THE AMERICAS
Ultimate Gaming announced its exit from the New Jersey online gambling market; New Jersey offered pro sports leagues a cut of its potential sports betting revenue; Wynn Resorts won the Boston casino license derby and Suffolk Downs Racetrack immediately announced it would close; Loto-Québec awaited next week’s online gambling report before firming up its PokerStars partnership; the LCB Network paid $2.35m to acquire WizardofOdds and WizardofVegas; Zynga’s failed real-money gambling ambitions were underscored by the exit of exec Maytal Olsha; Ben Affleck admitted he’s a blackjack card-counter; WSOP.com celebrated its one-year Nevada anniversary by hiring Greg Merson as ambassador and Breakout Gaming hired a bunch of pros to pimp their new cryptocurrency site; analysts suggested Canada’s TheScore network had a future in sports betting and Pennsylvania pol William Thomas discussed the state’s online gambling future with Rebecca Liggero.
EUROPE
Germany’s sports betting plans faced further delay after losing applicants launched a legal challenge of the licensing process; UK bookies reached an early deal on the new horseracing betting levy; the UK taxman told Sportech to repay £93m in rebates; the UK Gambling Commission received 161 applications for new licenses but the High Court set a date to hear Gibraltar’s challenge of the country’s new gambling law; PokerStars gave its UK players an update on its new life under a UK license; Betfair paid out early on the Scottish referendum, in which bookies proved more accurate than pollsters; Bwin.fr migrated its poker players to PartyPoker’s French platform and the Aviation Club was raided by Parisian police; Bulgaria, Hungary and Latvia expanded their online gambling blacklists; Smart Live Gaming claimed women were better gamblers than men; Rank Group’s casino overtures to Belfast went unrequited; Tom Galanis examined what goes into launching a new sports betting site and Becky Liggero revealed why affiliates should embrace mobile gambling.
ASIA
Hong Kong says it won’t follow Singapore’s lead in IP-blocking unauthorized online gambling sites, while Singapore’s social gamers feared arrest; Lawrence Ho’s Russian casino pushed back its opening date; China’s sports lottery sales rose despite the absence of the World Cup; Macau casino workers threatened to target SJM Holdings during Golden Week; Hong Kong rich dude Stephen Hung bought $20m worth of Rolls Royce Phantoms for his Louis XIII property; India led all nations in social gaming’s Cards & Casino category; celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay signed a deal to open a restaurant at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands; Rafi Farber wondered if Melco Crown Entertainment can withstand deteriorating conditions in China and Angelia Ong captured all the action at the Asian Poker Tour Asian Series Manila.
