THE AMERICAS
Three prominent California tribes and Caesars Entertainment rolled out the welcome mat for PokerStars while Gov. Chris Christie was accused of keeping Stars out of New Jersey; a US securities watchdog launched a probe of Amaya Gaming’s acquisition of PokerStars; online gambling revenue rose in New Jersey and Pala Interactive’s Jim Ryan said new credit card codes would give the market a boost; Boyd Gaming said it expects $5m in online gambling earnings in 2015; seven of Atlantic City’s eight casinos posted January revenue gains; the Borgata planned AC’s first non-poker skill-based wagering competition while the Trump Taj Mahal was fined $10m for anti-money laundering lapses; a Canadian poker player was arrested for assault and robbery at the Fallsview Poker Classic; Zynga admitted it botched its poker revamp; Doyle Brunson announced he would have his 12th major surgery after a cancer diagnosis; Minnesota got a new sports betting bill and Rafi Farber made slots manufacturers go mano y mano.
EUROPE
William Hill made a play for 888 Holdings while Bwin.party saw its stock fall one-fifth after would-be suitors reportedly walked away from the table; Guts.com exited Germany following a Munich court verdict; Ireland’s online betting bill neared the finish line; Unibet finished 2014 on a positive note; Russia sought new ways to block online gambling sites; the UK Gambling Commission issued new social responsibility requirements; Market Box Media’s Yoni Sidi examined marketing strategies in a point-of-consumption world; Coral’s Tania Self discussed social media strategies while Robbie Davies suggested using branding to crush rivals; Focus Online’s Phil Fraser offered online bingo predictions for 2015; Lee Davy talked video game wagering with Gaimerz.com founder Martyn Denney while the developers of first-person shooter game First Strike warned pro players about match fixing; the Global Poker Masters inked a deal to live stream on Twitch; former PokerStars pro Marcel Luske launched Fortified-ID Holdings to combat online fraud; Lee Davy recapped the International Gaming Awards and Rebecca Liggero looked back at her six favorite features of ICE Totally Gaming 2015.
ASIA
Melco Crown Entertainment saw VIPs vanish in Q4 and SunCity’s chairman warned that VIPs were irreplaceable; Chow Tai Fook announced plans for a $2.6b casino in Incheon while Paradise Co announced a Jeju expansion and Grand Korea Leisure was overrun by Chinese gamblers; 500.com saw revenue fall without a World Cup boost; Vietnam said the winner of the Van Don casino derby had to start building by April; Iao Kun Group was denied a dual listing in Hong Kong; SkyCity’s profit dipped 10% in H1; China executed a tycoon with gambling ties and a Chinese teenager cut off his own hand to ‘cure’ his online gaming addiction.