THE AMERICAS
Daily fantasy sports returned to action in New York; Antigua & Barbuda PM gave US one last chance to resolve WTO gambling dispute;DraftKings and FanDuelpitched DFS return to Nevada;WSOPC gold ring winner Travell Thomas tried to depose PreetBharara; Caesars Entertainment Corp prepped for a volley of future bondholder lawsuits; MGM declared war against an airport casino project; Atlantic City casino profits up 21% in H1, but city warned against exodus of more workers; Alabama Senate passed simplified lottery bill; New York lawmaker considered challenging federal sports betting ban; Ng Lap Seng probed over link to mysterious Chinese spy; Roberto Romanelloextended his contract with PartyPoker; US feds sold seized Silk Road bitcoin for $1.6m; Oscar Fonrodonapressed for land-based and online casino partnerships in Latin America; Affinio’s Philip Macartneydiscussed how budding operators can successfully establish their brands; and Angelo Dallideliberated on the opportunities for lottery operators in the LatAm market.
EUROPE
Paddy Power racked up more than $65m in losses due to Betfair merger; Playtechtreated investors to over $169m special dividend; GAN secured a $1.7m investment from Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond;Rank Group refused to be dissuaded from its goal of becoming UK’s biggest multi-channel gaming operator; France kicked off its first legalized DFS; 888 launched localized Romanian product; TonyBetstarted accepting bitcoin; FedorHolzwon EPT Barcelona Super High Roller; Lee Davy pondered on what Malcom Gladwell’s Revisionist History taught him about poker; Becky Liggero discussed what the industry can learn from Pokemon Go; and Rafi Farber deliberated what will happen to gaming stocks now that UK is likely to delay Brexit.
ASIA and AUSTRALIA
Philippines opened doors to foreign-facing gambling sites as President Rodrigo Dutertewarmed up to online gambling; Baidu halted all digital currency-related promotions on its network days after Beijing cracked down on dirty money; Vietnam may soon allow sports betting but with $45 limit; Genting Malaysia’s net profit jumped to $115.9M in Q2; Imperial Pacific also enjoyed a robust H1; Galaxy Entertainment delivered over $300m in H1 profit; Nick Xenophon proposed license fee discounts to Aussie networks that turn down gambling ads; while CrownBet CEO Matthew Tripp appealed for calm amid gambling losses in Australia.
