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Business Insider
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
These fierce legal battles are reshaping gambling in America
What should gambling look like in America? A new wave of lawsuits and legislation is testing the boundaries. We got a clearer picture of what it means to be a gambling society in the US last year. Sport betting soared as Americans legally wagered $148 billion on sports, 24% more than the year before, per the American Gambling Association's estimates. But concerns also rose around gambling addiction and whether the industry is doing enough to protect the most at-risk, including young men. High-profile betting scandals rocked the sports world and highlighted the risks for athletes. Culturally, there's been a growing sense that maybe the expansion of gambling "was too much too fast," Chris Grove, a prominent industry investor with Acies Investments, told Business Insider. Some lawmakers have sought to rein in gambling companies. New York, which took more money on sports bets than any other state last year, is considering new guardrails on how much a person can bet in a day and on certain advertising practices, for example. There's also a renewed effort this year to introduce federal regulations on gambling. Meanwhile, expansion of online casino legislation has screeched to a halt, leaving operators wondering where their next phase of growth will come from. And new entrants and ways to risk money like sports predictions and sweepstakes casinos are disrupting the landscape — and drawing regulatory scrutiny. Several industry insiders said it feels like these issues, which have been brewing for the last year or more, are all coming to a head in 2025. These key battlegrounds could define the future of the gambling industry and consumer protections. Prediction markets are sucking up a lot of the oxygen in the room right now, five industry insiders said. These markets let users across the country put money on potential winners of certain sporting events. Consumers can go on a website like Kalshi to "predict" who will win a series in the NBA playoffs, for example. These markets are being run by commodities and financial platforms, rather than gambling operators. But Kalshi and some other companies offering sports predictions have received cease and desist orders this year from gambling regulators in several states, including Nevada and New Jersey. Kalshi has taken the issue to the courts, arguing that it's regulated by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission, not these state gambling authorities. The legal fights appear to be going Kalshi's way. The federal courts in Nevada and New Jersey have so far sided with Kalshi and blocked the cease-and-desists. This month, the CTFC also dropped an earlier appeal against the company's election predictions, signaling that the commission has a favorable view on prediction markets overall. "Kalshi has won a couple of early rounds, but it is still early in the fight," said James Kilsby, chief analyst at Vixio, a regulatory tech company that works with the gambling industry. A big question is how much fight the states have in them. The answer will likely tie back to how much tax revenue they risk losing, said Andrew Kim, an appellate and gaming litigator at Goodwin. Kalshi and other sports prediction markets offer a very narrow product. So far, these platforms don't offer parlays or prop bets. "There's definitely a path where all of that grows and becomes bigger and becomes an actual threat to the regime of sports betting," said Dustin Gouker, a gaming industry consultant who follows prediction markets closely in his Closing Line newsletter. If sports predictions are cleared to continue, prediction markets could create a path for gambling companies to operate in all 50 states. Gambling operators DraftKings and FanDuel told investors on recent earnings calls that they're interested in a prediction market product. "People in the industry at the moment are very much in a wait-and-see mode on this one," said Steve Ruddock, a gambling industry analyst and consultant. "What everybody needs to be concerned about in the industry is being left behind." Sweepstakes casinos are under siege While the early momentum for sports predictions suggests they may be here to stay, the future of online sweepstakes is less certain. These games, from sites like Chumba Casino and McLuck, can resemble slots, table games, or sports betting, but they allow players to play for free and win digital coins that can be exchanged for cash. Users can typically also buy and wager these coins, which is where the line between sweepstakes and a regular online casino really starts to blur. Several states, including New York, Connecticut, Illinois, and Montana, are considering banning them. New York's bill would make it illegal to operate, promote, or support these businesses. Florida and a few other states also considered bills rejecting these games, but those efforts have either failed or stalled. "The industry is very focused on sweepstakes operations," Kilsby said. "That is very much a major policy issue of 2025 that wasn't really the case in previous years." It's a big deal in the industry because these games are regulated differently from online casino games, which can make them available to a wider set of consumers. Some, like a Washington court, say they're illegal gambling. Others argue they're simply innovating in a common gaming category: sweepstakes. Several recent lawsuits have been filed against sweepstakes operators. Rewriting the rules — and taxes — for gambling companies Lawsuits against gambling companies are also piling up in 2025. New cases are challenging marketing and promotional practices, such as VIP programs and certain bonus offers. Baltimore City, for example, sued DraftKings and FanDuel in April over what it alleged are "predatory practices." The complaint called out both "bonus bets" and VIP programs, which are loyalty plays that the complaint says "personalize the inducements to gamble." Customers sue gambling operators all the time — cases like these aren't new to the industry. But the "tidal wave" of recent consumer litigation could be a beachhead of a broader pushback, said Kim at Goodwin, who thinks the industry will likely see more of these lawsuits. It's hard to tell what the lasting impact will be. Kilsby said it's common for countries to experience a "regulatory reset" after a period of "liberalization" in regulated online gambling. A similar trend has played out in markets across Europe, with some countries imposing strict restrictions on gambling ads, for example. He pointed to US states like New York, New Jersey, and Illinois revisiting their gambling regulations, but said we've not yet seen efforts that have "dramatically redrawn the landscape." "As this is a very universal dynamic for the industry, it's a very fair question to ask: How does the same trend play out in North America?" Kilsby said. Some state regulators are also ratcheting up taxes on gambling and sports betting companies, as Kilsby and Grove pointed out. New Jersey's governor, for one, proposed hiking the tax rate for online gambling to 25%. Ohio's governor proposed doubling its tax rate on sports betting to 40%.
Associated Press
01-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Capacitor Metals Corp. Announces Private Placement Offering to Raise Gross Proceeds of up to $3M CAD for the Blue River Tantalum & Niobium Project, BC
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / May 1, 2025 / Capacitor Metals Corp. (the 'Company' or 'Capacitor') is pleased to announce that it intends to undertake a non-brokered private placement offering of up to 60,000,000 units (each, a 'Unit') at a price of $0.05 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to CDN$3,000,000 (the Offering'). Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (each, a 'Share') and one common share purchase warrant (each, a 'Warrant') with each Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Share at a price of $0.10 per Share, if exercised within the initial 12 months of the term of the Warrant, and at a price of $0.20 if exercised during the subsequent 12 months. The net proceeds from the Offering will be used for the ongoing development of the Blue River Tantalum and Niobium Project wholly owned by Capacitor Metals. The Company intends to underwrite a pilot plant metallurgical operation to produce tantalum and niobium final products and to complete an economic update on the project. In addition, the Company is moving forward with its intention to become a 'reporting issuer' in Canada and is developing and considering plans with respect to this objective. Should the Company succeed in becoming a 'reporting issuer' in the future, and subject to compliance with all applicable securities laws, this should provide greater liquidity and flexibility to our shareholders, such as Commerce Resources Corp. who received 20,000,000 Shares in 2024 pursuant to our acquisition of the Blue River Tantalum and Niobium Project from Commerce, to enable them to distribute such securities.. About Capacitor Metals Corp. Capacitor Metals Corp. is focused on the development of the Upper Fir Tantalum & Niobium Deposit on the company's Blue River Tantalum-Niobium project located in British Columbia, Canada. The Company is positioning itself to be one of the lowest cost, ethically sourced tantalum-niobium producers globally. The Upper Fir Tantalum & Niobium Deposit has a significant historical indicated resource of 9.6M kg contained tantalum and 77.8M kg contained niobium plus an historical inferred resource of 1.0M kg contained tantalum and 9.6M kg contained niobium. The Deposit is advanced with $34M CAD of work completed, including 271 drill holes totaling over 59,000 meters drilled, a historical Preliminary Economic Assessment ('PEA') released, community consultations, and preliminary metallurgical and environmental work. The Blue River Property is a fully serviced site in mining-friendly British Columbia, Canada with excellent infrastructure close at hand, including rail, paved road, water, and power adjacent to project site. The Blue River Property contains three known deposits of tantalum and niobium and an additional 20+ known exploration targets. For more information, please visit the corporate website at or email [email protected]. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Capacitor Metals Corp. Chris Grove President and CEO Tel: 604.484.2700 Email: [email protected] Web: Forward Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements, which includes any information about activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding future events. Forward looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the unit offering and the proposed use of proceeds; statements regarding the Company's intention to become a 'reporting issuer' in a jurisdiction in Canada; statements that the Company is specifically focused on the development of its Blue River tantalum and niobium deposit in British Columbia; and statements that the Company is positioning to be one of the lowest cost, ethically sourced tantalum-niobium producers globally. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include economic, competitive, governmental, environmental, and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products, and prices. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially may include misinterpretation of data; that we may not be able to get equipment or labour as we need it; that the unit offering may not close, or that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete our intended exploration and development; that any applications to drill may be denied; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may prevent us from exploration; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that analysis of data may not be possible accurately and at depth; that results which we or others have found in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of larger areas of our properties; that we may not complete environmental programs in a timely manner or at all; that market prices for tantalum & niobium may not justify commercial production costs; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties. SOURCE: Capacitor Metals Corp. press release
Associated Press
07-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Capacitor Metals Corp. Announces Janine Brown as Blue River Project Manager, Attending Kamloops Exploration Group Conference
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / April 7, 2025 / Capacitor Metals Corp. (the 'Company' or 'Capacitor') is pleased to announce the appointment of Janine Brown as Project Manager for the Blue River Tantalum and Niobium project wholly owned by Capacitor Metals. Ms. Brown brings a strong depth of experience to the Blue River Project team, with over 18 years of experience working in the North American mineral exploration industry. Her hands on experience with a variety of deposit types has given her a big picture understanding, but it is her carbonatite specific experience that will be instrumental in guiding the geological understanding of the Blue River project. Ms. Brown played a key role in the Blue River Niobium-Tantalum project's advancement between 2007 and 2012, where she was part of the Dahrouge Geological team that defined the geological model and resource for the Upper Fir Deposit. Since, that time she has expanded her experiences through her involvement as an integral member of multiple geological management teams that have designed projects for successful advancement from PEA to FS level studies. Capacitor Metals President Chris Grove states, 'It is great to have Janine working with us again as she was so vital to the historical work completed on the Upper Fir Deposit, leading up to the positive PEA completed in 2011. We are very excited about the increase of industry interest in this excellent asset of ours, and in the developments currently underway.' In addition, the Company will be attending KEG 2025, the annual Kamloops Exploration Group conference being held at the Coast Hotel in Kamloops on April 8th & 9th, 2025. About Capacitor Metals Corp. Capacitor Metals Corp. is focused on the development of the Upper Fir Tantalum & Niobium Deposit on the company's Blue River Tantalum-Niobium project located in British Columbia, Canada. The Company is positioning itself to be one of the lowest cost, ethically sourced tantalum-niobium producers globally. The Blue River Property is a fully serviced site in mining-friendly British Columbia, Canada with excellent infrastructure close at hand, including rail, paved road, water, and power adjacent to project site. The Property contains three known deposits of tantalum and niobium and an additional 20+ known exploration targets. The Upper Fir deposit has a significant historical indicated resource of 9.6M kg contained tantalum and 77.8M kg contained niobium plus an historical inferred resource of 1.0M kg contained tantalum and 9.6M kg contained niobium. The Deposit is advanced with $34M CAD of work completed, including 271 drill holes totaling over 59,000 meters drilled, a historical Preliminary Economic Assessment ('PEA') released, community consultations, and preliminary metallurgical and environmental work. For more information, please visit the corporate website at or email [email protected]. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Capacitor Metals Corp. Chris Grove President and CEO Tel: 604.484.2700 Forward Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements, which includes any information about activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding future events. Forward looking statements in this news release include that the Company is specifically focused on the development of its Blue River tantalum and niobium deposit in British Columbia; and statements that the Company is positioning to be one of the lowest cost, ethically sourced tantalum-niobium producers globally. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include economic, competitive, governmental, environmental, and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products, and prices. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially may include misinterpretation of data; that we may not be able to get equipment or labour as we need it; that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete our intended exploration and development; that our applications to drill may be denied; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may prevent us from exploration; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that analysis of data may not be possible accurately and at depth; that results which we or others have found in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of larger areas of our properties; that we may not complete environmental programs in a timely manner or at all; that market prices for tantalum & niobium may not justify commercial production costs; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Capacitor Metals Corp. Awarded €178,000 from Horizon Europe
VANCOUVER, BC / / April 4, 2025 / Capacitor Metals Corp. (the "Company" or "Capacitor") is pleased to announce receipt of the first tranche of grant funding from Horizon Europe, the European Union's €95.5 billion programme for research and innovation, the largest such program in the world. Capacitor Metals has received this grant funding for the delivery of sample material from the Upper Fir Tantalum & Niobium Deposit in British Columbia for the BLOOM Critical Materials Program. In total, Capacitor Metals will receive €178,000 Euros for the delivery of ~1 metric tonne of mixed materials. Led by Dr. Josep Oliva at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-Barcelona Tech in Barcelona (UPC), the BLOOM project is a Critical Raw Materials focused project funded by Horizon Europe and is integrated by a multidisciplinary group of 14 partners from 6 different countries. The BLOOM project's goal is to develop new MLA-online sensor (mineral liberation analysis) technologies to improve how critical raw materials (CRMs) like tantalum and niobium are extracted and processed, thereby strengthening EU supply chains and reducing EU dependency on critical minerals imports from unreliable regions. Capacitor Metals' advanced Upper Fir Tantalum and Niobium Deposit is a key contributor to the EU BLOOM project. Capacitor Metals President Chris Grove states, "It is our pleasure to be providing source material for this important work program led by the UPC on improved sensing and processing of tantalum focused ore bodies. Our positive economics for the Upper Fir Deposit (2011, Amec, Updated 2015, Amec, Foster, Wheeler) were based upon standard processing and we look forward to incorporating any optimizations realized by the BLOOM project in our next economic report." The grant funding that Capacitor Metals has received from Horizon Europe is to provide the essential mineralized tantalum-bearing material which the BLOOM Consortium team will be using in the development of their advanced critical minerals extraction technology. Capacitor Metals has delivered ~20 kilograms of drill core, ~220 kilograms of pulverized material, and ~820 kilograms of crushed rock all from the Upper Fir Deposit in British Columbia, to UPC in Barcelona, Spain. As an additional aspect of the BLOOM project, there is an interest expressed to locate and finance the construction of a pilot plant utilizing the techniques under investigation by the BLOOM Consortium. Dr. Josep Oliva leads the research group at the Mineral Processing and Residues Recycling Laboratory (ProMineral Lab) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, where he focuses on the development and implementation of advanced processes for the characterization, separation, and recovery of critical and strategic raw materials. His research is aimed at improving the technical and environmental performance of mineral processing through the integration of mineralogical analysis, process optimization, and innovative separation techniques. He has actively contributed to numerous European research and innovation initiatives, collaborating with industrial and academic partners to deliver scalable and efficient solutions for the beneficiation of complex and low-grade ores. Under his leadership, the ProMineral Lab has established itself as a reference center in applied research, particularly in projects that support the EU's strategic priorities on raw material security, sustainable resource use, and industrial resilience. The Company notes that the BLOOM (GA 101177962) project is funded by the European Union, and, except as otherwise noted, statements expressed in this news release are those of the Company and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. About Capacitor Metals Corp. Capacitor Metals Corp. is focused on the development of the Upper Fir Tantalum & Niobium Deposit on the company's Blue River Tantalum-Niobium project located in British Columbia, Canada. The Company is positioning itself to be one of the lowest-cost, ethically sourced tantalum-niobium producers globally. The Blue River Property is a fully serviced site in mining-friendly British Columbia, Canada with excellent infrastructure close at hand, including rail, paved road, water, and power adjacent to project site. The Blue River Property contains three known deposits of tantalum and niobium and an additional 20+ known exploration targets. The Upper Fir deposit has a significant historical indicated resource of 9.6M kg contained tantalum and 77.8M kg contained niobium plus an historical inferred resource of 1.0M kg contained tantalum and 9.6M kg contained niobium. The Deposit is advanced with $34M CAD of work completed, including 271 drill holes totaling over 59,000 meters drilled, an historical Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") released, community consultations, and preliminary metallurgical and environmental work. For more information, please visit the corporate website at or email jschroenn@ On Behalf of the Board of Directors Capacitor Metals Corp. Chris GrovePresident and CEOTel: 604.484.2700Email: cgrove@ Forward Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements, which includes any information about activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding future events. Forward looking statements in this news release include that the Company is specifically focused on the development of its Blue River tantalum and niobium deposit in British Columbia; statements regarding the anticipated receipt of the balance of grant funds from Horizon Europe; statements regarding the BLOOM project's goals; statements regarding an interest in locating and financing the construction of a pilot project; and statements that the Company is positioning to be one of the lowest cost, ethically sourced tantalum-niobium producers globally. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include economic, competitive, governmental, environmental, and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products, and prices. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially may include misinterpretation of data; that we may not be able to get equipment or labour as we need it; that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete our intended exploration and development; that our applications to drill may be denied; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may prevent us from exploration; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that analysis of data may not be possible accurately and at depth; that results which we or others have found in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of larger areas of our properties; that we may not complete environmental programs in a timely manner or at all; that market prices for tantalum & niobium may not justify commercial production costs; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties. SOURCE: Capacitor Metals Corp. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
