THE AMERICAS
Rep. Joe Barton introduced a new federal online poker bill; former Bwin.party CEO Jim Ryan’s past may complicate his California online poker plans; Antigua reminded the US that its unfulfilled WTO commitments haven’t been forgotten; Atlantic City set a course for its lowest annual revenue in 22 years; Lee Davy and Tatjana Pasalic worked their magic at the World Series of Poker, where the Main Event’s first casualty picked up a major anonymous payday; Mike O’Donnell wondered why investment in social gaming companies dried up and Rebecca Liggero bid a fond farewell to outgoing American Gaming Association CEO Frank Fahrenkopf.
EUROPE
Bwin.party issued a warning that its revenues were still not what they should be, while French authorities announced they would file charges against Bwin.party CEO Norbert Teufelberger over his antics in that country seven years ago; iPoker network owner Playtech paid €38.3m to acquire affiliate PokerStrategy; Paddy Power and Zynga announced plans to launch real-money gambling on Facebook in the UK; online slots took a big bite out of Italy’s ‘bleak’ online poker market; Spanish gamblers cut their spending as the economy went sour; Belgium and Bulgaria added more names to their respective blacklists; a significant early investor sold its entire stake in Betfair and Andy Murray’s Wimbledon victory cost bookies a bundle.
ASIA
Macau announced it was contemplating making visitors declare how much money they had in their pockets but denied it was targeting Macau’s casino business; Melco International’s Lawrence Ho confirmed his Vladivostok casino plans; Sands China struck a deal with the UFC to bring mixed martial arts to Macau and Singapore; James Packer said the success of Crown’s Sydney casino depended on foreign whales; the US Securities Exchange Commission decided not to take action against Wynn Resorts for its $135m donation to the University of Macau; South Australia’s live odds ad ban will take effect on Aug. 1 and Prof. I. Nelson Rose compared the best and worst of times in Macau and Las Vegas.
