Eric Raskin, Author at PlayZilla Casino
About Eric Raskin
Eric Raskin has been working inside the gambling industry for nearly two decades — not observing it from the outside, but writing it, editing it, producing its audio content, and building the editorial infrastructure that keeps specialised gambling publications credible and accountable. That depth of immersion makes a measurable difference in the quality of analysis he produces.
He currently serves as Senior Editor at Casino Reports and Lottery Geeks, both operated by Third Planet, LLC. Casino Reports is a US-based outlet dedicated to the regulated online casino and iGaming market: news, features, legislation tracking, state revenue analysis, and operator coverage. It is not a review aggregator or a bonus-listing site. It publishes original journalism.
Professional Background
Name: Eric Raskin
Title: Senior Editor, Casino Reports & Lottery Geeks
Industry experience: Nearly 20 years in gambling media
Total editorial career: 25+ years
Publisher: Third Planet, LLC
Contact: [email protected]
iGaming Career Timeline
Raskin’s gambling industry credentials stretch back to 2005, and they are unusually varied in a field where most writers specialise narrowly in one segment.
2005–2015 — Editor-in-Chief, All In Magazine He spent a decade leading All In, a dedicated poker publication. Holding the editor-in-chief role for ten years at any specialist title demands not just subject expertise but editorial management: commissioning, editing, fact-checking, setting standards, and maintaining consistency of voice and accuracy across every issue. All In operated during the height of the poker boom and into its complex regulatory aftermath in the United States, giving Raskin direct exposure to the intersection of gambling, legislation, and media.
2008–2009 — Senior Content Producer, Full Tilt Poker Academy Raskin worked in a content production capacity for Full Tilt Poker Academy during a formative period for online poker’s commercial infrastructure. This role sits on the operator side of the industry rather than the journalism side, which gives him a working understanding of how gambling platforms communicate with and educate their users — a perspective that informs his current editorial assessments of online casino operators.
2011 — Project Editor, ESPN: The Magazine Fantasy Football Guide A crossover role with a major sports media institution, overseeing a high-circulation annual product that sits at the intersection of sports, wagering culture, and mainstream media.
2018–2024 — Managing Editor & Media Director, US Bets US Bets covers the US sports betting and iGaming industries. Raskin held the managing editor position for six years, which means he was responsible for the editorial direction of a publication dedicated specifically to the regulated American gambling market at the exact moment it was being reshaped by the 2018 Murphy v. NCAA Supreme Court decision and the subsequent state-by-state legalisation of sports betting. That timing is not incidental — anyone who was editing gambling coverage between 2018 and 2024 watched the regulated market expand from a single-state anomaly to a multi-billion-dollar industry in real time, and Raskin was doing so from inside a newsroom focused exclusively on that story.
2024–present — Senior Editor, Casino Reports & Lottery Geeks His current role at Casino Reports involves both writing and editing across news, features, regulation, and industry analysis. His weekly column Spin Cycle — a Friday roundup of significant, unusual, or consequential developments in the gambling industry — demonstrates consistent, structured engagement with the regulatory and commercial news cycle. He also co-hosts the Low Rollers podcast with Senior Writer Jeff Edelstein, a weekly audio programme covering the same terrain in a more conversational format. The podcast has featured interviews with prominent industry stakeholders including Eilers & Krejcik Gaming analysts and PokerGO’s VP of Marketing.
What He Covers at Casino Reports
Raskin’s editorial footprint at Casino Reports spans several distinct areas:
State-level iGaming legislation. He covers active legislative processes across US states, including Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, and others. His coverage includes bill text analysis, stakeholder responses, tax rate proposals, operator licensing structures, and the political dynamics that determine whether iGaming bills advance or stall. This is the kind of coverage that requires tracking multiple state legislatures simultaneously and understanding how regulatory frameworks differ between jurisdictions.
Sweepstakes gaming. He has reported extensively on the sweepstakes gaming sector — the legal grey area between social casino gaming and real-money gambling that has attracted both substantial investment and growing regulatory pushback. His coverage includes operator behaviour, advocacy group activity, state-level bans (including New Jersey’s 2025 sweepstakes prohibition), and the consumer protection questions the sector raises.
Online casino operators and products. His written features include operator launch coverage, such as the Horseshoe Online Casino’s entry into Pennsylvania, slot game data analysis, and market maturity assessments for established iGaming states including New Jersey.
Industry finance and M&A. His work touches on the financial dynamics of the gambling industry, including operator consolidation, revenue reporting, and the relationship between public company performance and state-level market conditions.
Tribal gaming. Casino Reports covers tribal gaming alongside commercial operators, and Raskin’s coverage includes state-level interactions between tribal interests and proposed iGaming legislation.
Published Book
In 2014, Huntington Press published The Moneymaker Effect — Raskin’s account of how Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event win transformed poker from a niche card game into a mainstream entertainment product. The book required primary source research, multiple original interviews, and sustained analytical writing at a length that is considerably more demanding than digital journalism. It remains one of the more rigorously reported accounts of the poker boom and its cultural dynamics.
Industry Presence Beyond the Byline
Raskin was invited to speak at the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Annual Northeast District Conference in New York City, which is a governance and audit-focused professional event. His inclusion in that programme reflects recognition of his analytical work on iGaming regulation and compliance from outside the gambling media ecosystem.
He has also participated in sourced interviews and background conversations with analysts at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, one of the most closely followed research firms in the regulated gaming space. That kind of access reflects an established professional reputation within the industry.
First-Hand Experience as a Player
Raskin’s official Casino Reports biography includes a disclosure worth noting: he describes himself as a consistently profitable low-stakes online poker player, and as a sports bettor whose overall results have been marginally positive largely due to promotional offers rather than edge. That level of self-awareness — distinguishing bonus-derived profit from genuine betting skill — is the kind of granular honesty that distinguishes someone with real experience from someone who has only covered the subject from a distance. It also means he understands the actual user experience of online gambling platforms from the inside, including the mechanics of bonuses, the reality of variance, and the gap between how operators market their products and how those products actually perform.
Editorial Independence and Standards
Casino Reports is an independent editorial outlet owned by Third Planet, LLC. It is not affiliated with any online casino operator, software provider, or gaming regulator. Raskin’s editorial work at Casino Reports operates under a clearly defined separation between editorial content and commercial activity.
His journalism background includes writing for outlets — including Grantland, ESPN, and Playboy — that maintained strict separation between advertising and editorial. That professional culture carries through to his current work. When he covers a specific operator, the coverage is assessed on newsworthy merit, not commercial relationship. When he reports on sweepstakes gaming regulation, the analysis reflects the documented legislative and advocacy activity, not an operator’s preferred framing.
Readers assessing his work on sensitive topics such as problem gambling risk, operator compliance failures, or legislative outcomes that disadvantage industry players can do so with confidence that the editorial process was not shaped by the preferences of the parties involved.
All views expressed in articles published under Eric Raskin’s byline are his own and do not represent the institutional positions of Casino Reports, Lottery Geeks, Third Planet, LLC, or any outlet with which he has been previously affiliated.
Coverage Areas at a Glance
- Regulated US iGaming market: news, legislation, and analysis
- Online casino operator launches, platform reviews, and market data
- Sweepstakes gaming: regulatory developments and consumer protection
- State-level iGaming expansion (NJ, PA, MI, CT, WV, NY, and emerging markets)
- Tribal gaming and its interaction with commercial iGaming proposals
- Gambling industry finance, M&A, and revenue reporting
- Lottery industry (Lottery Geeks)
- Poker: history, regulation, and culture
Contact Eric Raskin
Email (Casino Reports / Lottery Geeks editorial): [email protected]
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eric-raskin-258a626
Podcast: Low Rollers — available via Casino Reports and major podcast platforms
For editorial queries, story tips relating to US iGaming regulation or online casino operators, interview requests, or speaking engagements, email is the most reliable point of contact.
