Monthly Archives: May 2016

Sports betting whale Billy Walters charged with conspiracy, securities fraud

Renowned sports bettor Billy Walters has been charged with insider trading while pro golfer Phil Mickelson has agreed to forfeit nearly $1m in profits earned from his own shady trades.

On Thursday, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York accused Walters of using privileged information to execute trades between 2008 and 2014 involving Fortune 500 company Dean Foods. The trades allegedly netted Walters realized and unrealized gains of $32m while avoiding losses worth $11m.

The SDNY alleges that Walters (pictured, behind bars) was provided this insider info by Dean’s former chairman Thomas Davis, who pled guilty earlier this week to securities fraud and perjury charges and is cooperating with prosecutors. Walters allegedly provided Davis with capital for joint business ventures and nearly $1m in loans that Davis “largely did not repay.”

At the time of the loans, Davis was deeply in debt to credit card companies, the Internal Revenue Service, a $550k obligation to an investment fund he managed and a $100k ‘loan’ from a charitable organization he managed to cover a Las Vegas casino marker.

Sports betting whale Billy Walters charged with conspiracy, securities fraud

Renowned sports bettor Billy Walters has been charged with insider trading while pro golfer Phil Mickelson has agreed to forfeit nearly $1m in profits earned from his own shady trades.

On Thursday, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York accused Walters of using privileged information to execute trades between 2008 and 2014 involving Fortune 500 company Dean Foods. The trades allegedly netted Walters realized and unrealized gains of $32m while avoiding losses worth $11m.

The SDNY alleges that Walters (pictured, behind bars) was provided this insider info by Dean’s former chairman Thomas Davis, who pled guilty earlier this week to securities fraud and perjury charges and is cooperating with prosecutors. Walters allegedly provided Davis with capital for joint business ventures and nearly $1m in loans that Davis “largely did not repay.”

At the time of the loans, Davis was deeply in debt to credit card companies, the Internal Revenue Service, a $550k obligation to an investment fund he managed and a $100k ‘loan’ from a charitable organization he managed to cover a Las Vegas casino marker.

Gaming operations of Amax gets a go-signal

Macau junket and casino investor Amax International will now be able to tap into the full potential of Vanuatu’s gambling market with the approval coming from the Vanuatu government.

Gaming regulators in Vanuatu has finally allowed Amax to start operating in the Pacific island nation, more than a year after it bought a 60 percent stake in Forenzia Enterprises Ltd. Forenzia Enterprises has obtained through its wholly-owned subsidiaries an interactive gaming license valid for a period of 15 years in the Republic of Vanuatu.

On Thursday, Amax chairman Ng Man Sun welcomed the development in Vanuatu, saying that it will serve as a respite from the regional revenue downturn of Asian gaming industry, particularly in Macau.

The group, according to Ng, believes that there is a high potential for Vanuatu, which is a popular destination for tourists from Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Europe, North America and Japan, to be the next gaming hotspot in the pacific.

Intralot Q1 revenue drops 3.6% despite lottery growth

Greek gaming operator and supplier Intralot SA saw its revenue drop by as much as 3.6 percent in the first quarter of 2016, partly due to the company’s performance in the Australasia market.

On Wednesday, the company reported that consolidated revenue for the first three months ending March reached €335.2 million compared to €347.7 million in the same period last year.

Intralot attributed the decrease in revenue to lower sales in Azerbaijan, where “the local currency suffered a severe devaluation last February and December.” The company also experienced softer sales in South America, particularly in Jamaica, Argentina and Brazil. The revenue drop, however, was partially offset by increased sales in Peru, Bulgaria in East Europe, North America, Africa and West Europe.

Intralot didn’t include its Italian operations in the calculations since it is still waiting for its merger with Gamenet, in which Intralot will receive a 20 percent share in the combined entity—to be completed. Including revenue from Italy, the group said its overall turnover would have amounted to €499.5 million, which remains flat compared to the €499.4 million reported in the same period in 2015.