THE AMERICAS
New Jersey offered further details on its online gambling trial period but suffered another seback in the state’s quest for legal sports betting; Rep. Jim McDermott proposed a federal online gambling tax on deposits; Preet Bharara convinced Vadim Trincher and Hillel Nahmad to plead guilty for their roles in the Taiwanchik-Trincher poker/sports betting operation; Skrill informed Lock Poker it wouldn’t allow any more deposits to the site; Atlantic City casino revenue rose in the absence of a hurricane and Steve Wynn walked away from Philadelphia (again).
EUROPE
Stakeholders made their opinions known on the UK’s new gambling bill and its controversial point of consumption tax; Dutch authorities arrested Sheriff Gaming CEO Stijn Flapper on suspicion of money laundering; Germany slow-rolled its sports betting hopefuls; Bwin.party’s Q3 earnings were dire but said the worst is over; Ladbrokes denied another profit warning was in the mail; the UK’s war on fixed-odds betting machines flared up again; Matchbook.com unveiled its new betting exchange platform; PokerStars held its semi-annual sitdown with players on the Isle of Man; Bulgaria proposed a new sensible online gambling tax; the Professional Footballers Association banned its employees from gambling; Mike O’Donnell pondered the impact of Marvel discontinuing its branded slots licensing; Rebecca Liggero talked branding with Mr Green’s Mikael Pawlo and summarized the takeaways from the Social Gambling Conference while Sam Miranda pondered the ethical challenges of working in the gambling industry.
ASIA
The Calvin Ayre Foundation and PokerStars each launched efforts to aid areas of the Philippines hit by Super Typhoon Haiyan; South Korea’s celebrity betting scandal claimed some former K-pop boy-band members; Russian police arrested Lawrence Ho’s local casino partner; SJM Holdings boosted profits 10% in Q3 while Macau junket investor Iao Kun Group saw profits plunge; Paradise Entertainment set its sights on international expansion; Tony Fung offered to buy the Cairns Casino in Queensland while James Packer’s Crown received official go-ahead on its Sydney casino; PokerTek co-founder Lou White revealed how electronic poker tables helped PokerStars get around Macau’s gaming table cap; KMI Gaming’s Keith McDonnell discussed the particulars of Asian sportsbooks; India’s top cop compared sports betting with rape and Angelia Ong prowled the floor at the Macau Gaming Show.
