Gaming Industry News Weekly Recap – Stories You Might Have Missed

june-13-new-weekly-recapTHE AMERICAS
Pennsylvania got another online gambling bill but casino operators balked at its 54% tax rate; California got a new top gambling regulator; MGT sold its DraftDay daily fantasy sports property; New Jersey online gambling revenue rose one-fifth in May but affiliates were given 150 days to clean up their acts; NetEnt signed its first New Jersey deals; Atlantic City casinos posted a modest gain in May and Carl Icahn’s takeover of the Tropicana was approved; Massachusetts residents love illegal sports betting; Connecticut’s governor okayed state tribes to build more casinos; Trinidad & Tobago’s proposed online gambling penalties came under fire; the Atlantic Lottery Corporation caught hell for writing off its $8.7m Geonomics investment; the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake reached an online partnership with Sports Interaction; Paragon Gaming’s $600m Parq Vancouver project was officially okayed to break ground; Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo slammed the NFL’s anti-casino stance; Mark McGuiness wondered whether eSports betting is a fad while Dan Taylor poured cold water on those MGM/Wynn merger rumors and Lee Davy recapped all the week’s action at the World Series of Poker.

EUROPE
Bwin.party’s stock tumbled after PartyGaming’s founders dumped their shares; the UK Gambling Commission named Sarah Harrison as its new CEO; Hungary proposed amendments to its online gambling laws; London’s Ritz Club Casino sued another high-roller over a £2m unpaid marker; France proposed London-style exclusive gambling clubs in Paris while France’s online gaming industry association pleaded for a market overhaul; Romania threatened unauthorized online operators with a fate worse than death; Cyprus promised to vote on its casino legislation by month’s end; Interpol decided FIFA was the wrong partner to fight match-fixing; 888Poker signed Dominik Nitsche as brand ambassador and Rebecca Liggero recapped the mPayments Summit 2015 and the WhichBingo Awards 2015 winners.

ASIA
Tsinghua University took a $124m stake in China online sports lottery operator 500.com; junket operator Neptune Group warned of “substantial” losses but denied rumors of substantial layoffs; Thailand busted yet more South Korean illegal online gambling operators; Vietnam told would-be casino developers to cool their jets; Bloomberry Resorts’ Enrique Razon Jr. backed expansion of Manila’s international airport facilities; PhilWeb CEO Dennis Valdes discussed eGames’ potential in the Philippines while Philippine authorities wrestled with what to do with alleged Chinese gambling fugitive Wang Bo.