Newly-appointed Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has instructed all state police chiefs to bolster fight against illegal gambling in Malaysia.

Hamidi, who wants to wipe out illegal gambling 100%, said he would not tolerate people protecting illegal gambling dens, warning all police officers or individuals in the non-governmental organization (NGO) involved in illegal gambling operation.

“For the past four months, we have flushed out illegal gambling dens under the ‘Op Cantas Khas’ operation, but it has reared its ugly head again, “said Zahid.

Deputy Minister of Finance Johari Abdul Ghani also expressed support for the move saying immoral activities could damage the society especially the Malays.

Japanese gaming firm Universal Entertainment Corp. and its Philippine partner are eyeing the next phase of construction for the $2 billion Manila Bay Resorts project, which is set to open in 2016.

Kazuo Okada’s Universal Entertainment Corp. is on a roll. The Japanese gaming firm and its Philippine partner are already eyeing the next phase of construction for their $2 billion casino resort project, Manila Bay Resorts, which is set to open sometime in 2016.

Businessman Antonio Cojuangco told reporters on Thursday they will focus on the non-gaming portion of the 44-hectare casino resort once the first phase is completed. The resort’s non-gaming portion will include hotels, high-rise apartments, office towers, and even an opera house, according to Reuters.

Cojuangco, a cousin of Philippine President Benigno Aquino, said the next phase “should start sometime next year because by then, they will be inside the casino finishing it.” The non-gaming portion of development will cover 30 hectares of the total Manila Bay Resorts land.

Genting Hong Kong is walking away from its casino joint venture on South Korea’s Jeju Island.

It was only last November that Genting HK announced it had entered into a 50/50 partnership with Hong Kong property developer Landing International Development Ltd. The Grand Express Korea Co Ltd joint venture involved a renovated casino inside the Hyatt Regency Jeju Hotel, which had its grand opening in January.

On Wednesday, Genting announced it was selling its 50% stake in the JV to Landing Intl for KRW 130b (US $111m), the same price Genting had originally laid out when it embarked on its brief Jeju fling. The parties expect the deal to conclude by Dec. 31, 2015.

Genting justified its JV exit based on its recent $550m acquisition of Crystal Cruises, the latest addition to the company’s burgeoning casino cruise operations. Genting says it needs to “focus on and put more resources to expand its cruise and cruise related businesses.” The extra cash will also allow Genting the flexibility to pursue other investments and opportunities as they arise.

World Regulatory Briefing (WrB) heads to London on September 10, bringing the largest global gaming operators, regulators, and industry associations to discuss how to drive the adoption of responsible gambling and corporate responsibility.

The future of gambling has no choice but to be responsible and WrB commits to help operators translate socially driven actions to their bottom line, creating shared value for all.

WrB Responsible Gambling & Reputation Management has been designed to encourage a Pan-European dialogue cent red around driving the adoption of responsible gambling best practice as well as allowing operators and suppliers to monetize the value of their reputations. This event will feature a 360 degree dynamic of operators, suppliers & regulators debating the future role of responsible gambling and CSR which the industry must pay attention to.

WrB provides the crucial update on the regulatory, legal and compliance developments that drive the industry progress. With significant changes to the UK regulatory act and the newly elected European Commission, WrB is a must-attend to hear the reinterpretation of the changes.

Caesars Interactive Entertainment has announced plans to partner with the Income Access Group affiliation software program, and leading Russian-facing online poker site Pokerdom has announced plans to offer Open Face Chinese poker on the site.

Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) are the latest big name to join forces with the Income Access Group Affiliate Network.

In a press release issued by the two companies it was revealed that the new affiliate program for the online poker brand WSOP.com and online casino brands CaesarsCasino.com and HarrahsCasino.com will now fall under the umbrella of the Income Access platform and their management team.

WSOP.com currently operates in the Nevada and New Jersey marketplace. In the summer they hosted their first-ever online bracelet with Anthony Spinella beating 905 players to win the first prize of $197,743 – a record payout since fully regulated real money online poker returned to the state. Both CaesarsCasino.com and HarrahsCasino.com are available in New Jersey, but not in Nevada.

Lee Davy brings you an update from the first day of the World Series of Poker National Championships at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina.

The fifth iteration of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) National Championships has kicked of at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina, and Foxwoods Casino Champion Brad St. Vincent leads the final 48 players with 178,800 chips.

This is the first time this event has been held in North Carolina. The rules were pretty simple. 100 players qualified for the event due to their performances in the 2014-2015 WSOP Circuit (WSOPC) season. That included WSOPC Main Event champions, casino champions and a sprinkling from the WSOPC leaderboard. In addition, members of the WSOP World Ranking Top 100 were allowed to pay $10,000 to enter the event.

The event eventually attracted 122 players. Amongst them were WSOP legend Phil Hellmuth, PokerStars Team Pro Daniel Negreanu, former WSOP Main Event winner Ryan Riess and the defending champion Dominik Nitsche.

Lee Davy rounds up all of the weekly poker news including a revised bwin bid by GVC Holdings; Phil Ivey countersuing The Borgata in baccarat case, and much more.

Put the kettle on, huddle together like group therapy, it’s time to trawl through the nets of the world poker scene to see what tidbits of news we have captured this week.

We will start with the bwin sale soap opera. The last time we reported on this pow-wow 888 Holdings had agreed to acquire the online gambling giant for £898m. Heads of both outfits went public with their delight on the deal and most people thought that was the end of that – except GVC Holdings that is.

After their initial £900m bid was rejected they divorced their former lover Amaya Gaming Inc. and jumped straight into bed with Cerberus Capital Management with the newlyweds offering a fresh new bid of £1 billion.