THE AMERICAS
DraftKings and FanDuel merger rumors heated up; US-facing betting sites faced a new credit card crackdown; a poll found 48% of Americans favored legalizing sports betting and American Gaming Association CEO Geoff Freeman said the sports betting tides are changing; China’s Cow Tai Fook Enterprises was tipped to buy the unfinished Baha Mar resort but the company had to push back against allegations of criminal ties; Wynn Resorts shares took a pounding after a lackluster Q3 report; Atlantic City welcomed its first skill-based casino games while Penn National Gaming’s CEO said regional casino operators don’t care about millennials; Zynga lost $42m while declaring its turnaround was gaining momentum and Qui Nguyen collected a cool $8m for winning the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event.
EUROPE
William Hill’s website was knocked offline by a “sophisticated” DDoS attack; Sportech called off the sale of its Football Pools to Burlywood Capital; France saw a surge in women opening online sports betting accounts; Paddy Power Betfair profits soared two-thirds in Q3 while Paddy Power rejected media reports that it was spying on its customers unnecessarily; GVC Holdings once again made it rain for shareholders; Unibet hit a new revenue record thanks to “pure activity growth;” the Melco-Hard Rock tandem was officially awarded the lone Cyprus casino license while Cyprus authorities raided eight casinos in the UN Buffer Zone; Phil Ivey lost another bid to claim his £7.7m Crockfords winnings; affiliate manager Anthony Hodgetts offered tips on how to transition from sports to casino; Global Business Partners’ Carl Wahlin explained how to lure tech-savvy gamblers while not pissing off older customers; Ed Pownall turned his Industry Eye on the online bingo business and Rebecca Liggero explained why the Malta iGaming Seminar and iGaming Idol 2016 are must-attend events.
ASIA and AUSTRALIA
Macau casino gambling revenue rose for the third straight month but Rafi Farber said the recovery would be short-lived; Las Vegas Sands’ Parisian Macao got off to a stellar start; Melco Crown saw its revenue rise more than one-fifth and confirmed Studio City would commence VIP gaming on Saturday; Australia permanently shut down the Norfolk Island Gaming Authority; Philippines-based online gambling sites will be subject to tough new anti-money laundering rules while the Philippine Supreme Court exempted Bloomberry Resorts from corporate income tax; Vietnam was said to be mulling a three-year locals-in-casinos trial; SJM Holdings revenue fell but profits rose in Q3; China’s lottery sales neared $43b over the first nine months of 2016; Imperial Pacific’s Saipan casino boasted nearly $4b in VIP turnover in October; Satoshi Citadel Industries’ Miguel Cuneta said the unpredictability of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte would have little effect on Bitcoin’s growth and Copula.ph’s Emmanuelle Vivas offered tips on legally promoting online betting services via social media.