An entertaining penultimate day at the felt in the WPT World Online Championships saw Damian Salas claim the lead going into the final as British pro Phil Mighall ran him close.

Overnight, it was Russian poker powerhouse Artur Martirosian who had a massive chip lead, but he would not hold onto it for too long.

First to bust on the day was German high roller Ole Schemion, who departed for just $58,638 in 24th place, but he was quickly followed out of the door by a number of big names. Jesper Hoog busted next, just after a potentially pivotal hand where Bert Stevens bluffed Benjamin Roller off the best hand. Rolle had pocket kings and Stevens had ace-ten, and on the board of J-5-8-J-4, with three diamonds coming in by the turn, a river bet from Stevens took it down.

After players including Diego Cuellar, Paul Allen and Georgios Zisimopoulos all busted, Claas Segebrecht took a massive chunk from Stevens, flushing the turn and seeing Stevens call it down after the river with just king high.

DraftKings has signed a wide-ranging gaming partnership with the NFL’s New York Giants while the company’s Illinois nemesis took top spot in that state’s nascent sports betting market.

On Wednesday, DraftKings became the Official Sports Betting, iGaming and Daily Fantasy operator of the New York Giants. The deal allows DraftKings to incorporate Giants’ logos into its digital platform while also enjoying “premier brand integration” during Giants home games at MetLife Stadium.

DraftKings will also open “a first of its kind virtual SportsLounge” – whatever that is – on Giants game days, while the parties will team up to offer Giants fans access to a weekly free-play Pick ‘Em game.

New York has yet to authorize online betting but does permit retail betting at upstate gambling venues, including the del Lago Resort & Casino, at which DraftKings opened a retail sportsbook one year ago.

The coronavirus pandemic has been cruel to the gaming industry everywhere, and especially to Arkansas. According to the state’s Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), COVID-19 forced the casinos to take a massive $1.4-billion hit to their revenue. Fortunately, though, things appear to be slowly gaining momentum and the state’s three casinos might be able to get back to normal sooner than expected. 

Arkansas doesn’t have a huge gaming industry; it only has the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, the Saracen Casino Resort and the Southland Casino Racing property. At the trio of venues, the gaming terminal wagers flatlined when the state went on COVID-19 lockdown in March, staying that way until they were allowed to return in the middle of May. Even when the go-ahead to relaunch was given by Governor Asa Hutchinson, capacity in the venues was limited and strict health policies were implemented, preventing the casinos to enjoy their normal levels of activity. 

Oaklawn reported terminal wagers between March and July that were off by $700 million compared to the same period last year. Southland’s loss was a little larger, with it seeing a drop of $743 million year-over-year. Saracen, which just opened in September of last year, doesn’t have a previous year comparison, but only took in $128 million during the period, 42% less than the $312 million it received in the first five months of its operations. 

As casinos started to come back online in May, things have gotten a little better. Oaklawn has flipped the switch on about 780 gaming terminals, taking in around $52 million in May as a result. Since then, that figure has climbed, first to $104 million in June, then to almost $120 million in July. July’s numbers were around 80% of what was seen a year earlier and, with only about half of the machines operational, the return is significant. 

Macau has been hit especially hard by COVID-19, but is finally starting to see some recovery. The numbers are still way off from where they should have been by this time; however, everyone has come together to try to put the coronavirus pandemic in the rear-view mirror as quickly as possible. Casino operator SJM Holdings could ultimately emerge as a leader in the market, but not necessarily because of its existing presence in the city. Instead, according to Singapore-based research firm Smartkarma Innovations, SJM will gain significant ground because of a new venue it will soon open. The fact that it is coming on the heels of COVID-19’s decline simply gives it a well-timed boost out the gate.

As Macau travel restrictions start to be lifted, SJM is almost ready to introduce its Grand Lisboa Palace casino resort. The $5-billion property on the Cotai Strip should have been able to start receiving gamblers earlier this year; however, the coronavirus pandemic caused those plans to be altered. Now, SJM’s first Cotai property is ready to make a splash sometime in the first quarter of next year, and the launch will allow it to capitalize on what should be a strong market of gamblers looking to get back to their favorite hobbies. 

Smartkarma explains, “We expect that when Grand Lisboa Palace opens, coupled with a slow recovery in sector gaming revenues from the pandemic, the immediate impact will be [market] over-capacity, leading to market-share shifts among operators with SJM [Holdings] being the primary beneficiary.”

In other parts of the world, as casinos were able to ramp up their operations again, many saw a sudden influx of patrons with pent-up desires to gamble. This led to revenue reports that were substantially higher than many anticipated, and the same could hold true for Macau’s gambling scene once it is fully operational once again. 

If the thought of living and working on an island in the Mediterranean sounds appealing, now might be a good opportunity to make the leap. For those in the gambling industry, a new initiative is underway to attract recruits to Malta’s online gaming sector, launched through a partnership between Gaming Malta and Europe’s iGaming trade association, iGEN. The “Why iGaming” campaign specifically targets the iGaming space and looks to bring in top talent to Malta’s constantly expanding iGaming operations. 

iGEN counts on 22 member companies from across Europe and will work with the Maltese government and the non-profit Gaming Malta group to promote job vacancies in the local marketplace. The collaboration has already led to the creation of a website, www.whyigaming.eu, for this purpose, and is introducing a number of multinational campaigns to publicize job openings and the benefits of working in Malta. Located about 62 miles south of Pozzallo, Sicily, the small island of 475,000 inhabitants offers some incredible beaches and weather that should be attractive to a number of candidates. 

Gaming Malta Chief Operating Officer Ivan Filletti says of the new initiative, “This portal is in sync with our mission to position Malta as the Home of Gaming Excellence. A home where talent succeeds and thrives. An industry and iGaming ecosystem which promotes equality and diversity in their working culture. Why iGaming will serve as a real-time showcase for the industry and the exciting opportunities which it offers.”

In general, Malta’s iGaming sector offers higher salaries than industry employees may found elsewhere; however, a lot of potential talent hasn’t been willing to explore the possibilities due to misdirected concerns about being able to work there. Still, Malta already has 7,000 full-time employees working in the iGaming market, according to local statistics, and another 4,000 working in supporting roles. There are currently over 100 open positions listed on the site, looking for everything from back-end tech support to reporters to executive positions. 

The American Gaming Association (AGA) launched its Responsible Gaming Education Week this past Monday, introducing a number of efforts to try to prevent individuals from going into gambling overload. It always wants to help improve how operators in the space market their offerings in an effort to keep things clean and has introduced its Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering to help it achieve its goal. In step with the AGA’s efforts, the Gambling.com Group has expanded its allocation of resources targeting responsible gaming and now has a new Responsible Gaming Center on its website, Gambling.com. 

According to a press release, the new standalone resources are designed to “help individuals recognize problematic behavior early and provide access to support organizations in the Group’s major markets.” The library includes resources on education and guidance, and covers major topics like the fundamentals of responsible gaming, how to stay in control, how to find support and how to protect children from accessing gambling content.

Explains Gambling.com Group CEO Charles Gillespie, “As the online gambling market is established in America and continues to expand around the world, it is important to not lose focus on the social costs of the industry. We are committed to being leaders in responsible gambling and ensuring that a conservative approach is adopted by the industry at large to ensure the sustainability of what is a harmless recreational activity for most people… but unfortunately not for all.”

Gambling.com first stepped into the U.S. gambling scene in 2018 when it set up shop in New Jersey. It had already been active in Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden, and was ready to help the U.S. evolve its gambling industry, which would get a major boost in May of that year when the Supreme Court axed PASPA. Since then, it has continued to expand its efforts, even introducing the American Gambling Awards, which includes a category for responsible gaming. The Responsible Gambling Award is designed to honor the entity that has “done the most to protect online players and support a sustainable, safe online gaming ecosystem. The winner of the inaugural Responsible Gambling Award was the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG).”

Maryland is one of a small handful of states that will find its residents able to vote this November on whether sports gambling should be introduced. With less than two months to go until the elections, there’s not much time left, but a dedicated effort to drum up support in the area is now underway. DraftKings and FanDuel are opening their wallets to fund a media campaign designed to grab as much attention to the legislative effort as possible, and is getting support from a WNBA star. 

The Baltimore Sun reports that DraftKings is sinking $250,000 into the campaign, which it contributed in July, while FanDuel plunked down twice that amount earlier this month. The two sports gambling and daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators began introducing ads yesterday on area TV channels, and has also put together a website to help with the efforts. The ads are expected to be found across Maryland, as well as in its neighbor, Washington, DC. 

Joining the campaign is an advocacy group, Vote Yes on Question 2. It is sponsoring the effort and is led by Marissa Coleman, a University of Maryland graduate who is a familiar face in the area. The 33-year-old is a WNBA All-Star who has played for several teams in the league, as well as internationally, and was the second pick in the first round of the WNBA Draft in 2009. She is currently playing for France’s Tango Bourges Basket team, and said in a statement about the legalization efforts in Maryland, “Sports betting has been going on forever. It’s not like Marylanders aren’t betting on sports. This gives us the opportunity to regulate it and make sure there is protection in place for the consumer.”

As most people have (smartly) realized, sports gambling exists, whether it’s in a regulated market or not. The reversal of PASPA in 2018 paved the way for a number of states to introduce and approve legislation to allow sports gambling, and this number is expected to reach around 30 by the end of next year. Maryland could be one that is added to the growing list, especially as it can now only sit back and watch as neighboring states, including New Jersey, Delaware and West Virginia, poach paying customers through their legalized and regulated markets. 

Macau, for the most part, runs on casinos. At least, that’s how it has been in the past. The city is evolving and looking to become a more well-rounded tourist destination but, in the meantime, gambling is still a major source of income. Gaming operators, just like any other business, don’t like the thought of having to shut down their operations unless it’s absolutely, unequivocally the only alternative. There have been several instances in Macau where the city’s government and its casinos reached a pact to partially close the facilities for the good of the people, such as with Typhoon Hato in 2017, or fully, like was necessary because of COVID-19. Going forward, such pacts won’t be required, as the city’s government now has the legal authority to order casinos to close. 

As of yesterday, in accordance with Macau’s new civil protection framework, the city’s chief executive can make the decision to shut down one or more casinos that could be considered particularly vulnerable in an emergency, such as flooding, typhoons or security risks. Any emergency that has the potential to be hazardous to people can be included under this guidance, with the government able to make the determination on what constitutes a threat. The law stipulates that it can be used for a single casino or the entire industry, depending on the situation.

After Typhoon Hato attacked Macau with 124 mph winds and causing the death of ten people, Typhoon Mangkut roared into the city the following year. As a result, Macau’s leaders and casinos agreed to the first-ever city-wide closure ahead of the storm, which may have served as the catalyst behind the recent change in legislation. At the time, there was debate over whether or not the city had the authority to order casinos to be closed and, in order to prevent any dissention going forward, the new law makes it perfectly clear.

Macau’s casinos, according to existing gaming laws, have to open every day. However, they can suspend their activity in certain circumstances if government approval is granted. Now, in addition to the government being able to order closures, a casino operator can make the call to shut down without requesting approval, but must inform the government when the decision is made. As with the chief executive’s new authority, the closure should only be due to an event that threatens public safety.

Day 2 of the World Poker Tour’s World Online Championships Main Event saw 156 players reduced to just 24 as the Russian professional Artur Martirosian once again flexed his poker prowess at the expense of the opposition.

With a massive $10.1 million prizepool in place, Martirosian took full control of Day 2 as he bullied his way up to 30 million chips to take the chip lead with the final day on the horizon.

Play got under way with 156 players, but only 136 of them would make the money. Plenty of big names missed out on profit, with GPI end boss Alex Foxen and Christian Jeppsson both busting before the bubble burst. When it did, the last player to leave without cashing out a return was Ioannis Angelou-Konstas, and he preceded a flurry of min-cashes and double-ups.

Among those to crash out early but with a five-figure sum going into their partypoker accounts were Team partypoker’s Jason Koon (131st for $23,253), Jake Schindler (130th for $23,253), and Anton Wigg (123rd for $23,253).

Quebec’s online gambling monopoly reported revenue rising 29% in its most recent fiscal year, but the site still can’t catch up to its west coast rival.  

The Loto-Quebec gambling monopoly in the Canadian province of Quebec released its fiscal 2019-20 annual report on Tuesday, which showed revenue of C$2.74b (US$2.07b) in the 12 months ending March 31, a 3.1% decline from fiscal 2018-19’s result. Net income slipped 3.9% year-on-year to C$1.35b.

The decline was expected, given the chilling effect that COVID-19 inflicted on the province even before the shutdown of all non-essential retail operations in March. Loto-Quebec CEO Lynne Rotier noted that the impact on the current fiscal year will be significantly greater, but the company was doing its best to reduce expenses to offset the damage.  

The Espace-jeux online gambling site reported revenue of just under C$135.9m, up from C$105.4m last year. Online lottery revenue rose 37.8% to C$39.4m while online casino gained 25.7% to C$96.4m. Loto-Quebec said online lottery sales soared nearly 160% following the complete suspension of retail sales in March.

Poker has often been present in video games that are 18-certificate as a way of gaining credibility among the pixels that depict action of an adult nature. From Grand Theft Auto to Red Dead Redemption, poker in video games has often been used to spice up the content.

That certainly isn’t the case when it comes to Poker Club, which is a bona fide attempt to bring the game we all know and love from casinos, Las Vegas and our own home games to the console.

Announced by Ripstone Games this week, Poker Club will also be available to play on the Nintendo Switch and before parents worry that gaming could lead to gambling, the push for the game isn’t about simply staking your bets and winning or losing. The idea behind the game is to put poker in the area of a ‘social experience’ that finds a way to connect console players and bring poker players and fans to video games.

Developed on the Unreal Engine – a possible cause of concern should Apple follow up on its Fortnite dispute by limiting the mobile availability through the App Store of other games – Poker Club looks a lot like the PKR poker site that relied heavily on the innovative graphics and avatar-led entertainment, albeit it for real money.

A major Macau casino junket operator has taken a significant stake in casino operator Macau Legend Development as the lines continue to blur between the two sectors.

On Monday, the Hong Kong-listed Macau Legend suspended trading in its shares ahead of a major announcement. On Tuesday, Macau Legend announced that Perfect Achiever Group Ltd, a British Virgin Islands-registered firm, had acquired a 20.65% stake in Macau Legend for HK$1.34b (US$173m).

Perfect Achiever is owned by Chan Weng Lin, the CEO of the Tak Chun Group junket. Tuesday’s release stated that Chan previously held a 0.1% share in Macau Legend, putting his total current holdings in the company at 20.75%. That puts Chan behind only Macau Legend’s co-chair (and former CEO) David Chow Kam Fai, who holds just under 30% of the company.

Macau Legend operates the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf hotel and also provides gaming services to three Macau casinos – Landmark Casino, Babylon Casino and the Legend Palace at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf – that operate under an SJM Holdings concession.

Online eSports betting operator Unikrn has reached a deal to pay $6.1m to US securities regulators to resolve a probe into its 2017 initial coin offering (ICO).

The Seattle-based Unikrn launched its UnikoinGold (UKG) token in 2017, raising $31m from rank-and-file investors and notable individuals such as billionaire investor Mark Cuban and Ethereum co-founder Anthony Di Iorio. But the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Unikrn failed to register the offering or seek an exemption from rules regarding investment contracts.

Unikrn neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s allegations, but in a settlement order issued Tuesday, the SEC said Unikrn agreed to pay a $6.1m penalty — which represents “substantially all of the company’s assets” — to be distributed to “already-harmed investors” through a Fair Fund.

Kristina Littman, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Cyber Unit, said failure to follow the SEC’s securities registration and exemption framework “harms investors and our markets.” In addition to ameliorating investors’ losses, the settlement “includes measures to prevent future sales to retail investors, including the [permanent] disabling of the tokens.” Unikrn has requested the removal of UKG from all digital asset trading platforms.

Virginia has approved new online sports betting regulations, setting up the likelihood of legal wagering commencing early in the new year.

On Tuesday, the Virginia Lottery Board approved its regulatory framework for legal online sports betting, following passage of the necessary legislation this spring. The Lottery will accept license applications between October 15-31, with the rules dictating a 90-day window for approving or denying an application.

There will be a minimum of four and a maximum of 12 sports betting licensees, and applicants will be judged based on their wagering experience and success in other US markets, reputation for following the rules and capacity to detect “suspicious or illegal gambling activity.”

Applicants will also be judged on their estimates of the betting and tax revenue they expect to generate from their Virginia operations, as well as the number of new jobs they expect to generate in the state. Applicants will need to demonstrate “serious, good faith efforts to solicit and interview a reasonable number of investors that are minority individuals.”

Sweden’s gambling regulator has further reduced the scope of its online betting licensees’ offering in what it claims is an effort to prevent match-fixing.

On Tuesday, the Spelinspektionen regulatory body announced that its board of directors had reached agreement the day before on new “regulations and general advice in order to counteract match-fixing.” The regulator claims the changes (viewable here, in Swedish) mean there will henceforth be “no reason to influence the outcome” of Swedish-based sport.

The changes include a prohibition on Swedish-licensed bookmakers taking bets on “violations of rules during matches, competitions and tournaments (for example, expulsions, penalties and yellow cards).” Operators will be required to file annual reports on “suspected manipulations of results in sports.”

The rules only apply to “sports that are practiced in Sweden,” so Spelinspektionen is apparently okay with its bookmakers providing opportunities to negatively influence international sports to their hearts’ content.

With a full programme of English Football League Cup action and intriguing Ligue 1 clashes, the midweek betting markets needn’t be dominated by futures markets such as the Premier League manager ‘Sack Race’. You can make money in each of our five sportsbetting tips for soccer matches on Tuesday and Wednesday right here.

The English Football League Cup

Tuesday sees the EFL Cup return in earnest, with some Premier League involvement blending in with a lot of Championship sides. What’s crucial in predicting who will win through these games is how important they are to the players and team involved and what the respective sides should look like.

Tuesday September 15th