Italy’s online gamblers spent a record sum on sports betting in 2017, accounting for over half of all betting wagers.

Figures reported this week by Italian gaming news outlet Agimeg show Italian sports bettors wagered a record €9.9b in 2017, up from €7.5b in 2016 and just €5.5b in 2015. Roughly 56% (€5.65b) of 2017’s betting handle was wagered via Italian-licensed online betting sites.

The 2017 figures were goosed by a 287% rise in December’s betting handle, attributable in part to Serie A football staging matches through the holiday season for the first time, delaying players’ holiday break until the end of January. Also bringing joy to operators’ faces was December’s 75.5% payout ratio to bettors, the lowest figure all year.

Italian-licensed operators’ full-year sports betting revenue surged 44.5% year-on-year to €1.34b. Online betting revenue was up 59.4% to €555.6m, including €82m in just the month of December.

Brazil’s online gamblers are facing a crisis after payment processors Neteller and Skrill announced they would no longer support Brazilians making deposits to gambling services.

On Wednesday, Brazilian gamblers reported receiving email notices from Neteller informing them that the company “will no longer process deposits by members in Brazil to gambling merchants” effective February 21. Skrill customers reported receiving a similarly worded message.

Customers will have until February 28 to withdraw funds from online gambling sites to their Neteller/Skrill accounts. The companies apologized for the inconvenience and said customers’ accounts will otherwise be unaffected.

It’s unclear what type of pressure Brazilian law enforcement may have put on Neteller and Skrill, which are both owned by Paysafe Group (formerly Optimal Payments). Paysafe has steadily reduced its online gambling relationships in recent years as governments attempt to enforce nanny-state restrictions on how citizens can spend their money.

UK-listed online gambling operator GVC Holdings performed above and beyond expectations in 2017, thanks to a record Q4 result.

On Thursday, GVC issued a trading update covering its Q4 and FY17 results, which saw the company post double-digit gains in both sports and gaming brand revenue. Net daily revenue in Q4 totaled €279.5m, up 21% over Q4 2016 and the highest quarterly total since the company acquired the Bwin.party operations a couple years back.

GVC’s Q4 daily sports revenue was up 35% (40% in constant currency terms) to €1.2m as margins improved 3.4 points to a hefty 13.1%. The gains came despite betting handle falling 11% year-on-year, which the company said was “predominantly” due to the November sale of its Turkish-facing operations.

Despite keeping so much of its punters’ money, the sports brands’ gaming/other revenue shot up 14% to just under €1.1m, thanks to “improved product and cross-sell.” GVC’s dedicated games brands reported daily revenue rising 22% to €677k, with PartyPoker singled out for “maintaining its impressive growth.”

State-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is back to peddling two parcels of land where Solaire Resort and Casino stands after investors snubbed its first auction two months ago.

GGRAsia reported that PAGCOR has put two lots, with a combined area of 160,359 square meters (1.73 million sq. feet), up for auction this week after the state regulator failed to receive bids from prospective investors.

The bidding procedure for the two parcels of lot remains the same, according to the report. PAGCOR set the starting bidding price for the twin lots at PHP 37.23 billion ($726.6 million), which must be paid in cash.

Since Solaire has the leasehold rights for the lots, Bloomberry Resorts Corp., through its unit Sureste Properties Inc., has the right to match “the highest complying bid for the properties.”

At least 11 states are likely to legalize sports betting this year should the U.S. Supreme Court (SC) declares the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) unconstitutional.

The Associated Press reported that sports betting bills are in the cards of at least 18 U.S. states in case the high tribunal rules in favor of New Jersey’s petition.

Citing the latest Eilers & Krejcik Gaming research, the states that are going to introduce sports betting bills this year are Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and California. Both Indiana and Kentucky have already introduced their bills recently.

However, the same research showed that only 11 of these 18 states are likely to have a good chance of enacting the sports betting bills. These states are Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Indiana.