US casino operator Twin River Worldwide Holdings (TRWH) plans to rebrand most of its properties with the Bally’s brand, assuming Atlantic City gaming regulators get their act together.

On Tuesday, TRWH confirmed Monday’s rumors that it had acquired the rights to the Bally’s brand from rival Caesars Entertainment. TRWH acquired the Bally’s Atlantic City casino property from Caesars in a deal that was announced in April and expects to close by year’s end.

TRWH said its April deal allowed it to retain the Bally’s name for the AC property, while Tuesday’s deal will allow TRWH to “rebrand virtually all of its portfolio properties under the Bally’s name and logo.” The deal also allows Caesars a “perpetual” license to continue to use the brand for the company’s existing Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino property.

While terms of the Bally’s brand sale weren’t disclosed, the New York Post reported Monday that the deal was worth $20m. TRWH chairman Soo Kim said the company would also launch a sports betting operation using the Bally’s brand, while TRWH would change its stock ticker identity to something ‘more reflective’ of the Bally’s brand.

Sometimes, poker is front and centre, dominating the big or small screen with its presence, as fans gather around the box to watch the game in all its glory. Other times, such as the scene in this week’s Poker on Screen, the game is flashed past with barely any time to appreciate whether the makers of the movie got the inclusion of poker right, or very badly wrong.

We’ll get to exactly why it’s the latter in due course.

Bodied is a 2018 movie that centres on the notion of rap battles, and of itself, isn’t a bad movie. Highlighting the youth of today’s understanding of offensive language is a neat twist on the ‘all teenagers do is swear’ trope and as a result, the film has a lightly arch touch throughout as it builds to the finale, a rap battle to end them all. In that sense, it’s a little predictable, but horses for courses; the film’s cast were unlikely to all decide that instead of rap battles they might take up the game of poker instead… especially if they learned how to play from the game going on in the library. 

Yes, the poker game in question takes place in a library, where the main protagonist is on a video conferencing app on his laptop with a buddy. When shushed by Daniel Negreanu, he apologises – kind of – by making a kind of reverse slur about being gay before then being given the classic line by ‘DNegs’:

Russia’s Far East casino market is finally getting some competition as the region’s second operator formally announces its grand opening plans.

On Tuesday, Shambala CJSC announced that its casino of the same name in the Primorye gaming zone outside Vladivostok will hold its grand opening at 7pm this Friday (16). The oft-delayed property held a soft-launch last week to ensure that its facilities were capable of receiving a flood of actual gamblers and the accompanying horde of local looky-loos.

Among the festivities awaiting Shambala’s guests are a performance by pop singer Leonid Agutin as well as a show entitled Legends of Shambala, at which the casino will distribute RUB300k (US$3,900) to guests. Speaking of, guests are encouraged to register a spot via the casino’s website – which entitles registrants to RUB2k in chips – and the preferred dress code is ‘smart casual.’

Shambala CJSC general director Maxim Smolentsev said the new casinos had no intention of becoming “a closed elite club.” Local guests from all economic strata were welcome “regardless of how much [he/she] is ready to bet on the game.”  

South Koreans can now get back to the casino. Kangwon Land Inc, the promoter of Kangwon Land has resumed operations at limited capacity, opening the doors to the only casino in the country that services locals.

Kangwon Land is allowed to reopen thanks to the recent end of South Korea’s Covid-19 shutdown orders, which expired on Monday. It may only accept customers on a limited basis however; VIP play is restricted to a maximum of 68 seats, and mas gaming areas top out at 750 people. In a press release on their website, the operator noted that this could be subject to changes.

Kangwon Land first closed in February when South Korea was one of the countries to shut down earliest from the Covid-19 pandemic. It reopened for VIPs in May, but was forced to close once again in August when the infection rate spiked for the country.

While Kangwon Land remains South Korea’s best earning casino, these shutdowns have hurt. The closure between May and August lost the casino KRW62.7 billion ($54 million). An early October update suggested that the casino’s revenues for 2020 will come in 67% lower than the year before, at KRW498 billion ($430 million).

With revenue definitely drying up, speculation has begun that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) may open up online gambling options for locals. Industry sources have informed Asian Gaming Brief that once the government takes a hard look at their bottom line, their may be no other option.

PAGCOR is expected to help with a range of domestic projects, including sports, charity and healthcare. But as the casino industry has been hampered by Covid-19 restrictions, and the Philippine Offshore Gambling Operators continue their exodus, PAGCOR’s revenues have fallen off a cliff, dropping by 50% overall and 80% from POGOs.

Casinos will recover eventually, but if POGOs are leaving permanently, those revenues need to be made up somehow. Now, sources expect PAGCOR to look domestically for online revenues.

“Experience taught us that whenever an obstacle arises, an opportunity usually goes along with it,” Sebastian Salat, CEO of Zitro told the ouetlet. “As the effects of COVID are being felt in land-based venues we understand PAGCOR may be considering regulated online and mobile gaming in the Philippines. Zitro has outstanding offerings in this area and we are already preparing the groundwork with local partners.”

Canadian technology and gaming firm FansUnite announced that it would be partnering with Pinnacle Solution to provide odds on esports bets for its Chameleon Gaming Platform partners. The long-term strategic partnership means that FansUnite will be expanding its esports betting products, in what has become a highly competitive marketplace in 2020.

Pinnacle solution currently has a partnership with GRID esports to provide data and odds for esports leagues and tournaments across the globe. The move is expected to give FansUnite access to GRID’s contracts for several major esports events.

FansUnite CEO Scott Burton expressed his excitement over the partnership with Pinnacle on the company’s website:

“We aim to partner with the leading companies in the industry to provide the best product and options to our customers using the Chameleon Platform. With Pinnacle’s addition and their relationship with GRID Esports, we continue to add the best esports betting data available with the most markets and the best odds. It’s exciting to be the first to offer Pinnacle Solution’ service and we are honoured they chose to work with us.”

Indian police have moved swiftly to crack down on suspicious betting activity surrounding the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL). After a lengthy investigation, local authorities arrested 14 people in connection with illegal betting.

Illegal online betting remains an issue for cricket authorities across Asia, with current and former international players under a new code of conduct to combat match-fixing by illegal bookmakers.

The Board of Cricket Control India (BCCI) have worked with local authorities to protect their competition. In a coordinated operation, police carried out raids across five different locations throughout India, with seven people in Hyderabad and Jaipur taken into custody, in connection with the betting ring.

Ashok Kumar Rathore, ADG, Anti-Terrorism Squad spokesman commented on the outcome of the raid to local media:

Sportsbook operator Delasports has stepped up to partner with the Balakan International Basketball League (BIBL) for the upcoming 2020 season. The multi-year deal will see Delasports retain the naming rights for the league.

Founded in 2008, the BIBL has grown in popularity to include sides from across the Balkan Peninsula. The round-robin format includes teams from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Albania.

The league recently expanded the competition to include 12 teams from Israel, to expand the BIBL to 18 teams in its 13th season.

The Delasports sponsorship announcement was welcomed across competition after the delayed start to the 2020/21 season.

We’ve got three more weeks until elections in the United States. After that, we have until January 20th to figure out who the president is. Whatever ends up happening will have profound effects on Las Vegas casinos for the foreseeable future.

Usually, either the Democrat wins, or the Republican wins. I believe the best scenario for Las Vegas is that Joe Biden wins, because it will increase the chances that lockdowns and business restrictions will end sooner, which will of course be best for the casinos fundamentally. If Donald Trump wins, then chances increase that the lockdown regimes will drag on further, snuffing out whatever remains of economic activity. That may sound counterintuitive, given that Biden is the so-called “lockdown candidate” saying he would institute national lockdowns if advised to do so, while Trump has so far resisted national lockdowns and will continue to resist them. Still, I stand by my reasoning, which I’ll explain in a minute. First, the third and by far the worst scenario short term for stocks must be dealt with.

The third scenario is that we have a long, drawn-out contested election where nobody clearly wins and there are mutual recriminations of fraud and an attempted coup and all the rest, into and perhaps even past the January 20 transition of power. With the amount of mail-in ballots this time around given the pandemic mentality of much of the electorate, it’s going to take a significant amount of time to count it all, and recriminations of mail and voter fraud are inevitable.

If we do indeed see that third scenario play out, it would be a disaster for stocks, and I’m not talking about a simple lack of political certainty here per se. I’m talking about the immediate consequences for the fiscal and monetary side of the equation. I’m talking about a literal constitutional inability of Congress to keep borrowing and spending money at light speed, simply because there would be no recognized presidential authority to sign the spending bills past January. In that case, the life support that government spending has temporarily extended to capital markets, will be cut off, and we could be back in a March crash situation.

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.

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Plans for introducing casinos in Japan through the approval of the development of integrated resorts (IR) continue to change, and not necessarily for the better. Progress is at a virtual standstill due to the COVID-19 saga, not to mention the allegations of bribery tied to a casino operator and its attempts at securing a license. From the start, however, and all through the drama, Osaka has been a forerunner for one of the first three licenses that are expected to be awarded when, and if, the IR industry gets off the ground. The prefecture was seen as a lock and gambling odds showed it as a heavy favorite. Not anymore. 

In what could ultimately be a huge twist in the ever-developing IR plot in Japan, Osaka may not exist soon, at least not in its current form. In 2015, residents of the prefecture narrowly shot down a vote that would have paved the way for Osaka to be broken up into four wards, instead of a single region. The margin of rejection was only 10,000 votes, and supporters of the idea have had five years to drum up more Yes votes, with the topic making another appearance during elections on November 1. 

The Osaka Metropolis Plan (OMP) seeks to wipe Osaka off the map in 2025 (the year of the World Expo), leading to the creation of the four wards – Chuo, Kita, Tennoji and Yodogawa. Each ward would have its own mayor and council, and there may no longer be cohesion among leaders as the subject of IRs continues to move forward. Considering that it would cost around $229 million to implement the new ward structure, supporters of the OMP could use the IR as a bargaining chip. 

Japan introduced the conversion system in 1956; however, it has yet to implement it a single time. There are potentially around 2.25 million voters who could address the issue at the polls next month and, with such a close margin the last time the idea was explored, it’s conceivable to imagine an Osaka that looks extremely different than it does now. 

It hasn’t been much of a secret that, while the rest of the developed world was moving forward with cryptocurrency regulations, the U.S. was lagging behind. The country, at least on the surface, has appeared to maintain a hands-off approach to regulating the crypto industry, perhaps because providing blanket guidance would somehow be viewed as a validation of digital currency. However, the idea of crypto as a form of legitimate money cannot be ignored, and even the most anti-crypto pundits are now realizing this. The U.S. seems to be slowly coming around, as well, and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has just introduced regulations that will help establish the digital currency industry as a legitimate one in the country.

The Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework (CEF) was put together by the DOJ’s Cyber-Digital Task Force and released on October 8 by Attorney General William Barr. The guidance by the country’s top law enforcement division is designed to lay down the law on legal obligations by companies operating in the crypto space, while addressing what constitutes being an operator in the industry. It is the first time the DOJ has weighed in on, and provided guidance for, the crypto ecosystem. 

As was to be expected, the DOJ wants to make sure crypto isn’t used for money laundering and, if it is, the criminals can be properly brought to justice. The CEF states that “individuals and entities that offer money transmitting services involving virtual assets … as well as certain issuers, exchangers, and brokers of virtual assets, are considered MSBs … subject to [anti-money-laundering]/combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regulations as well as certain licensing and registration requirements[.]” It adds that “such virtual currency administrators and exchangers are obligated to have AML programs, to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), and to follow other BSA requirements.”

The DOJ also acknowledges that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Department of Treasury will be able to continue clamping down on crypto-related activity as they see fit, including up to the seizure of assets if warranted. Put simply, any crypto company needs to follow the same guidelines as any financial entity in the U.S. if they want to avoid running afoul of the DOJ, or of any state or local regulations. 

With the exception of one more NFL game that has to be played tonight following a recent outbreak of COVID-19, Week 5 is in the books. This past weekend was a big one for sports gamblers on Bodog, with professional and college football completely overwhelming all other sports. With the NBA Playoffs wrapping up and the MLB postseason underway, these saw some attention from sports gamblers, but nothing compared to what football produced. 

Between the NFL and college football, 69.35% of the wagers on Bodog this past weekend went to the sport – 39.83% to the NFL and 29.52% to college games. In third place, the NBA Playoffs saw 11.91%, and couldn’t come remotely close to the power of football. Following the NBA action, which saw the LA Lakers when their 17th title after defeating the Miami Heat in Game 6, MLB attracted 6% of the bets, and the French Open Men’s Singles came in with 3.87%. 

The Ultimate Fighting Challenge (UFC) appeared in the sixth spot, but with only 3.1% of the wagers. Cricket, thanks to the Indian Premier League, captured 2.21% of the bets, while Major League Soccer grabbed a piece, with 1.66% of the total wagers placed. Golf’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open also made an appearance, with 1%, and the League of Legends World Championship sneaked in, attracting .9% of all wagers made on Bodog this past weekend.

With such a huge overall percentage of the wagers, it’s no surprise that football occupied seven of the top ten spots in terms of individual betting events. The NFL game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings saw the most action, grabbing 19.9% of the bets. The Seahawks were the favorite to win, and only barely squeaked out a 27-26 victory.

Dunder, the iGaming platform operated by Malta-based MT SecureTrade, is pulling out of the UK. It confirmed to its users and media partners that it plans on closing up its online casino in the country as of the end of the month, and is already beginning to pull back on its domestic presence there. Users of the platform shouldn’t procrastinate, and need to start removing their balances as soon as possible to avoid any last-minute problems. 

The company plans on conducting a “phased close down” of its operations in the UK, and will cut off all affiliates and advertising as of this Thursday. Players can start withdrawing their balances now, and Dunder explains that it has expanded the withdrawal limits, allowing users to take out almost all their money in a single withdrawal, but only able to reach a £3 ($3.91) lower limit. No new users or deposits are being allowed as it prepares its exit, and all withdrawals and logins will be turned off as of October 30. 

The reason for the departure hasn’t been made exactly clear; however, it could be fueled, in part, by the continued restrictions placed on the gambling industry in the UK. It’s no secret that the country is taking a hardline stance against gambling operators, and even gamblers, and has introduced a number of measures over the past couple of years that have taken the entertainment out of gambling. The recent announcement of a new legislative group in the House of Lords that will pay particular attention to the gambling industry is just the latest in a long line of moves the UK has taken against gambling. 

It’s also possible that the COVID-19 situation has hurt the company, as well. Dunder was one of the first online casinos in Scandinavia to be powered by Gaming Innovation Group (GIG), with hopes of greater expansion across Europe. It moved into the UK in 2018 in an attempt to become a key player in the market; however, the timing of the entrance found it facing a number of obstacles from legislators and their goal of cracking down on gambling, as well as the global coronavirus pandemic. 

While it does little to clean up Japan’s tarnished reputation, at least justice has prevailed. As the country was preparing for its entry into the world of organized casino gambling with integrated resorts (IR), one of its own legislators decided there was nothing wrong with lining his pockets with some extra money to help out a gaming operator. However, Tsukasa Akimoto is finding out the hard way that his beliefs were misguided and will face the music for (allegedly) deciding to take bribes from gaming operator 500.com. In the meantime, two of the individuals that helped him on his entrepreneurial journey have now been found guilty for their roles in the ordeal. 

Masahiko Konno and Katsunori Nakazato are two Japanese former advisors to 500.com who had been accused of facilitating payments of around $72,000 to Akimoto. The goal was to have the lawmaker use his position and influence to help the gaming operator secure a spot in Hokkaido, one of the early frontrunners for an IR. They learned their fate from a Japanese court yesterday, with Konno being sentenced to two years in prison, and Nakazato being slapped with a sentence of 22 months. In both cases, however, the judge suspended the sentence for three years. Adding insult to injury, Hokkaido had temporarily pulled out of the IR race last November, making the bribes a waste of time, money and reputation. 

Akimoto is now a former member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan’s ruling political party. At the time the malfeasance is said to have taken place, he was directly involved in helping the country shape the policies for the eventual introduction of casinos. Konno and Nakazato are said to have given him the money over a two-year period from 2017 to 2018, and also paid for him to travel between Hokkaido and China to negotiate business relationships with 500.com. To no one’s surprise, the operator had conducted its own investigation into the allegations, and recently revealed that it couldn’t find any evidence of wrongdoing. 

Still, the Japanese courts apparently found the evidence 500.com couldn’t, leading to the convictions. The judge reportedly said when handing down the ruling, according to Japanese media outlets, that Konno and Nakazato had “severely undermined the impartiality of duties and public trust in a large-scale project promoted by the government.” With the guilty verdicts, it can easily be concluded that Akimoto will also be found guilty; however, he is being processed separately.