Gaming

What We Do

Our Gaming Practice serves the full spectrum of gaming industry participants, including commercial casino operators, online sportsbooks, iGaming, daily fantasy sports companies, lottery operators, mobile app and game developers, entrepreneurs, investors, Tribal gaming enterprises, gaming technology vendors, manufacturers, service providers, payment processors, financial technology (FinTech) and financial institutions with exposure to the sector. In addition, we serve all companies within the rapidly expanding prediction market sector, providing regulatory guidance, advocacy, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)/National Futures Association (NFA) registration, compliance and related services.

We partner with clients to capitalize on opportunities across the gaming ecosystem, obtain licenses and approvals, manage risk on a federal and state-by-state basis, handle litigation, respond to enforcement and investigations, pursue legislative and regulatory change, and stay competitive in a legal environment defined by rapid innovation and regulatory uncertainty.

With gaming matters often spanning multiple legal disciplines, clients can rely on seamless access to Holland & Knight's wide-ranging capabilities supported by a strong gaming regulatory and compliance foundation.

Our attorneys bring firsthand experience as former in-house counsel for gaming operators and technology companies, former regulators, elected officials, veteran private practice gaming lawyers, commodities attorneys and Tribal leaders. This practical industry perspective shapes how we approach licensing strategy, regulatory compliance, market entry and crisis response.

How We Can Help

Holland & Knight's Gaming Practice provides comprehensive legal counsel to gaming operators and service providers navigating the industry's highly regulated landscape. Our practice supports gaming businesses throughout their life cycle – from pre-launch strategy and corporate formation, product development, growth planning and fundraising to compliance, transactions and dispute resolution. We advise clients at every stage of business maturity, from emerging companies to established operators, helping them address the full range of legal, regulatory and business issues that may arise.

Before a product or venture launches, we help clients build the right foundation by analyzing state-by-state regulatory and consumer protection frameworks, structuring licensing and vendor approval road maps across targeted markets, advising on privacy and cybersecurity programs, and preparing for data breach response. For companies developing new gaming products – particularly those that test the boundaries of existing classifications such as skill-based games, prediction-style products, hybrid and emerging verticals, social gaming and advance deposit wagering – we evaluate legal viability, prepare supporting opinions and engage directly with regulators to build the case for approval.

On the transactional side, we advise on fundraising, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and financing across commercial and Tribal gaming. Our team conducts gaming regulatory and corporate due diligence for buy-side and sell-side clients, structures deals involving U.S. and international counterparties, and advises on the full range of gaming-specific considerations that affect deal timing, structure and regulatory approval. In addition, as gaming continues to expand globally, we help clients structure operations to limit liability and mitigate risk across jurisdictions.

Specific to fundraising, as well as mergers and acquisitions (M&A), Holland & Knight offers a suite of services that goes beyond traditional legal and transactional needs. Our attorneys draw on a broad network of corporations, venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices and other capital sources, as well as the Holland & Knight DealFlow℠ program, which connects intermediaries, capital sources and business owners through one of the most extensive legal and financial networks in the country.

Tribal gaming is a core strength of our practice. Holland & Knight has represented Tribes from the earliest stages of casino development through project financing, compact negotiations, National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) proceedings, ongoing regulatory compliance and complex debt restructuring. We understand the intersection of federal Indian law, Tribal sovereignty, state compacts and gaming regulation, and we bring that depth to transactional and litigation matters on behalf of Tribal clients.

Our experience with both gaming and financial regulatory matters makes our team suited to guide clients through legal issues related to the flow of funds.

We also support clients with brick-and-mortar and retail gaming, including traditional casinos, card rooms and retail sportsbooks, as well as a host of video gaming and amusement device operators and manufacturers, truck stops and convenience stores. We have helped clients navigate regulation and litigation for video gaming terminals, skill game machines, amusement with prize machines and similar devices.

When disputes arise, our team advocates for gaming clients in regulatory proceedings, commercial litigation and internal and government investigations, including challenges to product offerings, state gambling loss recovery claims and consumer class actions, anti-money laundering (AML) matters, intellectual property (IP) disputes, white collar investigations and litigation, and patent litigation. In addition, clients can rely on our deep bench of litigators and regulatory attorneys to help them navigate complex regulatory issues, pursue greater regulatory certainty and respond effectively to government challenges and investigations of all types.

Our practice also supports clients on legislative and regulatory advocacy by monitoring state and federal developments, engaging with state regulators and law enforcement officials, preparing and presenting testimony, and working to shape state and federal laws and regulatory frameworks for emerging gaming products and business models that outpace existing law.

Our Areas of Focus

• Licensing, registration and multijurisdictional gaming regulatory compliance
• Pre-launch regulatory strategy and product viability analysis
• Gaming regulatory and corporate due diligence for M&A transactions
• Tribal gaming matters, including compact negotiations, NIGC proceedings, financing and litigation
• Online sportsbook, iGaming and daily fantasy sports market entry and operations
• Skill-based gaming, advance deposit wagering and prediction market analysis and approvals
• Lottery, iLottery and lottery courier services
• Prediction market registration, compliance, investigation, enforcement and regulatory matters
• Payment processing and FinTech regulatory compliance for gaming operators and vendors
• Diligence of gaming customers, including legal opinion review, for payment processors and banks
• Sports league and team sponsorship, data licensing and market access agreements
• IP strategy, licensing and enforcement
• Gambling loss recovery and consumer class action defense
• Privacy, cybersecurity and data protection compliance
• Name, image and likeness (NIL) counseling for gaming and daily fantasy platforms
• Responsible gaming program development and compliance
• Legislative and regulatory monitoring, advocacy and lobbying
• Engagement and advocacy before state attorneys general
• Capital raising matters, including public and private financing, equity and debt offerings
• Bankruptcy and restructuring for gaming enterprises
• Litigation and government investigations, including AML matters