U.S. Supreme Court legalizes sports betting; Snap Inc. officially tweaks App; Facebook suspends 200 Apps.
U.S. Supreme Court Legalizes Sports Betting
The United States Supreme Court ruled by a vote of 6-3 to lift the federal ban on sports betting and put the matter at the hands of each state, the Business Journal reports. The ruling gets rid of a 1992 law that made sports betting outside of Nevada, as well as a few other exceptions, illegal. The ruling has major implications for companies like Smarkets, which is based in Los Angeles and the U.K. and operates online sports betting marketplaces. They will be subject to state laws but could be up and running shortly in states like New Jersey that already passed contingent legislation. Some states could legalize sports betting in land-based casinos but not online.
Snap Inc. Officially Tweaks App
After initially doubling down on their unpopular January redesign, Snapchat announced official changes to their iOS app, Variety reports. Among the changes are making snaps and chats in chronological order, as well as moving stories from friends back to the right side of the app. Snap Inc. Chief Executive Evan Spiegel is referring to the changes as an optimization of the redesign, not a roll-back.
Facebook Inc. said it has suspended around 200 apps amid an ongoing investigation prompted by the Cambridge Analytica scandal into whether services on the site had improperly used or collected users’ personal data, the LA Times reports via the Washington Post. Facebook did not yet provide details on which apps were suspended or how many people had used them. The company said in an update — its first since it announced the internal audit in March — that the apps would undergo a “thorough investigation” into whether they had misused user data.
Technology reporter Eli Horowitz can be reached at ehorowitz@labusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coachhorowitz13 for the latest in L.A. tech news.
