Malaysian authorities have a lot of ‘splaining to do after they allowed a major illegal online gambling operator to slip their grasp while leaving a local courthouse.

Last week, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) announced the detention of several senior members of the Kuala Lumpur police suspected of protecting an illegal online gambling and money laundering ring. At the time, we noted that this story likely had legs, and it seems those legs had happy feet attached.   

While some of the (non-cop) individuals connected with that online gambling operation were in the process of being released on bail, police gathered at the entrance of the MACC headquarters in order to re-arrest the suspects to assist investigations into the gambling operations.

But before those cops could pounce, the suspected ringleader of the gambling operation made good his escape. CCTV footage showed him climbing over a side gate of the compound with the help of two bodyguards, after which he jumped into a car waiting on the side of the road and hasn’t been seen since.

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That’s because the Big Ten kicks off its coronavirus-delayed season. One could argue the Big Ten is the nation’s most popular league – calm down, SEC fans – simply because most of its schools have such huge numbers of alumni (Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin in particular) and are near major cities like New York, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland/Cincinnati, Pittsburgh/Philadelphia and Baltimore/Washington, D.C. among a few others.

The first conference game of 2020 is Illinois at No. 14 Wisconsin on Friday at 8 p.m. ET with the Badgers the favorites to repeat as West Division champions. However, they begin life without record-setting running back Jonathan Taylor, now a rookie with the Indianapolis Colts. In addition, starting QB Jack Coan had foot surgery two weeks ago and is out indefinitely. Redshirt freshman Graham Mertz is now No. 1 on the depth chart. Wisconsin is -19.5 and the home team is 4-0 ATS in the past four meetings.

The best player returning in the Big Ten is clearly Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, who was third in the 2019 Heisman Trophy voting and among the favorites this year. The No. 5 Buckeyes have appeared in three straight Big Ten championship games and won each of them. They are heavy favorites to do so again as well as 27-point favorites for Saturday’s noon home game against unranked Nebraska. OSU is on a 19-game home winning streak, taking those by an average of 31.8 points.

Just 4% of UK gamblers reported increased gambling spending in the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, although many of these were individuals whose gambling was already considered problematic.

A new survey commissioned by the industry-funded GambleAware responsible gambling charity and undertaken by YouGov queried two groups of individuals in October 2019 regarding their gambling activity, with a follow-up survey of the same groups’ activity in May 2020, which marked the start of the UK’s pandemic lockdown.

Overall, the survey found a 10-point reduction in the number of individuals reporting participation in any form of gambling, from 49% in October 2019 to 39% in May 2020. Male gamblers reported a larger decline (from 53% to 41%) versus female gamblers (36% to 31%), a shift the authors attributed to the pandemic halt of major league sports activity, on which betting is a primarily male endeavor.

Decreases in activity were noted across all gaming verticals except online casino games (including slots), which rose from 1.5% participation last October to 2.3% in May. The study found the online casino increase to be more significant among men (from 2% to 3.2%) than women (from 1.1% to 1.5%).

Online gambling operator Global Gaming is giving up on seeing its Swedish license reinstated – at least, for the time being – after a court rejected its latest appeal.

On Monday, the Court of Appeal in Jönköping affirmed last year’s revocation of the online gaming and betting license issued to Global Gaming subsidiary SafeEnt Ltd, which operated in Sweden primarily under its Ninja Casino brand until the Spelinspektionen regulatory body pulled the plug.

The regulator accused SafeEnt of “serious deficiencies in the company’s operations, including applicable gaming responsibility and measures against money laundering.” Specifically, SafeEnt was said to have allowed customers to exceed online deposit limits and failed to intervene when customers demonstrated problem gambling behavior.

The Stockholm-listed Global Gaming appealed the revocation but was forced to suspend its Swedish-facing operations while the appeals process unfolded. The suspension did major damage to the company’s bottom line, forcing it to trim its headcount, while efforts to transfer the Ninja brand to another Swedish-facing operator were rejected.

Australian casino operator Crown Resorts was warned in 2017 about its dealings with the Suncity Group junket, while Crown’s chair claimed the company’s anti-money laundering compliance failings were the result of ‘ineptitude’ not criminality.

Tuesday saw the resumption of the New South Wales Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) inquiry into Crown’s suitability to hold a state gaming license for its Crown Sydney property, which is scheduled to open in mid-December.

It was Crown chair Helen Coonan’s second day in the hot seat on Tuesday, one day after Crown announced that it was under investigation by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) for “potential non-compliance” with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) regulations at the Crown Melbourne casino.

Coonan was confronted by an email AUSTRAC apparently sent Crown in June 2017, in which the company was advised that Alvin Chau, the boss of the Suncity junket that ran a VIP gambling room at Crown Melbourne, was a foreign ‘politically exposed person’ with a “substantial” criminal history.

The return of the Champions League has created a frisson of excitement among sportsbetting fans, with clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona all returning to action on the opening day of action tonight.

From Paris to Camp Nou, West London to Turin, let’s take a look at the odds that are on offer for the games to go for this midweek.

Tuesday October 20th

Paris St. Germain vs. Manchester United (8pm GMT kick-off)

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. Our Press Release section is updated constantly.

Pariplay Portuguese Presence Propelled by Partnership with Solverde Group

Provider’s first-class content extends regulated market reach via agreement with historic casino group

The U.K. is charging hard against gambling everywhere in an attempt to curb what it considers to be runaway problem gambling. As a result, operators are taking a revenue hit that, in turn, leads to a reduction in revenue earned by the government. The COVID-19 fiasco arrived to give regulators a hand in reducing the potential revenue, forcing casinos and gambling shops to take an extended vacation in an attempt to stop the coronavirus from spreading. Now, after having started to get back on the right track, a new wave of closures is coming as COVID-19 makes a reappearance, and gambling shops across Wales are the latest to see their recovery efforts slide back down the hill. The country is going to impose what it calls a “time-limited firebreak” on gambling venues beginning this Friday in an effort to keep the coronavirus from gaining more ground. 

As of 6 PM local time this Friday, the 366 gambling shops in Wales are going to have to shut off the lights and lock the doors. Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales, has confirmed that the shutdown is necessary to try to stop COVID-19, and that the firebreak is expected to last 17 days. In addition to the gambling shops, casinos, restaurants and bars will also need to go on holiday, while other businesses are encouraged to allow employees to work from home where possible. 

The U.K.’s gambling industry has already taken a massive hit because of the ongoing health pandemic and has repeatedly called for the government to provide assistance. After the latest announcement by Wales, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) stressed that government-led financial support is the only thing that will save the industry, tweeting, “Following @MarkDrakeford’s announcement of a 17-day #COVID19 lockdown in Wales, the BGC is urging the Government to come up with the necessary package of financial support for businesses affected, including 366 betting shops and three casinos employing 2,000 people between them.”

The good news is that Wales is prepared to respond to the repeated requests. The bad news is that the response won’t be anywhere close to what is needed to keep the industry afloat. Drakeford added that a £300-million ($388.3 million) fund is coming; however, the allotment for each business is tiny. Each business covered by the relief will be given about $1,294, while small- and medium-sized businesses in the retail and hospitality and leisure segments will be given a one-time payment of up to $6,473 (£5,000). 

It was obvious to everyone two years ago that Imperial Pacific International (IPI) was having difficulty taking care of its responsibilities. The company behind the highly unstable Imperial Palace casino resort in Saipan has continued to have issues covering its financial obligations to both those it contracted to build out the Imperial Palace, as well as to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), but has managed to string everyone along. It has had to defend itself several times in court, as well as in front of CNMI gaming regulators, and needs to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars to make good on outstanding debt and fines. Among all that are millions of dollars a court ordered it to pay to Pacific Rim Land Development, which it still hasn’t produced. As a result, Pacific Rim, which led much of the expansion on Imperial Palace, wants a judge to give it permission to sell certain IPI assets, including vehicles and gaming equipment, to cover part of the debt. 

Marianas Variety reports that Pacific Rim has submitted a formal request to be able to sell the assets to recover some of the $5.6 million IPI owes it per the court order. The gaming equipment reportedly has a value of around $20 million, while the vehicles are said to be worth around $6 million. However, selling the assets, according to IPI’s lawyers, would only net about $2 million, still leaving the casino operator short on its outstanding debt and without the means to earn revenue. 

IPI lawyer Michael Dotts asserts, “The gaming equipment is carried on IPI’s audited books at a value of more than US$20 million, but the best estimate is that will sell for US$2 million. No one but IPI can legally own it on Saipan so it will all need to be sent away. To reopen, IPI will have to purchase all of its gaming equipment again. When IPI reopens many of the vehicles that Pacific Rim seeks to have auctioned off will need to be replaced, and this could be difficult for IPI both financially and logistically.”

As an alternative, IPI is proposing it be allowed to turn to an investor for the money. It reportedly has found someone oblivious enough to be willing to turn over almost $6 million, which would be placed into a CNMI bank to secure the outstanding debt owed to Pacific Rim. IPI is appealing the court’s ruling in favor of Pacific Rim, and the funds would essentially be held in escrow pending the outcome of that appeal. 

Ten years ago, there was only a small percentage of people who believed that cryptocurrency was something more than a “fad” that would go away. It has now become obvious that not only is crypto not going away, but that it is inarguably the next phase in the evolution of money. Many countries have already begun exploring the introduction of their own digital currency, and this trend is not going to slow down. Canada is reportedly taking the idea of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) more seriously, and its interest shows how far the idea has come – and how legitimate it is. 

Canada’s central bank, the Bank of Canada, is reportedly looking to hire an economist who has particular knowledge of finance and digital currency. While the country has not come out and said that it is going to launch a CBDC, the job posting for the position indicates that that the institution recognizes that the financial world is being transformed and that it is creating a program to research the new developments. The program will include, among other things, a “monitoring framework for money and payments and the contingency planning for a central bank digital currency (CBDC). This is a program of major social significance and will require us to break new ground.”

The candidate chosen for the position must have in-depth knowledge of crypto platforms, as well as conventional payment systems. He or she should have experience handling and analyzing blockchain data, as well as analyzing consumer data, and “requires a master’s degree in Economics, Finance, Computer Science, Mathematics or Statistics or a combination of education and experience may also be considered.”

This is a clear indication that the Bank of Canada is prepared to introduce a CBDC, should its research program determine adequate feasibility. In addition to Canada, the US, the UK, China and a number of other countries – as well as the European Central Bank – are also exploring the possibility of a CBDC, showing that there is legitimate global interest in taking currency to the next level. Sweden, for example, is planning on becoming a completely cashless society with the help of digital currency in the near future and has already started working toward that goal. 

China may be trying to stomp out all the different ways locals gamble, either abroad or online, for the moment, but that could just be setting the stage for a future of legalized domestic gambling. That was the opinion of 1 panelist at a recent Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia webinar.

“I believe that China will, within 10 years, legalize gambling within their own borders,” said CEO and owner of Global Betting & Gaming Consultants, Warwick Bartlett, the Macau Daily Times reports. “The reason I believe this will happen is because you can’t continually criminalize ordinary people’s behavior.”

With gambling is clearly a favored activity of Chinese citizens, the current situation of trying to wipe out the activity is just untenable, historic precedents could point to how this situation will play out. “The British government discovered that in 1963 when they legalized gambling and other countries slowly followed,” Bartlett said. “It makes sense because customers are better protected and you can tax the revenue and it creates a whole new industry.”

If China follows this pattern, intentionally or not, it has more recent precedent to learn from. Bartlett said he thinks the “agonizing process very similar to what happened in the U.S. a few years ago. They are preventing payment solutions to the Internet and they are disrupting the process of gambling every way possible.”

The Philippines real estate sector is bracing for the upcoming vacancies a Philippine Offshore Gambling Operators (POGOs) exodus will cause. The Philippine Star reports as much as 17 percent of office space will go vacant in the Philippines, as a perfect storm of factors will cause many POGOs to shut down or seek more favorable host countries.

This news came from a webinar hosted by the outlet. “POGO space vacancy is forecast to hit 17 percent this year and another estimated 20 to 30 percent next year,” property analyst David Leechiu said. Of the 1.7 million square meters the industry takes up, that would mean 289,000 square meters left vacant. 200 thousand square meters have already been made vacant, he noted.

The reasons for the exodus, as Leechiu sees it, are led by the increase in taxes forced by the Bayanihan 2 act, which requires POGOs to pay 5% of their gambling turnover to the government. However there’s also the obvious difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw POGO offices closed due to quarantine restrictions, and China’s increasingly aggressive policy against online gambling.

In a recent special report looking at China’s anti-gambling stance, Macau Business noted that China is taking a very aggressive approach to shutting down the industry, using education, political pressure and legal crackdowns to stop the flow of yuans to the Philippines. The report noted that the Philippines likely would not bend to Chinese will, citing the importance of POGO revenues to the economy.