THE AMERICAS
The eSports world was thrown into turmoil after game developer Valve Corp told third-party gambling sites to stop accessing its Steam marketplace and video streaming service Twitch warned users not to stream content that violated Valve’s ban; eSportsBet co-founder Mark McGuinness warned that the skin betting industry would be in the crosshairs of state officials and BtwoBet’s Allessandro Fried examined eSports’ meteoric rise; Brazil’s interim president proposed an online sports betting monopoly but Camara Dos Deputados’ Osmar Moraes believes Brazil’s gambling regulation is on the right track; Pennsylvania legislators postponed an online gambling vote until the fall but 888 Holdings started marketing in the state anyway; PokerStars failed to cure New Jersey’s online poker summer slump but New Jersey reached an agreement in principle on a liquidity sharing deal with the UK; Quebec’s plan to block online gambling domains got its first official challenge; virtual sports specialists Inspired Gaming was sold to a New York acquisition vehicle; MGM Resorts launched online slots tournaments at nine Vegas casinos; Larry Flynt threatened to walk away from his Normandie Casino purchase and federal watchdogs fined Hawaiian Gardens Casino $2.8m over AML lapses; West Virginia labeled daily fantasy sports a game of skill while Maryland proposed DFS consumer protections; Dickinson Wright attorney Robert Stocker sees no future for DFS in Latin America; an NFL attorney hinted that the league was internally divided over its anti-betting stance; Lee Davy recapped all the action at the World Series of Poker 2016 while Rafi Farber warned that the WSOP won’t save Caesars Entertainment.
EUROPE
Playtech acquired betting software rival Best Gaming Technology; the UK Gambling Commission warned licensees not to advertise on file-sharing websites; Russia’s communications watchdog threatened payment processors over online gambling links; GVC Holdings saw H1 revenue spike as punters bet more and won less; NetEnt profits jumped 46% in the first half of 2016; UK gambling operators boosted TV ad spending 17% last year; the Brexit vote played havoc with Genting Malaysia’s share price; UK lottery players protested Camelot’s decision to hike EuroMillions ticket prices; Betfair signed a global betting partnership with FC Barcelona and Becky Liggero revealed her top five takeaways from the World Gaming Executive Summit 2016.
ASIA and AUSTRALIA
The Philippines’ gaming regulator gave eGames provider PhilWeb a one-month extension of its license; Sportsbet’s online in-play betting app was referred to Australian Federal Police while Sportsbet launched its new eSports streaming site; Aussie Sen. Nick Xenophon decided to use his new political clout to press for new gambling restrictions; Entertainment Gaming Asia sold off slots businesses in Cambodia and the Philippines; an online gambling site used Facebook Live to lure Vietnamese punters; Macau’s gaming regulator wants casinos to close the revenue gap between slots and VIP baccarat; Hong Kong’s High Court ordered the sale of that stranded casino cruise ship; Saipan’s government forced Imperial Pacific to boot hundreds of foreign workers; a private group offered Goa’s floating casinos a permanent place to dock and Silver Heritage’s Tim Shepherd said India’s gambling market will be the next Macau while American Gaming Association CEO Geoff Freeman said Macau’s market was still “in the early stages of its evolution.”
