AMERICAS
Full Tilt Poker CEO Ray Bitar turned himself into US authorities on Monday and remains in jail pending a hearing on the government’s request for pre-trial detention; a New Jersey racetrack offered to take point on the state’s sports betting plans; Antonio Esfandiari won the biggest prize in poker history while Sam Trickett took a big beating following his runner-up spot at the Big One tourney; PokerStars agreed to sponsor the Brazilian Series of Poker; WMS Gaming inked an online poker deal with 888 Holdings; the BC Lottery Corp. began offering live betting, futures and prop bets (but only on parlays) and US college football finally announced a playoff structure.
EUROPE
Betfair reached a historic commercial agreement with British Racing; Cyprus passed a law approving online sports betting but banning betting exchanges, online poker and casino; Germany instituted a new federal sports betting tax, which caused 188Bet to exit the German market; Bet365 made the Belgian blacklist; Italy’s sports betting had another bad month; Euro 2012 was very good to Betfair; Zynga was rumored to be acquiring Bwin’s Ongame Network; GVC’s B2B business is thriving; 5050Poker’s parent company claimed Microgaming fines contributed to the poker room’s demise, a claim Microgaming rejected; Playtech made the move to the London Stock Exchange’s main market and Mike O’Donnell examined the gambling industry’s biggest sport sponsorship deals.
ASIA
Melco Crown reached a deal with Belle Corp. to enter the Philippine casino market; residents of Taiwan’s Matsu island group approved a casino referendum; Singapore considered further restrictions on locals entering its two casinos; Macau gaming revenue rose 12.2% in June; the Australian taxman went after sports betting whales; Wynn Resorts’ $50m payment to a guy named Ho Ho raised eyebrows; Playtech revealed the extent of its business in Asian grey markets; Bodog88 launched Buzz Sports’ ZonePlay offering and Macau has a date with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
