The Macau government is set to submit a bill to the legislature, proposing a full smoking ban in casinos including VIP rooms and airport-style smoking pods on mass gaming floors.

Macau’s Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng announced, on Thursday, that the government plans to submit the bill in the first half this year.

Tam reiterated that the ongoing decline in Macau’s monthly casino gross gaming revenue would not be a hindrance in implementing a full smoking ban in gaming venues such as casinos and slot-machine parlors.

The policy secretary also said that the government would propose an increase in the tax on a packet of 20 cigarettes from the current 10 patacas tax per packet to 70% of the retail price, which would be in line with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.

On Wednesday, the Macau government announced that City of Dreams Macau had been fined for breaching the city’s ban on smoking in public places.

However, gaming operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd told GGRAsia that it will challenge the Macau government’s decision to fine CoD Macau with MOP100,000 (US$12,524) for allegedly failing to post “no smoking” signs in one area inside its casino.

“The company intends to pursue a judicial review of this matter to ensure proper implementation of the smoking regulations as they now stand,” a spokesperson from Melco Crown said. “Melco Crown Entertainment operates its casinos in compliance with Macau legal requirements and requisite governmental approvals. The legality of [the] government’s recent actions related to non-smoking signs is debatable.”

So here we are. By my count, we’re three days away from Super Bowl XLIX. It’s an exciting time if you’re a fan of the New England Patriots or the Seattle Seahawks. But even if you aren’t, betting on the Super Bowl is always a sure fire way to make your Super Bowl watching experience more exciting.

Cloudbet is one of many sportsbooks that are offering betting odds on Super Bowl XLIX. But unlike traditional sportsbooks, Cloudbet is different because of one very important feature.

Instead of using cash and/or online credits to make your wagers, bettors can bet on the game at Cloudbet using bitcoins. Yep. Bitcoins.

Cloudbet is a traditional book in a sense that it offers betting odds a host of sporting events, including the Super Bowl. It even has futures, props, and parlays readily available for bettors. But that’s where the similarities between this particular site and traditional sportsbooks end.

The fact that it uses bitcoins as its standard mode of transaction is something Cloudbet Marketing Manager Dennis Laudrup believes is a huge advantage for bettors because there’s no limit to the amount that any given bettor can bet on.

“There’s no limit to the amount that can be sent, so it’s perfect for high rollers – if someone wants to send 1,000 bitcoin they can do that, and have it credited to their account immediately,” Laudrup told CalvinAyre.com.

Betting limits are apparently foreign to Cloudbet, which, like Laudrup said, makes it an ideal site for deep-pocketed bettors to splash their bitcoins on any SuperBowl bet they want to bet on. Laudrup said that the site is already taking bets of up to 400 bitcoins ($92,000) on Super Bowl XLIX. That number is even expected to reach as much as 1,000 bitcoins by game day ($230,000) and quite possibly even more moving forward. The site is also accepting bets of up to 200 bitcoins ($46,000) on other sports like the NBA, the English Premier League, and the Spanish La Liga, ensuring its customers that it caters to a diverse set of sports where bettors can bet on.

Members of the Unite-HERE union continue to voice their opposition of billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s plan to eliminate union benefits of employees from the Trump Taj Mahal casino that Icahn is poised to acquire.

The union has even taken its protest to the streets of New York City, just outside the offices of Icahn where it reportedly tried to deliver a letter addressed to the businessman. According to the Associated Press, members of the union didn’t get to hand deliver the letter directly to Icahn, stopping short at the front desk of his office where a worker promised to personally give the letter to his boss.

Despite not accomplishing its primary objective of giving Icahn the letter, members of the union told the AP that they had made their point and that they expect Icahn to open a dialogue with the union in an effort to iron out their differences.

In its letter, the union basically called out Icahn’s previous comments to the union about his own hard-strung years as a youth in Queens and a supposed attempt to make the union believe that he feels their plight. But members of the union didn’t see it that way, and they made it perfectly clear that they’re not buying what Icahn is selling.

“You may be someone who came up through the streets of Queens, and you may see yourself as the underdog fighting against entrenched corporate executives,” the letter read.

“But this time, you aren’t fighting executives with multimillion-dollar salaries and expense accounts. This time you are fighting housekeepers, bartenders, food servers, bell people, cooks and cocktail servers. This time you aren’t fighting for the little guy, you are fighting the little guy.”

A union organizer told the AP that a little over 100 members participated in the protest.

IGBA Affiliate Awards to take place on 1st February 2015 at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea Football Club, London

Every year over 500 people from the iGaming affiliate community gather to honour the ongoing success within the industry at the iGB Affiliate Awards. Now in its 8th year, the iGB Affiliate Awards is the only industry awards ceremony that celebrates the growth, innovation and achievements within this sector of the gaming industry.

The 2015 iGB Affiliate Awards will take place on the 1st February at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea Football Club in London. For further information, please visit www.iGBAffiliateAwards.com. This year see’s a lot of old and new faces that will be able to gain the exposure and recognition in the industry.

Tickets are now available to purchase from the LAC registration page and include a cocktail reception, sumptuous three course meal, an after party with some special late-night entertainment and of course the awards themselves.

Space is limited and this has sold out year on year so make sure you book early to avoid disappointment.

To view the full conference schedule, please visit http://www.igbaffiliate.com/events/londonaffiliateconference/schedule-2015

To find out more about the London Affiliate Conference, please visit http://www.igbaffiliate.com/events/londonaffiliateconference/

Take Our Poll

It’s a simple question that’s appropriate given that a certain sporting event is going to be played this weekend.

“Who’s will win the Super Bowl 2014?”

That was our question in our latest weekly poll because we wanted to know who you think was going to win between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.

If we had just based our answer depending on what the existing betting action is leading up to the game, then the Patriots would’ve been the runaway answer. But we took a different route, and not surprisingly, the answer turned out to be different. A lot different.

Lee Davy takes a rapid-fire look at poker’s most interesting tales of the week including a decision by the World Series of Poker to drop their $10m first place guarantee, in their Main Event, and news of a monstrous win for Todd Brunson.

Two news stories have hogged the headlines more than most, this week, and they both involve the life-changing sum of $10m bucks.

In 2014, Martin Jacobson became the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion, at the same time netting himself a personal fortunate of $10m. Now that’s what I call life-changing money. But let’s imagine for a moment that the young Swede only won $8m. Do you think he would look a little sour? Do you think $8m is still life changing?

I do, and so do a lot of other people; as social media streams, and poker forums lit up like Blackpool illuminations when the WSOP chieftains proudly told the world, that they intended to once again guarantee a $10m first prize in the greatest poker tournament in the world.

Fortunately, for the poker community, the WSOP has a set of ears. They listened to the feedback, digested the information, and spat out a new headline.

“1,000 players to get paid, the largest widespread payout in the WSOP’s 46-year history!”

The social media streams went wild, the poker forums went crazy, and balance was restored in the poker community – at least for another week.