King Maker

What is King Maker?

The historic showdown between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers will take place at a venue located 7,971 miles from Levi’s Stadium, home of the last meeting between the NFC West rivals. Both teams are based in California, a fertile ground for prediction markets given a sports betting ban in a state with more than 39 million residents. But the Americans in attendance for Thursday night’s matchup (Friday in Melbourne) will not be able to live-trade from their seats.

That is because trading on prediction markets is illegal down under, according to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, the nation’s regulator on financial services. Last month, in perhaps the ASIC’s strongest warnings yet against the asset class, the commission reiterated that prediction markets are not licensed as financial markets to operate in Australia. Through the guidance, the regulator urged consumers to exercise caution before partaking in certain investments on offshore platforms which have not obtained licensing nationwide.

The advisory could be music to the ears of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, whose league has pushed a federal derivatives regulator in the US to enact more rigorous standards to help protect the integrity of professional sports. Ahead of the matchup, Goodell spoke with CNBC from Melbourne.

How to play King Maker

“Scott is a beloved member of the Luxor and MGM Resorts family, and we are relieved to hear that he is recovering,” an MGM Resorts spokesman told news outlets on Friday night. “We are thinking of him and wish him strength as he receives the care and support he needs.”

Carrot Top’s Friday and Saturday (Sept. 19) shows at Luxor’s Atrium Showroom were canceled. The residency is dark on Sundays.

The Florida native—known on his driver’s license as Scott Thompson—was facing legal troubles, according to news reports.

About King Maker

For Grainne Hurst, CEO of the Betting & Gaming Council in the UK, the evolution has been clear. “The conversation has moved beyond representation alone towards inclusion, retention, well-being and progression,” Hurst explains. “Businesses increasingly understand that DEI must be embedded in everyday culture, not treated as a separate initiative.”

Industry associations have played an important role through mentoring, networking and leadership development.

Hurst is also a board member at Global Gaming Women, giving her firsthand experience of how networks, mentorship and role models can help women advance. She was previously recognised in iGB’s Most Influential Women list in 2024.