Fire Hopper

How to play Fire Hopper

The historic showdown between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers will take place at a venue located 7,971 miles from Levi’s Stadium, home of the last meeting between the NFC West rivals. Both teams are based in California, a fertile ground for prediction markets given a sports betting ban in a state with more than 39 million residents. But the Americans in attendance for Thursday night’s matchup (Friday in Melbourne) will not be able to live-trade from their seats.

That is because trading on prediction markets is illegal down under, according to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, the nation’s regulator on financial services. Last month, in perhaps the ASIC’s strongest warnings yet against the asset class, the commission reiterated that prediction markets are not licensed as financial markets to operate in Australia. Through the guidance, the regulator urged consumers to exercise caution before partaking in certain investments on offshore platforms which have not obtained licensing nationwide.

The advisory could be music to the ears of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, whose league has pushed a federal derivatives regulator in the US to enact more rigorous standards to help protect the integrity of professional sports. Ahead of the matchup, Goodell spoke with CNBC from Melbourne.

About Fire Hopper

EARLIER: Carrot Top, the comic with the longest-running current Strip residency at more than 20 years, was rushed to a hospital on Friday (Sept. 18) after what TMZ reported as a suicide attempt. 

His publicist, Jami Schlicher, confirmed only that he is recovering and receiving care. She asked for privacy on behalf of his family and close friends and did not address the reported cause.

“Scott is a beloved member of the Luxor and MGM Resorts family, and we are relieved to hear that he is recovering,” an MGM Resorts spokesman told news outlets on Friday night. “We are thinking of him and wish him strength as he receives the care and support he needs.”

How to play Fire Hopper

Green MP Cate Faehrmann has criticised the arrangement, highlighting a conflict of interest where clubs reduce their tax liabilities while simultaneously cultivating community goodwill. 

She called the proposed changes “tinkering around the edges”. She questioned whether ClubGRANTS genuinely supports community projects, or functions as an indirect subsidy that lessens scrutiny of gaming revenue.

“ClubGRANTS is what the clubs rely upon to push back against any reform. The fact is they’re not generous, they’re a rort.” A “rort” is an antipodean term denoting a trick, scam or fraudulent practice.