Business of Betting Podcast

On this episode of the Business of Betting Podcast, Jeff Edelstein is joined by Shawn Fluharty, West Virginia Delegate, President of NCLGS, and Head of Government Affairs at Play’n GO to break down the rapidly shifting U.S. gambling landscape, from prediction markets to sweepstakes crackdowns to the political realities shaping iCasino expansion.   Hear them discuss: 01:00 – Shawn’s path from journalism student to West Virginia legislator and the surprising way he ended up in gaming policy 03:00 – How West Virginia became an early adopter of sports betting and iCasino, and why integrity fees failed before they even started 05:00 – Why gaming policy remains bipartisan and how lawmakers think about consumer protection, revenue, and political optics 07:00 – The sweepstakes industry crackdown: why states view it as revenue leakage and why the model was always doomed 09:00 – Prediction markets, CFTC authority, and why Shawn believes the issue is heading toward the Supreme Court 12:00 – The danger of loophole-based gambling models and how regulators evaluate “if it walks like a duck…” arguments 14:00 – iCasino progress: which states are closest to legalizing next, and why education gaps stall legislative momentum 17:00 – The post-PASPA state-federal balance: who actually controls the future of U.S. gambling policy? 19:00 – Responsible gambling oversight, the shrinking gray market, and parallels between sweepstakes and historical horse racing 21:00 – The future of prediction markets, what happens if they scale, and whether they can coexist with casino-style outcomes   ⚡️ Follow BoB on Twitter/X ⚡️ Watch BoB on Youtube ⚡️ Apply to be a guest here ---This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Get your first month free: https://optimove.com/businessofbetting

On this episode of the Business of Betting Podcast, Jeff Edelstein is joined by Adam Kaplan, investor, operator, and long-time industry strategist working at the intersection of sports betting, DFS, prediction markets, and emerging gaming products.Hear them discuss:01:00 – How the pace of innovation since PASPA has completely reshaped the gaming landscape02:00 – DraftKings & FanDuel’s decision to leave the AGA, what it signals, and why prediction markets are forcing operators to redraw alliances03:15 – How big operators approach new products: build, buy, undermine… then build anyway and why speed now separates winners from laggards04:50 – Who becomes dominant in prediction markets: PolyMarket, Kalshi, DraftKings, FanDuel, Robinhood and the power of cross-sell advantages06:45 – Why everyone is entering prediction markets despite lower CAC/LTV economics and why public companies can’t afford to sit out08:45 – Why land-based casino operators are staying away, and which companies are best positioned to launch direct-to-consumer prediction products10:30 – Testing the boundaries: whether prediction markets will push into casino-style propositions and how regulators might respond12:00 – The big question: Do prediction markets survive the courts? Will the fight reach the Supreme Court? What operators must hedge for.13:30 – How investor pressure, stock performance, and regulatory risk are forcing operators to move quickly  even without clarity on legality16:00 – What PrizePicks could mean for U.S. market share, innovation cycles, and the next phase of digital gaming competition18:50 – Emerging innovations bubbling under the surface: new gaming categories, regulatory interpretations, and tech-driven product shifts20:15 – What the next 5–10 years might look like: consolidation vs. vertical specialization, crypto-integrated markets, and where Robinhood could disrupt the most   ⚡️ Follow BoB on Twitter/X ⚡️ Watch BoB on Youtube ⚡️ Apply to be a guest here ---This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Get your first month free: https://optimove.com/businessofbetting

On this episode of the Business of Betting Podcast, Jeff Edelstein is joined by Pierre Lindh, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Next.io, for a wide-ranging conversation recorded live at G2E Las Vegas.Hear them discuss:00:00 – How Pierre began running a 150-player underground poker club at age 1503:50 – The 2006 police raid that made national headlines and launched his gaming career05:45 – Swedish poker culture, card-playing heritage, and why Texas Hold’em spread so quickly09:00 – How live poker culture changed from social gatherings to headphones and sunglasses12:00 – Building Next.io: 800+ global events and designing conferences for every personality type15:00 – Why Malta became the world’s online-gambling capital19:00 – Why Pierre’s identity is inseparable from Next.io and how he thinks about entrepreneurship27:00 – The future of gambling: prediction markets, sweeps, skill games, and U.S. creativity28:40 – The shrinking global gray market: why operators must choose regulated or unregulated paths30:00 – Why the U.S. is brutally competitive and only a few operators can thrive32:00 – Cultural differences in loyalty, trust, and brand adoption in gambling markets36:40 – Closing thoughts from the G2E show floor ⚡️ Follow BoB on Twitter/X ⚡️ Watch BoB on Youtube ⚡️ Apply to be a guest here ---This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Get your first month free: https://optimove.com/businessofbetting

On this episode of the Business of Betting Podcast, Jeff Edelstein is joined by Drew Tabor, Founder of Ungambled, to break down the evolving world of bonus farming, account profiling, and how sharp bettors gain long-term edges in the modern U.S. sportsbook landscape.Hear them discuss:01:00 – Drew’s early background, from finishing every math class in his state to becoming the world’s #1 ranked Guitar Hero player and how that discipline shaped his entrepreneurial journey03:00 – The origin story of Ungambled and why sharp bettors needed a more systematic way to bonus hedge and extend the lifespan of partner accounts05:00 – How the Ungambled app deliberately violates sharp-betting heuristics to profile accounts as “high-limit squares”07:00 – The logic behind hedging bonuses, manipulating CLV signals, and timing-based strategies that minimize detection08:00 – Why female accounts statistically receive higher bonuses and how users scale earnings through partner accounts09:00 – Building “aggressive bonus farming” systems that generate $10–$20K in two months and how VIP programs expand opportunity12:00 – The future of Ungambled: hedging multi-book parlays, advanced modeling, and automation designed to scale14:00 – The business philosophy of leverage software, capital, people, and one-to-many systems and how it informs Drew’s long-term vision17:00 – Prediction markets, crypto casinos, and whether bonuses shrink or sustain as the industry matures19:00 – Why Drew rarely bets recreationally anymore and why same-game parlays still hold a soft spot for him   ⚡️ Follow BoB on Twitter/X ⚡️ Watch BoB on Youtube ⚡️ Apply to be a guest here ---This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Get your first month free: https://optimove.com/businessofbetting

On this episode of the Business of Betting Podcast, Jeff Edelstein is joined by Bernard Marantelli, Founder of White Swan Data and Colossus Bets, to discuss his entrepreneurial journey, the evolution of pool betting, and what innovation looks like in a changing global gaming landscape.Hear them discuss:01:00 – Bernard’s background growing up in a family of bookmakers and how that shaped his career in data, biotech, and gambling02:00 – The Texas Lottery caper: why a 2023 jackpot became +EV, how Bernard’s team bought 25M+ tickets, and the massive logistical hurdles they overcame05:00 – The math behind beating a state lottery, from permutations to public participation to splitting risk across millions of tickets10:30 – What it actually looks like to print, store, and organize millions of physical lottery slips (including hiring an Uber driver on the spot)15:00 – Introducing iBankroll: why crypto casinos have a liquidity and credibility problem and how his company underwrites VIP risk17:00 – Understanding “Black Swan” risk for high-stakes casino action and why decentralized bankrolls reduce catastrophic exposure22:00 – Why crypto casinos are growing fast globally as regulated markets tighten KYC, RG, and deposit limits24:30 – Bernard’s candid take on prediction markets, their regulatory uncertainty, and why the economics, not politics, may determine who survives30:00 – Lessons from a lifetime in gambling: building edge, information, diversification, and the constant search for expected value38:00 – Why opportunities are cyclical, why secrecy isn’t always the winning strategy, and why the next “Texas moment” is unlikely under modern rules   ⚡️ Follow BoB on Twitter/X ⚡️ Watch BoB on Youtube ⚡️ Apply to be a guest here ---This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Get your first month free: https://optimove.com/businessofbetting