The Nepalese government is planning to streamline and regulate the country’s casino industry through the enactment of a new law, The Kathmandu Post reported.

Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism is set to submit a draft of Casino Bill 2018 to the Cabinet next week as the agency seeks to rein in existing casinos that continue to operate without paying a dime to the government.

Under Nepal’s Casino Regulation 2013, operators need to shell out NPR20 million (US$185,700) to obtain a casino operating license. Casino operators must pay half of the casino operating license fee when renewing their license annually.

Casinos in Nepal are also required to pay another NPR30 million ($279,300) fee annually under Nepal’s Financial Act. There were suggestions to increase this fee by one-third for financial year 2018-2019.

Following up on a previous story on Bloomberry and its Solaire casino in the Philippines, the casino operator has now completed the purchase of land sitting under the casino. The deal comes after Bloomberry won a bid to purchase the property from its previous owner, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). Bloomberry had previously been paying an annual rent for the property.

Bloomberry, through one of its subsidiaries, completed the cash purchase worth $710.8 million for the two parcels of land under Solaire. According to a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange, the deed was signed over on Monday to Bloomberry and its subsidiary, Sureste Properties Inc., from PAGCOR.

The land, measuring 39.5 acres, is part of Entertainment City, an area previously designated for large-scale casino development. According to Bloomberry, Sureste was the only bidder for the land in a negotiated sale that was open for bids until April 17. PAGCOR had previously attempted to auction off the property twice, in November of last year and this past January, failing in both attempts.

In the previous attempts, PAGCOR had listed a starting cash price of $726.6 million. Sureste, which owns the leasehold rights of the Solaire Casino, was offered the right to match any offer due to its connection to the property; however, this proved to be irrelevant as no other bids were received.

Wynn Resorts seems to be holding its own, despite the multimillion-dollar fiasco caused by its founder and former CEO Steve Wynn. The company’s revenue has maintained relative strength and looks to be staging a comeback. However, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (DBS) has lowered its second-quarter expectations for the company, but not for any reasons related to Wynn’s sexual allegations scandal and the subsequent fallout.

DBS lowered its forecast due to weakened VIP gaming performance in Macau where Wynn Resorts has a significant presence with Wynn Palace and Wynn Macau. Although the forecast was lowered, DBS analysts commented yesterday that the company is still “a compelling medium- and longer-term story.”

Pre-EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization) forecasted earnings for the second-quarter are now at around $17 million, down 4% from previous forecasts.  Danny Valoy and Carlo Santarelli, the DBS analysts who presented the forecast, said, “Relative to consensus, our second-quarter property level forecast (US$522 million) is approximately 3 percent below Consensus Metrix consensus (US$537 million) as our Macau property-level estimate is approximately 4 percent below consensus.”

The June VIP action in Macau could continue to soften. Junkets in the area are busy arranging trips for their customers to travel to Russia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, instead of to Macau.  However, the analysts pointed out that this would have “nothing more than a transitory impact.”

In the midst of a hot summer with an endless supply of poker tournaments, now is the time to submit nominations for the WSOP Poker Hall of Fame (PHOF). Public nominations are being accepted from now until about the end of July, and can be submitted through the WSOP website link, www.wsop.com/phof.

Both player and non-player nominees can be submitted. Multiple selections are possible by a single visitor; however, each selection has to be submitted separately. For a player’s name to be submitted, that individual must have participated in a recognized competition, be at least 40 years old, must have played in a high-stakes game and must have gained the respect of his or her peers. Non-player candidates must have significantly contributed to the growth and success of poker, leaving positive and long-lasting results.

The PHOF is owned by Caesars and is part of the WSOP’s operational framework. Caesars inherited the hall of fame when it changed hands from Binion’s Horseshoe to Harrah’s in 2004. Harrah’s was subsequently acquired by Caesars. Typically, two individuals are selected for entry each year.

After the closing of the two-month nomination window, the top ten recommended individuals are reviewed by the PHOF selection committee. The committee has the authority to swap names, if it desires, for individuals that it feels deserves recognition despite not being selected by the public. After agreeing to the final ten, a vote is held by the 25 living members of the PHOF and a small panel of journalists. The finalists will more than likely be announced in September, with the induction ceremony to be held in October or November.

Daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings has officially launched operations in Australia, even if it might not really want to anymore.

On Monday, DraftKings announced that its Australian site had officially opened for business. The launch marks the seventh jurisdiction outside DraftKings’ United States base that can now access the company’s DFS player pool.

DraftKings chief international officer Jeffrey Haas said the company had targeted Australia due to the country being “home to some of the most passionate sports fans in the world.” DraftKings is offering its Aussie customers a range of 10 different sports on which to build their fantasy models.

DraftKings announced the imminent launch of its Aussie site back in April, before the US Supreme Court struck down the federal prohibition on single-game sports wagering outside Nevada. The question is now whether DraftKings is as committed to expanding its international presence, at least, in terms of a DFS product.

More coverage from 888Live Barcelona as Lee Davy sits down with the former World Series of Poker Main Event Champion, Martin Jacobson, to talk about how it feels to enter the lion’s den after being the lion, why he isn’t playing more high roller events, and more.

888Live Barcelona: Martin Jacobson on the WSOP; HR politics and more Audio

More coverage from 888Live Barcelona as Lee Davy sits down with polymath Natalie Hof to discover what she wanted to be when she grew up, the influence of Eckhart Tolle and much more. 

888Live Barcelona: Natalie Hof – “Eckhart Tolle changed my life.” Audio

More coverage from 888Live Barcelona as Lee Davy sits down with the former Global Poker Index Spain #1, Ana Marquez, to discover what she’s been up to since I last saw her in 2013, her views on burning out and much more. 

Ana Marquez left PokerStars in 2013.

Back then she was a bit of a wiz, topping the Spanish Global Poker Index (GPI) charts, and winning events like the Hollywood Poker Open. And then nothing. Not a blip. Earlier this year, she popped up on my radar at 888Live Bucharest, winning the High Roller, and now, here she is, five years later, sitting on a couch in a figure-hugging creme dress sipping on a cocktail that wouldn’t look out of place in Del Boy’s hand.

I hadn’t spoken to her since she left the Red Spade, so it was time for hugs, not shakes. I kissed her and screwed up the whole Spanish double kiss thing, and we settled in for a brief chat about life since that split from Stars.  

Another round-up of news at the World Series of Poker including Nick Petrangelo maintaining his lead going into the final table of the $100k, Julien Martini binking a bracelet in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-or-Better, and the first online bracelet of the festival goes to…I haven’t got a clue?

I wake up and walk to the Casino Barcelona hoping to bump into my story of the day. My Dad wakes up and spends the next hour pulling hair out of the sink with a cotton bud because he’s retired and doesn’t know what to do, and Nick Petrangelo wakes up and figures out how he is going to make all the right moves so he can bank $2.9m.

To say the poker world is ‘another’ world is sometimes the overstatement of the century.

How many sportsmen and women around the world are waking up this morning preparing to win $2.9m?

The US casino lobby group is reportedly looking for a new chief exec as its current leader prepares to exit in August.

On Monday, CDC Gaming Reports claimed that the American Gaming Association (AGA) will issue a statement on Tuesday announcing the departure of Geoff Freeman, the group’s CEO since 2013.

The 43-year-old Freeman will reportedly stay on the job until August 1 to oversee the AGA’s transition to new leadership. The AGA’s board apparently doesn’t have a successor lined up, suggesting that Freeman’s departure came as something of a surprise. Freeman is reportedly leaving to take a similar position with the Grocery Manufacturers Association, where he can represent melons and not melonheads for a change.

Freeman, who formerly served as executive VP of the US Travel Association, assumed the AGA’s top job following the departure of Frank Fahrenkopf, a former Republican party insider and the only CEO the AGA had known since its formation in July 1995.

The major sports leagues had a mixed reception at separate sports betting discussions in New Jersey and New York on Monday.

Monday saw committees in each of New Jersey’s legislative chambers approve their respective sports betting bills, paving the way for a vote by the full legislature, possibly as early as Thursday (7). Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to sign the bill into law the following day.

The bills advanced despite fierce opposition from representatives from several pro sports bodies, including Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the PGA Tour. The leagues are requesting/demanding a 0.25% cut of all sports wagers, ostensibly to fund ‘integrity’ efforts but, in reality, an opportunistic cash grab based on the leagues’ perceived intellectual property rights.

The league reps were excoriated by Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, a longtime gaming advocate who didn’t mince words in slamming the leagues’ “disgraceful” attempt to turn the state’s recent victory at the US Supreme Court into an obligation to line the pockets of those who so vehemently opposed the state’s multi-year legal betting quest.

Italy’s gambling industry is once again under threat as the recently formed coalition government appears to have survived last week’s near-death experience.

Last Friday, Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella agreed to accept Giuseppe Conte as the country’s new prime minister, representing the coalition of the League and Five Star Movement (M5S). The country had appeared headed for new elections after the coalition failed to convince Mattarella to accept their original choice for finance minister, but that was then, this is now.

Last month, the coalition released a document outlining their plans for governing, including a harsh position on the nation’s gambling industry. The coalition has proposed a 35% reduction in the number of land-based gaming machines and an “absolute ban” on gambling advertising and sponsorships.

In case anyone thought the coalition was bluffing, M5S Senator Matteo Mantero (pictured) unveiled drafts of two new pieces of legislation last week, the first covering restrictions on the placement of gambling venues and limiting them to eight hours of operation per day.