UK online gambling operators saw activity grow but revenue shrink as sports betting margins retreated to more traditional levels. 

Figures released Wednesday by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) detail its online gambling licensees’ activity during the month of November, part of the regulator’s ongoing commitment to disclosing how the country’s gamblers are coping with the impact of COVID-19. 

November marked the UK’s second pandemic lockdown, although major sports events weren’t disrupted as they were during the spring lockdown. But many residents were once again forced to spend more time at home, opening up the possibility that they’d turn to gambling away the mortgage due to lockdown boredom. 

Fortunately, while online gambling activity experienced an increase in November, “overall, there has not been a significant or sustained increase in gambling activity” since the pandemic began. Three-fifths of UK gamblers say their spending has not changed since March, while 27% reported spending less and just 13% spent more. 

The latest development in the ongoing saga of Mike Postle isn’t a good one for the poker player who faced cheating allegations after suspicious action on the Stones Gambling Hall live stream last year.  

The crib notes of the Mike Postle are well known to most. After an allegation over cheating saw poker players, commentators and YouTube creators allege ‘cheat’ in Postle’s direction, the man himself went to ground, re-emerging to successfully argue that the case should be thrown out. That wasn’t the end of the matter, however, as allegations from Postle himself about defamation of his character threatened to turn the focus against those who accused him of cheating.  

The latest twist is not a good one for Postle, whose lawyer this week stepped away from representing him and in the wake of that action, two defendants in the defamation lawsuit then hit Postle with an anti-SLAPP.  

If you’re lost like a live poker player with 7-5 off-suit and no knowledge of what any of the other players have at the table, we’ll break it down for you.  

Grupo Caliente is one of the largest gambling operators in Latin America and the hottest in Mexico. It wants to make sure it stays that way, too, and is calling on Genius Sports to give it a boost. The two have had an ongoing relationship for the past couple of years, but Grupo Caliente is now going to give the sports tech data firm the right to be the lead provider of all sportsbook management-related activity for the operator’s Caliente.mx brand. 

Moving forward, Genius Sports’ Betgenius arm will spearhead Grupo Caliente’s sports gambling efforts in relation to live data, trading and streaming activity for Caliente.mx. This will give it access to over 400 global sports competitions to introduce official sports data and live and recorded video feeds, and the real-time data and pricing compiled by Betgenius for over 170,000 different sporting events will also be included. Access to more than 20,000 streamed games and events will make Grupo Caliente’s menu of options even sweeter. 

Caliente Interactive CEO Emilio Hank is excited about the opportunity and said in a statement, “As the market leader in Mexico, we are always focused on providing our customers with the best possible product. We are excited to keep growing our content offering and to extend our long-term partnership with Genius Sports, as we continue to expand into other markets.”

This expansion is going to be just as important for Genius Sports. The company has hinted at the idea of wanting to become a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and laid out its plans with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week. If everything goes well, it will launch sometime during the first quarter of this year, hoping for a $1.5-billion valuation, and having guaranteed, long-standing agreements with operators around the world will help give potential investors the confidence they need to back the company.

As regulators put the finishing touches to the legislation related to online gambling, NOGA Managing Director Peter-Paul de Goeji wants to ensure that welcome mat is ready for new operators, and he took some time out to explain their journey to our very own Becky Liggero Fontana.

Goeji is in charge of the trade association that can open doors for new operators in the Netherlands. “NOGA is a new name for an organization that has been around for a time already. NOGA has built on the foundations that were laid by an organization called stifling spiel vrandor which was a foundation translated in English that means play responsibly,” Goeji explains.

The board of directors of the foundation decided that they wanted to become a full-blown trade association with members and increase the number of members and take on more responsibilities towards the gambling industry and also the protection of consumers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CramXlODwN0Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Peter-Paul de Goeji is intent on opening doors in the Dutch online gambling industry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CramXlODwN0)

Billy Walters was well-known in the sports gambling realm for years before being busted for securities fraud. He hadn’t been satisfied with the money he was warning as a gambler and, in 2017, was shipped off to prison after being found guilty of insider trading linked to Dean Foods that put $32 million in his pocket. Walters, often lucky in gambling, got lucky in front of the judge, receiving a sentence of only five years when he could have been locked up for 20 years. He’s now gotten lucky once again, with outgoing President of the U.S. (POTUS) Trump commuting the remainder of his five-year sentence.

Walters, who has previously been called a “cheater” and a “criminal” by at least one judge, may have been playing the odds when he tried to find support from Trump. U.S. presidents leaving office will often grant a number of pardons and commutations and Walters had reportedly reached out to former Trump attorney John Dowd ahead of Trump’s exit to see if he could lend a hand. Dowd had been working for Walters for several years, according to the New York Times, but it isn’t clear in what capacity. Dowd was reportedly paid “tens of thousands of dollars” in representing Walters since first taking him on as a client in 2018.

The goal was for Walters to receive a full pardon from Trump, but that didn’t happen. A pardon signed by POTUS is a big deal and something worn like a badge of honor. Any pardon essentially dismisses all charges against the individual and strikes the conviction from his or her record, and a POTUS-signed pardon means the person received extra special treatment.

However, despite all efforts, Walters was only given a commutation by Trump. This results in the remainder of a prison sentence being waived; however, unlike a pardon, it doesn’t remove the conviction from the permanent record of the individual. Still, Walters will take what he can get.

Allied Esports Entertainment has decided it no longer wants to be involved in the poker and eSports industries. The China-based company is reportedly in talks to sell its ownership of the World Poker Tour (WPT), as well as its eSports endeavors, with two entities, and the sale of the WPT is apparently a done deal. There’s a rumor that Allied might be looking to become the next big real estate investment trust (REIT) after offloading its assets.

Allied has already signed a definitive agreement to sell the WPT to Element Partners LLC, a privately-owned investment firm. Element is going to give Allied a total of $78.25 million for the purchase, which will consist of an upfront payment of $68.25 million and a guaranteed revenue share of 5% of any entry fees for WPT-branded tournaments or revenue from Element’s licensed gaming platforms. The latter is capped at $10 million and is payable over three years after the deal is closed, with the final signatures and approvals expected to be in place before the middle of next month. All that remains is to convince company shareholders and regulators that the deal makes sense.

Allied explained of the potential sale of the WPT, “Due to COVID-19’s impact on the Company’s overall revenue generation and profitability timeline, we believe the forthcoming sale of the WPT business will garner significant capital and an avenue to determine new opportunities that will deliver accelerated returns for our stakeholders.”

The eSports industry gained significant ground last year as more people turned to the activity while on COVID-19 lockdown. However, Allied is apparently willing to let its Allied Esports business change hands and is working with Lake Street Capital Markets to figure out its next move. There is nothing definitive in place yet, but the company indicates its willingness to sell its eSports operations if the right offer comes along. As an alternative, it would consider “strategic options” to advance its eSports activity.

Osaka, both the prefecture and the city, are pushing ahead their Integrated Resort (IR) plans in the same effort that will see the two administrations combined. The two bodies have chosen April 1, 2021 as the date to unify into an area-wide administration, bringing them closer together and eliminating overlap, while seeking avenues for growth.

Part of the effort will include preparations for the 2025 World Expo and Osaka’s IR bid. The overall goal is to boost Osaka into a new level of growth and development, making it Japan’s de facto second capital, after Tokyo. Having a world class IR would definitely help that effort.

Under the previously defeated Osaka Metropolis Plan, Osaka as a city would be abolished, and reorganized into four wards. That was voted down in November 2020, leading to this new effort that would see a Osaka Cooperation Council established, with the governor as the head and the mayor as the deputy manager in policy decisions. It will be considered on January 22, and officially proposed in February.

The Liberal Democratic Party opposes the effort, citing the previously failed plan. “Public opinion has been demonstrated through a referendum and Osaka city should retain full authority,” they note. With no majority yet supporting unification, it’s unclear if the measure will go forward, and critics state that April 1 is too soon to expect a clean evolution of the region into a one administration territory.