Gambling Layoffs Increase as Prediction Markets and AI Reshape Sports Betting

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Penn Entertainment and Gambling.com Group announced fresh job cuts this week. Gambling.com is eliminating 25% of its workforce while Penn trims more than 75 roles from its Interactive division. The cuts arrive as the sports betting sector contends with two converging pressures. Operators are accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) adoption while regulated prediction venues siphon bets from traditional sportsbooks. Cost Cuts Driven by AI-First Restructuring Gambling.com Group cut roughly 150 staff alongside Q1 earnings. The report swung to a $1.2 million loss on flat revenue of $40.4 million. Incoming chief executive Kevin McCrystle told analysts that AI now generates about 80% of new engineering code. The shift supports a planned $13 million in annualized savings. The company lowered its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $165 million to $170 million. Shares tumbled more than 45% after the announcement. The drop capped a difficult stretch tied to Google search volatility and tighter regulation in Finland and the United Kingdom. Penn Entertainment’s cuts hit teams inside theScore Bet, online casino, and social gaming units. The reductions build on a January corporate restructuring that consolidated technology under Aaron LaBerge and eliminated two senior executive roles. Penn reported first-quarter revenue of around $1.4 billion. Prediction Markets Siphon Betting Demand Layoff Tracker, an Official Layoff Tracker, framed the announcements as evidence that prediction venues are draining users from regulated sportsbooks. CFTC-supervised platforms, including Polymarket and Kalshi, have processed roughly $150 billion in combined lifetime volume. Sports contracts drive most of that recent activity. DraftKings recently acquired a CFTC-licensed exchange and partnered with Polymarket on clearing. Penn has stayed out of event contracts, citing regulatory uncertainty. The American Gaming Association continues to push for stricter classification of these contracts as gambling. Kalshi reported a $14.8 billion monthly trading volume in April, surpassing Polymarket for the first time in eight months. The pattern fits a broader shift. Event contract platforms now compete directly with sportsbooks on player props, spreads, and live markets. Operators across the sector are trimming payrolls and leaning harder on automation. Sportsbook consolidation acceleration may hinge on regulators, with the next dividing lines around event contracts coming from both state and federal agencies.

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