World Series of Politics

Downtown Las Vegas legend and Circa Sports CEO Derek Stevens joins Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann for a World Series of Politics G2E special, tackling the future of Las Vegas tourism and sports betting.

The 25 th anniversary of G2E is just weeks away and the American Gaming Association’s Maureen Beddis joins Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann on the World Series of Politics to give people a taster of what’s on offer at this year’s show.  

Welcome back to the World Series of Politics! This week Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann are joined by David Rebuck, former director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, who has the proliferation of sweepstakes and predictions markets in the US firmly in his sights. 

Welcome back to the World Series of Politics! After we turned up the heat with Congresswoman Titus in our last episode, we’re talking cooling off with responsible gaming legend Keith Whyte.  In his new guise as president of Safer Gambling Strategies, Whyte joins Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann to discuss the potential for global harmonisation of responsible gambling standards to tech’s role in mi...

In this sizzling summer episode, World Series of Politics hosts Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann welcome back one of our favourite guests, Congresswoman Dina Titus, to find out how she’s giving bettors a fair shake with the Fair Bet Act.  The ‘big, bad, beautiful, bullshit bill’ The Fair Bet Act is Congresswoman Titus’ fiery response to a sneaky Senate move that cuts the tax deduction on gambling...

The World Series of Politics has turned 50 and for this special episode everyone is on camera, with the dynamic duo of Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann joined by Robin Harrison, to quiz special guest and industry legend Frank Fahrenkopf.  Former chair of the Republican National Convention, chair of the Presidential Debates Commission, Caesars board member and the first president of the American Ga...

Welcome back to the World Series of Politics as Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann take a trip across the point to have Wes Himes discuss the UK Gambling Act white paper. 

It’s a fiery one this week! World Series of Politics goes in hard on the Land of Lincoln, where another tax grab from the legislature puts further pressure on Illinois sports betting licensees.  Does the Illinois sports betting tax grab essentially say the state is not a supporter of technological innovation? That’s Brandt’s take, and he warns it goes beyond gaming to target other technology innov...

Welcome back to the World Series of Politics podcast! This week Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann saddle up with Jonathon Kinchen to discuss US horse racing and horse race betting.  JK to his friends, Kinchen is an experienced handicapper and pundit featured on Fox Sports so there’s no one better to set out the current runners and riders in the race betting game.  He tells our dynamic duo about how...

Indiana igaming is dead, Nebraska sports betting won't happen until next year and we're not even getting clarity on sports predictions so there's plenty to discuss in the World Series of Politics with your hosts, Brendan Bussmann and Brandt Iden!

After a quick stopover at the Grand Canyon Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann welcome Ali Bartlett to the World Series of Politics, talking everything Indiana.  Fresh from her move to Greenberg Traurig, Ali joins our dynamic duo to talk about Indiana igaming. However it’s not coming in the current session, after a bill sailed through the public policy committee, but  failed to get a hearing in ways...

This week John Pappas makes his long-awaited debut on the World Series of Politics, joining Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann to talk futures contracts, some of regulated igaming’s more surprising opponents and legislative progress in the current session. 

Welcome back to the World Series of Politics, where we’re talking developments in Illinois and Hawaii, before welcoming Xace’s chief banking officer Andria Evripidou for a deep dive on crypto’s growing role in gambling.  After a whistlestop tour of Illinois, where igaming legislation is in play, and another attempt at sports betting in Hawaii is on the move through the legislature, Andria tells ho...

The World Series of Politics is back from its Brazilian break as the business end of the US legislative season gets going, with bills flying across the states! You want sports betting bills? You want some icasino bills? We’ve got them and more, and there’s even an opportunity to stop over in New York for a look at the (down)state of the casino process and touch on tax hikes in Ohio (again) in the...

In this episode of the World Series of Politics hosts Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann welcome Aposta Ganga’s Hugo Baungartner to assess the launch of regulated online gambling in Brazil.  Since 1 January, Brazil sports betting and gaming has officially launched following a lengthy legislative process, and Hugo has been involved at every step of the way. With Aposta Ganha now offering legal sports...

This week Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann are talking all things ICE, as Clarion Gaming’s Stuart Hunter makes his annual pilgrimage to the World Series of Politics to discuss the world’s biggest gambling event.  It’s a particularly special edition as the show makes its debut in Barcelona, the culminations of months of hard work behind the scenes to make the industry’s best show bigger and better...

Welcome back to the final World Series of Politics of 2024! We’ve had some laughs, spilled a few tears, and it’s time to gather round the wireless, celebrate 2024’s wins and look ahead to 2025.  It’s a packed final show, kicking off with the big win of 2024. Yes, Washington, D.C. finally has a competitive sports betting market, and revenue is around 15x higher than it was under the previous single...

The World Series of Politics is back with two special guests, as Sara Dalsheim and Abbey Block of Ifrah Law join our dynamic duo Brendan Bussmann and Brandt Iden to talk sweeps, lawsuits and some lessons from the Sunshine State. 

Welcome back to the World Series of Politics! This week Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann digest last week’s election results, digging into the ballot measures that prevailed and the ones that failed.  The top of the ticket is also up for discussion. The Presidency, Senate and most likely the House are all under Republican control. Does that mean the federal regulation bill filed by Democrats Richa...

Welcome back to the World Series of Politics! Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann are doing some crystal ball-gazing in this week's Halloween-slash-election special. We're back from G2E, Brandt is out of his pink suit, and we're getting down to the gritty business of polling, with Harrison Hickman of Hickman Analytics. While the top of the ticket is obviously dominating headlines, for the industry th...

Welcome back to the World Series of Politics! This episode Brendan Bussmann and Brandt Iden are joined by Joe Maloney, senior vice president of strategic communications at the American Gaming Association to get a flavour of what's on offer at this year's G2E.

Welcome back to the World Series of Politics! This week Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann guide you through the early weeks of the NFL's $35bn season and Washington D.C. sports betting finally getting competitive. If that's not enough we've also got Missouri sports betting confirming its place on the ballot and some rumblings about Arkansas igaming. Arkansas sports betting - limited to one casino a...

Welcome back to the World Series of Politics! This week Brendan Bussmann and Brandt Iden are joined by attorney Stephanie Bell of Ellinger Bell to talk sports betting in Missouri.  Last week Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft confirmed voters would have the final say on Missouri sports betting , potentially breaking an impasse that has seen legalisation efforts run into a brick wall in the statehouse...

We've got a betting scandal and the UK's General Election to cover on this episode of the World Series of Politics with Dan Waugh joining the party! We're just a day out from Independence Day in the US, and the UK is preparing for its own changing of the ruling classes, Dan explains on this week's episode. Of course, we start with the ongoing election betting scandal, the highlight - or lowlight -...

We're hurtling towards a fully regulated online market in Brazil so it's high time to bring back the World Series of Politics' local expert Hugo Baungartner. Hugo joins Brendan Bussmann and Brandt Iden to discuss whether the government is set to finally hit its deadlines with the last dash towards the 1 January 2025 start date. And there's more! With a bill to legalise casinos, bingo, jogo de bich...