AMERICAS
The online poker community ‘celebrated’ the one-year anniversary of Black Friday, and the index to CalvinAyre.com’s coverage can be found here; as if on cue, a new class action suit was filed against Full Tilt Poker directors; Black Friday indictee John Campos had his plea agreement approved; iMEGA’s Joe Brennan discussed the state of online gambling legislation with QuadJacks’ Marco Valerio; Bodog Poker’s Jonas Ödman and poker pro McLean Karr discussed recreational poker players; Caesars Entertainment led all companies (again) in federal lobbying spend; Bill Beatty takes a look at the controversial CISPA legislation to which an online poker bill may be attached; suggestions were made that William Hill’s Nevada gaming license application had hit a snag and an online gambling movie is in the works starring Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck.
EUROPE
Ladbrokes and William Hill posted Q1 numbers; PokerStars served data miners Poker Table Ratings with a cease & desist letter and PTR caved the very next day; Laurent Tapie’s name surfaced on legal papers for New Full Tilt Ltd. and Alderney scheduled a public hearing into the new FTP’s license application; Playtech bought yet another company from founder Teddy Sagi and the markets didn’t like it; Betsson acquired the Nordic Gaming Group; Media Corp confirmed it’s in ‘advanced discussions’ to acquire Gaming Media Group and Mike O’Donnell examined a little known change to European tech laws that could get online gaming companies fined £500k if they’re not careful.
ASIA
Pagcor exceeded its revenue targets for March and PhilWeb had a great Q1; Betsson’s Magnus Grinneback discussed the differences between doing business in Europe and Asia; iGamix’s Shaun McCamley discussed the Asian ‘phone betting’ phenomenon; Macau became the world’s third-largest gambling jurisdiction, despite the fact that most of its visitors come for other reasons; Sands China’s relationship with Playboy Enterprises is over; Wynn Resorts’ Cotai Strip plans may be getting closer to reality; Japan and South Korea figure high on Genting’s expansion plans; Buzz Sports inked a deal with InPlay Matrix and Enrique Razon Jr. can’t wait until Manila’s mega-casino project opens for business.
