly half a billion dollars this year to win the right to have sports betting. Or, I should say, they are throwing away their money on a fatally flawed initiative, which the voters...

Macau’s Distressing New Casino Laws – Part I
Macau’s casino operators were just reminded, dramatically, that China is still a Marxist country. First, the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) became the only major nation to seek the complete eradication of Covid. The PRC has the will and power to do whatever it...

COVID Devastates Macau Casinos
You know you are in deep trouble when one of the leading newsletters in your industry discusses the “silver lining” in being shut down: “Macau Casino Closures Provide Some Relief from Cash Burn.” Asia Gaming Brief Macau casinos have so few gamblers, in fact, so...