THE AMERICAS
The Trump Plaza revealed it would be the fourth Atlantic City casino to close its doors this year; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he was open to discussing an end to Atlantic City’s statewide casino monopoly and venture capitalist Paul Fireman immediately proposed a $4.6b project for Jersey City; 888 Holdings got interim approval to operate an intrastate online poker network in Nevada; Caesars Entertainment hired a law firm ahead of a financial restructuring; mobile devices account for over half of all social casino gaming revenue; a Brazilian senator introduced new online gambling legislation; Amaya Gaming eyed a second listing on either the New York or London stock exchanges; Sheldon Adelson added another ex-Washington pol to his anti-online gambling lobbyist gang; Rafi Farber showed how to use MGM Resorts an economic barometer; Rebecca Liggero discussed online gambling’s future in Pennsylvania with state Rep. Rosita Youngblood; Lee Davy wrapped up his World Series of Poker coverage by nabbing interviews with Liv Boeree, Dutch Boyd, Alex Dreyfus, Igor Kurganov, Jason Mercier and Greg Merson while Jason Kirk reminisced about some memorable WSOP meltdowns and Tatjana Pasalic recapped all the action at the Little One For One Drop and the $10k Main Event.
EUROPE
Bet365 said annual profits rose 81% to a hefty £321m; 888 Holdings released a buoyant H1 trading update; the Netherlands confirmed its regulated online gambling operators will be taxed 20% on revenue plus 2% of turnover; Betfred tapped Sportech to provide its Totepool betting technology; Net Entertainment had a ‘very pleasing’ second quarter; Alderney gambling regulators suspended Betsoft Gaming’s license for unknown reasons; more questions arose regarding the future of betting sponsorships once the UK’s new gambling law kicks in; Tom Galanis offered his choices for the top-five betting marketing faux-pas while industry figures picked their favorite World Cup betting promo offer and Harry Redknapp gave Rebecca Liggero his thoughts on being brand ambassador for 666Bet.
ASIA
Asian sports lottery sales surged as the World Cup drew to a close; Vietnam busted a World Cup wagering ring linked to M88.com and another that handled over $235m in online wagers; a Singapore anti-gambling group’s World Cup commercial went viral for all the wrong reasons; Australia’s Aristocrat Leisure paid $1.3b to acquire tribal casino slots supplier Video Gaming Technologies; Jason Ader wondered if Macau’s junket operators were facing their ‘Lehman Brothers moment’; Crown Sydney finally received its restricted casino license; Hong Kong triads feuded over casino cruise ship passengers; Osaka officials showed Universal Studios who was boss when it came to playing casino favorites; a former Macau business partner of Las Vegas Sands sued the company for $5b and Coinapult’s Gabriel Sukenik discussed the regulatory hurdles facing Bitcoin use in Asia.
