THE AMERICAS
Nevada gaming regulators gave thumbs-ups to Bally and IGT’s online poker license bids and also to William Hill’s sportsbook acquisitions; California revised its online gambling bill as poker-only while its decision to delay exchange wagering had Betfair crying foul; Shuffle Master posted a healthy rise in Q2 profit; Zynga hired Washington lobbyists to push online gambling; New York Gov. Cuomo found himself in hot water over casino lobbying millions; mobile digital ad revenue topped $5b in 2011, action continued at the 2012 World Series of Poker and Dr. Patrick Basham told Rebecca Liggero why companies need to spread the word that gambling is good for society.
EUROPE
Italy okayed online slots starting Dec. 3; Betfair became the latest to be awarded a Spanish license; the newly elected government in German state Schleswig-Holstein said it would scrap the online gambling licenses issued by its predecessor; the suggestion was made that Malta-licensed Everleaf Gaming’s efforts to refund its former US players’ balances aren’t serious; the UK’s Health Lottery got the nod to head online; Czech operator Fortuna named its new CEO; bwin.party execs had their pay packets approved; social sports betting apps debut with Euro 2012 but UK regulators are keeping a close watch; Yipiii Gaming’s deals with UK retailers appear in jeopardy and Mecca Bingo’s Angus Nisbet discussed the difficulties of convincing bingo clubs to join the online fun.
ASIA
James Packer succeeded in ousting John Story from the board of Echo Entertainment but Genting’s stealthy stock buy may complicate Packer’s takeover bid; Steve Wynn revealed plans for Wynn Resorts’ new $4b Macau project while Melco Crown looked for banks to help finance its latest Macau plans; the push by some Philippine pols to abolish Pagcor would benefit Macau more than it would the Philippines; the Wall Street Journal claimed Las Vegas Sands was offered a $300m solution to its legal woes in Macau; GTECH went mobile in Beijing; Asian-facing operator Bodog88 purchased the Bodog Poker Network; PokerStars scrapped the August Macau Poker Cup dates; an illegal gambling operator got a stiff Malaysian jail sentence; China’s social game companies are being put under the state’s microscope and Singapore residents are getting Euro 2012 come-ons via their mobile phones.
