THE AMERICAS
Absolute Poker’s Brent Beckley was sentenced to 14 months for his Black Friday role, while payment processor Ira Rubin got three years; Zynga said real-money play was coming in 2013, but its stock is going (downhill) in 2012; Las Vegas Sands, Peninsula Gaming, Boyd Gaming and Penn National Gaming all released report cards; William Hill found a Canadian company to run its US-facing online biz; Nevada regulators okayed Shuffle Master’s online poker license and announced they will require online poker affiliates to get licenses; IGT released a financial report card and blocked more countries from using its poker network;
EUROPE
The UK government released its review of the nation’s gambling regulations; William Hill, 888 and 32Red financial figures dressed for success; OPAP and GTECH inked a Greek-facing online joint venture; Alderney regulators tightened their rules regarding player deposits; Paddy Power took on the Olympic brand Nazis and won; Scientific Games acquired Parspro; Cyprus police began enforcing the nation’s online gambling ban; Bodog Poker’s Jonas Ödman talked recreational poker and Dr. Patrick Basham defended social gaming from the Daily Mail’s anti-social editorialists
ASIA
Melco Crown’s new Macau casino project appears to have forgotten the casino part, but hope springs eternal; Genting Singapore’s shares fell to their lowest point ever; Pagcor announced its revenue targets for 2013; PokerStars added two more events in Macau and if you know the guys who beat Ng Man Sun with hammers, you could earn a sweet HK$10m reward.
