The Indian state of Sikkim will ban local residents from accessing sports betting shops run by Golden Gaming International following a ruckus in a public market.

Earlier this week, an anti-gambling activist vandalized a booth that Golden Gaming had set up in a market in Sikkim’s capital Gangtok. Channeling Jesus Christ dismantling the temple’s moneylending operations, Noel Sharma tore Golden Gaming’s booth to shreds before police could clap him in irons.

Sharma’s ire was reportedly sparked by his belief that Golden Gaming was illegally promoting betting on the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Golden Gaming was running a darts game featuring a spinning wheel emblazoned with the flags of World Cup countries. Participants were given Rs1k (US$15) coupons that could be used at Golden Gaming’s licensed gaming parlors in the state.

On Thursday, Glaws.in reported that Sikkim’s Chief Minister Kumar Chamling had announced the state government would ban local residents from accessing Golden Gaming’s betting shops. If locals are found gambling in the shops, Chamling warned that the state would revoke Golden Gaming’s operating license.

Japan’s long-awaited casino legislation has finally made some forward progress, despite opposition parties’ obstructionist tactics.

On Friday, a committee in the Diet’s Lower House approved the Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Bill, which seeks to formalize how Japan’s casino operations will be regulated. Japan amended its constitution to permit casino gambling way back in 2016 but crafting the nuts and bolts of regulation is taking longer than most observers anticipated.

The Japan Times reported that Friday’s vote was preceded by a symbolic show of defiance from opposition lawmakers, who swarmed around committee chair Daishrio Yamagiwa to demonstrate their disapproval of the proceedings.

Earlier this week, opposition lawmakers attempted to sandbag the legislative process by calling for the dismissal of the cabinet minister responsible for the IR bill. But the motion was rejected on Friday by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Buddhist-backed Komeito party.

UK online gambling taxes will be hiked before the government gets around to slashing the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT).

On Friday, UK media reported that the Treasury had agreed to delay the reduction in maximum FOBT stakes from their current £100 to just £2 until April 2020. The government justified the delay by saying that it was attempting to “balance the needs” of problem gamblers and industry staff by allowing the industry “sufficient time to implement these technological changes.”

Labour Party members were predictably outraged, with MP Carolyn Harris saying she was “breathing fire” over the announcement. Labour deputy leader Tom Watson called the delay “a pathetic move from a fundamentally weak government.”

Anti-gambling campaigners were equally miffed, noting that the companies that make FOBTs needed only a couple months to make the necessary changes, allegedly poking holes in the government’s claim that the industry needed two years to make the switch.