THE AMERICAS
National Basketball Association commish Adam Silver made waves with a pro-sports betting op-ed followed by claims that the NBA had a “template” for a federal sports betting law; Ultimate Gaming announced it was shutting down after 19 months online in Nevada; Amaya Gaming revenue jumped 519% thanks to contributions from PokerStars and Full Tilt while another prominent California tribe joined PokerStars’ Cali coalition; Caesars Entertainment finally admitted bankruptcy is inevitable after it lost $10m per day during Q3 while Caesars Interactive got a big boost from its social casino operations; New Jersey’s regulated online gambling market posted its lowest poker revenue to date while Atlantic City casinos posted a rare revenue gain; Ontario Lottery and Gaming prepped the soft-launch of its new PlayOlg.ca gambling site while Loto-Quebec embraced a report calling for it to license international online gambling operators; Churchill Downs acquired social/mobile gamers Big Fish Games for $885m; Draft Kings inked a partnership with the National Hockey League while former WSOP champ Chris Moneymaker offered his verdict on fantasy sports; King Digital hoped a new Candy Crush title would reverse its falling profits; a new study poked holes in the theory that social casino games ‘groom’ kids for real-money gambling; ratings were down for the World Series of Poker November Nine but the credit rating went up for 2014 champeen Martin Jacobson.
EUROPE
Bwin.party confirmed that it was a potential acquisition target, with Amaya Gaming and Playtech rumored to be in the hunt; Spain’s online gambling market got a boost from the second half of the World Cup; PokerStars agreed to address the controversial seating script issue; Croatia’s online gambling laws got a thumbs-up from the European Commission; FSB Tech co-founder Dave McDowell talked up cloud-based managed sports betting solutions; we found yet another opportunity to link earnings reports to some very pretty European girls; online gambling conference mainstay Rebecca Liggero recapped the action at the Mobile & Tablet Gambling Summit Europe and revealed how such events can inspire attendees to think outside the box.
ASIA
Japan appeared to have officially given up hope of passing its casino legislation in 2014; US federal prosecutors accused Paul Phua of bribing Macau police to obtain his release on sports betting charges this summer; Crown Resorts was told to steer clear of Macau casino icon Stanley Ho; Genting Singapore took a Q3 beating at the hands of lucky VIP gamblers; SJM Holdings eked out a ‘decent’ Q3 performance while Galaxy Entertainment bucked Macau’s trend by posting VIP gambling gains; South Korean casinos got a boost from Chinese gamblers; a new Siberian casino offered soundproof ‘alibi’ phone booths with fake background noises; Australia’s TAB put a renewed emphasis on online wagering; Rafi Farber suggested China’s economic woes may hold future terrors for Macau’s casino operators and Matt Savage told Angelia Ong what the WPT National Philippines will look like in coming years.
