Category: Headline

Wynn Wins Temporary Extension on Report Confidentiality

Posted on by Grant Mahon
  • Steve Wynn’s report remains confidential for the time being
  • Ruling judge Elizabeth Gonzalez will announce further hearings on January 11
  • The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) will meet on January 10 to discuss the case

A Nevada’s judge has decided against the release of a report describing the misconduct of former Wynn CEO Steve Wynn.

Steve Wynn Wins in Court, Keeps Report Private

Steve Wynn, the defamed casino mogul, has won a court case against the Massachusetts gaming regulator and will prevent the information collated in a special report over his alleged sexual misconduct from leaking to the press, at least for the time being. Mr. Wynn’s case argued that it was “privileged information” and as such it was off limits for anyone but the court to see.

On Friday, Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez in Nevada said that Mr. Wynn was entitled to discretion, ruling in his favor against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC). The regulator had prepared a report looking into both Mr. Wynn and the company he used to chair.

Wynn Sues Genting Vegas for Copyright Infringement and More

The report focused on establishing how much Wynn executives knew about Mr. Wynn’s sexual harassment practices. The report also affected the company’s chances of procuring a license to operate an ambitious new project. The Encore Boston Harbor is worth $2.5 billion and it’s going live in June, that is if the MGC clears it for opening. This is in fact one of the key reason why Steve Wynn stepped down from his position.

Back to the report itself, Steve Wynn has repeatedly said that the information in the report must be kept private as per the attorney-client confidence agreement. The information contained in the document could also potentially leave Mr. Wynn vulnerable to unrelated lawsuits.

A Favorable Ruling – For Now

Upon examining the report, Ms. Gonzalez said that she would extend the ban on revealing the information of the report, leaving the defense and prosecutors to carry on with additional filings by January 25. Meanwhile, Ms. Gonzalez is expected to speak on January 11 and announce how the case will proceed in future.

At the same time, the MGC will also have a meeting on January 10 during which it will consider again the Wynn license. One of the dangers for the company is that the MGC may decided to revoke the company’s gaming license, costing it billions and inflicting a heavy blow to it.

Of course, such a decision will trigger multiple lawsuits which the state and MGC must be prepared to handle at the same time. However, if it turns out that Wynn executives knew about the ongoing harassment by Mr. Wynn, then it would seem like the watchdog would have a very serious reason not to OK a gambling license.

Grant Mahon

Grant is the self-professed casino madman and reporter that brought this eclectic team of dedicated and talented writers together from around the world to proudly build an humble empire of authentic casino news.

MGM to Add $300m in Profits by 2021

Posted on by Carmen Thompson
  • MGM to Boost Revenue by $300 million
  • Layoffs and technological diversity part of the plan
  • MGM intends to expand in New York which may soon legalize sports betting

MGM Resorts International has kickstarted its efficiency program extending well into 2020 and 2021. The casino will seek to rev up its revenue by $300 million before 2021 is out.

MGM Carries on with Vision 2020 Plan

International casino & hotel brand MGM is now shifting into a higher corporate gear in a bid to add $300 million in profits by 2021. This is an ambitious plan outlined under the MGM 2020 initiative looking into ways to improve the overall profitability of the company.

Apart from revenue growth, MGM is planning to leverage new technologies to boost engagement, win new customers, and expand into new markets. The brand has successfully partnered with all but one major sporting bodies, including:

MGM is planning to boost the majority of its revenue by the end of 2020, with $200 million more in its coffers. Another $100 million will be added by the end of 2021, for the commutative amount of $300 million.

To achieve these ambitious goals MGM will most likely have to lay off people, as the company has already confirmed. MGM explained that 25% of the revenue will come from “shifting functions and responsibilities” whereas another 25% will be obtained through optimization of the revenue channels.

MGM considers that what the company is doing right now is to optimize its corporate structure and “solidify” what’s been build over the past few years, MGM Chairman Jim Murren explained.

We are building on the strong foundation that we have solidified over the past few years, to deepen our efficiencies and achieve sustained growth and margin enhancement.

According to Murren, the latest Vision 2020 is part of another initiative dating back to 2015 and called the Profit Growth Plan which has already achieved its pre-determined goals.

Caesars and Oneida Indian Nation Partner in New York

Mr. Murren will also oversee the relocation of fuds to specific technology-driven initiatives, which are expected to pay off in the long-term.

We had a solid finish to the year in 2018, and as we look to 2019 and beyond, we remain confident in the ramp of our newly opened properties MGM COTAI, MGM Springfield, Park MGM and NoMad Las Vegas

On the matter of new markets, Mr. Murren explained that New York and Ontario are the two new anticipated markets for the casino. In fact, New York can be a particularly tempting prospect at this time as the state is considering to push ahead with its own sports betting legislation, which is another important source of revenue for casinos, including flagship brands such as MGM.

Mr. Murren highlighted the important milestones achieved in 2018, including the multiple partnerships with the major sporting bodies in the United States. The National Football League (NFL) recently signed with Caesars, a move welcomed by the American Gaming Association (AGA)

Carmen Thompson

Carmen is our residential reporter always on the move and hunting down the latest scoops and rumours to explore. Nothing gets past her keen nose, especially when it comes to some serious Jelly Bean poker tournaments.

Denmark Limits the Scope of Illegal Online Operators

Posted on by George Hansen
  • Denmark successfully narrows down scope of illegal gambling
  • Danish operators are the EU’s safest
  • Esports betting is also targeted

Denmark is a model gambling market. It’s hailed as the only place in the European Union where all standards are kept to ensure the safety and security of customers. Now, the country has announced that it has been successful in narrowing down the scope of operation of illegal actors.

Denmark Cracks Down on Illegal Gambling

Denmark has done it – cleaning its online space from illegal gaming operators, or at least coming remarkably close. Hailed as one of the only jurisdictions in the European Union where gaming laws truly consider the well-being of customers and gamers, Denmark has just reported a “limited” market for illegal online casinos.

Denmark has been recognized as a safe harbor for casino lovers with the country having been mentioned in a report by the European Gaming & Betting Association, which evaluated all EU Member States’ laws insufficient to protect their customers, bar Denmark, where safety gaming measures were working fine.

GVC Holdings and Danske Spil Renew Content Deal

Meanwhile, Denmark’s Spillemyndigheden, the gaming watch dog, has produced a new report in which it outlined the fight against illegal actors as successful due to the “continually falling numbers of such operators” (paraphrased by Casino Classic). The measures targeted:

  • Casino operators
  • Card rooms
  • Esports betting websites

In December 2018, the Spillemyndigheden initiated three separate searches trying to pinpoint the online venues of unregulated gambling websites. The tally included 742 websites that were either deemed dangerous or with not an entirely established legal status.

The watchdog admitted that the organization had intentionally broaden the search parameters to make sure that it wouldn’t miss any potentially dangerous actor. At the same time, Denmark has been adding to the numbers of legal operators.

Despite the large number, only 22 websites were targeted specifically, with the Spillemyndigheden notifying the owners that they had violated the Danish Gambling Act. Out of these, 18 had to be blocked by their Internet Service Providers (ISPs) over a failure to respond to the regulatory body’s inquiries.

While the Danish authorities issued fewer petitions this year, they still blocked more operators than in the past, pointing to the more efficient measures taken by the government in targeting these specific bad apples.

Esports – A New Frontier

Esports betting (the act of placing money on the outcome of competitive video gaming) has also proven a divisive issue. Overall, 95 websites that haven’t quite met the criteria were identified. The main problem with these has been the offer of “skin betting”, i.e. staking in-game goods that led to a massive scandal back in 2016 and a class-action lawsuit for Valve, a game developer, who was accused of facilitating underage gambling.

In total, Denmark’s regulator accomplished the following:

  • Auditing 742 regular websites
  • Blocking 18 operators
  • Looking into 95 esports betting websites
  • Blocking 6 esports websites that didn’t comply with the Danish Gambling Act

The Spillemyndigheden issued 17 petitions to esports websites and subsequently requested that six of these are blocked. While esports betting has been gaining traction in the United States and Europe, skin gambling is completely off limits, though some operators have been using third-party services, using the argument that “they themselves didn’t touch the skins directly”.

More of a liability than a loophole, such attitude can lead to more restrictive actions from regulators in the future. The watchdog also cautioned about the rise of social gambling on popular platforms such as Facebook, which was another lucrative area for shady operators to turn a quick profit.

George Hansen

Taking a liking to the occasional bout of slots, George used to moonlight as a roulette dealer, giving him a unique perspective into the casino world. From there he continued his journalist education and has been with us ever since a star-aligned graduation brought him and our team together.

Casino Gambling May Finally Be Headed to Virginia

Posted on by Sophia Rojas

Three cities in Virginia have will be joining forces in a bid to bring casino gambling to the state, the main reason being that they hope the industry will assist in securing revenue amid the state’s current financial struggles. Two of the cities – Portsmouth and Bristol – have already made it clear that they are all in with the plans to persuade the government of Virginia to legalize casino gambling and Danville, the third city, is on track to join them. Members of Danville’s City Council are currently gearing to pass similar resolutions as the other two cities within the next few days.

As it stands, casino gambling is still an illegal activity in the state of Virginia and to make the situation even worse than it already is, the state’s Legislature has consistently thrown any attempts to introduce online gambling in the state under the bus. Even though this has gone on for decades, in 2018, lawmakers have high hopes that the stance of the state may finally be softening following the legalization of the historical horse race betting.

Two Virginia lawmakers, with support from Bristol, have begun work on a bill that is expected to allow the residents of the city to vote on the potential construction of a casino in a referendum – this bill will be introduced during the 2019 legislative session of Virginia’s General Assembly. According to Randy Eads, the Bristol City Manager, the city is in dire need of an opportunity to improve its financial situation especially because its debt load “is getting ready to increase dramatically over the next several years”. He believes that the gambling revenue will be very useful in alleviating these financial issues not just for Bristol but for other cities in the state as well.

The Bristol City Manager is also confident that the casino effort will face very little opposition after it passed all of the hurdles in the state’s legislature. However, this claim might be too optimistic especially considering the fact that a Bristol family organization has already launched an effort that opposes the establishment of a casino resort in the city. The family argues that any gambling activity in the state would only lead to “addiction, poverty, higher crime, prostitution, sex trafficking, drugs, diminished poverty values, etc.”

Proposed Developments

While the other cities have been making tremendous strides towards the push for the legalization of sports betting and online gambling, Bristol has been more proactive in pursuing the agenda. Developers in the city have even gone as far as pitching a $150-million plan for a casino resort in the city which they believe will come with new jobs and revenue for the region and the state. Members of the city council have also expressed confidence that, if the project materializes, it could result in a much-needed economic boost in the region.

Sophia Rojas

Growing up around law firms, Sophia keeps our team of reporters atop any legislative developments to follow up with a welcomed dose of positive news as our house trivia nut!

Rhode Islands Gets $683,000 in First Week of Sports Betting

Posted on by Carmen Thompson
  • Rhode Island rakes in $683,000 in first week of sports betting
  • The states expects a strong turnout in December
  • 5 more states consider sports betting in 2019

Rhode Island cashed in on its first week of sports betting, with the state’s gamers contributing a total of $683,000 in wagers. The Rhode Island Lottery has fleshed out the details on Friday, December 28. The numbers concern the Twin River Casino in Lincoln for November.

The U.S. Smallest State Rakes in $700,000 in Sports Wagers

Rhode Island, the U.S. state has managed to handle a hefty $683,000 in sports wagers during the first week of its sports betting operations with the numbers announced this Friday by the Rhode Island Lottery Commission

Twin River Casino is the only approved property so far taking wagers on sports events’ outcomes in New England. With the activity hitting off on November 26, the figures cover a 5-day spread. While some see signs of strength others don’t entirely rule out the possibility of a hype build-up, which may tumble in the months to com.

Nevertheless, a total handle of nearly $700,000 a week is sufficient to chart a future in which the casino handles around $3 million a month. Breaking down the total handle, $610,000 was paid back to customers with the Twin River Casino cashing in estimated $73,000 in revenue.

Twin River Casino is located in a good spot, ready to take customers from neighbouring Massachusetts.

Legal Betting and the Way Ahead for the Industry in 2019

Following the legalization of Rhode Island’s sports betting, much is about to change in the U.S. betting landscape in 2019. With the small state managing to push through with its own legal bills, other states are now expecting to legalize their activities. The wait list is not too long in any event:

  • Michigan
  • Connecticut
  • New York
  • Arkansas
  • District of Columbia

In each case, these states are edging closer to getting their sports betting activities legalized in 2019, though not all of them have obtained the clear go-ahead. Arkansas is in fact the only sure state that will launch its own activities by mid-2019, as voters supported the idea during the mid-terms.

Michigan did a last-moment push for the legalization of the activity, but the suggestion was shot down by Governor Rick Snyder, after having cleared both houses. Debates will continue well into 2019.

Meanwhile, New York has had several betting bills since 2013. In 2018 alone, several more were spearheaded but apparently couldn’t make the cut. Connecticut is in a similar pickle not quite able to push through the lawmakers that oppose the legalization of the activity.

A Galloping Sports Betting Industry

In 2019, the U.S. sports betting market is expected to add a handful of other states, potentially reaching an overall of 12. This is close to the forecasts for 2030 when no more than 20 states are expected to have official sports betting activities.

This excludes Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) and electronic sports (esports) are not included in the restrictions that states usually levy against mainstream sports. However, they are operating in a dangerous loop hole.

Carmen Thompson

Carmen is our residential reporter always on the move and hunting down the latest scoops and rumours to explore. Nothing gets past her keen nose, especially when it comes to some serious Jelly Bean poker tournaments.

Blockchain Platform Unikrn Introduces Self-Betting Options

Posted on by George Hansen
  • Unikrn introduces self-betting options via UMode
  • The esports betting platforms accepts wagers from 41 states in the U.S.
  • Esports are going to be worth $1.4 billion in 2020

    • Unikrn is a blockchain-based and Isle-of-Man-licensed esports betting platform which recently introduced its “skill-based wagering” whereby gamers can stake money based on their own performance.

    Betting on Yourself and Esports with Unikrn

    Unikrn is the only operator in the United States operating in 41 states and the only blockchain esports betting operator in the world, although Luckbox, a rival service, is coming in early Spring, 2019.

    Unikrn allows you to make wagers in a specific blockchain-based currency, UnikoinGold or by placing real FIAT money instead. With the May repeal of PASPA, the sluicegates of sports betting were opened.

    The concept of betting on the outcome of video games is not at all strange. Games are excessively competitive and tournaments, such as The Dota 2 International Championship, come with prize money worth $26 million for a single event.

    Dota 2’s developer (a fantasy game that pits teams of five and allows them to choose from hundreds of unique characters with a set of distinct abilities) Valve has reportedly spent over $100 million in 2018 alone to back the industry. As an industry, esports are expected to be worth $1.4 billion by 2020.

    It’s in this context that Unikrn wants to capitalize on this promising new segment, developing a comprehensive esports betting platform available worldwide.

    UMode, the latest arrival championed by CEO Rahul Sood and his team at Unikrn, allows players to take “skill-based wagers”, meaning individual players can bet on themselves and their chances of achieving specific in-game goals (not necessarily defeating the enemy).

    It creates a heightened state of excitement when you play these games. Gaming is a great application for the blockchain, or the decentralized ledger that is secure and transparent. Sood said the company has been working on the flexible.

    Mr. Sood is quite confident in the financial and emotional gains that can be derived from developing an (esports) betting mode that puts the individual customers in the center of the experience.

    What’s Stopping Players from Cheating?

    Unikrn will ensure the safety and honesty of all bets by using comprehensive data models that can spot aberrations in the behavior of players. This way, if a professional is ‘smurfing’ (the act of playing against lower-ranked players from a dummy account), the system would know.

    Rahul Sood posing for a picture.
    Rahul Sood smiles at the future of UMode and esports betting.

    Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC) Secretary Ian Smith has cautioned against this mode of esports betting, warning that the regulatory body doesn’t have the resources to track down potential cheaters and that the onus would be entirely on Unikrn to regulate its own markets.

    Given the reach of the platform, though, with customers from 41 states already reportedly accessing the website and operations launching across the world, Unikrn is unlike any mainstream betting operator.

    Unikrn has been expanding rapidly around the world allowing FIAT or crypto betting, based on the legislation it choose. Initially, the company was offered a chance to grow even quicker, if it were willing to operate within a loophole whereby it offered fantasy esports, but the company scrapped the idea quickly.

    Today, it’s all about the customer and Unikrn is banking on that trend quite well by the looks of it.

George Hansen

Taking a liking to the occasional bout of slots, George used to moonlight as a roulette dealer, giving him a unique perspective into the casino world. From there he continued his journalist education and has been with us ever since a star-aligned graduation brought him and our team together.

PokerStars Cleared from $870m Lawsuit in Kentucky

Posted on by Kat Orlov
  • Kentucky’s $870m lawsuit against PokerStars drops in Court of Appeals
  • PokerStars is cleared of guilt
  • Kentucky may yet pursue the case in the state’s Supreme Court

The Star’s Group subsidiary PokerStars has won a court case in Kentucky, with the state’s Court of Appeals dropping a $870-million lawsuit against it. Originating a decade ago, PokerStars is not yet in the clear, with the state likely to press on in the Kentucky Supreme Court. Nevertheless, it’s an important signal that the card room has a fighting chance to avoid what it considers an unfair ruling.

PokerStars in the Past – Pre-UIEGA Times

Poker wasn’t always heavily regulated against back in the past. At the onset of the industry, not many people knew what to expect nor how to address the issue. With some lawmakers not being even remotely familiar with Internet and its workings, the industry had gone unnoticed for a long while.

PokerStars was spreading, adding states and customers easily and many players from the U.S. gladly placed money on the card room and competed across multiple events. PokerStars wasn’t the only operator at the time either, with Full Tilt Poker, among others, making a landscape full of vibrant competition.

Fighting Terror and Poker at the Same Time

Then the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 struck ensuring that money transfers towards poker and iGaming operators were made illegal. UIEGA wasn’t a stand-alone piece of legislation, passed along with the SAFE Port Act, in a desperate move to slam the industry. At the time, respected news outlet the Economist wrote that the provisions of the legislation were “hastily tacked onto the end of unrelated legislation.”

It was Steve Bashear, the former governor, who made sure to gather all the support he could in a bid to crack down on over a hundred U.S.-facing domains, including PokerStars. What ensued was chaos, of course.

Mr. Bashear led the fight on a note that struck home with his supporters, pronouncing himself in a fight against an unregulated criminal world and citing the significance of the SAFE Port Act as a fight against terrorism on home turf.

The Long-Drawn Process

His rhetoric struck home and the legal troubles began. The case took a long while to launch, making it to a federal court in 2015, following years of bickering in the legal system. Kentucky claimed that PokerStars has inflicted damages on the state between 2006 and 2011, which the card room vehemently denied.

Kentucky’s main argument was that players have lost significant money playing at the cardroom, but then again – no such players were summoned as witnesses. It was finally on December 21, 2018 that the Court of Appeals struck down the case, offering the plaintiff a chance to proceed to the state’s Supreme Court if it wants to.

Like Father, Unlike Son

This is an interesting time to do so as Kentucky’s Attorney General, Andy Beshear, is the son of the same Steve Beshear who fought poker operators en masse. His son, though, is quite prepared to see the benefits of embracing the industry and inviting PokerStars as an official operator in the state.

Weighed down by the mounting pension fund debt, Kentucky has a lot to win from bringing a conscientious tax payer such as PokerStars on board. This is precisely what Beshear Jr. wants to achieve in what appears to be an interesting twist of events.
And yet, a battle in Kentucky’s Supreme Court could be looming.

Kat Orlov

Newcomer Kat is our newcomer poker aficionado whos skill not only lives on the table but flourishes on the site as through her many sources she never fails to be the first to hear of any important or exciting poker news around the world.

Wynn Sues Genting Vegas for Copyright Infringement and More

Posted on by Sophia Rojas

In the iGaming industry, everyone copies from everyone. However, Wynn Resorts Ltd is prepared to challenge this in court, filing a lawsuit in Nevada and going after Genting Vegas.

Genting Vegas in Legal Waters with Wynn Resorts

Wynn Resorts Ltd. is going after Genting Vegas arguing against the latter’s latest design decision that have clearly borrowed from the layout of Wynn, the plaintiff has stated. Headquarter in Malaysia, Genting is known for its exquisite designing practices, but this is the first time that the company has faced copyright infringement lawsuit.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a daily newspaper, Wynn Resorts Ltd. is seeking “exemplary and punitive damages”, as Genting have knowingly and intentionally violated the copyright of Wynn Resorts. The company is now targeting Genting across four specific areas, including:

  • State trademark dilution
  • Copyright infringement
  • Federal trade dress infringement
  • Unfair competition

Understandably, the cost of such a lawsuit could easily go beyond anything reasonable, as the projects themselves are worth billions of dollars. In the case of Resorts World Las Vegas LLC (the Genting property), the facilities are worth $4 billion and the project comes with 3,000 rooms spread across 87 acres and with a scheduled opening in 2020.

In this case, the devil is in the detail, as Genting has copied elements from the design that are the trademark of Wynn captured by properties in multiple locations.

The architectural design embodied in defendant’s Resorts World Las Vegas hotel and casino is substantially similar to plaintiff’s registered copyrighted architectural work, and therefore defendant is violating plaintiff’s copyrights in addition to plaintiff’s registered and common law trade dress.

As per the lawsuit, Wynn is seeking not to shut down the project, but make sure that it uses legal recourse to ensure that any materials that are its own trademark will be stripped from Genting’s property. This could cause quite the financial damage to the company, as most of the materials have already been pre-purchased and paid for.

According to Mark Lemley, Stanford University director of science and technology program, architects are allowed to “copy” their designs and for a trademark claim to be successful, Wynn will have to prove that Genting was intentionally trying to mislead customers to think they are entering a different brand’s authority.

Former Steve Wynn partner Kazuo Okada has agreed to a $2.6 billion settlement to give the go-ahead to the sale of his share in the company.

Wynn has been actively and meanly protecting their own designs. Recently, though, the company was embroiled in what seemed a design theft, with one of Steve Wynn’s partners, Kazuo Okada, receiving payment worth $4.2 billion for the company reportedly using his author designs without a permission. Mr. Okada also agreed to a $2.6 billion most recently to allow the sale of his share in the company.

A lawsuit that makes a claim on the authenticity and originally of the design is also very difficult to fight in court and it’s one of the least common cases there. Architectural copyright is no joke and Wynn are right to protect the company’s distinct signature style.

However, assuming an overbearing approach can backfire in the long-term and cause more legal woe than the company originally intended to create. Besides, Wynn Resorts already have enough on their plate.

Sophia Rojas

Growing up around law firms, Sophia keeps our team of reporters atop any legislative developments to follow up with a welcomed dose of positive news as our house trivia nut!

Gambling Addiction Clinic To Open in Northern England

Posted on by Grant Mahon

Gambling addiction or problem gambling has been one of the most significant emerging issues in as far as gambling is concerned. With more and more gambling facilities and platforms being introduced and becoming even more accessible, regulators and various authorities have begun to look deeper into the issue of problem gambling which means that there is still hope for people with the problem. One of the most recent developments in this regard is the decision by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service to open a clinic that will be treating people who have gambling addictions in the north of England making it the very first clinic of its kind outside London.

This new clinic is set to be opened in before the summer of 2019 and was made possible by a $1.5 million grant from a charity which happens to be funded by GambleAware. This is particularly great for people outside London since, as it stands, gambling addicts must travel to south London to get treatment. The problem gambling clinic will be called the NHS Northern Gambling Clinic and it will be run with a partnership of the GamCare network and the NHS Foundation.

Among the services that the clinic will be providing will be mental health counseling as well as social services for the gambling addicts – researches have found that people with gambling disorders need help with a number of different problems including debt, bankruptcy, crime, drug use, suicide, and even job loss. In essence, the goal of the clinic is to not only help the gambling addicts break their addiction but also give them the necessary psychological treatment and counseling so that they are able to get back on their feet financially. All these will be complemented with group therapy sessions which will help the patients to open up about some of the issues that they face.

United Kingdom’s Gambling Statistics

Gamblers in the United Kingdom have so many options and a number of critics have pointed out that the availability of gambling products is part of the problem. Gamblers area able to wager online or at land-based facilities for almost all of their favorite sporting activities. The same goes for online casino and online poker games.

Research shows that almost two million in the United Kingdom are problem gamblers and nearly 400,00 of them are said to be gambling addicts. However, the government has been allegedly ignoring the issue of problem gambling because of the money that gambling brings into the coffers of the country. However, there have some moves by the British government to regulate the gambling industry further in the hopes that they would be able to deal with the issue.

Grant Mahon

Grant is the self-professed casino madman and reporter that brought this eclectic team of dedicated and talented writers together from around the world to proudly build an humble empire of authentic casino news.

Black Ridge Acquisition forms Allied Esports Entertainment

Posted on by George Hansen
  • Black Ridge Acquisition snaps up Allied Esports & WPT to form a new poker/esports-focused entity
  • Ourgame International Holdings, the previous owner, will be part of the new entity
  • Allied Esports Entertainment is to be listed on NASDAQ as soon as it opens

Black Ridge Acquisition has managed to reach a deal with Ourgame International Holdings, snapping up both the World Poker Tour brand and Allied Esports, the quickly-growing competitive video gaming company.

Poker and Esports Closer Together after Black Ridge Acquisition’s Successful Bid

Ourgame International Holdings and Black Ridge Acquisition had a final sit-down to formalize the sale of Ourgame’s World Poker Tour (WPT) and Allied Esports brands for the sum total of $213.8 million.

Having acquired the assets, the company will merge both divisions into the newly-baptised Allied Esports Entertainment (AESE), with the focus of operations equally shared across a number of key development verticals:

  • Cross-platform content
  • Specific gaming & poker services
  • Meeting specific on-demand requests by multi-billion audience

While negotiations are now done and dusted, the deal will be officially formalized in Q1, 2019, with the new business entity hitting the NASDAQ Capital Market Exchange as soon as it begins to operate legally.

Despite the acquisition, Ourgame will still land executive expertise in the face of CEO Frank Ng, who will assume the same position in AESE. Lyle Berman will step into the role of Chairman of the Board at AESE.

Mr. Berman hurried up to outline the immediate plans of the company and how the fresh capital would be put to good use.

The capital from the Black Ridge SPAC will be used to expand AESE’s global property network, accelerating their first-mover advantage as the company continues to build a brand that is synonymous with esports.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ng will bring onboard the same team that has helped him run Ourgame, making sure that the same successful business models can be leveraged within the new entity. Mr. Ng highlighted the importance of the competitive video gaming industry known collectively as esports.

How the Brands Will Work Together

As stand-alone brands, both the WPT and Allied Esports are familiar with each other. Allied Esports is associated with the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas, which has also been chosen by the World Poker Tour Pro Series as the venue for the final tables of several poker competitions.

The WPT was acquired from bwin.party back in 2015, with the company snapping it up for the considerably modest sum of $35 million at the time. Since that time, the WPT has become one of the most significant poker events in the competitive world, with the European tournament reuniting global talent at a fantastic rate.

Allied Esports WPT Arena
Hyper X Las Vegas Esports Arena hosting the final tables of the World Poker Tour.

Allied Esports has recently introduced its esports venue affiliate program intended at helping business develop and grow competitive video gaming facilities fit for the purposes of fielding participants in international tournaments leading up to the HyperX Las Vegas competition at the end of the regional qualifiers.

Allied Esports also partnered with HyperX to introduce the so-called Mobile Arena Truck providing esports coverage on the go and allowing the brand to tour the United States dropping at various venues.

While poker is not as heavily discussed by the executives charting the course of AESE, we could potentially see the inclusion of many interesting new products into the tournament, such as digital card games, which have come to offer significant prize pools.

Most recently, Magic: The Gathering (MTG) announced that it would invest $10 million in prize money for the upcoming competitive season in 2019, apart from offering salaried positions ($70,000) to 32 players who will compete in a newly-formed competitive format.

George Hansen

Taking a liking to the occasional bout of slots, George used to moonlight as a roulette dealer, giving him a unique perspective into the casino world. From there he continued his journalist education and has been with us ever since a star-aligned graduation brought him and our team together.

Delaware’s Sports Betting Results Strong in November

Posted on by Aran Malik

Delaware’s sports betting market has ended November on a strong note, managing to build up momentum ahead of the Christmas holidays and multiply its results significantly.

Delaware’s November Results Go Up

The Delaware legal sports betting industry marked one of its strongest months, with the activities increasing by 151% compared to a month before. The total sports handle went up to $16.4 million, or 11% increase over the period. As to the state itself, Delaware managed to process $1.3 million in pure profits for itself.

  • Delaware won $1.3 million in November
  • The Delaware Park was the main betting venue with 75% of all proceedings
  • By the end of November, the state had won $6.8 million
  • Players won $63.2 million back out of $71 million wagered

Although the proceedings were not evenly spread between venues, the results were still buoyant. Delaware Park drove the majority of the results, with the revenue there hitting $805,285, or 72% of all funds. Delaware Park also saw the majority of wagers placed there as well with 217,776 of all placed bets over the period. In total, there were almost 339,000 stakes by the end of November.

Kansans Debates the Legalization of Sports Betting

So far, Delaware has been joying steady operational results, with the state managing to amass the respectable $6.8 million for itself in terms of profits. Betting only started at the end of June, a month after PASPA was repealed by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).

When the activity became legal on June 24, 2018, the total betting handle wagered over the first seven days reached $7 million, the Delaware Lottery Commission reported at the time.

Understandably, the success of places such as Delaware, which have a fairly modest following of gamers and bettors, has inspired more states who are now looking to carve out a piece of the market for themselves by passing bills at home. Presently, several U.S. states are at one stage or another of debating or passing sports betting legislation, including:

  • Kentucky
  • Michigan
  • Washington, D.C which just voted on a bill successfully

Since June, the numbers have been fluctuating, but they have generally kept see-sawing between $14 million and $16 millions in terms of total handle. While the market has its natural restrictions, the state has done an excellent job of cultivating a healthy gaming environment for its betting & gaming enthusiasts.

Delaware’s iGaming Sector in November Slows Down

In terms of overall sports betting, players had committed nearly $71 millions by the end of November, and they won back $63.2 million over the period back. While the sports vertical continued to demonstrate healthy results, online gaming has stagnated.

The results for November put the revenue at $209,235, which was almost unchanged than last year’s results. Unlike other states, where video slots have propped up the bulk of revenue, Delaware owes its own success to video lottery products. Table games generated $68,000 and lastly, online poker rake fees and tournament buy-ins added another $17,894.

The state presently only operates three iGaming venues, particularly because demand for iGaming products seems to be rather low:

  • Dover Downs
  • Harrington Raceway
  • Delaware Park

While Dover Downs managed to collect the bulk of all revenue, Delaware Park saw a significant dip in iGaming interest, with results dropping by half their 2017 levels. In November, nearly 500 new gamers registered their gaming accounts in the state.

Aran Malik

“Magic Malik”—as we like to call him—is not only a tech whiz but a wizard when it comes to getting obscure news hot off the press so we know exactly what’s happening and can explore and report it back to our growing and loyal readerbase.

Aristocrat Gaming’s Las Vegas Campus Opens Doors

Posted on by George Hansen

iGaming developer Aristocrat has launched a new Las Vegas campus where the company’s local employees will converge to work on cutting-edge gaming products.

Aristocrat’s New Home

Developer of iGaming solutions Aristocrat has opened its new campus worth $45 million in Las Vegas, bolstered by its strong results worldwide. The facility will bring together all 1,100 employees from the area who will converge at the site to work on the company’s future projects.

The new facility is based in Summerlin, located in the west quarters of the city with the campus sprawling on 180,000 square metres and two buildings. The buildings bear all the signs of modern designing and architecture with an open-space layout and over 100 Aristocrat games showcased in a special section of the facility.

Aristocrat made sure that the project was erected using environmentally-friendly materials, which reduce the building’s CO2 footprint. To secure the comfort of its employees, the company has also decided to introduce a range of amenities and facilities purposed for various leisurely activities.

The campus currently offers a gym, a meditation and game rooms, bike path, an outdoor patio, and a park. Additional products are available at each and every turn throughout each floor.

According to Matt Wilson, Managing Director at Aristocrat for the Americas, the environment played an important role in the creative process in the company. By providing employees with an inspiring work environment, each individual could perform and contribute better to the overall work process, Mr. Wilson opined.

Creating an inspiring environment for employees is critical to our success and to our culture, today and in the future. – Matt Wilson, Aristocrat’s Managing Director

Mr. Wilson continued by explaining that building the campus had been an important step for the future development of the company, with Aristocrat striving to provide a home-like, employee-centered environment first.

The design is also intended to lead to further collaboration and innovation between separate departments and co-workers, Mr. Wilson estimated.

With a quick turnout, Aristocrat saw the building completed in a little over a year, with the company now planning to hold the property for a period of 15 years.

Behind the Works of the Share Price

The good results for the Australian game maker had been strong before the announcement of the new campus. According to experts, Aristocrat owns the largest share of slot machines in Macau, in terms of shipped units.

Meanwhile, JP Morgan Securities LLC issued a note in November, outlining the robust profitability of Aristocrat throughout North America. JP Morgan also felt confident that the company’s earnings before EBITDA will rise by 17.5% or $627.1 million.

Aristocrat Leisure Ltd has strong recurring revenues and is consistently gaining market share in North American gaming operations. – JP Morgan

However, JP Morgan had miscalculated, because at the end of November, Aristocrat posted 34% increase in its net profit after tax, with the sum total reaching $729.6 million. The period spanned the 12 months leading up to September 30, 2018.

It’s in this context that Aristocrat is now pushing with expansion in new markets and consolidating its existing operations by investing in its internal infrastructure.

George Hansen

Taking a liking to the occasional bout of slots, George used to moonlight as a roulette dealer, giving him a unique perspective into the casino world. From there he continued his journalist education and has been with us ever since a star-aligned graduation brought him and our team together.

Famous Norwegian TV Host Bags 3.4m GIG Shares

Posted on by Kat Orlov

Gaming Innovation Group (GIG), a developer of iGaming solutions, has been ordered to give up 3.4 million shares to a company owned by Hallvard Flatland, a famous TV host in Norway.

GIG’s Shares Become a TV Saga

A Norwegian court has ruled out against Gaming Innovation Group (GIG) and in favor of Hallvard Flatland, a popular TV host in Norway. In the case presented to court, M. Flatland argued that he had been promised shares in the company in exchange for services promoting brand-awareness and more, at a time when GIG has been expanding rapidly at home and across the Atlantic.

Mr. Flatland also claimed that he had been promised a seat on the Board of Directors. A Norwegian court sealed the case with a ruling during the week, supporting the claim of Mr. Flatland.

This immediately prompted a response from GIG board member Helge Nielsen who spoke to Dagens Næringsliv, a news agency, expressing the company’s surprise and stating that GIG will pursue a legal recourse and appeal the case.

According to the available information, Mr. Flatland had arranged the transfer back in 2015, with the host attending a Board of Directors meeting to negotiate his services for the company.

However, the only written account of the meeting is Mr. Flatland’s own notebook, which makes the decision of the court even more strange to begin with. The company’s legal man, Rustan Knudsen, has pointed out to the obvious lack of evidence to support Mr. Flatland’s claims.

Nevertheless, the Bergen District Court decided to award Mr. Flatland NOK 8.5 million worth of shares with GIG sentenced to transfer the shares to Euro TV, owned by Mr. Flatland, within two weeks. In addition, GIG has been ordered to pick up the legal costs for Mr. Flatland.

A Meeting that Meant Nothing

GIG have been able to confirm that a meeting between the Board of Directors and the plaintiff had taken place, but no agreement had been reached thereof. With the news that the company had been sentenced, its stock fell by 5%, but quickly jumped back with GIG releasing a very brief statement that the company would work with its legal team to challenge the sentence.

GiG disagrees with the court’s ruling and will now assess whether to appeal the judgement together with its legal advisers. – GIG

The statement also invited readers to examine the annual report for 2017 in which the company challenged the idea that Norwegian courts can produce a ruling in such cases. GIG re-iterated that no agreement had taken between the company and Mr. Flatland.

As to Mr. Flatland’s actual role helping the casino, he would have stepped in the shoes of John Carew, a retired footballer who played for the national team. In his own addresses to the press, Mr. Flatland expressed apparent regret that the matter had had to reach courts, but he said that agreements must be honored.

Should GIG have sought to settle matters, he wouldn’t have had to go to court. And while Mr. Flatland present an explanation, it’s still bizarre to believe that a court would take a personal book into consideration.

Kat Orlov

Newcomer Kat is our newcomer poker aficionado whos skill not only lives on the table but flourishes on the site as through her many sources she never fails to be the first to hear of any important or exciting poker news around the world.

William Hill to Contest Regulatory Fine in the Netherlands

Posted on by Sophia Rojas

iGaming regulation in the Netherlands is a tough nut to crack. Until recently, many companies shunned the idea of offering their product in the country, but things have now changed. The Dutch government is preparing a more lenient approach to gambling activities and any brand that’s willing to obtain a license may now do it. However, things have been rather stale since September. And now, William Hill must pay a $338,700 fine.

Online Gaming Legalization in the Netherlands

The Netherlands has avoided discussing the legalization of the iGaming sector for a long while. After talks began earlier this year, the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA), backed by the government, argued that any operators that wanted to enter the would-be regulated market and which had been providing iGaming products online before, without a proper licensing, could be barred from achieving a legal status in the Netherlands.

This is almost what’s happening with William Hill, only the KSA has taken a more lenient approach, demanding instead a stiff penalty ($338,700) instead. According to the regulator, William Hill has been catering to Dutch customers without bothering to obtain a license. Individuals living in the country had been able to play on WilliamHill.com and use two separate mobile applications to access the gambling markets offered by the brand.

William Hill's betting shop
A William Hill betting shop’s interior. Photo credit: William Hill.

According to the KSA, Dutch customers had been left to enjoy all sorts of casino games as well as participate in poker and sports betting. More specifically, William Hill had translated the interface into Dutch, thus becoming fully-complacent with luring Dutch customers.

William Hill also understood the inherent difficulties for Dutch gamers when it comes to depositing and withdrawing from online iGaming sites, which wasn’t prohibited, and thus introduced an alternative payment method, iDEAL, which is one of the most popular payment solutions on the country’s market.

However, William Hill are far from simply conceding to the KSA ruling. Instead, the company has known for a few weeks that the regulator is planning to issue a fine, which the British brand is now ready to fight.

Dragging Their Feet

According to KSA Chairman and Exec René Jansen, the watchdog will do anything in its power to guarantee the protection and security of local gamers against unregulated offers.

A player who gambles with an illegal provider does without any protection; there is no supervision so it is impossible to ensure these companies are conducting business fairly, and that is why the KSA acts against illegal providers. -KSA Chairman René Jansen

Mr. Jansen also noted the KSA’s ongoing commitment to stave off illegal activities and curb gambling addiction. Meanwhile, William Hill is about to join a number of other companies which have been issued a similar penalty in absentia, including MRG, and a Betsson Group’s subsidiary.

The Dutch government has been making a steadfast push into clamping down on “illegal gambling activities” in the country. One notable measure the government has considered was the “bad actor” initiative, which basically wanted to target companies that have offered a product in the past without a license should be fined and even banned.

There has also been a rift between the government’s indecision to finalize a regulatory framework and the KSA whose outgoing chairman and vice chairman, Jan Suyver and Henk Kesler respectively, have grumbled against the slow process of delivering a lawful gambling framework, allowing institutions to handle operators.

In September, when the 2016-bill had to be voted on, no effort was made, leading to a state of limbo for the iGaming industry in the Netherlands. As a result, fines continue to trickle in, but operators can’t help but ask the question – on what grounds?

Sophia Rojas

Growing up around law firms, Sophia keeps our team of reporters atop any legislative developments to follow up with a welcomed dose of positive news as our house trivia nut!

Will Hill and Paddy Power Betfair Face Compensation Lawsuit

Posted on by Carmen Thompson

William Hill and Paddy Power have been faced with fresh compensation claims, after a customer admitted to having stolen money from clients to feed what appeared to be a gambling addiction.

William Hill and Paddy Power Face Compensation Claims

A gambling addict has agreed to help clients seek back compensation from bookmakers that have allowed the individual to place a total of seven-figure wagers, after he had been reportedly showing symptoms of addiction. The compensation claims affect two of the United Kingdom’s biggest names in the sector, William Hill and Paddy Power.

Investigation discovered that the individual had placed the wagers with money he had stolen from his clients, as part of his employment in the Dubai’s property sector. Interviewed by police in April, 2018, the “offender” made a confession, revealing the origin of the money. Shortly after, he agreed to assist his clients in seeking compensations from the same bookmakers for having failed to spot the customer’s gambling-related problems.

William Hill's store window in the UK.
Outside a William Hill betting shop.

According to the Guardian, the customer had placed £650,000 over a six-month period at William Hill. Paddy Power Betfair reportedly accepted £965,000 in bets and the same compensation is sought from the company.

If the case goes in the way of the plaintiffs, this will be one of the latest ill turn of events for William Hill with the company previously having to pay £6.2 million fine in a related case. In the past case, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) had established that William Hill had allowed money gained through criminal activities to be wagered and laundered.

The UK’s watchdog also hit Paddy Power Betfair with a £2.2 million fine related to a failure to meet the necessary customer-protection and anti-money laundering (AML) practices.

Due Diligence Needs Enhancement

Failure to meet anti-money laundering (AML) practices and KYC obligations entail some of the stiffest penalties in the industry. The plaintiffs will base their case on the argument that both William Hill and Paddy Power Betfair have failed to conduct the necessary checks that would have revealed the origin of the money as fraudulent.

Given the faulty past of the companies, a ruling in their favor would be difficult. According to the investigation, the individual allegedly brought whole bags of money to William Hill’s betting shops asking for safe storage. However, this didn’t prompt the necessary obligatory checks as per the license agreements.

Meanwhile, the case has been taken up by Mackrell Turner Garrett, a law firm, with James Atton representing the plaintiffs. Mr. Atton has pointed out that so far there has been a failure of communication between the plaintiffs, the UKGC and Paddy Power Betfair. Paddy Power Betfair would definitely want to avoid another complication and a fine, as the company is now facing FOBTs £2 cut-down.

William Hill continues to deny wrongdoing, saying that the allegations have been investigated for months now and the company awaits a final decision. However, William Hill did point out that the individual who had staked the money had not been part of any investigation nor brought to justice for the theft of the money.

While the case presents certain challenges, it does seem like the bookmakers have complacently allowed £1.5 million to clear their betting shops without carrying out the necessary checks.

Carmen Thompson

Carmen is our residential reporter always on the move and hunting down the latest scoops and rumours to explore. Nothing gets past her keen nose, especially when it comes to some serious Jelly Bean poker tournaments.

Casino Classic with Washington’s Center for Leadership

Posted on by George Hansen

The Center for Leadership and Community Engagement partnered with Ellensburg Adult Activity Center to host the first Casino Classic meet-up, featuring a number of mind-stimulating casino games. The inaugural event looked up volunteers eager to give classic treats, such as Texas Hold’em and Blackjack, a go.

Casino Classic Full with Top Games

The Center for Leadership and Community Engagement (CLCE), part of the Central Washington University, set out to host a rather amusing evening featuring table-top favorites such as Blackjack and Texas Hold’em. The focus of the meeting was clearly casino games, with the entire pow-wow hosted under the name of “Casino Classic”. Known for its strong sports leadership initiatives, the CWU engaged in something slightly different this time.

The event attracted a number of volunteers and the CLCE collaborated with Ellensburg Adult Activity Center to ensure that everything organization-wise would be up to the adequate standard. The partners were kind enough to provide transportation and lunch to volunteers and participants who dabbled in various casino games to their hearts’ content.

The event turned out to be a success, demonstrating the merits of CLCE’s strong social & volunteer program, which relies on volunteers to undertake and carry out important social causes. The current slogan of the CWI’s Center for Leadership is “ordinary people making an extraordinary difference”.

Boosting and Developing Leadership

The project is intended to boost and develop leadership flair and help students muster up the courage to assume responsibilities that can have potential life-changing implications. Ultimately, the CWU strives to introduce positive social change, relying on several key tenets, which the organization holds in the highest esteem. CWU believes that leadership potential exists in every individual and the purpose of the CLCE is to bring it out in every participant.

By relying on bringing people from different cultures and backgrounds together, the CLCE helps foster innovative ideas and allows all participants to reach creative solutions that are recognized and rewarded. CLCE and CWU establish a “shared leadership style”, which drives productive results worth display.

Casino Classic concluded on October 26, 2018, introducing volunteers and participants to a series of stimulating and challenging games that entailed a good level of skill and a fair bit of chance. Though the choice of casino games may appear strange to the casual observer, CWU believes that diversity is key and that all stimulating activities should be embraced and pursued.

The problems inherent to gambling activities are not to be snubbed and CWU has demonstrated that there are merits to games that are generally shunned based on bias. Blackjack and Texas Hold’em are two skill-based titles allowing individuals to challenge themselves intellectually and keep their minds sharp.

It has been an unusual choice of activity, but Casino Classic’s evening has proven a success and no less.

George Hansen

Taking a liking to the occasional bout of slots, George used to moonlight as a roulette dealer, giving him a unique perspective into the casino world. From there he continued his journalist education and has been with us ever since a star-aligned graduation brought him and our team together.

Denmark Q3 iGaming Results Strong Despite Mild Dip

Posted on by Aran Malik

Denmark’s posting a healthy growth in its online sector. According to the country’s national gaming watchdog, the Spillemyndigheden, the market has expanded by nearly 10%.

iGaming in Denmark Grows

According to Spillemyndigheden, the Danish gaming regulator, the country’s iGaming sector has grown significantly, with the market posting increased revenue for the Q3, 2018 at 9.7% higher than the same period last year. Even though there are a lot of challenges to address, such as the moribund land-based industry and gaming machines, Denmark has done well by itself, posting solid numbers.

Compared to Q3, 2017, all sectors of the industry, including betting, casino and land-based counterparts & gaming machines, marked a significant uptick, although the cumulative results were down 0.4% from August. The total numbers stood at £194 million, a not too shabby amount consistent with the results so far.

The 0.4% drop does deserve to be addressed, though. It was occasioned by the significant slow-down in the revenue generated through gaming machines, which has been falling not only in Denmark (where it went down 6.5%), but well across Europe as well. Gaming machines known as Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) could disappear completely from the on-site parlors of casinos as a result of the newly-voted regulation limiting the maximum bet from £100 to £2.

Denmark Diversifies Activities, Notches Up Profit

Sports betting also saw the quarterly results jump quite tangibly. This was occasioned by the inclusion of horse racing, which has been hitherto an avoided market. After the Danske Spil monopoly fell back in 2017 and the majority of operators obtained a license as of January 2018. The competition in sports betting has been vibrant enough to occasion a steady growth, and according to experts, Denmark is far from reaching its full potential yet.

Despite the loss of interest in gaming machines, Danish are still very much keen on placing wagers on sporting events. Online casinos in particular were another source of revenue, with 19.9% increase in the quarter. Slots alone accounted for 63.1% of the total GGR during the period. The good results are also occasioned by the liberation of the Danish market, which has long been cited as one of the most restrictive alongside the Netherlands and Poland.

Competition hasn’t been able to penetrate every sector of the iGaming and betting industries in Denmark yet. Danske Spil still holds full control over lottery activities. There’s no information available with the Spillemyndigheden as of the lottery’s quarterly results, because the segment is reported on annually.

Taking a look at the numbers in 2017, though, the lottery accounted for the highest share of all gaming activities, notching up the respectable 33.7%. This was still slightly lower than the 35% posted a year before, in 2016, but all the same a reassuring number nevertheless.

Another thing that the Spillemyndigheden noted was the increased number of people who have opted for a self-exclusion scheme. Denmark hasn’t got a problem with reckless gambling behavior as in the United Kingdom and the country has been able to bring down the numbers of existing addicts by obliging operators that cater to Danish gamers to champion self-exclusion schemes and offer help lines.

Having manged to eradicate problem gambling and boost revenue, Denmark is one of the brightest example of how the iGaming sector should be run.

Aran Malik

“Magic Malik”—as we like to call him—is not only a tech whiz but a wizard when it comes to getting obscure news hot off the press so we know exactly what’s happening and can explore and report it back to our growing and loyal readerbase.

William Hill to Add Markets with Mr. Green Acquisition

Posted on by Carmen Thompson

William Hill is diversifying its assets and reducing its dependency on its main market. The company’s acquisition of MRG is another step in that direction, with William Hill making sure to re-focus its efforts out of one of its main bastions – the United Kingdom.

William Hills’ MRG Means Readjustment

On December 4, William Hill announced that it was seeking to acquire MRG, a casino brand formerly known as Mr. Green. MRG is valued at $307 million and offers new markets, which would help the company seek alternative sources of revenue beyond the United Kingdom, where Will Hill has become a house name.

With the announcement, William Hill also acknowledged that the bulk of the £1.7 billion in annual revenue still came from the United Kingdom where legal & regulatory tensions have been mounting. Diversifying would help the company dive into developing and established new markets. The company signaled its intentions towads MRG as early as November, when William Hill first announced its intentions to acquire a nearly 5-percent stake in Mr. Green.

MRG, in particular, presently operates in a number of markets, including Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Ireland, Malta, and of course – Great Britain, and further expansion is on the cards. With Sweden recently legalizing its own online casino market, MRG hopes to obtain a license and start offering its products to Swedish customers on January 1, 2019.

MRG’s online-only business will increase the William Hill Group’s share of revenue and profits from online as well as from outside the UK, and reduce William Hill’s exposure to the UK market – Official William Hill statement

Stipulating about the benefits of the acquisition, William Hill outlined a scenario whereby the company had already acquired MRG, which would have driven the first six months results by 5 percent across the board. Growth outside the United Kingdom would have jumped by 7 percent.

William Hill will need to go through a number of legal procedures before it can acquire MRG, with the company expecting the deal to push through between December 10 and January 17, 2019.

If watchdogs fail to review the proposal, then a grace period will be granted so that the acquisition may continue according to plan. Settlement is expected to begin on January 25, 2019. William Hill will seek to acquire at least 90 percent of MRG shares, indicating a full-acquisition.

After the process has been completed, the company will delist MRG from the Nasdaq Stockholm, giving William Hill enough time to bring all internal operations in line and reposition its assets and portfolio.

William Hill is presently facing a number of problems at home, although none too serious as of the moment. The bookmaker was recently reported not to pay out the correct odds to punters, short-handing them instead.

With the regulatory headwinds intensifying, many bookmakers and iGaming companies are looking for ways to minimize the impact of the looming Brexit and the jump in remote gambling tax.

In 2019, companies will be subject to some of the most demanding tax & regulatory norms in the past decade, which will require smart business action.

Carmen Thompson

Carmen is our residential reporter always on the move and hunting down the latest scoops and rumours to explore. Nothing gets past her keen nose, especially when it comes to some serious Jelly Bean poker tournaments.

Kansans Debates the Legalization of Sports Betting

Posted on by George Hansen

Kansas may well become the next state to legalize sports betting in the United States. Legal hurdles need to be cleared, of course, and this has already begun, with Kansas lawmakers convening from December 4 through December 6 to discuss a potential bill.

Kansans Talks Sports Betting

Kansas lawmakers will discuss from December 4 through December 6 whether a sports betting bill should make it to the House of Representatives and be voted as part of the 2019 legislative sessions. Talks about the state adopting its own legalized industry have been ongoing, with most observers expecting the talks to take place early next year. Kansans, though, has sped things along.

The Special Committee on Federal and State Affairs has invited a number of regulators, legal experts and all third-parties that have business or show interest in the segment. The committee’s primary objective is to evaluate the consequences of stripping the federal ban known as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).

The meeting seems to be taking place in the spirit of objectivity, with Dodge City Bud Estes, the state senator, ensuring that it’s his highest priority to ensure that everyone involved gets a clear read of the situation and makes a decision based on the facts.

If the bill is given the go-ahead, it will be drafted and submitted to the House of Representatives ahead of the upcoming session due on January 14, 2019. Many noteworthy individuals have appeared to share their opinions and back them with facts, including National Conference of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) president and Ohio senator William Colley.

Kansas is not exactly new to the idea of gambling, with 9 state venues already catering to gambling enthusiasts. The state also has active horse & dog racing competitions as well as pari-mutuel wagering on both activities, allowed only on the premises of specifically earmarked venues.

Additional support came from Laura Kelly who has thrown her support behind the pro-legalization campaign, although she has not been active during the hearing.

Kansas’ Pre-emptive Legalization Attempts

Kannsas did try to legalize part of its gambling activities and give them a broader reach just weeks before PASPA was finally struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).

A bill called HB2792 was submitted by Rep. Jan Kessinger to the Committee on Federal and State Affairs, but it didn’t garner the necessary support, petering out in the end. Should the bill have been successful, it would have allowed sports betting to take place in full on the territory of Kansas and possibly have made the state the first one to adapt to the newly-struck ban.

Nevertheless, the fact that Kansas is actively looking to legalize the activity is reassuring, as 20 states are expected to fail to enact any measures until 2030 in the very least.

A decision will be reached in less than two days and for the time being, sports betting seems very likely to be set in motion in Kansas. Even if a delay occurs, the state is likely to catch up next year.

George Hansen

Taking a liking to the occasional bout of slots, George used to moonlight as a roulette dealer, giving him a unique perspective into the casino world. From there he continued his journalist education and has been with us ever since a star-aligned graduation brought him and our team together.

Australia to Inaugurate National Gambling Network

Posted on by Sophia Rojas

Australia’s following in the footsteps of the United States and Spain, two countries that both set up broader national gambling networks in the past week. While the events coincide chronologically, they are vastly independent of each other, though they reveal the same trend – more regulation & customer protection is needed in the iGaming sector.

Australia’s Governments Gather Up to Mull Gambling Framework

Australia’s six governments have come together to discuss the roll-out of the National Consumer Protection Framework, which will officially launch a number of needed social and responsible gambling initiatives across the country in 2019. While each government has been dealing with its own operators in a rather independent manner so far, the change will presuppose a united front.

The ten-point government-backed plan is intended to respond to the O’Farrell Review, a comprehensive analysis of the Australian gambling industry indicating severe shortages insofar due diligence and social responsibility checks were concerned.

With Queensland fighting back the federal measure and insisting on handling the issue on their own, the law is finally going to pass and create the country’s first national policy intended at tackling gambling problems.

The measures are designed to reduce the harm that can be caused to individuals and their families by excessive or at-risk online wagering. The National Framework will apply to about 2.5 million active online wagering accounts, or about a million people in Australia. – Federal Minister for Families and Social Services Paul Fletcher

The framework will have a tangible effect on the gambling industry, adding an additional layer of security for customers, with 2.5 million active accounts being affected by the new regulation.

Enacting the Changes in Progress

Meanwhile, two points of the ten-step plan have already been enacted, with the links between “payday lenders and licensed wagering operations” coming into effect earlier in February 2018, and the government banning bookmakers from offering credit so that customers would be safeguarded against the temptation to continue playing when they have run out of funds.

The National Consumer Protection Framework will slash the time required to verify one’s account from 90 to 21 days, which will mean that vulnerable individuals who are part of a self-exclusion scheme or minors will be prevented from accessing the products sooner. Still, 21 days is still enough time for problem gamblers to spend money at a casino, though.

The measures will also seek to disperse any ambiguity about welcome and sign-up bonuses, obliging companies to enforce responsible advertising. In line with the upcoming responsibility measures, Australia will use a national-wide scheme that will allow all customers who want to exclude themselves completely from all establishments that offer gambling options.

The national-wide measure specifically targets non-wagering products and strives to limit the clout of offshore gambling companies. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has been spearheading the offense against the unlicensed regulators, with 33 companies stopping to offer their products to Australians.

However, the majority of the companies were legal and licensed entities which opted out of the country after ACMA threatened them to lodge a complaint with their licensing bodies should they fail to comply with the watchdog’s demands.

Sophia Rojas

Growing up around law firms, Sophia keeps our team of reporters atop any legislative developments to follow up with a welcomed dose of positive news as our house trivia nut!