Sweden’s gambling operators continue to curb their advertising spending, while the local regulator has fined another online casino licensee for failing to observe proper self-exclusion protocols.

Figures published this week show online casino operator Cherry AB topping the list of Swedish-licensed gambling operators in terms of advertising spending in the month of March. Cherry ranked third on the list with a total outlay of SEK52.1m (US$5.15m), although this represented a nearly 59% decline from the same month last year.

State-run Svenska Spel ranked seventh on the list with an outlay of SEK42.3m, down nearly 50% from March 2019. Unibet’s parent company Kindred Group placed a distant 17th as its spending fell nearly two-thirds to SEK33.2m, while state-run racing and betting operator ATG placed 20th with SEK30m (-11.7%).

The gambling operators’ spending cuts are at least partially due to the suspension of most live sports events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s perhaps not surprising then that Sweden’s Postcode Lottery made a push to grab some market share, resulting in its debut on the March chart in sixth place with ad spending of SEK42.4m.

Philippines-based online gambling operators are hoping the country’s president heeds calls to restart their operations if they adopt certain pandemic health protocols.

On Tuesday, local media reported that Andrea Domingo, chair of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), had written to President Rodrigo Duterte recommending that Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) be allowed to resume operations “provided that all health protocols such as social distancing, wearing of masks, frequent and proper hand washing are observed.”

POGO operations were suspended in March as the country’s main island of Luzon was put under quarantine to limit further spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Most POGO service providers and live casino studios are based in Luzon’s largest city Manila.

PAGCOR recently announced that the shutdown of POGOs and land-based casinos – including PAGCOR’s own Filipino Casino operations – was depriving the regulator of $118m per month in lost revenue. PAGCOR is among the largest contributors to the government’s coffers, and Domingo previously asked if certain “high-earning” gambling segments might be allowed to resume operations so that the government doesn’t go broke.

Each week, we take a look at a moment poker was on screen. Televised poker has a history that is as chequered as a chess board and as dramatic and ever-changing as poker strategy itself. While some concepts for bringing the game to the small screen flourish, like Poker After Dark or High Stakes Poker, others crash and burn, like this week’s example of TV poker gone wrong – 2007’s Ace in the House.

The idea of Ace in the House is one that screams to be commissioned. A popular poker pro heads to an amateur home game and tries to win the money on offer. On December 3rd, 2007, the Game Show Network put out the first and only episode of the show.

The poker pro in question was Mike ‘The Mouth’ Matusow.

The show did a decent job of building up the contestants and setting up the premise itself and it was a good idea. As you can see from the opening section of the show, everyone seems fairly happy.

We’re all blessed to live in the year 2020. Decades of iterative development have created powerful business tools, capable of making business operations more efficient.

That means more now than ever, with millions of employees locked at home, and being required to connect remotely to continue their work. In some ways, having everyone work from home may have made many people more productive even, as some of the unintentionally wasteful work habits have had to be dropped. I’m a big fan of the memes that popped up as shelter in place orders started.

Coronavirus showing us that every meeting could have been an email

— Ruth Millington (@ruth_millington) March 11, 2020

Las Vegas casino operators are going to have to be patient, and allow the COVID-19 pandemic to run its course a little longer. Governor Steve Sisolak, perhaps responding to those calling on him to start re-opening the economy, has declared that Nevada is in “Phase Zero,” and will need more time.

In a Carson City April 21 press conference, Sisolak announced he would extend the state’s shutdown, which was previously expected to end April 30. “We now want to move into a phase where saving lives and restarting our economy are not mutually exclusive,” he said.

The plan, state officials noted, is to observe 14 days of “consistent and sustainable” downward trends in the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the Nevada Independent reports. With the state’s curve of infections still not entirely clear, experts note they’ll need a few more days to determine if they are on the downward slope. “We’ll be working to provide graphing material, as we move forward, and to be as transparent as we can,” Sisolak said

When pressed to provide a date the state might re-open, Sisolak refused, preferring to keep his options open. “The reopening needs to be flexible, because it’s going to rely on data, and this is a virus. There’s going to have some real time decision making, if we see a spike in cases.”

Someone at the European Commission’s (EC) Research Executive Agency (REA) has a lot of explaining to do. Namely, how it was possible for a proposal for research money could be approved for a project that didn’t exist. Apparently, an organization had requested hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund forest fire research, which was approved. The money, however, was never used for its intended purpose and, instead, helped fund an unidentified casino on the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus.

According to the Cyprus Mail, a “European consortium” comprised of five entities out of France, Ireland, Romania and Spain approached the REA with its idea. It was able to receive approval for more than €400,000 ($434,440) to fund its endeavor, but it was all a ruse. As the supposed project continued to move forward, the agency began to feel that something was off about receipts that were being submitted, and it reached out to the European Union’s anti-fraud division, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF, for its French acronym), for some assistance.

OLAF launched an investigation that included spot checks and digital forensics to uncover more about the consortium and its activities. What it determined was that the group didn’t have the technical experience or background to conduct the research, and determined, in November of last year, that the consortium’s project was completely fabricated, from the initial request through the continued progress reports presented to REA.

OLAF was also able to determine that the money ultimately went to a casino project in Cyprus, but it didn’t specify which property was the recipient, or if it was even used for an existing project – it could have been meant to support a casino request in the country. The head of OLAF, Ville Itälä, is disappointed in the findings, and says, “With the EU focusing increasingly on environment and climate change, we have to make sure that money supposed to be used to improve our understanding of climate change and develop vital tools to help us tackle it, is used exactly for this purpose. With the Commission’s ambitious Green Deal, and the clear need to focus on the health, economic and social consequences of the current Coronavirus pandemic, we will need to ensure that EU money is properly spent. Now more than ever, every euro counts, and OLAF will continue to ensure it is properly accounted for.”

When a U.S. court dismissed racketeering charges against Bloomberry Resorts last month, the Philippine casino operator was finally able to breathe a huge sigh of relief. The company had been embroiled in a lawsuit dating back to 2016 when $81 million was stolen from accounts held by the U.S. Federal Reserve that were linked to the Bangladesh Bank, which subsequently went after Bloomberry for its allegedly involvement and violations of the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The dismissal of the charges allowed Bloomberry to celebrate the end of the ordeal, but that celebration may have been premature – Bangladesh Bank appears ready to fight the judge’s ruling.

According to a filing (in pdf) by Bloomberry from yesterday, the central bank of Bangladesh isn’t ready to give up that easily. It is appealing the court’s decision and, on Monday, filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals. The lawsuit had been dismissed because Bangladesh Bank didn’t provide any tangible evidence to support its claims that the RICO Act had been violated. Assumedly, with no clear indication given in Bloomberry’s filing, the bank may have amended its suit to provide what it believes to be evidence of the transgressions.

The original theft in 2016 apparently took place after an attack on the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That attack was able to target accounts held by Bangladesh Bank, with the stolen money subsequently rerouted to four different accounts at a branch of the Philippines’-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. That bank was also listed in the lawsuit. Later, a portion of the funds was allegedly directed to “Philippine casinos” and used to purchase gambling chips in various casino and junket rooms.

The U.S. government believed the heist was perpetrated by North Korean hackers and charged a citizen of that country for his involvement in 2018. Later, Bangladesh Bank took out its frustration on Bloomberry in order to recuperate money “allegedly lost by Bangladesh Bank from North Korean hackers who broke into Bangladesh Bank’s systems and sent multiple remittances orders to their account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and some remittance orders were allowed to be transacted through four correspondent banks in New York.”

At the end of last month, Inside Asian Gaming (IAG), a media company specializing in Asian-based gaming and hospitality, announced the creation of a new program for the industries. The Gaming Asia Mega Experience (GAME) was born out of the damage to the gaming industry caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and was designed to facilitate innovation in the space through online collaboration among willing participants. IAG held its second GAME session last night, which it dubbed GAME 1, and the response was overwhelming.

The event was held out of the MGM Cotai, with MGM China Holdings CEO Grant Bowie appearing as its special guest. 128 participants tuned in to listen to Bowie and IAG Vice Chairman and CEO Andrew W. Scott as they discussed a number of issues the gaming industry is currently facing. Bowie then held a 20-minute Ask-Me-Anything session with virtual attendees to field their questions and concerns over the state of gaming.

IAG didn’t go into a lot of detail regarding the questions and responses, but there was obviously a lot of attention given to COVID-19 and its impact on gaming. Bowie provided insight into how the pandemic has affected MGM China’s operations, what will be needed to bring a level of normalcy back to the industry and what Macau may look like going forward. It’s no secret that Macau wants to move away from being known almost exclusively as a casino hub, and the coronavirus has become an impetus for change. There now exists the possibility that casino operators will be required to diversify their options when faced with the possibility of a tender renewal in 2022.

IAG describes GAME as its “response to the challenges posed to the Asian gaming industry by the COVID-19 pandemic and recognition of the difficulties faced in bringing the industry together at a time when we need to collaborate and develop innovative ideas more than ever before.” The first GAME event, GAME Zero, had been a pilot for the project and set a maximum attendance of 100 participants. With 128 having signed up for last night’s episode, there is definitely a considerable amount of interest in the series. IAG is already making plans for GAME Two, the details of which will be revealed sometime next week. The events will “continue to provide a variety of interactive and engaging online experiences ranging from keynote speeches and presentations from industry heavyweights to workshops, talks and interview style discussions.”