UK-listed online betting exchange Betfair has inked a new betting partnership with Sunderland AFC.

The deal marks the second English Premier League tie-up Betfair has inked this month, following its three-way deal with Aston Villa and rival bookies Bet365. The Sunderland deal will see Betfair act as the team’s official UK betting partner, allowing the Betfair logo to be splashed liberally on LED screens at the Black Cats’ Stadium of Light, as well as appearing on interview backdrops.

Betfair PR man Stephen Mault called Sunderland “a club with great heritage” and looked forward to “growing a successful relationship over the course of the coming season.” Sunderland commercial director Gary Hutchinson logrolled back, claiming to be “absolutely delighted” to be able to cash Betfair’s check, which he said would help “strengthen our stature both on and off the pitch.”

Meanwhile, over on the continent, Malta-licensed online bookmakers Tipwin have inked an official exclusive betting partnership with German Bundesliga side Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896 (Hannover 96). The one-year deal is Tipwin’s first Bundesliga tie-up and will see the company enjoy major signage in the team’s HDI Arena.

The UK government has rejected an effort by local town councils to reduce stakes on gaming machines in betting shops.

In November, a group of 93 local councils led by the reliably stroppy Newham Council banded together to press the government for a reduction in the maximum betting stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT). The councils wanted the existing maximum stake of £100 per spin reduced to a mere £2 based on their belief that FOBTs were an existential threat on par with ISIS, ebola and Kanye West headlining all future Glastonbury festivals.

On Thursday, the UK government rejected the bid, with a gov’t spokesman explaining that the Tories couldn’t get behind Newham Council’s proposal “as we have already acted by introducing stronger gambling controls to further protect players and promote responsible gambling.”

New guidelines introduced in April meant punters looking to wager £50 or more per spin had to fork over the money to a betting shop staffer rather than feed it directly into the machine themselves. The gov’t also granted councils more say in determining whether to permit additional betting shops to open in their districts.

The Australian division of UK-listed bookies Ladbrokes has scrapped its controversial in-play sports betting app after the country’s communications regulator expressed doubts that the service was legal.

On Thursday, The Australian reported that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) had written to Ladbrokes, William Hill and Bet365, informing them of its belief that the bookies’ efforts to circumvent the country’s ban on in-play online betting are illegal.

Under Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act 2001, in-play wagers can only be placed over the phone or in-person at a retail betting outlet. Over the past few months, the three bookies have each introduced betting apps that utilize smartphone voice recognition technology to place in-play wagers without making a traditional person-to-person phone call.

The ACMA recently revised its website to stipulate that the apps “do not appear to involve the service provider dealing with customers using a standard telephone service.”

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) says its new online gambling licensing regime has not led to the creation of a massive black market of unapproved operators.

The UKGC issued its annual report this week, which included an initial review of its new online licensing regime, which took effect on Nov. 1, 2104. The new regime eliminated the so-called ‘white list’ of online gambling licensing jurisdictions and required all UK-facing operators to hold UKGC-issued licenses. The new regime also required UK-facing operators to pay 15% point-of-consumption tax (POCT) on revenue generated from UK punters.

The UKGC says it had identified “about 150” operators doing business in the UK under whitelist or European Union licenses. The UKGC says that “almost without exception,” these operators are now operating under UKGC licenses.

The “limited exceptions” that opted not to obtain a UKGC license have withdrawn from the UK market and are now blocking UK gamblers from accessing their sites. As a result, the UKGC says it has gone from regulating “less than 15%” of the UK online gambling market to “nearly 100%” of UK-facing operators.

Racing and casino operator Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) has confirmed that Robert Evans will retire as executive chairman effective September 30 but will remain as the non-executive chairman of CDI’s board of directors.

The company completed the senior executive leadership transition, which began in August 2014 when William Carstanjen was named as CDI’s CEO, a position Evans had held when he joined CDI in August 2006.

CDI saw significant growth during Evans’ nine-year tenure, as the company invested about $1.8b in four major growth initiatives: Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby Week; Advance Deposit Wagering via the acquisitions of AmericaTAB, Bloodstock Research Information Service (BRIS) and Youbet.com which led to the 2007 launch of TwinSpires.com; casino gaming; and mobile and online casual games via the acquisition of Big Fish Games.

Meanwhile, Merkur Gaming Americas has appointed Charles Hiten as new managing director effective this month, following the sudden passing of Jens Halle in May.

Vietnam-based real estate firm Vingroup plans to build a 19 trillion dong ($870m) casino resort project in Hai Phong, the third largest city in Vietnam.

The five-year project, which will start this year, will feature a golf course, an entertainment park, an eco-park and a cable car service in an area of more than 870 hectares (2,150 acres) on Vu Yen island. Reports said that the city authorities also want to add a casino, a five-star hotel, and a marina to the project.

The project will only cater to tourists visiting Hai Phong as locals are not permitted to gamble in Vietnam’s casinos. The project is expected to be completed in 2020 and would create thousands of part-time construction jobs and full-time jobs once the casino-resort goes live.

Vingroup has yet to confirm if it would be the project’s sole investor or if it would collaborate with other investors.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) projects a 20% increase in Philippine casino gaming revenue to $3b in 2015.

PAGCOR Chairman Cristino Naguiat told Bloomberg that “first-half gaming revenue at the country’s casinos grew 16% to $1.4b.”

Philippines is one of the Asian countries that has benefited from Macau’s gaming slowdown due to China’s crackdown on graft. Macau casino revenue posted a 36.2% year-on-year drop in June to $2.18b—the 13th straight month of decline and the lowest since November 2010.

Following PAGCOR’s 2015 gaming revenue forecast, Philippine casino stocks surged. Bloomberry Resorts Corp., operator of the Solaire casino in Manila, soared 8% by the 3:30 p.m. close of trade on Tuesday while Melco Crown Philippines Resorts Corp., operator of City of Dreams Manila, jumped 8.8%.