THE AMERICAS
California’s online poker bill was amended to redefine ‘bad actor’ to benefit PokerStars but the changes aren’t sitting well with Stars’ opponents; Nevada gave initial approval to its first licensed daily fantasy sports operator; GSN Games unveiled its Sparcade real-money head-to-head arcade app; Amaya Gaming’s interim CEO earned twice as much as David Baazov in 2015; Foxwoods Resorts Casino’s owners announced a new venue in Biloxi, Mississippi; Manitoba First Nations’ planned to draft a law to give them more control over gaming; Steve Wynn threw major shade at his millennial customers; California regulators revoked the gaming license of Casino M8trix co-owner Eric Swallow; Maryland casinos set a new monthly revenue record; Lee Davy recapped the action at the World Series of Poker 2016 and wondered if the poker community should forgive former Full Tilt principal Chris Ferguson.
EUROPE
A cash crunch forced Mybet to sell its stake in Pferdewetten racing business; Gala Coral’s online sports betting more than doubled in Q1; Russia proposed harsher penalties for unauthorized gambling operators while the Stoloto lottery was tipped as the country’s second licensed online betting operator; Danske Spil was ordered to stop using a misleading slogan; PokerStars scrapped its Duel app after disappointing customer reponse; Marit Von Stedingk offered tips on how to succeed as an independent iGaming affiliate while Rob Wright discussed whether it’s best to buy or build an affiliate business; Rebecca Liggero dragged her camera crew to Days One and Two of the iGaming Super Show 2016 and recapped the Gaming In Holland 2016 conference while Willem van Oort offered his own take on the Dutch get-together.
ASIA and AUSTRALIA
Australia’s Northern Territory ordered its licensees to stop offering online in-play sports wagers; Bet 365 Australia was fined $2.75m over a misleading ‘free bets’ offer while William Hill Australia lost market share to its competitors; Asian police forces braced for their Euro 2016 betting crackdown; South Korea’s Kangwon Land made the Forbes 2000 list; Resorts World Sentosa laid off 400 casino staff; Manila’s Solaire Resort & Casino banned two junkets linked to that Bangladeshi bank heist; Sheldon Adelson hurled more insults at Galaxy Entertainment Group; SpotOption’s Kerry Gan discussed how to marry the betting industry with the stock market and Rafi Farber exposed Beijing’s ‘helpful policies’ as a gut-punch to Macau’s casino market.
