THE AMERICAS
Sportsbooks got a second Super Bowl after Mayweather v. Pacquiao was confirmed for May 2 in Las Vegas; Bitcoin poker site SealsWithClubs shut down after Nevada gaming regulators put Bryan Micon in handcuffs; Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino soft-launched its real-money gambling site; someone took a controlling interest in Pinnacle Sports; Betfair TVG bought the HRTV network from the Stronach Group; California got more online poker bills and Caesars explained why it’s now BFF with PokerStars; attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch thinks the Wire Act is fine as it is but Sheldon Adelson’s anti-online bill got a date with a House subcommittee; MGM Resorts’s Nevada properties had their best year since 2007; the Michigan Lottery paid out its first $1m online scratch prize; Nevada got closer to taking bets on Olympic events; Mexico proposed building casinos in tourist resorts; a bankruptcy judge put Revel back on the auction block; New Jersey learned which judges will decide its sports betting fate while another judge was asked what evidence would be allowed against accused bookie Paul Phua; Vegas braced for the first ever fantasy sports combine and Lee Davy offered a primer on getting banned from the 2+2 forums.
EUROPE and AFRICA
888 Holdings rebuffed William Hill’s advances while Bwin.party shares rebounded on word that it was still talking acquisition with Amaya; Playtech acquired casual gaming outfit YoYo Games; bookies were faked out by another ‘phantom’ football match in Belarus; Sweden put the brakes on its online gambling re-regulation plans; Dutch authorities broke up a “professional large scale” betting ring; South African casinos urged citizens to turn in illegal online gambling operators; Bwin.party shuffled its board of directors; Anna Casino’s Mikael Strunge offered advice on picking up women (customers); Georgia welcomed the WPT while the EPT walked away from Deauville; Manchester United launched a social poker site; Rio Ferdinand and John Barnes discussed the life of a brand ambassador and Net Entertainment’s Per Eriksson revealed that his favorite Guns N’ Roses track is You’re Crazy.
ASIA
PAGCOR won a Supreme Court fight with the Philippines’ taxman; Crown Resorts’ domestic casinos outperformed Macau; Tatts Group’s digital division outperformed retail betting; Indian’s Sikkim state issued its second online gambling license; Mongolia wants casinos to target Chinese, Russian and Japanese gamblers; Australia’s greyhound racing industry erupted in turmoil after animal cruelty footage emerges and Rafi Farber analyzed China’s role in Macau’s year of the suck.
