Brutal Santa

What is Brutal Santa?

The biggest new uncertainty in US sports betting is prediction markets. The American Gaming Association estimates that Americans will legally wager $29.5 billion in betting handle through US regulated commercial sportsbooks during the 2026 NFL season, broadly unchanged from the $29.4 billion handle recorded in 2025. These figures refer to the amount wagered, not sportsbook revenue.

Robinson calls prediction markets “the main event”. His argument is not simply that US customers are moving from sportsbooks to prediction markets. The more important point is that sportsbooks no longer have the relatively protected market that was once assumed.

Kalshi, Robinhood, Crypto.com and DraftKings’ own prediction-market operation are all competing for activity around sporting events. Beynon says prediction markets are having a larger effect on valuations than on fundamentals so far.

How to play Brutal Santa

“I always found it funny when Colombia was starting, operators were saying ‘players here do not like slots’, as if they have a different DNA. Five years later, they would say, ‘well, they do like slots, but simple slots’. And five years later, they were playing all the usual [slots]. It’s not that they didn’t like slots.

“If someone takes the time to understand what they’re used to playing, what they like, what their history is and take that into consideration, then you can bridge that gap. If operators take that time to understand where players are at, it does make a difference.”

Local operators, meanwhile, have tried to close the gap by strengthening their technology, including working with world-class suppliers.

What is Brutal Santa?

There have been no further details about the lottery prize. The Pennsylvania Lottery only finds out that a winning ticket has been sold after the fact, but the lottery cannot tell whether the person buying the ticket actually realized that they had won.

On the upside, scratch-off tickets rarely go unclaimed, as most people tend to scratch the film very shortly after buying a ticket – instantly, or on the same or following day. 

The Pittsburgh area has been producing big winners one after the next, including a $1-million ticket sold recently, as well as another seven-figure prize sold in Carnegie.