2015 is coming to an end and it’s time for a review of investment calls this year. I went through all of this year’s articles and picked out the ones with explicit investment or trading recommendations. As usual there were wins, losses, and washes. Let’s begin with the losses first.

Losses

On January 13, I wrote positively on Genting, saying:

Genting’s financial situation coupled with the seemingly resilient Filipino economy that apparently can even take a money supply crash from 25% to 4% annual growth, all signal that Genting will be breaking to the upside fairly soon.

Malaysian businessman Richard Yong is appealing for a little post-holiday cheer.

Back in 2014, the 57-year-old pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of being an accessary after the fact in connection with a scheme that authorities say illegally wagered millions of dollars on the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Yong, a well-known high stakes poker player, casino junket operator and father of Wan Kin Yong, received a probationary sentence, a $100,000 fine in addition to forfeiting $400,000 in cash and property.

But on Sunday, the elder Yong asked the federal judge to set aside his misdemeanor conviction, saying he only pleaded guilty to save his son from prosecution in the case. Yong also claimed his conviction was “based on unlawful government searches and other misconduct.”

In June, U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon pulled the legs out from under prosecutors by barring them from using evidence against accused illegal online betting operator Wei Seng “Paul” Phua, which were obtained by FBI agents under highly suspect circumstances. The agents reportedly posed as Internet service repairmen to gain access to some of the luxury villas.

Malaysian businessman Richard Yong is appealing for a little post-holiday cheer.

Back in 2014, the 57-year-old pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of being an accessary after the fact in connection with a scheme that authorities say illegally wagered millions of dollars on the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Yong, a well-known high stakes poker player, casino junket operator and father of Wan Kin Yong, received a probationary sentence, a $100,000 fine in addition to forfeiting $400,000 in cash and property.

But on Sunday, the elder Yong asked the federal judge to set aside his misdemeanor conviction, saying he only pleaded guilty to save his son from prosecution in the case. Yong also claimed his conviction was “based on unlawful government searches and other misconduct.”

In June, U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon pulled the legs out from under prosecutors by barring them from using evidence against accused illegal online betting operator Wei Seng “Paul” Phua, which were obtained by FBI agents under highly suspect circumstances. The agents reportedly posed as Internet service repairmen to gain access to some of the luxury villas.

Alberta isn’t ready yet for online gambling, despite the province’s revenue crunch. That’s according to Finance Minister Joe Ceci.

In an interview with CBC News, the finance minister said he knows people are already gambling online. However, Ceci believes the online gambling’s public risks still outweigh the financial benefits it will give the province.

“I think we need to see the positives and negatives of what that might mean for Albertans before I deal with that policy issue. So, still under review,” Ceci said, according to the new outlet.

Early this year, the Alberta Gaming ad Liquor Commission opened a tender for online gaming companies that want to set up shop in the province. Alberta is one of the last two Canadian provinces not yet offering online gambling services through its provincial gambling monopoly, the other being Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan, where, incidentally, a certain Calvin Ayre was born, has flirted with the idea back in 2014, courtesy of the Geobet-powered NorthernBearCasino.com.

Alberta isn’t ready yet for online gambling, despite the province’s revenue crunch. That’s according to Finance Minister Joe Ceci.

In an interview with CBC News, the finance minister said he knows people are already gambling online. However, Ceci believes the online gambling’s public risks still outweigh the financial benefits it will give the province.

“I think we need to see the positives and negatives of what that might mean for Albertans before I deal with that policy issue. So, still under review,” Ceci said, according to the new outlet.

Early this year, the Alberta Gaming ad Liquor Commission opened a tender for online gaming companies that want to set up shop in the province. Alberta is one of the last two Canadian provinces not yet offering online gambling services through its provincial gambling monopoly, the other being Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan, where, incidentally, a certain Calvin Ayre was born, has flirted with the idea back in 2014, courtesy of the Geobet-powered NorthernBearCasino.com.

Various sections of the Indian press reported a heartening story of how a penniless Senegalese immigrant got an astonishing Christmas present from the Spanish government. Ngame, a migrant who travelled on a boat from Morocco to Spain in 2007 and was rescued by Spanish officials, got the best surprise of his life when the Spanish government turned Santa Claus and announced that his lottery ticket was declared to contain the winning number with a prize of €400,000 (roughly Rs. 2.9 crores).

Spain is said to run one of the world’s biggest lotteries on Christmas having a prize pool of over €2.24 billion. Reuters recently reported that the Christmas lottery conducted by the Spanish government was a national passion, with most citizens staying “glued to TV screens for hours more as schoolchildren plucked lottery balls frogim a rotating drum, sinng out the resulting numbers in a chant that filled offices and homes.”

The Spanish lottery instead of declaring a single winner has 24 million winning entries (the population of Spain is 47 million). Thousands of winners were announced as getting a prize of €400,000 (based on the last 5 digits of the lottery ticket).

If media reports are to be believed, over 35 winners of the Spanish lottery were impoverished African immigrants who still cannot believe the unexpected bonanza that they have received. Further, since 30% of the lottery revenues go to the government exchequer by way of tax, the Spanish government also gets enriched by over a billion euros in the process, which is used to augment public spending and improve infrastructure facilities.

Various sections of the Indian press reported a heartening story of how a penniless Senegalese immigrant got an astonishing Christmas present from the Spanish government. Ngame, a migrant who travelled on a boat from Morocco to Spain in 2007 and was rescued by Spanish officials, got the best surprise of his life when the Spanish government turned Santa Claus and announced that his lottery ticket was declared to contain the winning number with a prize of €400,000 (roughly Rs. 2.9 crores).

Spain is said to run one of the world’s biggest lotteries on Christmas having a prize pool of over €2.24 billion. Reuters recently reported that the Christmas lottery conducted by the Spanish government was a national passion, with most citizens staying “glued to TV screens for hours more as schoolchildren plucked lottery balls frogim a rotating drum, sinng out the resulting numbers in a chant that filled offices and homes.”

The Spanish lottery instead of declaring a single winner has 24 million winning entries (the population of Spain is 47 million). Thousands of winners were announced as getting a prize of €400,000 (based on the last 5 digits of the lottery ticket).

If media reports are to be believed, over 35 winners of the Spanish lottery were impoverished African immigrants who still cannot believe the unexpected bonanza that they have received. Further, since 30% of the lottery revenues go to the government exchequer by way of tax, the Spanish government also gets enriched by over a billion euros in the process, which is used to augment public spending and improve infrastructure facilities.

The Philippine government has discovered a new way to tap into the country’s thriving gambling industry—create new taxes.

The National Tax Research Center (NTRC) recently came out with several ways to draw out revenue from “selected gambling and betting activities in the Philippines.” Among the suggestions was to create a new law that will impose a PHP3,500 ($74) entry fee on Filipino residents who use the country’s casinos.

According to the government think tank, that fee can be considered an “economic test” on the people who wish to enter a local casino. Under a presidential decree, Filipino residents with gross income of at least PHP50,000 are allowed to play in casinos, but the center said the “provision is neither observed nor imposed.”

“Thus, the [new] bill aims to discourage Filipinos from playing in casinos,” NTRC said in a note. “The proposal to charge an entrance fee in Philippine casinos amounting to PHP3,500 is supported since it would only be collected from those who have the financial capacity to splurge some money in the casinos.”

The Philippine government has discovered a new way to tap into the country’s thriving gambling industry—create new taxes.

The National Tax Research Center (NTRC) recently came out with several ways to draw out revenue from “selected gambling and betting activities in the Philippines.” Among the suggestions was to create a new law that will impose a PHP3,500 ($74) entry fee on Filipino residents who use the country’s casinos.

According to the government think tank, that fee can be considered an “economic test” on the people who wish to enter a local casino. Under a presidential decree, Filipino residents with gross income of at least PHP50,000 are allowed to play in casinos, but the center said the “provision is neither observed nor imposed.”

“Thus, the [new] bill aims to discourage Filipinos from playing in casinos,” NTRC said in a note. “The proposal to charge an entrance fee in Philippine casinos amounting to PHP3,500 is supported since it would only be collected from those who have the financial capacity to splurge some money in the casinos.”

Before we finally bid goodbye to 2015, here’s a look back at the top six business stories that caught the attention of our readers—yes, you—in the past 12 months.

Biologist loses measles virus wager

Measles made the headlines back in March thanks to a resurgence in outbreaks that observers blamed on the discredited anti-vaccination movement in many western countries. Stefan Lanka, a biologist and vaccination skeptic, believes measles is brought on by “traumatic separations,” and even went as far as announcing on his website that he will pay €100,000 to anyone who could prove the disease was caused by virus.

Of course someone took up that challenge. German doctor David Barden gathered a weighty collection of scientific evidence of measles’ viral origin and presented them to Lanka with a request for €100,000 payment, but Lanka rejected Barden’s evidence.

Before we finally bid goodbye to 2015, here’s a look back at the top six business stories that caught the attention of our readers—yes, you—in the past 12 months.

Biologist loses measles virus wager

Measles made the headlines back in March thanks to a resurgence in outbreaks that observers blamed on the discredited anti-vaccination movement in many western countries. Stefan Lanka, a biologist and vaccination skeptic, believes measles is brought on by “traumatic separations,” and even went as far as announcing on his website that he will pay €100,000 to anyone who could prove the disease was caused by virus.

Of course someone took up that challenge. German doctor David Barden gathered a weighty collection of scientific evidence of measles’ viral origin and presented them to Lanka with a request for €100,000 payment, but Lanka rejected Barden’s evidence.

First off, let’s examine what I got right in my predictions one year ago.

I correctly predicted there’d be no progress on the US online gambling legislation front, pro or con, state or federal.

I also get points for saying Amaya Gaming’s PokerStars would be approved to operate in New Jersey, although I lose points for predicting that this approval would come on the condition that Stars exit grey- and black-markets, which has yet to come to pass. (More on this later.)

I foresaw that a wave of consolidation would wash over the UK market following the introduction of the 15% online point of consumption tax. And I predicted Bwin.party would finally find a buyer, although I wouldn’t have believed that this buyer would let Norbert stay on in an executive capacity.

First off, let’s examine what I got right in my predictions one year ago.

I correctly predicted there’d be no progress on the US online gambling legislation front, pro or con, state or federal.

I also get points for saying Amaya Gaming’s PokerStars would be approved to operate in New Jersey, although I lose points for predicting that this approval would come on the condition that Stars exit grey- and black-markets, which has yet to come to pass. (More on this later.)

I foresaw that a wave of consolidation would wash over the UK market following the introduction of the 15% online point of consumption tax. And I predicted Bwin.party would finally find a buyer, although I wouldn’t have believed that this buyer would let Norbert stay on in an executive capacity.