News digest 06.02.2023
Massachusetts legalizes sports betting, launching a new market in the state
The state of Massachusetts has officially launched its sports betting market with the passing of its sports betting bill. The bill was put forward by then-Governor Charlie Baker, which can now allow retail sports betting from January 31st. Mobile wagering is expected to follow in March of this year.
Twitter will end free access to its API in Elon Musk’s latest monetization push
Twitter will discontinue offering free access to the Twitter API starting February 9 and will launch a paid version, the Elon Musk-owned microblogging website said as it looks for more avenues to monetize the platform. In a series of tweets, the Twitter Developer account said the firm will be ending support for both legacy v1.1 and the new v2 of its Twitter APIs. It did not immediately say how much it plans to charge for API usage.
Mastercard and Binance are launching a prepaid card in Brazil
Mastercard Inc (MA.N) and Binance said on Monday they are launching a prepaid card in Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, as part of the crypto giant's efforts to "broaden the connection between traditional finance and crypto". The prepaid card will all new and existing Binance users in the country to shop and pay bills with cryptocurrencies at Mastercard merchants.
Bill to establish Hawaii iGaming regulator is introduced
There is no gambling permitted in Hawaii, including casinos, sports betting, bingo and lotteries. But that might be changing with the introduction of a proposed bill by democrats Senator Gil Keith-Agaran and Senator Angus McKelvey that would establish the Hawaiian Lottery and Gaming Corporation, which would handle the conduct and regulation of gaming operations, including poker and casino games.
India will block over 230 betting and loan apps, many with China ties
India is moving to block 232 apps, some with links to China, that offer betting and loan services in the South Asian market to prevent misuse of the citizens’ data.
Instagram’s co-founders introduce a new social app…for news reading
Instagram’s co-founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have launched a new venture to explore social apps, which includes the debut product Artifact, a personalized news reader. The app itself is not yet publicly available but offers a waitlist where interested users can sign up. As described, it sounds like a modern-day twist on Google Reader. Except in this case, Artifact is described as a newsreader that uses machine learning to personalize the experience for the end user, while also adding social elements that allow users to discuss articles they come across with friends.