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Sports-Betting Boost Expected With Texas, Oklahoma In SEC

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Sports-Betting Boost Expected With Texas, Oklahoma In SEC

 

With the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners now in the Southeastern Conference, legal sports betting soon could jump by double digits in the region, says one bookmaker.
Starting this season, Texas and Oklahoma are in position to challenge for the SEC football championship — and championships across all SEC sports — in a collegiate conference loaded with rich traditions and annual national title contenders.
The Longhorns and Sooners joined the SEC in July. Both moved over from the Big 12.
This new conference (alignment) leads to better games for the book and better opportunities for the player,” Casey Lewless, manager of two Louisiana sportsbooks, told Gambling.com.
Legal sportsbooks in Louisiana are popular with bettors from neighboring Texas and nearby Oklahoma. Sports wagering is illegal in Texas and Oklahoma.
Because of this, the Margaritaville Resort Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana, expects to see a bump of about 30% in college wagering, Lewless said. That sportsbook already was anticipating more action because of its recent expansion.
The Margaritaville sportsbook is one of two in Northwest Louisiana that Lewless manages for Penn Entertainment. The other is at the nearby Boomtown Casino Hotel.
Lewless pointed to Texas’ rivalry years ago with the Arkansas Razorbacks in the former Southwest Conference as a matchup that will stir interest now that both are in the SEC. Sports betting is legal in Arkansas.
Also, every clash between the two Texas SEC schools — the Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies — will stir emotions and boost sports betting in close-by states like Louisiana where wagering is legal, Lewless said.
Sports Betting Illegal In Half Of SEC States
The addition of Oklahoma into the SEC means six of the 12 states with schools in the conference do not have legal sports betting. Texas already had a school in the SEC — Texas A&M.
Those six SEC states make up the largest geographic region in the U.S. without legal sports betting. Combined, the six states have a population of more than 62 million, representing about 19% of the U.S. population.
Nationwide, sports betting is legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C.
The SEC states without legal sports betting are:
  • Texas (Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies)
  • Oklahoma (Oklahoma Sooners)
  • Missouri (Missouri Tigers)
  • Alabama (Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers)
  • Georgia (Georgia Bulldogs)
  • South Carolina (South Carolina Gamecocks)
  • The other six SEC states have either in-person or mobile sports betting — or both. Tennessee is a mobile-only state, while Mississippi has in-person sports betting at casinos but not off-site mobile wagering.
The SEC states with legal sports betting are:
  • Arkansas (Arkansas Razorbacks)
  • Louisiana (LSU Tigers)
  • Kentucky (Kentucky Wildcats)
  • Tennessee (Tennessee Volunteers, Vanderbilt Commodores)
  • Mississippi (Ole Miss Rebels, Mississippi State Bulldogs)
  • Florida (Florida Gators)
College Football Kicks Off In August
The overall college football schedule kicks off Aug. 24, including a matchup overseas between Florida State and Georgia Tech in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland.
In the SEC, the Oklahoma Sooners, led by head coach Brent Venables, begin their season on Aug. 30 against Temple at OU’s Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium.
The SEC schedule gets fully underway over the Labor Day weekend, highlighted by an Aug. 31 contest between Clemson and Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
On that same day, the Steve Sarkisian-coached Texas Longhorns host Colorado State in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.
The next day’s schedule, on Sept. 1, features another SEC school, LSU, in a matchup against Southern California in the Vegas Kickoff Classic at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
SEC Divisions Abandoned
The addition of Texas and Oklahoma brings the number of teams in the SEC to 16. This season, the conference football championship will be decided between the top two teams. The 2024 SEC title game is set for Dec. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
In previous years, the conference was split into two divisions, with the East and West winners battling it out for for the SEC title.
The 2024 arrangement with no divisions is a departure in the conference structure dating back more than three decades.

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Andres Troelsen has been appointed EGT Digital’s Regional Sales Director iGaming for LATAM

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Andres Troelsen has been appointed EGT Digital's Regional Sales Director iGaming for LATAM

 

EGT Digital is pleased to announce that Andres Troelsen has joined the company’s team. Effective from 01 August, he takes on the position of Regional Sales Director iGaming for the LATAM region.

Mr. Troelsen holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from the prestigious Universidad de Palermo in Buenos Aires. He brings business experience with a strong focus on the gaming sector, most recently serving as Commercial Director LATAM at Belatra. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles across diverse sectors, including winemaking, shipbuilding, legal services, media, and entertainment. Throughout his career, he has consistently delivered strong results, significantly enhancing company performance and helping position those organizations among the leaders in their respective industries.

“I am happy that EGT Digital is giving me this opportunity,” said Mr. Troelsen. “It will be a challenge for me to further increase the brand’s presence in a highly competitive region such as Latin America. I believe that I will successfully cope with the task thanks to my extensive experience in the gaming industry and deep relationships with key operators throughout the local markets. Adding to this the fact that the company’s innovative developments already have an excellent reputation as high-quality solutions able to satisfy the tastes of every type of player, I am confident that we will very quickly position EGT Digital as a top-tier player in LATAM.

Nadia Popova, Chief Revenue Officer and Vice President Sales & Marketing at EGT, also expressed her positive expectations regarding the appointment: “Latin America holds enormous potential for our products, which makes it a region of strategic importance for EGT Digital. Andres Troelsen is the ideal choice, with the skills and leadership needed to achieve our ambitious goals.”

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ACR POKER INJECTS DAILY DOSE OF THRILL INTO TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE WITH LAUNCH OF DAILY MYSTERY BOUNTY EVENTS

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Monster top bounty of 10% of the total prize pool up for grabs starting this weekend

ACR Poker today announced the addition of Daily Mystery Bounty events to its tournament lineup starting this Sunday, August 3rd, delivering unmatched entertainment, thrilling action, and big wins to the tables.

Daily Mystery Bounty tournaments turn traditional bounty formats on their head. Once players are in the money, instead of receiving a fixed reward for eliminating an opponent, players receive a Mystery Bounty Chest revealing a mystery reward, with the top bounty prize being 10% of the total prize pool.

“Mystery Bounties are just pure fun,” said ACR Pro Chris Moneymaker. “You never know what you’re going to get when you knock someone out, it could be some random treasure or a monster bounty that flips your whole tournament. With same-day events, fast action and bounty madness on your daily calendar, it keeps the adrenaline going and makes every hand way more exciting.”

The Daily Mystery Bounty schedule features a range of tourneys and buy-ins, with highlights including the $250K GTD Sunday Funday ($215 buy-in), the $150K GTD Major Mash Up ($66 buy-in), and the $100K GTD Moorman’s Mayhem ($630 buy-in). Starting this Sunday, players can log into the ACR Poker client, open the Tournaments tab, and find the full lineup of Daily Mystery Bounty events in the regular schedule under upcoming events.

And don’t forget, the Mystery Bounty madness continues in ACR Poker’s massive Dual Venom tournaments taking place from Sunday, August 10th to Tuesday, August 26th. Not only are the $2,650 buy-in tourneys offering huge guarantees of $8 million in the NHL event and $2 million in the PLO event, but there are massive bounties on the table for those who knock out their competitors.

In the Venom NLH, eliminating just one opponent could earn a player the top bounty prize of $500,000. While in the Venom PLO, which ties ACR Poker’s biggest Omaha tourney ever, there’s a juicy $200,000 bounty for the taking. And that’s not all, every knockout in both tourneys earns players a minimum bounty of at least $5,000.

For full details about the Daily Mystery Bounty tournaments or to find out more about the Dual Mystery Bounty Venoms, visit ACRPoker.eu.

 

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AGA Research Reveals Consumers Know Sweepstakes Casinos are Gambling

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As gaming regulators, state Attorneys General, and state legislatures continue to scrutinize the business practices of online “sweepstakes” casinos, new research shows that consumers overwhelmingly use these platforms to gamble – and that sweepstakes operators are heavily targeting players in key states. By exploiting loopholes in the law, these operations undermine the integrity of the legal, regulated gaming marketplace.

According to Sensor Tower data compiled by the American Gaming Association (AGA), half of all online, real-money casino advertisements seen by consumers in early 2025 promoted offshore “sweepstakes” casinos. The data shows these unregulated operators concentrate their advertising in populous states.

“These operators present themselves like legal, regulated platforms – but they operate outside the law and regulation. There are few if any responsible gaming tools, no regulatory oversight, and no consumer protections. It’s a dangerous subterfuge that puts players at real risk,” said AGA Vice President of Government Relations, Tres York.

Despite operating outside the regulated gaming market, “sweepstakes” casinos are widely perceived by players as gambling platforms, with 68% of users saying their primary reason for playing is to win real money. This confusion is no accident – many of these sites mimic the look, feel, and language of legal operators, blurring the line for consumers and reinforcing the need for clearer enforcement and public education.

Key findings include:

• 90% of sweepstakes casino users consider the activity to be gambling.

• 69% describe sweepstakes casinos as places to wager real money.

• 80% of sweepstakes players spend monthly, and nearly half spend weekly, without the safety nets offered by regulated operators.

The number of monthly sweepstakes casino players is twice as high in states lacking sweepstakes prohibitions.

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“Sweepstakes” casinos aggressively market on popular digital platforms throughout the country. Legal, regulated gaming operators, by contrast, advertise responsibly in legal states where consumer protections and regulatory oversight are in place.

“The data is clear. Consumers see right through the ‘sweepstakes’ casino facade and they’re calling it what it is: gambling. We look forward to policymakers continuing to enforce their laws and create clarity through new policy measures to protect their residents,” added York.

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