The UK’s competition watchdog is probing The Stars Group’s US$4.7b acquisition of Sky Betting & Gaming (SBG).

On Tuesday, Canada’s The Stars Group (TSG) announced that it had completed its acquisition of SBG, which the company originally announced in April. On Wednesday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it was “investigating the completed acquisition” and had served an initial enforcement order under section 72(2) of the Enterprise Act 2002.

The CMA kept mum about its specific concerns regarding the deal, which created the world’s largest publicly traded online gambling firm. The enforcement order did say the CMA was considering whether to make a reference under sections 22 and 33 of the Act, which deal with mergers resulting in “a substantial lessening of competition” in the marketplace.

The CMA has instructed the companies involved not to take any further action that leads to the integration of SBG’s business into TSG’s business, or to transfer ownership or control of either company’s business, or take any steps that impair the ability of either company to compete independently in any of the markets in which they both operate.

The states of Virginia and Florida have posted record lottery sales for the fiscal year 2017-18 as the allure of big Powerball and Mega Million jackpots prompted more residents to play the games.

Florida Lottery announced that its lottery sales grew 8 percent to a record $6.7 billion in the 12 months ending June 2018, from $6.2 billion in the previous fiscal year. Scratch-off tickets remained to be the state lottery’s moneymaker, accounting for 69 percent of the lottery sales in the 2017-2018 fiscal year.

Financial data showed that scratch game sales grew around $400 million from the prior year, with sales from draw games up about 100 million.

Florida Lottery Deputy Secretary of Sales Mike Purcell attributed the record sales growth to a couple of good jackpots during the fiscal year, including the Mega Millions jackpot of $393 million and Powerball jackpot of $700 million.He said that up to $1.75 billion of the money from lottery sales will go straight to the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.

Aggregate revenue of three Detroit casinos rose by 3.9 percent in the second quarter of 2018, according to the latest Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) report.

Financial data show that Detroit’s three casinos—the MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity, and Greektown Casino—posted a combined revenue of $367.9 million during the April to June 2018 period, higher than the $353.55 million revenue it raked in the same period last year.

MGM continued to dominate the Detroit casino market with 44 percent share, followed by MotorCity with 33 percent share, and Greektown with 23 percent share, according to MGCB.

Figures showed that MGM’s Q2 2018 revenue reached $157.4 million, 5.8 percent higher than the $148.27 million it posted during the prior-year period. On the other hand, MotorCity’s revenue climbed 3.4 percent to $124.9 million in the three months ending June 2018, from $120.65 million a year ago.

Wednesday brought with it the start of the three-day Blockchain World Conference (BWC) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The annual event is an opportunity for experts in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries to get together and discuss current happenings in the two areas. It’s also a place to have a little fun, and this year’s conference will host the first-ever cryptocurrency poker tournament.

On July 14, the day after the conference ends, the BWC has organized a casino-sanctioned poker tournament open to a maximum of 100 players. It kicks off at 11:00 local time and players can register exclusively through Blockparty, a ticketing platform that is powered completely by the blockchain. Blockparty will also manage all aspects of the action at the felt, including buy-ins, betting and cashing out. From start to finish, everything will happen with cryptocurrency.

Alex Falcone, chief operating officer of BWC, said that the poker tournament is only fitting, given that the conference is being held in the gambling mecca of Atlantic City. He said, “After three days of discussions about blockchain and cryptocurrency, this is a fun and unique way to bring our event to a close—highlighting a compelling real-world application of this technology, in true Atlantic City fashion. The Blockparty team are incredible leaders in blockchain-based live event ticketing and they are the perfect partners for us to work with for an event of this caliber.”

Only those who have attended the BWC can register for the tournament and must pay the $250 buy-in using cryptocurrency. The first-place winner will receive two VIP tickets to the BWC conference to be held in Hollywood, Florida, this December and a three-night stay at the Diplomat hotel. The top prize is valued at $10,000.

As I sit here and reflect on my time last week at WGES in Barcelona, I am still pleasantly surprised at how much of the conference agenda was dedicated to Blockchain (in particular the second day) and at the number of senior-level attendees who were interested in learning more about it.

I’m no stranger to conducting interviews on crypto currencies and Blockchain at gambling events specifically, however the subject matter has changed drastically over the past five, six years.  Discussions that used to exclusively revolve around using crypto currencies to get money in and out of gambling sites have shifted to discussions surrounding how to use Blockchain technology to address pain points such as KYC and raise money for start-ups.

During WGES I moderated a crypto-focused panel, “The future of crypto currency in the gambling industry” and learned a lot while preparing with my panelists prior to show-time. We all remembered the days of Jon Matonis talking about operators gaining a “competitive wedge” when accepting crypto currencies for deposits and withdrawals.  My panelist Eric Benz talked on his days of educating gambling companies and affiliates on crypto currencies and why they should accept them as payment.

This year at WGES however, CEOs and other senior level professionals wanted to hear how Blockchain technology can improve the functionality of their back-ends, as opposed to why they should accept crypto as payment.  On top of this, lets not forget most operators are still under the impression its too early to commit to Blockchain powered projects with full speed ahead.

A planned casino project for Las Vegas could be postponed due to the ongoing strain between the US and China over trade issues. Resorts World Las Vegas, which is planned by Genting Americas, Inc., is one of two that are potentially going to be delayed over the trade war, the other being The Drew.

In a report published by Brian McGill of Telsey Advisory Group, LLC, the analyst said of the possible delays of both projects, “The most likely new openings to be delayed would be… Resorts World Las Vegas and The Drew…However, both properties recently came out and said they expected openings in 2020.”

Genting Americas is a subsidiary of the Genting Bhd out of Malaysia. It first announced the planned casino in October of last year, describing it as a “multibillion-dollar resort.” No exact dollar figures were released, but analysts have previously said that the project would cost around $4 billion. Genting has billed the resort as an upscale destination for East Asian and Chinese gamblers.

Because of the ongoing trade war between the US and China, business prospects for US-based Macau casino investors have diminished. Many analysts have said that there is also the possibility that Chinese tourism to the US could be impacted.

Paradise Entertainment Group (PE) has indicated that it will more than likely look to pick up a casino license in Macau when the city begins to issue new licenses in the next couple of years. The company, which operates two satellite casinos in the city, has been exploring expansion opportunities and the timing could be right for it to extend its reach in the gambling hub.

According to Bob Shen, PE’s Investor Relations Manager, the final decision on whether or not it seeks a license won’t be taken until after the Macau government publishes guidelines on the licensing process. That is expected later this year, and Shen indicated that the operator would possibly apply if a seventh gaming license is offered.

Shen explained, “We welcome the Macau government to grant a new gaming license to a local company like us to create greater competition and benefit the Macau gaming industry. At the moment it is too early to comment on whether Paradise is qualified to apply because we need to see what the re-tendering process from the government requires, but we welcome whatever is best for us and best for Macau.”

There are currently six operators in Macau whose 20-year licenses are set to expire within four years. MGM and SJM will see their licenses expire first, in 2020, and the others will be up for renewal in 2022.

Another round-up from the World Series of Poker this time focusing on Ronald Keijzer’s first gold bracelet in a Pot Limit Omaha event that once again saw Scott Bohlman go deeper than a vet’s arm facing a full term cow. 

Man, I’m glad I’m not live reporting anymore.

I once called Isaac Haxton Isaac Hayes throughout an entire World Poker Tour (WPT) event in Malta. And if I was writing about a game featuring Romain Lewis, I know, at some point, as fingers went to work, and my conscious mind switched off, I would write Romaine Lettuce.

Now with that out of the way, maybe I won’t make the mistake my subconscious so desperately wants me to make.

Another look at the guts of the greatest show on earth as the World Series of Poker Main Event waves bye-bye to Day 6 with Joe Cada searching for Main Event title number two.

Day 6 of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is in the books, and Aram Zobian leads the way. 

“I have never run this good in a tournament,” Zobian told PokerNews during the wrap-up.

The day began with 109 players taking an early shower courtesy of an electrical outage. Rio had paid the bill. The universe felt the need to show the WSOP that it’s not the greatest show on earth.

Japan’s ongoing efforts to deal with significant flooding and landslides is complicating efforts to approve casino legislation.

Japan’s long-delayed Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Bill has finally come up for debate this month in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber in Japan’s Diet. Legislators are facing a tight timeline for passing the bill, as the Diet’s current session expires on July 22.

That timeline appeared reasonable before last week’s heavy rains led to the worst flooding and landslides that Japan has endured in decades. As of Wednesday, 176 Japanese citizens had lost their lives and over 75k first responders were attempting to deal with the fallout and find other citizens who are still missing.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (pictured) cancelled a scheduled trip to Europe in order to stay connected with the relief efforts, but opposition parties have accused members of Abe’s cabinet of failing to demonstrate similar priorities, particularly in connection with the IR bill.