THE AMERICAS
The Borgata cheered after earning almost half of New Jersey’s first monthly online gambling revenue total but celebration ended after the Borgata Winter Open was forced to cancel its opening event over a counterfeit chip scandal; Betfair closed in on an exchange wagering deal with New Jersey’s Monmouth Park; Pennsylvania’s annual casino revenue fell for the first time while Atlantic City’s fell to its lowest level in over two decades; Nevada regulators slapped CG Technology with a record $5.5m fine over Mike Colbert’s activities; Teddy Mitchell was sentenced to 27 months for his illegal sports betting operation; Poker Players Alliance exec Rich Muny got into a Twitter tiff with a GOP strategist while American Gaming Association CEO Geoff Freeman picked a fight with Sheldon Adelson; Lock Poker’s relationship with a Canadian real estate firm raised eyebrows; Jay ‘WhoJedi’ Newnum got caught pilfering dealer tips from a Connecticut casino while Jay Harris wondered what the future held for casino slot machines; Lee Davy explained why Ultimate Poker’s Nevada-facing site will continue to struggle and why the WSOP Online Championships will one day eclipse the land-based tourney.
EUROPE
William Hill released a positive trading update while CEO Ralph Topping hurled Twitter barbs at an anti-FOBT campaigner; Ladbrokes said its annual revenue would meet previously lowered expectations; 32Red’s annual profits hit record levels for the fourth year running; the French online gambling market continued its contraction; Zynga launched real-money online poker on Facebook in the UK; the UK’s gambling legislation cleared another hurdle in the House of Lords; Paddy Power’s marketing earned kudos and complaints but its gifts to North Korea’s Kim Jong-un may have violated UN sanctions; Ayr United’s Michael Moffat got a six-match ban for betting on his own team (to win); Bet365 inked a multi-year content deal with Quickspin; UK sportsbooks took a Premier League beating; Clarion’s Kate Chambers offered a sneak preview of what to expect at ICE Totally Gaming 2014 while Rebecca Liggero offered her insights into which speakers to catch at ICE and the London Affiliate Conference.
ASIA
With the exception of greyhound racing, Macau saw all casino gaming segments go up in 2013, which helps explain why Galaxy Entertainment founder Lui Che-Woo is now Asia’s richest man; a man was caught ‘court-siding’ at a Australian Open tennis match but Sporting Data Ltd. denied its employee was doing anything illegal; eight people died when a Chinese gambling den was bombed; that machinegun-toting Chinese VIP gambler was ordered not to leave the Philippines; PAGCOR said its 2014 remittance to the government would come in under forecasts; Bloomberry Resorts suspended trading in its shares after GGAM sold off its entire stake in one day; the Vietnamese-American at the center of a disputed $55m slots jackpot reached a settlement with the slots operator; Macau Legend said it wanted to get into the VIP gaming promotion business and Lee Davy previewed the upcoming Aussie Millions.
