Russian legislators have approved a new law which aims to make registration in Russian-licensed online sports betting sites easier, with the hope of enticing more people to gamble without leaving their houses.

The law deals with interactive remote authentication and identification of banking customers. It requires customers to submit biometric data - face, eye and voice scans, etc. - that will be stored in a centralized database for use in remote transactions. The current registration process involves two steps: first, an online registration with the bookmaker; then physical presentation of proof of identification in an authorized retail outlet after registration with a centralized payment hub.

Data privacy advocates have slammed the dangers of the new law as it allows the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service to share the data gathered from the punters.

CalvinAyre.com's industry reporter Becky Liggero looked back on her top 10 interviews for 2017. No sports greats made the list but there were five top videos related to Bitcoin and the blockchain technology.

Charlie Lee announced that he has “sold and donated” all his Litecoins (LTC), citing a conflict of interest as a reason. Users, however, have construed Lee's move as a classic case of market manipulation.

Free TV Australia (FTA), Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) and the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) have proposed changes to a recently implemented policy that prohibits television and radio stations from airing gambling promotions during “all live sports broadcasts” between 5:00 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.

The eSports market intelligence provider has released a new paper that asserted an optimistic view on the competitive gaming industry, using data from Sweden, Poland, Spain, and Germany. The paper claimed that the industry could be worth $2.4b by 2020.

The Connecticut casino has become the latest venue to offer a new “stadium” gambling setup for its customers. The new setup features 30 play terminals and three live dealers, allowing players simultaneous access to both blackjack and mini-baccarat games.

Japan is the number one country for gaming machines. There are close to 5 million pachinko and pachi-slot machines in the Land of the Rising Sun. This means that there is one gaming machine for every 27 people in Japan, compared to one gaming machine for every 350 people in the United States.

The news portal has given out Bitcoin Cash (BCH) to developers who are working to find the best ways to make a true peer-to-peer digital cash system that can be used worldwide. CoinGeek.com also expressed its interest to fund other BCH platforms or open source projects.

Congratulations to Ronald Martin for being the new COO of BlockEx! Martin will be bringing his financial expertise to the blockchain. He had years of experience in the field of financial technology as he was the former executive in residence at Bain Capital Ventures, former Senior Vice President & General Manager of Altisource, and CEO of Paysafe PLC.