Monthly Archives: January 2021

Netherlands face delays with new online gaming market

The Netherlands had hoped to have its new Remote Gambling Act (KOA, for its Dutch acronym) in place this September. The country’s gaming regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has been diligently working on putting together the final pieces of the framework that would allow mobile gambling to be introduced, but some authorities believe more needs to be done. Initially expected to have been launched this July, the postponement to September has now had another month added, and the KOA Act is now expected to go live in October. 

The latest rescheduling comes after the Dutch Minister for Legal Protections, Sander Dekker, determined that more work was needed, according to Ted Menmuir of SBC News. He feels that the technical requirements laid out in the framework aren’t inclusive enough and wants the KSA and everyone else involved to head back to the table to make some changes. As a result, not only will the introduction of the Act be delayed, but so will the process of issuing licenses to mobile operators. Now, thew new licensing window will begin on April 1, instead of March 1 as previously expected. 

This isn’t the first time that Dekker stepped in at the last minute to make changes. Last November, he was responsible for several 11th-hour amendments that forced everyone back to the table, even though he had already signed off on the Act’s final language. Those amendments were linked to gaming operator compliance issues, as well as the need for the KSA to implement greater controls to keep unlicensed operators from access the local market. 

In updating the situation with the KOA Act, Dekker hinted at the idea that the Netherlands may not consider creating gaming laws that are consistent with others found throughout the European Union (EU). There has been an effort recently to introduce regulations that would be applicable for the entire region; however, Dekker stated trying to introduce EU-friendly gaming laws would be difficult under current EU regulations. His remarks were in response to a question by Madeleine Van Toorenburg of the Christian Democrats political party, who wanted to know if the Dutch government is prepared to develop EU-wide regulations that would protect member states from being accessed by illegal gaming operators. 

Gambling Industry Announcement and Partnership Roundup – January 21, 2021

In the fast-moving world of gambling, sometimes you might miss news that could be important to you. To make sure you’re all caught up on gaming industry news, be it online or brick and mortar, we’re rounding up the some of the announcements and partnerships from the last week that you might have missed.

Don’t miss out on all of the latest announcements from the gambling industry. Our Press Release section is updated constantly.

Booming Games receives U.K. license.

Malta-based and MGA licensed slot supplier Booming Games kicks off 2021 with the approval from the U.K. Gambling Commission (UKGC) to supply their games to players in the U.K. The company has met the high standards of the regulator and received the supplier license in January 2021.

Andrew Yang wants to build a casino on NY’s Governors Island

Andrew Lang’s “Humanity First” platform didn’t help him secure enough support to be the Democratic Presidential candidate last year, but it might help him as he switches gears and works to try to be the next mayor of New York City. The entrepreneur and cryptocurrency enthusiast has thrown his name into the hat for the city’s mayoral race and is drumming up support wherever he can find it. A new campaign platform is drawing a lot of attention, even if it is a long shot. Yang is pushing for a new casino to be built on Governors Island in New York Harbor.

Yang believes that a gambling property on the 172-acre island would turn into a major cash cow at a time that New York City is hemorrhaging money because of COVID-19. While participating in a recent interview on the radio talk show The Breakfast Club, he said that it would “generate so much money it would be bananas.” The assertion would have certainly piqued the curiosity of a lot of locals, but Yang will have to do substantially more than refer to bananas if he wants to make a legitimate case for the casino.

Governors Island, despite its size and location, is not a center of commercial activity. For the most part, it operates as a state park, complete with a national monument. There are a few eateries and small retail shops, and most New Yorkers, especially those that pull the strings, would probably prefer to keep it that way. There is also the issue with access, since a ferry trip is needed to reach the island.

Other, much larger obstacles stand in the way, as well. Portico points out that New York City and the federal government signed a pact in 2003 that prohibits casinos on the island. In addition, projects linked to climate change and sustainability have already started to unfold on the island. These would potentially allow some commercial and hospitality development, as long as they include a green business model.

Man sues Harrah’s Joliet for $10 million over wrongful arrest

It’s not uncommon for casinos to face lawsuits of all kinds, which is why they have massive legal teams backing them up. A new lawsuit against Harrah’s Joliet in Illinois probably won’t cause too many sleepless nights for the casino’s lawyers or executives, but still has to be given serious attention. A man sent to jail almost three years ago following an incident on the casino’s property is now suing the casino, for $10 million, according to Casino.org, arguing that it is to blame for his wrongful detainment.

58-year-old Darryl Allen has been sitting in a jail cell since March 2018 after police determined that he was the aggressor, not the victim, as he claimed, in a struggle that took place outside the casino. He has filed a pro se civil lawsuit, one in which the plaintiff acts as his or her own attorney, arguing that the casino is to blame for everything that has transpired to keep him locked up since then. He wants the cash, as well as a public apology from Harrah’s over the ordeal.

The way Allen tells it, he was around Harrah’s that March when a couple exited the casino. He asserts that he asked the female if she had any luck, which, in Allen’s words, sent her partner into a rage. The lawsuit claims the man went on the offensive against Allen, shouting, “That’s my wife your (sic) talking to (racial slur) and then he reached in his waist for what I thought was a weapon so I took a knife out to defend himself (sic).”

However, the supposed weapon turned out to be a cell phone, but Allen contends that he still tried to get away from the confrontation. The man continued to chase him and, as Allen exited the casino’s parking garage, he was caught by casino security and put in handcuffs. Later, he was handed over to police and booked. He wasn’t able to cover the bond on the $150,000 bail that he was given, so he has stayed locked up since then.

Employee bonuses arrive to Galaxy, Sands employees in Macau

There wasn’t a great deal of doubt that Macau’s casino workforce would get their annual bonuses this year, but there was still a little bit of concern. The COVID-19 pandemic, which is still causing problems everywhere, crushed Macau’s casino industry and companies in and around the gaming space have been scrambling to keep everything together. However, all six of Macau’s casino operators have now confirmed they will offer certain employees the extra cash they have become accustomed to, with Sands China and Galaxy Entertainment Group being the final two to speak up.

SJM Holdings was the first to confirm the bonuses, followed by MGM China, Wynn Macau and Melco Resorts and Entertainment. Galaxy joined in when it made an announcement yesterday that it was preparing a “one-off special payment equivalent to one month of salary.” As is customary, the bonus will be given to eligible non-executive team members at the senior management level and below, which, in Galaxy’s case, means that about 98% of its workforce is about to receive the extra money.

Galaxy expects to be able to distribute the bonus as a single payment, not split in two like some other operators have done. The company, thanking its staff for staying committed to the company’s goals, asserts that the money will be headed to employees on February 10, just two days before the Chinese New Year. With both Macau and China recommending against travel during the holiday period, many employees may not be counting on the money in order to make travel plans. 

Sands China rounded out the sextet when it announced today that it is going to offer the same one month’s salary bonus to eligible employees. However, the bonus is capped at MOP45,000 (approximately $5,600). The company indicated that this “discretionary allowance” will be provided to over 26,000 employees, which constitutes around 99% of its workforce. Sands China expects to be able to have the bonuses in the hands of its employees on February 8, adding that the company was appreciative of the “dedication and contributions” of its employees throughout last year. 

Suncity’s Philippines arm has a new company to help run the show

When the Philippines recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Suncity Group will be ready to get the local gambling economy on a path toward a quick recovery. It has been busy putting together the final pieces of its planned casino at the Westside City project in Manila and brought in Megawide Construction Corp. last November to bring the resort to life. Through its subsidiary in the Philippines, Suntrust Home Developers, Suncity continues to shape the back-of-house operations to support its end game and announced yesterday the incorporation of a new company that will help it achieve its goals. Suncity WC Hotel Inc. has now been incorporated into Suntrust Homes after the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines gave its approval.

The entity is now completely owned by Suntrust after the latter purchased all of its available shares, 10,138,200 in total, for around $211,000. Two nominal shares that had been controlled by Suncity WC’s original Board of Directors were also included in the transaction. For its part, Suncity Group controls 51% of Suncity through another arm, Fortune Noble Ltd and Megaworld controls 43.5%, which makes the decision to allow the construction company to develop the project no surprise. The remaining 5.5% of Suntrust is owned by Aurora Securities. 

Suncity WC is going to manage the operations of the new resort, starting with its preliminary work to get things organized. The project, which carries a price tag of over $700 million, is expected to open sometime late next year in Westside City Resorts World in the Entertainment City area of Manila. However, the continued threat by COVID-19 might cause the timeline to shift. It could also, as is the case with most large development projects, lead to additional costs that hadn’t previously been considered. 

Once everything is in place, the resort will cover over 473,000 square feet (44,000 square meters) and have a building floor area of around 1,959,032 square feet (182,000 square meters). Plans are for the resort to offer a total of 400 gaming tables and 1,200 slots available to both VIP and mass gaming segments, although counting on a lot of VIP traffic may prove to be misguided. The resort will also have a five-star hotel with 400 rooms. 

Resorts World Genting goes to full shutdown as pandemic worsens

Resorts World Genting (RWG) has taken another step back, announcing they will close entirely between January 22 and February 4. The closure was forced by Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO), restricting intrastate travel in a bid to reduce Covid-19 transmission.

On their website, the operator notes, “Essential resort-based services such as security, bomba, utilities and clinics will remain operational.” Otherwise though, casinos and resort services will be unavailable. Guests have been offered a phone number to call if they need to change their reservation dates, or if they with to request a refund.

Malaysia was forced to implement their MCO on January 13, due to a new spike in Covid-19 cases. The continuing spread of the virus has now forced the government to extend the MCO to all states, except Sarawak, and extend the travel ban to February 4. The Ministry of Health reports 4,008 cases in the 24 hours leading up to January 21, bringing the pandemic tally to 169,379. 630 have died of the virus.

“The MCO standard operating procedures are the same as I have announced before. That means residents are not allowed out, except for two from one household for daily necessities, including emergency cases,” said Senior Minister Ismail Sabri.

Entain plc – Directorate changes

Entain plc (LSE: ENT), the global sports-betting and gaming group, announces that Jette Nygaard-Andersen, currently an independent non-executive director of Entain, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Shay Segev, the outgoing CEO, steps down as a director today and will remain available to Jette, the Board and management until 8 July, to facilitate an orderly transition. In addition, Rob Wood, Entain’s CFO, will have the role of Deputy CEO added to his current role with immediate effect, and Sandeep Tiku, Entain’s Chief Operating Officer, will be appointed to the Board later in the year.

Jette Nygaard-Andersen joined the Entain Board as an independent non-executive director in 2019. As a Board member Jette has been instrumental in the development of Entain’s growth and sustainability strategy. Jette has more than 20 years’ experience in leadership and operational roles in media, entertainment, sport and digital businesses and an extensive track record of working with fastgrowing digital next generation online and mobile entertainment companies offering video gaming, eSports, and social media video content. As such she brings significant experience to the CEO role that reflects the evolution of Entain into an entertainment focused company.

Rob Wood was appointed CFO in March 2019 following six years as CFO of the Group’s U.K. Retail division. Rob has played a critical role in driving the financial performance of the Group and delivering the new strategy announced in November. To continue Rob’s development, he will now take responsibility for all Retail operations and M&A activities under the role of CFO and Deputy CEO.

Sandeep Tiku joined Entain (then bwin.party) in June 2014. After four years as Group Chief Technology Officer he became Group COO in July 2020 to drive Entain’s operations through technology and operational excellence. Sandeep has been instrumental in developing Entain’s industry leading proprietary technology platform, and also drove the integrations of the bwin.party, Ladbrokes and Coral businesses into the Group. His appointment to the Board, which will take effect later in the year, reflects the importance of the technology platform to Entain’s continued success.

Imperial Pacific considers controversial Senator for CEO job

Imperial Pacific International (IPI) is wasting no time filling their vacant CEO role. The Saipan casino operator is rumored to be considering former Ray N. Yumul for the new top job, following the departure of Donald Browne in December.

A verbal agreement has been reached for Yumul to take the job, the Mariana’s Variety reports. The Commonwealth’s Casino Commission executive director, Andrew Yeom, indicated he need only apply for a key-employee license with the commission to get started.

Yeom won’t totally confirm if he’s taking the job. “We’ll see,” he said, but allowed that his mind “is open to these discussions.”

If Yeom does take the job, Commission Chairman Edward C. Deleon Guerrero suggested he should “make sure that he will be the head of the local IPI operations, and that he truly understands, has truly read and, if necessary, has sought legal assistance to understand the gaming law. There is no other way getting around it but to fully understand it.”

Gambling industry welcomes US Prez Joe Biden

Inauguration day has how come and gone, and President Joe Biden now holds executive power in the U.S. That could mean change for the gambling world, and all corners of the industry have come out to give their opinion.

There’s not much comment from the industry leaders themselves. The major casinos have not made any statements, and the online operators are sticking to sports. That leaves us with a bunch of commentary from the lobbyists.

AGA President and CEO Bill Miller already voiced his hopes Biden will help the industry recover. “Gaming — an economic engine in communities across 44 states — has been decimated by COVID-19, but our industry has always strongly responded to adversity,” he said in a Wednesday statement. “Together, with our new leaders in Washington, we can get millions of American hospitality employees back to work, reinvigorate our industry, support our small businesses, and bring desperately-needed revenue to our communities.”

Congratulations to @POTUS Joe Biden and @VP Kamala Harris on today’s historic inauguration. @AmericanGaming looks forward to working with your administration to achieve policies that accelerate the recovery of the gaming industry and entire U.S. economy.

Becky’s Affiliated: Everything happens for a reason

On November 24th I went out for a run and out of the blue, felt a sudden, sharp pain in my left knee cap when going down a hill. I was able to walk home, but after I cooled down, even just puttering around the house was uncomfortable and I was devastated. 

For those who don’t know, I’ve been an avid runner for all my life, its my favorite activity on the planet. My modus operandi has always been to use gym equipment such as ellipticals, power mills, etc, when recovering from a running injury (or trying to prevent one) and this has always worked for me…until COVID hit and gyms were forced to close and are still closed here in the London area.

Today I wanted to share my story with our readers as I think the lessons I’ve learned since November 24th can be applied to all of us in our daily lives as we continue to battle COVID, with a great deal of uncertainty still ahead of us.

The first lesson I learned is there is a solution to every problem, you just have to find it. Once I realized I was not going to be able to run for a while and going to the gym was not an option due to lockdown-induced closure, I jumped on my bike to see if a cycling motion bothered my knee. I was delighted to learn it did not. 

Daniel Negreanu Now Down $1 Million Against Doug Polk

It took 30 sessions, but Doug Polk now has a $1 million lead against Daniel Negreanu in what has become a lopsided affair. After Wednesday’s beatdown on the virtual felt, it’s no longer a matter of if Polk will win, but by how much.

Daniel Negreanu is now down a cool milly to Doug Polk. (Image: YouTube)

Those who bet on Polk before this challenge began in October are looking pretty smart right about now. The tides have certainly turned over the past week. Although Polk has led ever since the second session, and was up by nearly $1 million 18 sessions in, “DNegs” had been rather competitive for quite some time — key-phrase, “had been.”

Those days are over and it’s become a one-sided match the past four sessions. Since Day 26, Polk has turned approximately a $520,000 profit, which includes a $299,000 win on Day 30 (Wednesday). So much for what was turning into an impressive comeback.

Could Joe Biden be the president who brings online poker back to America?

Today is the day that many Americans have waited on for the last four years. For poker players, however, the election of Joe Biden and, with equal importance, the removal of Donald Trump from office, may bring an end to a decade of pain.

That’s because, if the rumours are true, Biden might be the best chance poker has of seeing the online version of the game we all love returning to American computer screens in the near future.

The ink may not be dry on Joe Biden’s inauguration papers, but according to a report from PokerNews, the 46th United States President may look to rescind the 2018 decision made by the Department of Justice on the Wire Act. If so, then as was said on Online Poker Report, Biden said: “I would reverse the White House opinion that was then reversed and overruled by the court. The court is correct. That should be the prevailing position.” 

Trump, of course, reneged on the 2011 decision from the DOJ that said the Wire Act applied only to sports betting, but Biden would reinstate it according to insiders, bringing back the potential for online poker to return. Sheldon Adelson, one of the biggest advocates to banning online poker, recently died, prompting many calls for online poker to return. 

Poker Inauguration Day: Preparing to Step Back into Live Games

Today, Jan. 20, 2021, is Inauguration Day in the United States. It’s a time of hope and renewal. In addition to representing a powerful moment of transition, it comes with a highly orchestrated set of pomp and ceremony, each with its own set of rules and procedures. Before our new president can begin to govern – before he even takes his oath of office – he must learn the rules and procedures of our nation, so that he may be fully equipped to act.

There’s a new game being played in America. Make sure you know what you’re stepping into when you get back to the table. (Image: Jon McNaughton)

Similarly, many of us, at the beginning of 2021, are on the precipice of a new start in poker. With prospects for a coronavirus vaccine coming and with many of our old haunts still closed, many of us will be stepping into games we haven’t played in before.

Inauguration Day may be a time for optimism, but there is also much work ahead, which is why now may be a great time for our own poker renewal.