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Sports gambling needs guardrails, Jonathan D. Cohen says

Brendan Ruberry: How has the status quo on sports betting changed since the Murphy v. NCAA Supreme Court decision? Jonathan D. Cohen: Until May 14, 2018, there was no prospect of any state legalizing sports betting, and now 38 states and Washington, DC have legal sports gambling. [Among those states,] 30 allow you to gamble […]

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Brendan Ruberry: How has the status quo on sports betting changed since the Murphy v. NCAA Supreme Court decision?

Jonathan D. Cohen: Until May 14, 2018, there was no prospect of any state legalizing sports betting, and now 38 states and Washington, DC have legal sports gambling. [Among those states,] 30 allow you to gamble on any device with internet access. And that has, over the last seven years, birthed a $120 billion per year market. Before, if you wanted to bet on sports, you had to do it in Vegas, or you could do it illegally. And now you can, in most states, do it from the touch of your phone. 

Ironically, we are currently building the setup that is being taken down in other countries, because other countries are now seeing all the problems that result from online gambling, and they are pulling back and adding regulations. And we’re rushing headlong into the deregulated space that they are vacating as quickly as possible.

Who is Kyle and why is his story central to the state of play in the industry right now?

Kyle is illustrative as a 26-year-old white man, which speaks to the demographics of sports betting. But he’s also illustrative in that he was someone who had gambled before it became legal first in Colorado and then in Kansas, where he lives. But he had never run into trouble, had always sort of gambled within his means when he was at a casino or when he had been placed a few bets on sports in college. And it was only because of its online availability that he gambled above his means and couldn’t pay his rent for one month, that he lost his job, that he found himself up at three in the morning betting on minor league British darts, that he had to call the Colorado Problem Gambling hotline, that he moved back in with his parents because he ran out of money. Now, every time there’s a major tennis tournament, he just disappears for 40 consecutive hours gambling on sports. Not that every single person who’s gambling on sports is having experiences like his, but he’s the kind of person who never would have run into trouble gambling, but for the fact that it appeared one day on his phone and without guardrails to stop him from running into trouble.

He might not be the typical gambler, as we see it, but he is typical of how these companies make their money.

Yes, the business model basically writes off 60%-plus of players. At least 60% of NFL bettors account for a total of 1% of sportsbook revenue, and as much as 80% of revenue for these companies comes from a core group of 3% of gamblers. There’s lots of products like this, where a small group of people account for a huge share of profits. But fundamentally, it’s not an accident that someone like Kyle loses too much money. It is sort of baked into the way these companies operate, that there are going to be a small subset of people from whom they can extract a lot of money and a large share of their revenue.

You profile Colorado in particular. What’s illustrative about how Colorado approached legalizing sports gambling?

So after the Murphy decision, it wasn’t inevitable that we’d have so many states go all in so quickly, right? It wasn’t organic. It was in Colorado, DraftKings and FanDuel in particular [were] showing up, helping to write the legislation to govern gambling once that passed, helping to basically astroturf the ballot referendum that passed sports betting. And then sitting in the room with the regulators, helping them craft the regulations that would govern the sports folks’ own behavior. So not only would sports betting not have passed as quickly were it not for the companies’ political involvement, but the all the harms and issues that we have from sports betting now are, in part, resultant of the fact that the foxes were inside the hen house, playing with all the hens while the regulations were being developed.

You say at one point that these are more like tech companies than traditional sportsbooks or casinos.

This is a huge branding operation with a seamlessly designed app. What they have to offer is all this specialized software under the hood that lets them, at every second of every baseball game, change the odds of whether the next pitch is going to be 88 miles an hour, so that you can bet on that. They can have the most efficient line possible developed in a fraction of a second. And the other way they’re like tech companies is mimicking all the addictive and troublesome aspects of social media apps, for example, just like the endless scroll and the endless short options for dopamine hits. And the seamless app interfaces they’ve learned at the feet of these other borderline addictive companies and products, and they are now to offer an actual addictive product, of gambling.

And I would assume, like other tech companies, they deal in data, and data is sort of their critical resource. What do we know about how much data these companies have and how they’re using it?

This is what’s most frustrating to me, as someone who wants to advocate for a change: These companies have more data on gamblers than any gambling operation in recorded human history, right? Vegas casinos of the 1950s would kill for the kind of information that DraftKings and FanDuel have. And there’s a really revealing video from a Fanatics executive who talks about how easy it is for them to spot problem gambling. They have all this data on player behavior. The question is how they’re using it. It seems like they’re using it to identify problem gamblers and make money from them; or identify losers and make money from them, rather than cut off people who have obvious gambling problems and stop them from gambling. This is anecdotal, they claim that it’s all trade secrets, and they won’t give up any of their data. But again, like a tech company rather than a sportsbook, it is their primary resource. Whenever you sign into the app, and you see a customized parlay, that’s like, ‘wow, that looks perfect for me’ — no sh*t, it is perfect for you. They built it for you. And because they know what teams you like, and they know what you like to bet on.

The fear [with AI is] that they can get even better at these sorts of micro transactions, at the fast betting, and then they can super-customize it to make it even more enticing than it already is. Good luck to all of us.

There’s an observation in the book about how professional gamblers are trying to circumvent some of these pattern-recognition abilities that these companies have. Could you talk about that?

I’m drawing on the work of a professional gambler I talked to named Isaac Rose-Berman, who, from his own conversations with professional gamblers, basically realized that the apps don’t want to shut off losers. They don’t want to shut off anyone who’s bad at betting, and they really don’t want to shut off anyone who’s going to lose a lot of money. So the longer that professional gamblers can make the apps think that they are just a stupid, lucky bettor on a hot streak, the better chance they have of betting for longer and making money before they finally get caught. So Isaac has described betting on Aaron Judge to hit a home run — which is like the most vanilla bet you can possibly make — so that he looks like a normie, so he doesn’t look like a professional bettor. Because, again, they don’t want professional bettors on their apps, but they do want losers, and they do want the kind of people who place a bet on Aaron Judge to hit a home run. (No offense to Yankees fans — well, some offense to Yankees fans.) On the one hand, professional gamblers are [a small percentage] of the bettors. But on the other hand, the fact that they get cut off so quickly and so aggressively, to me, reveals that this whole thing is a house of cards; that they only actually want you if you’re a loser. And that second that you can make money, the second that you’re better than them, they stop you from doing it. So on the one hand, who cares? It’s a small, small group of people. But I think it’s really revealing of the fundamental issues behind the whole enterprise.

Tell me a little bit about the responsible gambling framework as it exists, and how you find fault with that.

There’s a lot of comparisons made of the gambling industry to tobacco and alcohol. A difference in this case is that the gambling industry doesn’t deny that problem gambling exists in the way that the tobacco industry denied any connection between lung cancer and cigarettes. But what they’re doing instead is this campaign for what they call ‘responsible gaming,’ or ‘responsible gambling,’ putting the onus of play on the individual in an attempt to ward off intrusive regulation or the need for guardrails. What they say is, ‘please play responsibly.’ They tell players to play responsibly, to call the hotline, while, of course, not actually providing any structure by which it would be easier for someone to play responsibly. They don’t stop anyone from betting three mortgage payments over the course of 35 seconds, if that is how they choose to play. Because what is responsible? Responsible is in the eye of the beholder. So responsible gaming is, in many ways, a beard for the industry. And the way that they can say, ‘oh, if someone runs into trouble on our app, it’s because they were gaming irresponsibly, and it’s their fault. We provided tools, this player didn’t take advantage of them. We would have cut them off if they had set a deposit limit or a time limit.’ But someone who’s addicted to gambling or has trouble gambling, they’re not going to set a deposit limit or do any of that. At some point, people who are addicted to gambling are not choosing to gamble.

The responsible gaming model is like, ‘hey, there’s a river over there. Don’t fall in.’ Whereas the public health model would be like, ‘hey, let’s build a fence around the river to stop people from falling in in the first place.’ And so my vision for a safer sports betting setup would have basically a bunch of speed bumps on the hill to stop people from rolling down and collecting steam and sort of developing an addiction and developing unsafe practices. If I were going to summarize it in a single word, it would be ‘friction’: If you deposit money, you can’t gamble with it for 12 to 24 hours. If you lose, and you are chasing your losses, then you can’t place another deposit. You can only place a certain number of deposits in the span of a day or a few days — anything to slow down the process.

I don’t want to make it so that it’s impossible for someone to place an innocent bet and augment their sports viewing experience. But I do want to make it impossible, or almost impossible, that someone placing an innocent $5 bet for fun can be the start of a dangerous journey that leads them into addiction or other kinds of harm.

Why should FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Fanatics, or whomever care about someone falling into the river, if the river is where all the profits are?

You can shear a sheep many times, but you can only slaughter it once. And so the market, the competition, is so fierce right now among the firms that there’s this perception that there’s always more efficiency. That we can always just find more bettors, especially when Texas, California, Minnesota, Georgia, and other states legalize sports betting, which they probably will at some point — not to mention the fact that if one of those companies were to cut you off from gambling, you can just run to a competitor. There’s no collaboration in place right now between the companies to remove the incentive to slaughter every sheep that shows up at their door. But that would be the long-term incentive. Yes, you’re making money right now, but in what I would call a fundamentally extractive business model, where at some point you’re going to run out of gamblers. Or at some point, the political winds are going to turn against you because of your irresponsible behavior, and over the long term, it’s not going to be a good look, and it’s not going to work. And I know it’s not going to be as profitable, but you should want a sustainable business model where people don’t tap out of sports betting because they keep having bad experiences And they become sort of long-term casual players who won’t lose that much money, but they’ll lose enough to keep your lights on.

I don’t know why any state needs to offer a market on Malaysian women’s doubles badminton. Those markets are basically just a trap door for gamblers who are looking for something to bet on at three in the morning, and that’s the only thing that’s available on the app — so in addition to [that], changing some of the ways people can interact with the app, fundamentally look at the app interface and design and remove some of the more sort of lizard brain, addictive, dopamine-providing aspects of the apps themselves.



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Best Prime Day smartwatch and fitness tracker deals: My 16 favorite sales live now

When is Amazon Prime Day 2025?  Amazon Prime Day takes place from July 8 through July 11 this year. This is when the retailer cuts deals on thousands of products, mostly ones it owns (think Kindle, Ring, and Alexa). To get in on the deals hype, other brands will discount their products during Prime Day […]

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When is Amazon Prime Day 2025? 

Amazon Prime Day takes place from July 8 through July 11 this year. This is when the retailer cuts deals on thousands of products, mostly ones it owns (think Kindle, Ring, and Alexa). To get in on the deals hype, other brands will discount their products during Prime Day to boost overall sales. 

Are health trackers really cheaper on Prime Day? 

I’ve seen some sweet discounts on health trackers during my time as an editor covering these events. We’ve seen record savings on tech, including Apple Watches and Oura Rings. 

Should I buy a smartwatch or a smart ring?

A smartwatch functions as a health tracker and an around-the-wrist companion to your phone. You can answer texts, set timers, ask the smartwatch’s AI assistant questions and more with an Apple Watch, Pixel Watch, Galaxy Watch, or Garmin. It will record your exercise and sleep and deliver that through the smartwatch’s health app, as well as on your phone’s health app. A smart ring is a little different. It doesn’t have a screen, so it won’t distract you throughout the day with pings or messages. All of the data it collects is displayed on your phone. If a smartwatch is a lifestyle wearable with health functionalities, a smart watch is a health-centered wearable. 

How did we choose these Prime Day deals?

I cover health wearables for my job, and I’m particular about the products I like and don’t like. If something isn’t worth my while, I’m not writing about it. The same goes for these deals. Our experts looked for deals that were at least 20% off (or are hardly ever on sale), using established price comparison tools and trackers to determine whether the deal is actually on sale and how frequently it drops. 

We also looked over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the deals we’re recommending. Our recommendations may also be based on our own testing — in addition to extensive research and comparison shopping. The goal is to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter. 

What are the best Prime Day deals so far?

ZDNET’s experts are searching through Prime Day sales to find the best discounts by category. 

These are the best deals so far:

You can also find the best deals from other retailers competing with Prime Day sales:





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UFC GYM Selects MMA.INC’s BJJLink.com Software as the Technology Engine to Power its Global Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) Franchise Growth

Highlights Landmark multi-year agreement strengthens UFC GYM and MMA.INC alliance, supporting the global rollout of 45 new gyms in 2025 and accelerating the expansion of UFC GYM’s high-growth BJJ program—powered by MMA.INC’s category-leading software. BJJLink.com is the definitive all-in-one operating system for martial arts-first businesses—optimizing member management, driving revenue growth, and unlocking scalable monetization for […]

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Highlights

  • Landmark multi-year agreement strengthens UFC GYM and MMA.INC alliance, supporting the global rollout of 45 new gyms in 2025 and accelerating the expansion of UFC GYM’s high-growth BJJ program—powered by MMA.INC’s category-leading software.
  • BJJLink.com is the definitive all-in-one operating system for martial arts-first businesses—optimizing member management, driving revenue growth, and unlocking scalable monetization for franchisees.
  • Builds on MMA.INC and UFC GYM’s broader strategic partnership to integrate the Warrior Training Program across a network of 150+ locations worldwide.

New York, NY, July 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mixed Martial Arts Group Limited (NYSE American: MMA) (“MMA” or the “Company”), an NYSE American listed innovator at the intersection of combat sports and digital transformation, has announced an expansion of its strategic technology partnership with UFC Gym Group who are selecting BJJLink.com as the official gym management software platform for all new UFC GYM BJJ franchise studios.

This extension of the existing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) agreement follows UFC GYM’s landmark global expansion announcement in February and solidifies a deeper alignment between UFC GYM’s fast-growing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) program and MMA.INC’s category-leading gym software. This announcement capitalizes on the growth in BJJ, reinforced by UFC’s recent launch of their new premier BJJ live event series, UFC BJJ 1.

BJJLink.com, powered by MMA.INC’s Martial Arts Technology, will serve as the digital backbone of UFC GYM’S new BJJ franchise studios. Designed specifically for martial arts-first businesses, the platform equips franchisees with a modern, all-in-one operating system that streamlines member management, drives revenue, and unlocks new monetization opportunities. Key features include:

  • Mobile check-in and self-service kiosk systems to reduce front-desk friction and enhance member experience
  • Curriculum and belt progression management with digital tracking tools aligned to structured programs
  • Smart class and staff scheduling with real-time attendance and performance visibility
  • Payment infrastructure, including recurring billing, retail sales and a customizable in-app transaction layer that supports Stripe and a growing list of other global processors
  • Referral tracking and affiliate logic to power grassroots growth and incentive campaigns
  • Built-in CRM and e-commerce automation, enabling franchisees to engage leads, sell merchandise, and convert visitors, all from one centralized platform

Under the terms of the expanded agreement, UFC GYM franchisees will gain access to BJJLink Admin+, a powerful all-in-one platform designed to simplify operations and drive growth. UFC GYM BJJ Studio Franchisees will benefit from streamlined class scheduling, automated billing, digital curriculum tools, and built-in referral tracking, removing administrative overhead and enabling staff to focus on member experience. Standardized pricing across locations and centralized reporting through a master admin dashboard provide both flexibility and oversight, helping franchisees scale confidently while staying aligned with brand standards.

“The BJJLink platform offers an intuitive and powerful back-end that empowers our coaches and BJJ studio franchisees to focus on what matters most, training and community,” said Adam Sedlack, CEO of UFC GYM. “This agreement gives us the technical scalability and operational consistency needed to support our ambitious rollout of new BJJ studios globally.”

The new UFC GYM BJJ studios, purpose-built spaces dedicated to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, are part of UFC GYM’s mission to redefine fitness and martial arts for modern athletes. The brand plans to open more than 45 new gyms in 2025, with many of the BJJ-first models ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 square feet and featuring advanced mat spaces, recovery zones, and family-friendly programming.

“This extension validates our shared belief that the future of martial arts training is both physical and digital,” said Nick Langton, CEO of MMA.INC. “We’re proud to be the technology engine behind UFC GYM’s BJJ studio model and to deepen our long-standing relationship with the preeminent name in martial arts training.”

BJJLink is already used by hundreds of martial arts academies around the world and has seen increased demand from franchise operators seeking more streamlined onboarding, revenue analytics, and student engagement tools.

MMA.INC and UFC GYM intend to co-launch the new BJJLink-powered UFC GYM BJJ studio software at select international locations during H2 of 2025.

MMA.INC’s recently announced an international push, expanding BJJLink into Latin America and launching a marquee partnership with Gracie Allegiant HQ and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Clark Gracie.

About Mixed Martial Arts Group Limited

MMA.INC (Mixed Martial Arts Group Limited) is revolutionizing the combat sports industry by driving participation and engagement across fans, athletes, coaches, and gym owners. The company operates four core business units:

TrainAlta: A platform that transforms MMA fans into active participants through structured training programs.
Hype: A marketing platform helping gym owners, coaches, and athletes grow revenue from their audiences.
MixedMartialArts.com: The go-to resource for MMA news, fighter data, fight schedules, and the legendary Underground forum.
BJJLink: A leading gym management platform designed for BJJ academies, offering tools for payment processing, marketing, student engagement, and content monetization.

With over 5 million social media followers, 530,000 user profiles, 50,000 active students, 18,000 published gyms and 800 verified gyms across 16 countries, MMA.inc continues to transform the martial arts landscape and deliver unparalleled value to its stakeholders.

For more information, visit www.mma.inc or follow us on social media:

Facebook: TrainAlta
Instagram: @TrainAlta
X: @AltaGlobalGroup
LinkedIn: MMA.inc

ABOUT UFC GYM®

UFC GYM® is the first major brand extension of UFC®, the world’s premier MMA organization, created in alliance with New Evolution Ventures™ (NeV), developers of many of the world’s most successful fitness brands. As the first to unite the benefits of MMA with fitness, the brand is not what you expect, and more than you can imagine. UFC GYM’s TRAIN DIFFERENT® approach provides members with the ultimate fitness experience and programming that secures results for all ages and training levels. With over 150 locations opened and 700 additional locations currently in development globally, UFC GYM has revolutionized the fitness industry and positively impacted countless lives worldwide. UFC GYM offers the opportunity to own and operate a franchise domestically and internationally. For more information, please visit www.ufcgym.com.

Follow UFC GYM through the below platforms:

  • FACEBOOK – Facebook.com/UFCGYM
  • YOUTUBE – Youtube.com/UFCGYM
  • INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK & X – @UFCGYM

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may include forward-looking statements. Any statements contained herein regarding our strategy, future operations, financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included herein include or may include, but are not limited to, statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or use or contain words, terms, phrases, or expressions such as “achieve,” “forecast,” “plan,” “propose,” “strategy,” “envision,” “hope,” “will,” “continue,” “potential,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate,” “predict,” “intend,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “might,” or similar words, terms, phrases, or expressions or the negative of any of these terms. Any statements contained in this press release that are not based upon historical fact are based on current expectations, estimates, projections, opinions and/or beliefs of the Company. Such statements are not facts and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors. Prospective investors should not rely on these statements as if they were facts. Actual revenue may vary to current sales due to factors such as participant churn, cancellations, and changes in payment schedules, membership terms or pricing changes. Any references to verified gyms, partner gyms, user profiles refer to a profile that has been claimed or created across the MMA.inc platform, which includes TrainAlta.com, BJJ Link, Hype, MixedMartialArts.com and Steppen. Forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of the Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 filed with the SEC. Given the risks and uncertainties, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should recognize that the statements are predictions of future results which may not occur as anticipated. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor can it assess the impact of all such factors on the Company’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. You should carefully read the factors described in the “Risk Factors” section of the Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 filed with the SEC to better understand the risks and uncertainties inherent in our business and industry, and any underlying forward-looking statements. Except where required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update, withdraw or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or changes in factors or assumptions affecting such forward-looking statements.

Media Contacts

Mixed Martial Arts Group Limited

E: peter@mma.inc



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How Global Gambling Trends Influence Local Conversations in Colorado

Like many US states, Colorado is experiencing a gambling shift. After years of total restrictions, locals can legally gamble on licensed sports betting and gaming platforms. This initial mitigation, together with tech changes and crypto expansion, ignited the growth of online casinos in the area. Another consequence is a massive discussion in the local gambling […]

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Like many US states, Colorado is experiencing a gambling shift. After years of total restrictions, locals can legally gamble on licensed sports betting and gaming platforms. This initial mitigation, together with tech changes and crypto expansion, ignited the growth of online casinos in the area. Another consequence is a massive discussion in the local gambling community. Let’s see what concerns Coloradans and track future gambling trends in the state and worldwide.

Colorado was under strict gambling restrictions for many years, although specific games of chance were allowed in the state. The legal services included some Bingo variations, charity games, and local raffles. The 2020 regulation lifted the sports betting ban, which was taken by many as a positive sign of further relaxations.

Today, locals can play at licensed casinos, regulated by the Colorado Division of Gaming, and they mainly choose native houses to place bets. However, the community has been influenced by recent trends in the industry. Coloradans can now explore the benefits and drawbacks of offshore online casinos, mobile betting platforms, social gaming providers, and more. So, there’s a big buzz about gambling in the state.

Tech growth is pushing the online casino market into more and more territories worldwide. A popular trend is international casino sites with advanced services and diverse betting options.

The popularisation of iGambling is especially noticeable in Asia. Its highly developed centres like Singapore, Macau, and Hong Kong are now joined by India, Bangladesh, and other countries. Although they tend to keep their gambling laws strict, online casinos, especially with decentralised banking, find their way to local players. Thanks to VPNs and easily accessible crypto payments, Asian players can bypass all the restrictions.

Another trend is the tangible growth of bookmakers in Europe. The European market is expected to welcome about 57 million sports bettors by 2029! Betting is booming due to cultural changes: Today’s youth actively use electronic gadgets and enjoy placing bets on sports competitions. The technology level allows for unprecedented convenience and diversity of interactive entertainment. Both features are the key demands of modern gamblers in Europe.

Which of these trends is provoking discussion in Colorado? Surely, most users keep their eye on the possibilities provided by online casinos outside Colorado’s traditional system. The next part reveals the most alluring options for the state.

Interest in British Platforms Not on GamStop

The GamStop programme launched in the UK provides players worldwide with a noteworthy experience. Many worry about the incidents when players can’t access legal casinos with UKGC licences after they join the system. However, users tend to join casinos not on GamStop, and this is a pretty workable alternative that interests international gamblers. While anticipating changes in the law, Coloradans are also getting involved in discussions about the topic.

Why It Matters in Northern Colorado

Today’s technological boom impacts Colorado, just like everywhere else. Its population is changing by adopting cutting-edge innovation. Younger users are going fully digital. They actively interact on social media and are fond of online entertainment trends. On the other hand, Coloradans have enough knowledge to benefit from such instruments as VPNs, crypto banking, and internationally offered services.

Local conversations are now centred around current gambling regulations in the area. Like other US states, Colorado is in the run-up to a more extended set of available casino services. Gamblers also want effective responsible gambling tools to prevent addiction. So, non-GamStop alternatives and international crypto portals are widely debated in Colorado these days, including interest in platforms like casino ohne OASIS, which offer fewer restrictions for verified users abroad.

Final Thought – Stay Informed, Stay Local

Technological progress and mainstream crypto payments make geographical, cultural, and legislative barriers fall. So, it’s natural for Colorado gamblers to explore global trends in gambling. They are searching for the most convenient casino options, even if they are outside the local area.

It’s important to stay in touch with the state’s gambling community to be aware of all introductions. This is also crucial for sharing experiences. It’s recommended that every user communicate with local organisations and individual gamblers. Thus, they’ll be able to compare their comforts and challenges related to the recent gambling trends.



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Guest opinion: Utah’s sky-high tech ambitions are a bet worth making | News, Sports, Jobs

Utah’s Silicon Slopes aren’t the next Silicon Valley. They represent something more distinctive — a canvas with the right values and just enough infrastructure to make it work. That makes it a rare thing in 2025: a state where forward-thinking policy converges with open opportunity. For founders, investors and builders wary of coastal groupthink and […]

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Utah’s Silicon Slopes aren’t the next Silicon Valley. They represent something more distinctive — a canvas with the right values and just enough infrastructure to make it work. That makes it a rare thing in 2025: a state where forward-thinking policy converges with open opportunity. For founders, investors and builders wary of coastal groupthink and compliance traps, Utah stands out as a compelling alternative between California and the Midwest.

Let’s be real, Utah’s not perfect. It doesn’t have a billion-dollar venture fund on every block. You won’t find the density of Stanford grads or the influencer-stacked coworking spaces of New York City. However, what it lacks in polish, it compensates for with something far more valuable: freedom to operate. When it comes to trying new things and innovating, Utah’s default setting is “yes.” There’s no innovation-killing tech tax, no local board micromanaging your product, and no state AI law designed to gut private industry. Instead, entrepreneurs encounter a rare environment — policymakers who actively want them to build.

That shows up everywhere. Utah’s new Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy works with a range of AI companies and has made significant progress in its first year toward advancing innovation in the state. Utah is one of the only places in the country with an office of this kind and a regulatory safe-haven to back it up — offering a safe space for companies to quickly test new tools without getting buried in lawsuits. Meanwhile, job postings seeking candidates with AI skills in Utah have surged over 250% in the past year, showing that the private sector is already responding.

And then there’s the many projects and startups already underway in the state. Through Project Alta, for example,Utah wants air taxis running between SLC and surrounding cities by 2034. Project Gigawatt, a public-private effort to build out nuclear energy that can power AI data centers sustainably through increased production of energy facilities. And let’s not forget the University of Utah’s new Stena Center for Financial Technology, building a talent pipeline for AI, financial technology and crypto industries. Utah isn’t talking about innovation — it’s putting it on the grid, in the air and in the classroom.

Utah’s fundamentals are solid — low taxes, affordable land and a business-friendly government that sees entrepreneurs as assets rather than enemies. This is a state that believes in personal responsibility, lean government and letting people experiment. That mindset is gold for anyone building something new. It’s why companies like Adobe, Qualtrics and Lucid have set up serious operations here — and why others are starting to follow.

Unlike other states, you won’t be the thousandth AI startup fighting for an overpriced co-working desk in Utah. You’ll be one of the first to bring your idea to a market that’s hungry, open and underserved.

Think of it like Austin in 2011, before investment capital flooded in and the traffic backed up. That’s where Utah is now, and it’s already got six-lane highways to handle traffic. The question is — who’s going to get here in time to catch the wave?

Devin McCormick is the tech and innovation policy analyst at the Libertas Institute.

Copyright © 2025 Ogden Newspapers of Utah, LLC | www.standard.net | 332 Standard Way, Ogden, UT 84404



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There are still 200+ Prime Day 2025 deals you can get

For day three of Prime Day, we’re keeping fresh deals and updates going in an updated post. This article will no longer receive updates. Original article follows below. It’s the second day of Amazon’s four-day Prime Day sale, and if you’ve held out on making impulse buys so you can make informed purchases, you’ve come […]

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For day three of Prime Day, we’re keeping fresh deals and updates going in an updated post. This article will no longer receive updates.

Original article follows below.

It’s the second day of Amazon’s four-day Prime Day sale, and if you’ve held out on making impulse buys so you can make informed purchases, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve collected the best deals we could find on everything from noise-canceling headphones and robot vacuums to the latest tablets and TVs, the bulk of which have been tried and tested by Verge writers and editors. We pbasut as much confidence in our budget-friendly battery picks as we do the pricier gaming monitors we’ve included.

Prime Day’s extended runtime this year is giving you more time to shop, though don’t wait for entirely new sets of deals to drop everyday. There’ll be some lightning deals and single-day discounts, which we’ll be sure to highlight, but the big benefit is avoiding disappointment from missing a deep discount because you slept on it. We’re delighted to see many gadget deals, including the $100 off deal on Apple’s AirPods 4 and the $50 Meta Quest 3S headset discount, are still available. We don’t expect to see them this heavily discounted again until Black Friday rolls around, and even then, these deals aren’t guaranteed to come back.

Tablet and e-reader deals

Soundbar and Bluetooth speaker deals

Verge favorites and other miscellaneous deals

Update, July 10th: Added several new deals, including those for Sony’s WH-1000XM6 headphones and the Onn Google TV 4K Pro.



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The Stack: How AI Is Driving Rapid Change in Business

This week’s column dives into Mary Meeker’s latest report, and also looks at how Road Runner Sports is elevating its customer experience This story is part of “The Stack,” a weekly column that takes a deep dive into the ways tech companies are shaping the future of fitness and wellness I was surprised to see an […]

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This week’s column dives into Mary Meeker’s latest report, and also looks at how Road Runner Sports is elevating its customer experience
This story is part of “The Stack,” a weekly column that takes a deep dive into the ways tech companies are shaping the future of fitness and wellness

I was surprised to see an email in my inbox about a new report from Bond, the venture capital firm based in San Francisco and founded by Mary Meeker. Following the link brought me to a massive 340-page report. It was like Christmas in July.

If you don’t know, Meeker is known as the “Queen of the Internet.” While at Morgan Stanley, Meeker and Chris DePuy published “The Internet Report,” which guided investors through the dot-com boom era and beyond. So, what does she and her co-authors of “Trends – Artificial Intelligence” have to say today? A lot.

The report covers everything from soup to nuts, and includes chapters on AI deployment, usage, costs, growth, the competitive landscape, capital expenditures and IRL uses such as at work.  

The report paints an AI landscape using numerous graphs and charts, mostly festooned with arrows that go up, but also with some bleak data points such as “monetization threats.”

One of the key takeaways of the report is the speed of change occurring.

“To say the world is changing at unprecedented rates is an understatement,” the report’s authors said. “Rapid and transformative technology innovation/adoption represent key underpinnings of these changes. As does leadership evolution for the global powers.”

The report noted the rise of Google, Alibaba and Facebook – each experiencing growth arcs that were relatively steady.

“Fast forward to today with the world’s organized, connected and accessible information being supercharged by artificial intelligence, accelerating computing power and semi-borderless capital … all driving massive change,” the authors of the report said. “Sport provides a good analogy for AI’s constant improvements. As athletes continue to wow us and break records, their talent is increasingly enhanced by better data/inputs/training. The same is true for businesses, where computers are ingesting massive datasets to get smarter and more competitive.”

Over time, the speed of change is only expected to increase, so hang on.

If you want to learn more, download the report here. 

The New Kid on the Block

The latest development in AI is “Agentic AI,” which is the spooky one that works autonomously with little human oversight. Instead, it runs on its own to reach specific goals. This form of AI joins the ranks of other powerful models, such as predictive and generative AI. In truth, Agentic AI is not so much spooky as it is advanced.

For the retail, hospitality and fitness industries, companies such as Profitmind are working with businesses to create an “intelligence layer” with Agentic AI that can assist in price optimization, performance analysis and inventory analysis. It can even be used in competitive and white space analysis.

SalesRevv dashboard shows a text message conversation
SalesRevv, a software platform for fitness brands, uses agentic AI in text messages (credit: SalesRevv)

In IBM’s latest “Global C-suite Series” report, analysts polled CEOs and looked at how Agentic AI can help businesses move from profitability to greater productivity. 

“Technology promises to help them make smarter, better decisions that drive growth and stakeholder value,” the report’s authors said. “AI agents, in particular, offer predictive capabilities that let teams see the impact of change before they lift a finger. This autonomous, adaptive and self-iterating technology is already dramatically changing how businesses operate.”

Business leaders are taking note. IBM’s survey of executives found that 61 percent of CEOs polled “say their organization is actively adopting AI agents and preparing to implement them at scale.”

Tying Everything Together

Road Runner Sports, the nationwide fitness retailer, recently teamed up with unified commerce solutions leader Aptos to implement the tech company’s modern, mobile-first Point of Sale (POS) platform, Aptos One. This strategic deployment, extending across Road Runner Sports’ 50-plus U.S. stores, aims to significantly enhance customer engagement and omnichannel capabilities.

Deploying Aptos One is in response to growing consumer demands for an overall better shopping experience, whether it is online, in a physical store or at a pop-up shop. Personalization and seamless experiences are key.

Aptos said the integration of Aptos One will seamlessly connect with Road Runner Sports’ existing Aptos SaaS applications, including Merchandising, Order Management System (OMS), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Sales Audit. The company said this connectivity will enable highly personalized customer service, real-time inventory visibility and a unified experience across online and offline interactions.

San Diego-based Road Runner Sports is renowned for its diverse selection of athletic shoes, apparel and fitness devices. Their shoppers are fiercely loyal and expect a high level of personalization. The company’s commitment to inspiring active and healthy lifestyles is exemplified by its unique Fit Finder technology, which provides in-store and online customers with personalized shoe fittings, and its popular membership program, offering extended guarantees and exclusive benefits. 

“We’ve redefined the traditional shoe buying experience,” Tom Compogiannis, chief financial officer at Road Runner Sports, said in a statement. “Our interest in Aptos One stemmed from our continuous pursuit of elevating our customers’ journey.”

exterior of a Road Runner Sports store
credit: Arne Beruldsen/shutterstock.com

Beyond in-store enhancements, Compogiannis foresees significant opportunities for Aptos One to facilitate Road Runner Sports’ presence at external events such as pop-up shops, expos and gatherings.

“We want to interact with Road Runner Sports customers and potential customers wherever they are,” Compogiannis added. “As a cloud-native, mobile-first solution, Aptos One makes it easy to conduct selling activities just about anywhere.”

This capability allows store teams to engage with local communities, expanding customer acquisition and sales opportunities outside traditional store environments.”

Jeremy Grunzweig, general manager at Aptos, emphasized that Aptos One was developed in response to retailer feedback, combining robust enterprise-grade, omnichannel POS functionality with a mobile-first design.

For inquiries and tips related to “The Stack,” please reach out to [email protected]





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