THE AMERICAS
Caesars Entertainment reached agreement with senior creditors to put itself into bankruptcy in January; the Trump Taj Mahal got a reprieve after Carl Icahn threw it a $20m lifeline; Harry Reid said he expected anti-online gambling legislation to reappear in the upcoming session of Congress; New Jersey’s online gambling revenue hit an all-time low in November; New York approved three casino projects; the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel warned that the government shutting down their online bingo site was a threat to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act; the Equity Poker Network and Winning Poker Network were the latest sites to come under DDOS attack; the British Columbia Lottery Corporation said 2% of gamblers generate 75% of casino revenue; Sam Nazarian received a Nevada gaming license after stepping down as CEO of SLS Las Vegas; MGT Capital brought daily fantasy sports to Facebook; a Kentucky politician filed legislation to kill off cyber-gambling cafés; Oron Barber explained why both operators and players should use Bitcoin and Rafi Farber reviewed his 2014 trading calls.
EUROPE
Russia approved tough new penalties for illegal gambling and a top Russian politician accused foreign embassies of hosting illegal gambling; 666Bet switched to a new betting platform; Isle of Man licensees got a tax break; GVC Holdings enjoyed a positive post-World Cup hangover; the Czech Republic planned to double taxes on gambling operators; Ireland’s online gambling tax faced yet another delay; GamCrowd’s Ian Hogg predicted a tough year ahead for UK bookmakers; Daniel & Thomas said ‘black hat’ SEO techniques can still produce surprising results; Slotsquad’s James Isherwood explained what the iGaming industry has to do to engage the player of tomorrow while Rebecca Liggero recapped her top iGaming PR stunts, interviews and innovations of 2014.
ASIA
China unleashed its Ministry of Public Security on Macau’s junket operators; Crown Resorts and BetEasy confirmed their online betting joint venture; Landing International acquired a South Korean casino license; a prominent Philippine journalist warned that nuisance raids by irresponsible policemen could cause Manila-based online gambling operators to fly the coop; Tony Fung’s Aquis resort project received an environmental thumbs-up; Melco Crown Entertainment took a majority stake in Entertainment Gaming Asia; Macau’s vanishing VIPs caused the Louis XIII casino to offer shares at a discount; China LotSynergy paid $10m for lottery system provider Beijing Bestinfo Cyber Technology; PokerStars opened a new live poker room at City Of Dreams Manila and Solaire Resort and Casino’s Mike Kim revealed what it took to bring the World Poker Tour to the Philippines.
