More than 10 years ago, most of the Las Vegas Review-Journal sportswriters were in a panic. My story on state gaming regulators banning daily fantasy sports had just been posted when sports writers surrounded my desk. "What about my fantasy this weekend?" was the collective cry. I don't think folks are panicking in the same way about Kalshi being put on ice for the next two weeks.

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Less than a day after the Nevada Gaming Control Board told daily fantasy sports websites DraftKings and FanDuel they were violating state law by allowing customers to create teams of real-world NFL players and use their statistics in a competition for money, the companies pulled the plug on their operations.

That was in October 2015.

More than a decade later, Nevada is in a similar battle with prediction markets. Gaming regulators, as they did a decade ago, say they're rooting out an illicit kind of sports wagering. But unlike the daily fantasy operators, Kalshi and other companies haven't walked away quietly. 

Lawsuits in Nevada and nearly two dozen states are winding their way through the system. 

Gaming authorities said prediction markets aren't playing fair by skipping Nevada's licensing process. Kalshi isn't paying Nevada's 6.75 percent tax on gross gaming revenue, for example.

Former Control Board Chairman Kirk Hendrick, who filed the initial cease and desist order against Kalshi on March 4, 2025, told The Nevada Independent on Monday he's frustrated by how Kalshi is using the legal process to drag its heels.

"One day is too long for prediction companies to be violating Nevada's right to regulate what is clearly sports wagering," Hendrick said. "One day is too long for those companies to avoid state investigations, licensing, regulatory safeguards and appropriate taxes. Certainly, the court process takes time. But ultimately, the activity will be deemed sports wagering within Nevada's historic rights."

Several prediction market operators, including Polymarket, Coinbase and Robinhood, exited or restricted their event contract offerings in Nevada under regulatory pressure.

Last week, Carson City District Judge Jason Woodbury granted the state a 14-day restraining order against Kalshi, which took more than 24 hours to pull the plug on Nevada. But the company was bitter about missing out on the March Madness college basketball tournaments and the opening of Major League Baseball's season.

"The situation is unprecedented — Nevada is currently the only state with temporary restrictions due to a court order," Kalshi wrote in an email to customers on Saturday. "We disagree with those restrictions, but as a law-abiding company, we're following them."

Kalshi has a preliminary injunction hearing April 3 in Carson City to try to get back into the game in Nevada. However, a hearing at the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on April 16 in San Francisco could either add more clarity or more confusion to the issue.

Reno-based gaming attorney A.G. Burnett understands the pressure that Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer and gaming regulators across the country are facing, given the onslaught of pressure brought by Kalshi and other prediction markets. Burnett was the control board chairman who brought the cease and desist order against the daily fantasy sports companies in 2015.

"This is similar to what we faced in 2015," said Burnett, now a partner with the law firm McDonald Carano. "As a regulator, your job is to protect the state."

He said the board had the attorney general's office analyze the laws and daily fantasy business models, determining the activity constituted sports betting.

"It happens all the time. Someone comes in with a new product or a new idea, and the board has to determine if it constitutes gambling and requires licensing," Burnett said. "That's what is going on here with prediction markets."

Meanwhile, Florida-based gaming attorney Daniel Wallach, who has been following prediction market legal battles throughout the U.S., said Nevada now has a "nuclear option" up its sleeve — the Legislature's passage last year of SB256, which allows state courts to impose stiffer fines beyond the $50,000 penalty that illegal gambling operators faced if convicted of violating the state's online gaming laws. 

"The statute applies to all unlicensed gambling and allows for the disgorgement of any profits associated with the activity," Wallach said in an interview Tuesday. "In Nevada, that's pretty low-hanging fruit given the law is already on the books."

He added that the law puts Nevada in a stronger position than Arizona, which filed criminal charges against Kalshi, but doesn't have the stiff penalties covering unlicensed gambling.

Wallach expects Nevada gaming regulators to prevail in the upcoming state court hearings, given that the judge has already ruled in favor of the regulators.

Dreitzer, who took over for Hendrick when he retired from the position last summer, declined to comment directly on the judge's ruling last week. He did tell The Indy in a statement that "prediction markets, to the extent they facilitate unlicensed gambling, are illegal in Nevada, and we have a statutory duty to protect the public."

A spokeswoman for Kalshi declined to comment on the litigation in Nevada. The company and other prediction markets have long argued they are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and not subject to Nevada's regulatory process.

However, on Monday, Kalshi founder Tarek Mansour criticized federal legislation introduced by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) that would ban prediction markets and other CFTC-regulated entities from listing sports and casino-style game contracts. On Tuesday, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) added her name as a sponsor.

Posting on X, Mansour blamed the "casino lobby" for pushing legislation that he said "isn't about protecting consumers; it's about protecting monopolies."

Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), who introduced similar legislation in the House last month, said Monday the Senate bill is "further evidence that awareness of the threats posed by unregulated sports betting is growing."

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IGT to shed some 700 positions following last year's merger with Everi

Slot machine giant IGT announced Monday it was reducing its worldwide workforce by 10 percent, eliminating some 700 jobs globally. The company did not disclose how many of its Nevada employees were part of the layoffs.

IGT is expected to detail the job reductions in Nevada in a letter filed through the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation. 

In a memo to employees, IGT CEO Hector Fernandez said the move was part of a review process to strengthen the organization's structure. 

Last year, IGT merged with rival casino equipment provider Everi Holdings in a $6.3 billion deal funded by hedge fund giant Apollo Global Management, making the business a privately held entity.

"As part of that review, we also had to make some difficult decisions about how our organization is structured, and this work has led to a difficult but necessary step," Fernandez wrote. "This reduction is required to align resources with business priorities and streamline operations, ensuring we are best-positioned for future growth."

Fernandez, who joined IGT in December, said the action had nothing to do with an individual's job performance. The job eliminations are being done because the merger led to overstaffing in several company areas. Fernandez said he took "full responsibility" for the job reduction.

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What I'm reading

🧳 Downtown Las Vegas leaders discuss tourism, gaming and competition with the Strip — Evan Leake, Fox 5 News

Casino operators say the decline in tourism downtown is overstated.

😋 Renderings showcase plans for exclusive clubs at A's Las Vegas ballpark — Matthew Seeman, News 3 Las Vegas

The A's, Aramark Sports + Entertainment and restaurateur Will Guidara unveiled plans for the "Athletic Club" for the $2 billion ballpark.

⚾ Miami sees surge in business travelers during World Baseball Classic — David Broughton, Sports Business Journal

Vegas tourism leaders said they want to bring the event to the new A's stadium in 2029 or 2030.

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News, notes and quotes

🎰 Global Gaming Women celebrate 10th anniversary

Global Gaming Women, a nonprofit group created to support women's development in the gaming industry, is celebrating its 10th year. The organization has more than 9,000 members across 70 countries. Global Gaming Women provided more than $840,000 in educational scholarships, facilitated 14 in-person training programs and grew its peer-to-peer and professional mentorship programs. "As we celebrate [the organization's] accomplishments and journey to its current state, we are laser-focused on scaling our reach and impact while developing the next generation of women in gaming," said Siobhan Lane, an executive vice president with Light & Wonder and president of Global Gaming Women's board.

📚 Daughter of Nevada casino owner authors business book for women

Alexis Meruelo, a business executive, investor and women's leadership advocate, wrote Getting Ready for Power, a book that offers a three-phase framework for women looking to advance their business careers. Meruelo is the daughter of Alex Meruelo, owner of the Sahara Las Vegas and Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. In the book, which is being released in April, Alexis Meruelo offers advice to women business leaders who know they are capable of more but have been conditioned to question their readiness. "Now more than ever before, it is time for women to get more women into positions of power," she said.