Monthly Archives: August 2020

Nevada bill could protect casinos from lawsuits and enhance safety

Nevada casino and hotel employees are a step closer to a certain level of regulated safety, as members of the state’s Senate have preliminarily approved Senate Bill 4. If passed, funds would be set aside to ensure safety regulators routinely check resorts to ensure certain steps are being followed to keep employees safe, and keep those businesses safe from some forms of litigation.

After four-hour long hearing on August 3, the bill got through Senate Committee early August 14 by a vote of 18-3. The Nevada Independent notes that this bill dominated conversations, and has been pushed for by casinos, business groups and the Culinary Union.

Gubernatorial Chief of Staff Michelle White spelled out the aims of the bill:

“I want to be clear, the bill being presented tonight does not provide total immunity to all businesses, under all circumstances, far from it. These inevitable bad actors that have ignored and continue to ignore executive branch directives and published health and safety protocols will not be protected from liability for those failures. Those bad actors will continue to face legal consequences.”

Sahara Las Vegas receives two safety complaints

The Sahara Las Vegas could be in trouble with regulators for violating Covid-19 safety policies. The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has received two complaints regarding the casino, breaking large gathering and social distancing rules.

The first violation is regarding a lunch meeting of a local trade group consisting of 135 people. Gatherings of more than 50 people are prohibited.

The second violation involves a NGCB board agent observing guests at the casino congregating around table games and slot machines. Apparently, they were getting a little too close to each other for comfort.

In response to the complaints, an assistant casino manager “acknowledged and immediately corrected” instances where guests were getting too close on the casino floor, and dealers were reminded of the requirements, the casino noted in response.

Becky’s Affiliated: Fintan Costello on tackling the regulated US iGaming market as an affiliate

Fintan Costello has 15+ years of experience in affiliate marketing, from both a gambling operator and affiliate perspective and even spent some time with Google as their Senior Industry Head of Finance and eGaming. For the past year or so, Costello has served as a Board Member and Managing Director of Finder Media, now with a special focus on the regulated U.S. iGaming market.

iGaming affiliate marketing has changed drastically over the past two decades and has reached a point where complying with strict regulations and licensing requirements around the world can be quite challenging. The regulated U.S. market is no exception and with a number of states still trying to figure out their strategy for entry, there are many moving pieces to deal with at all times.

The good news is that Costello represents a smaller, independent affiliate business when compared to the Catenas and Better Collectives out there, proving its possible to succeed in this market even if you’re not part of the U.S.-facing affiliate powerhouses.

When asked why he decided to shift away from his Europe and U.K. comfort zone to the U.S. market, he said “it’s about regulation”. 

TikTok ban odds: Will TikTok be banned or sold to Microsoft?

TikTok looks like it will change in the U.S., as President Donald Trump threatens to ban it, and rumors swirl that one of the major tech companies may buy the company. But with so much about the company’s fate being unclear, what are the odds any of this happens? We have the answers to that question thanks to Bodog.

Although TikTok has been a problem for Trump personally, with teens using the platform to help sabotage his infamous Tulsa rally, the reasons for banning it have more to do with the company’s Chinese owner, ByteDance. U.S. authorities warn that Chinese government officials could theoretically strongarm the company into snooping on U.S. citizens, making it an espionage risk.

TikTok denies these allegations, claiming they would never risk their users privacy. But with tensions between the U.S. and China at an all time high, thanks to a trade war and the spread of a pandemic, the Trump administration has the perfect scapegoat.

A total ban doesn’t look likely at this point though, and if one were to happen, it may become a huge court battle. Government officials are already barred from using the app, but blocking it from the public would mean either putting pressure on Apple and Google to drop it from their app stores, or putting the app on a sanctions list. The former doesn’t prevent third party sites from offering the app, and the latter would cause lawyers to get involved for sure, dragging out the process. Trump could just declare the app banned by executive order, but that would also be legally dubious.

NBA restart: Thursday games betting preview

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The key to betting these NBA restart games is all about motivation, and that was never more clear than Tuesday. Both the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks had little to play for in their game with both essentially locked into their playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference.

The Bucks, the team with the NBA’s best record, were 19-point favorites over a Nets team without its top eight players for one reason or another. Brooklyn pulled a 119-116 stunner, the biggest point spread upset in the NBA since Dallas was +19.5 in Seattle and upset the Sonics on April 6, 1993.

So, while Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets on Thursday night (9 p.m. ET) looks like a marquee matchup, the Lakers have absolutely no reason to care because they have wrapped up the top seed in the Western Conference.