THE AMERICAS
PokerStars lost its war on the Jersey shore with the Atlantic Club; a new California tribal online poker bill would expressly prevent signing interstate compacts; New Jersey published a draft of its online gambling regulations; the entire board of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. resigned after chairman Paul Godfrey was sacked; the World Series of Poker’s Seth Palansky talked up the WSOP’s online launch this summer while refusing to take cheap shots at Ultimate Poker’s wonky launch; Phil Hellmuth called his Ultimate Bet experience “a horrible read;” federal authorities in the US seized funds connected to the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange; a former BetUS associate was arrested in Nicaragua and extradited to the US to face fraud and money laundering charges; Atlantic City’s Revel emerged from bankruptcy with a brand new plan and Becky Liggero examined the state of the US-facing online sportsbook affiliate business, talked convergence with Amaya Gaming CEO David Baazov and interstate compacts with iGaming Capital’s Melissa Blau.
EUROPE
CVC Capital Partners’ bid to acquire Betfair was declared officially dead; Paddy Power released a stellar trading update; Ralph Topping said he’s staying on as William Hill boss; iPoker investigated an affiliate for allegedly sneaking US players onto the network; Groupe Partouche decided it had had enough of the French online gambling market; Ongame added Italian operator Cogetech; Rank Group officially became the UK’s largest casino operator; Steve O’Dwyer earned €1.2m for taking down the EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo while Super High Roller Max Altergott earned €1.7m; Mike O’Donnell examined the potential ramifications of a UK point of consumption tax and Becky Liggero spotlighted some outstanding women in the global gaming industry.
ASIA
Australian bookie Tom Waterhouse was cleared of insider trading allegations but mom Gai didn’t get off so lightly; India revealed it’s contemplating legal sports betting; Galaxy Entertainment posted record earnings thanks to mass market results; SJM finally received its Cotai Strip land grant from Macau authorities; the CEO of Asian Coast Development Ltd. sued his own company for using him as window dressing; Las Vegas Sands lost its court fight with Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen; Bloomberry Resorts’ Solaire Manila earned $14m in its first 15 days of operation; PAGCOR kept right on earning for the Philippines’ government; Crown Ltd. got the okay to boost its stake in rival Echo Entertainment; Entertainment Gaming Asia lost money in Q1 and Vince Martin examined prospects for EGA and other Cambodia-facing gaming firms; TCS John Huxley’s Cath Burns discussed innovation in Asian gaming and Mike Johnson explained why G2E Asia is a must attend event.
