Monthly Archives: January 2016

Amaya pays €5.9m to resolve PokerStars’ Italian back tax issues

Canadian online gambling operator Amaya Gaming has settled an Italian back-tax dispute related to its flagship PokerStars brand.

On Wednesday, Amaya announced that it had agreed to pay Italian tax authorities €5.9m to resolve the dispute, which involved Stars’ operations in Italy between 2009 and 2014.

The tax claim first surfaced in March 2015, when Italy’s Guardia di Finanza accused PokerStars’ parent company Rational Group of using subsidiaries to “willfully erode” the company’s Italian tax obligations. The taxman estimated that the ruse – which involved assigning Stars’ Italian revenues to other Rational subsidiaries in jurisdictions with lower tax rates – had tried to dodge obligations on €300m in revenue, on which €85m tax was owed.

Amaya says the payment, which includes all amounts owed to Italian authorities for the period in question, officially closes the matter, and Amaya doesn’t face any additional tax liabilities for the 2014 tax year.

State of Georgia casino gambling: Rep pushes for constitutional amendment, senator wants lobbyists to ‘declare every red cent’

A representative in Georgia is asking his fellow lawmakers to help him kill his casino gambling bill.

Last year, Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) introduced a legislation that aims to regulate how casinos would operate in the state. Specifically, the state would limit the number of casinos in Georgia to just six in five geographic areas—Atlanta, Columbus, Macon, Savannah and South Georgia.

However, WSB Radio reported that Stephens now wants “to put his measure on hold for at least a year to push for the constitutional amendment first.”

In an interview, the lawmaker told WSB Radio: “I kind of pulled everybody together and said, ‘Guys I hope you’ll help me kill my bill.’”

Vulcun lays off 25% of staff as part of company ‘transition’

Daily fantasy eSports operator Vulcun has laid off a quarter of its total workforce as part of its “transition” plans.

The Verge reported that the company had let go 14 people from its 55-member staff, or about 25 percent of the total number of Vulcun’s people.

In an email to The Verge, Vulcun co-founder Ali Moiz said the layoffs were part of a “painful but necessary process” as the company transitions to a different direction.

“We are actively helping these people look for new jobs,” Moiz told the news outlet.

Security Behind the Scenes of the Big Powerball…

With the Powerball jackpot jumping again Tuesday morning to $1.5 billion, office pools are not the only places taking Wednesday’s big drawing seriously. The Florida lottery studio in Tallahassee where the record-breaking drawing will take place has a battery of tests and security checks that it will perform to try to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Security Behind the Scenes of the Big Powerball…

With the Powerball jackpot jumping again Tuesday morning to $1.5 billion, office pools are not the only places taking Wednesday’s big drawing seriously. The Florida lottery studio in Tallahassee where the record-breaking drawing will take place has a battery of tests and security checks that it will perform to try to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

The Rams Return To Los Angeles – A Plan Twenty Years In The Making

The Los Angeles Rams are back. The league voted almost unanimously to return the NFL to the second largest market in the country in immediate fashion. The Rams will be back in southern California for the 2016 season thanks to the painstaking efforts of owner Stan Kroenke.

To many, this is a correction that was two decades in the making. What you might know is that this move has been in the works for a long time. What you might not know is that the league never wanted the Rams to leave Los Angeles in the first place.

In order to understand the whole picture of this sordid tale of quibbling billionaires, you have to take a little trip through history.

Kroenke, a sports business entrepreneur, has been a major stakeholder in the team since their move to St. Louis in 1995. Back then, he had a 40-percent hold in the company. The rest of it belonged to a woman named Georgia Frontiere.

The Rams Return To Los Angeles – A Plan Twenty Years In The Making

The Los Angeles Rams are back. The league voted almost unanimously to return the NFL to the second largest market in the country in immediate fashion. The Rams will be back in southern California for the 2016 season thanks to the painstaking efforts of owner Stan Kroenke.

To many, this is a correction that was two decades in the making. What you might know is that this move has been in the works for a long time. What you might not know is that the league never wanted the Rams to leave Los Angeles in the first place.

In order to understand the whole picture of this sordid tale of quibbling billionaires, you have to take a little trip through history.

Kroenke, a sports business entrepreneur, has been a major stakeholder in the team since their move to St. Louis in 1995. Back then, he had a 40-percent hold in the company. The rest of it belonged to a woman named Georgia Frontiere.

Melco Barcelona casino bid could face delays

Lawrence Ho’s pursuit of a license to run a casino in the Spanish city of Barcelona may be held up.

Ho controlled companies Melco International Development Ltd. and MelcoLot Ltd., in its filing to Hong Kong Stock Exchange last week, announced that the second-phase tender process for its bid for a casino license near Barcelona may face delay.

The possible delay is due to the Catalan Government’s uncertainty in announcing the conclusion of an urban planning master plan involving the reorganization of the environment of the tourist recreational center of Vila-Seca and Salou. The company has revealed that a regional election in Catalonia in September 2015 had not been able to produce a single majority party or ruling coalition. As such, there is uncertainty regarding the outcome of previous consultations for the casino license.

According to the filing, the Catalan government proposed the master plan in the third quarter of 2015 for public consultation until December 1 of last year. A definitive master plan was supposed to be completed within three months after the end of the public consultation phase. Applications were to be submitted within one month after the said plan was published.

Melco Barcelona casino bid could face delays

Lawrence Ho’s pursuit of a license to run a casino in the Spanish city of Barcelona may be held up.

Ho controlled companies Melco International Development Ltd. and MelcoLot Ltd., in its filing to Hong Kong Stock Exchange last week, announced that the second-phase tender process for its bid for a casino license near Barcelona may face delay.

The possible delay is due to the Catalan Government’s uncertainty in announcing the conclusion of an urban planning master plan involving the reorganization of the environment of the tourist recreational center of Vila-Seca and Salou. The company has revealed that a regional election in Catalonia in September 2015 had not been able to produce a single majority party or ruling coalition. As such, there is uncertainty regarding the outcome of previous consultations for the casino license.

According to the filing, the Catalan government proposed the master plan in the third quarter of 2015 for public consultation until December 1 of last year. A definitive master plan was supposed to be completed within three months after the end of the public consultation phase. Applications were to be submitted within one month after the said plan was published.