Gordian Quest

About Gordian Quest

Just eight years after the state of New Jersey successfully petitioned the US Supreme Court to repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which opened the floodgates of sports betting expansion across the country, the Garden State has again petitioned the high court, this time to defend its sports betting jurisdiction against the rise of prediction markets and sports event contracts.

On Wednesday, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced that her office had filed a petition for writ of certiorari following an appeals court verdict from earlier this year that went in favour of prediction markets. That 2-1 verdict from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals was handed down in April, and New Jersey had until Thursday to petition the high court.

The petition poses the question of whether the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was enacted in 2010 in the aftermath of the Great Recession, “preempted states from regulating sports bets that occur within their jurisdictions if those bets are offered on markets registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission”. Prediction markets have argued that their event contracts are financial derivatives regulated by the CFTC whereas many states contend that they are simply sports bets by another name.

What is Gordian Quest?

Another influencer (fictitious name, João) shares live game-style videos on his stories, simulating high-paying gaming sessions. In them, he points out which operator or game “is paying the most”, while in another piece of content, he posts a screenshot of his exclusive Telegram group, where he shares “highest payout” times for betting on specific games.

In a third publication, he “teaches” the gambler to observe patterns in the game interface, such as an animation on the tiger’s face, a specific glow that appears or a sequence of supposed events that indicate that the big win is about to happen.

On the Instagram profiles of gambling operators, the content varies according to the brand’s strategies. It ranges from the use of humorous and entertaining videos to the generic use of AI in banners advertising promotions, available casino games and important sporting events with betting odds.

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“This legislation failed squarely because Republicans refuse to say no to the president,” Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego said in a statement. “It takes 60 votes to pass a bill, and instead of spending their time twisting themselves into knots to appease President Trump, Republicans should have worked more closely with Senate Democrats to craft a bill that could pass with strong ethics provisions.”

Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, the leading negotiator for Republicans, berated her Democratic colleagues in a statement, saying they “played games” and “were never truly serious about protecting consumers”.

“The Democrats are now anti-American – sad!” she said.