THE AMERICAS
Antigua’s Prime Minister warned that his country’s “patience is wearing thin” with the United States over their WTO dispute; Canada’s Intertain Group announced it was moving to the UK after failing to identify a buyer; eSports skin betting site CSGOFast closed following Valve Corp’s cease & desist order and Jeff Ifrah offered tips on how to build a compliant US-facing eSports business; Quebec’s IP-blocking plan met its second legal challenge and Jaswal Institute’s Johnny Jaswal suggested Canada’s First Nations could join the fray; the Michigan Lottery’s website made another millionaire; another California card club found itself on the wrong side of the law; Delaware’s online gambling market had a record June; Nevada sportsbooks had a really sucky June; Doug Holmes pondered the ways in which virtual reality could affect the gambling industry and LeoVegas’ Marcus Nylen warned operators not to treat Latin America as a monolith.
EUROPE
William Hill found itself a takeover target of Rank Group and 888 Holdings; France Pari acquired Spanish operator Suertia; Estoril Sol was issued Portugal’s first online casino license; UK Gambling Commission data showed young adults losing interest in gambling; Unibet’s Q2 revenue soared thanks to Euro 2016 and new acquisitions; Svenska Spel had a so-so H1; Cyprus announced plans to open up its online sports betting market; the Netherlands government said Curaçao was preparing tougher rules for online gambling operators; daily fantasy sports operator FanDuel received its UK gambling license; SportPesa signed not one but two English Premier League deals; Pinnacle’s Harry Lang explained why eSports betting operators should play the games themselves; Riaan de Jager warned affiliates to pay more attention to fees while Delta Markets founder John Dekkers explained why affiliates need to be passionate and patient; former compulsive gambler Jessica Broekhuis preached the value of knowing one’s state of mind; Isle of Man Post Office commercial director Lisa Duckworth said direct mail is not dead and SBC’s Andy McCarron explained why you should attend the inaugural Betting on Sports Conference.
ASIA and AUSTRALIA
PAGCOR revoked 124 eGames licenses to comply with President Duterte’s call for a crackdown; Las Vegas Sands posted its first year-on-year mass market gains in Macau in nearly two years; Wynn Resorts warned that Wynn Palace might only get 100 new gaming tables; Delta Corp won the right to open a casino in Sikkim; Australian anti-betting groups proposed discounting TV license fees in exchange for a betting advertising ban; Illegal UnionPay transactions in Macau doubled in the first half of the year; Macau regulators warned that new electronic table game regulations were in the works; South Korea’s auditor urged tighter restrictions on locals gambling at Kangwon Land’s casino; a Philippine casino was ordered closed for failing to honor a revenue sharing deal and recent election victories in Japan revived talk of passing casino legislation.
