Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has launched an investigation over the recent casino job cuts at the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

In June, RWS handed out walking papers to nearly 400 of its 12,000-strong staff as China’s corruption crackdown started taking a bit out of the integrated resort’s gaming revenue.

MOM officials, however, announced they are investigating complaints from the laid off RWS employees, who alleged “discriminatory practices, unfair dismissals as well as inadequate compensation” by the casino, Today Online reported.

To be fair, the ministry said it already tossed out “some appeals” on “various grounds,” but the remaining cases that MOM is examining claimed that the former casino workers were paid below the Singapore Employment Act’s required SGD4,500 (USD3,333) per month.

Hanoi wants to build a Formula 1 circuit in the capital of Vietnam. But first, the government must lay the groundwork for the public acceptance of sports betting in the country.

According to several Vietnamese new outlets, the city has already tapped a foreign group to conduct a study while it calls for investment in the project.

But for the racing circuit to succeed, the government needs to allow sports betting in order “to earn more from the sport of car racing,” a source familiar with the matter told Tien Phong.

According to the official, “People from around the world, not just those in Hanoi and Vietnam, should be allowed to place their bets. This will be a major source of income.”

Say what you want about bitcoin—yes, we’re looking at you Miami—but there’s no denying that the popular digital currency will continue to be the go-to safe haven asset amid the deteriorating global economic situation.

Bitcoin’s popularity is on the rise in countries such as Venezuela, whose inflation rate is predicted to soar to 1,640 percent in 2017. According to Bitcoin Magazine, there has been an “explosive” growth for digital currency trading in the South American country following the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast.

But the biggest surprise this week came out of Malaysia.

Several media outlets reported that bitcoin trading in the Asian country is “off the charts” due to the weakening Malaysian ringgit, which dropped over 2.7 percent in the past week. Malaysia-based LocalBitcoins reportedly registered its highest trade volume of more than MYR737,218 (USD181,288) worth of bitcoin. That amount may seem small if compared to the overall volume on the blockchain network, but it’s still a milestone for Malaysia’s cryptocurrency community.

Don’t pop the champagne corks just yet.

Market analysts have cautioned investors from riding the short-term rallies seen in the shares of Macau’s casinos in the past few days, warning that the sector remains to be a risky bet.

South China Morning Post reported that Global investment bank Morgan Stanley is sounding the alarm bells as Sands China’s improved June mass-market revenues had triggered a three-day speculation that Macau’s economy is starting to improve.

Sands China shares rose 6 percent on Tuesday, the most in four months, meaning the stock has risen 19 percent this month. The euphoria over Sands China’s positive data spilled over to other gaming shares, sparking an overall rally in casino stocks in HongKong.

Sportsbook provider CG Technology (CGT) is staying in business after all.

The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) announced on Thursday that it has already approved a $1.5 million settlement with the troubled sportsbook company that was caught ignoring software glitches that underpaid bettors around $700,000.

If you recall, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) filed a formal complaint against CGT in May, in which it accused the company of failing to fix a glitch in its Cantor Sports Book software that both underpaid and overpaid parlay bettors, and attempting to interfere with the board’s investigation.

Opting to settle, CGT agreed to pay a fine of $1.5 million and also oust CEO Lee Amaitis effective Aug. 31, 2016. And this, according to the commission, made all the difference.

With only a week before the 2016 Rio Olympics kicks off, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has tapped a gambling watchdog that will monitor any forms cheating in the games.

In a statement, London-based sports data technology Genius Sports announced that the IOC has tapped the firm to monitor the possible manipulation of its competitions related to sports betting in the 2016 Rio Olympics, which will start on August 5.

Through the so-called Sport Integrity Monitor (SportIM) service, Genius Sports and IOC will be able to work with governing bodies and betting operators to prevent and manage the integrity concerns associated with match-fixing and betting-related corruption.

Genius Sports’ SportIM will use data from regulated and unregulated betting markets, looking for anything unusual, which might suggest match-fixing. It will report trends in real time to sport governing bodies, leaving them to decide whether anything is amiss.

Casino operator Wynn Resorts flipped the script in its Q2 results, as Macau operations improved while Las Vegas declined.

For the three months ending June 30, Wynn’s overall revenue nudged up $20m to $1.06b while adjusted earnings improved nearly 6% to $312.7m and profit rose nearly one-quarter to $70.4m.

Wynn’s operations in Macau drove the results, as revenue gained 3.6% to $639m and adjusted earnings rose nearly 10% to $190.4m.

Wynn Macau’s VIP tables mirrored recent trends, as turnover fell 24% to $11.8b but Wynn got lucky, as VIP win hit 3.98%, more than one full point ahead of the same period last year. Wynn’s average number of VIP tables in action during the quarter fell to 183 from 247 in Q2 2015.

In this week’s Calling the Clock Lee Davy brings you a weekly round up of poker news that includes a penis winning €250,000, a Dempsey winning the Grand Prix Poker Tour Main Event, and a Foggy winning the partypoker Big Bluff Challenge.

The few weeks after the World Series of Poker (WSOP) disappears until November always feels like Monday on repeat when I used to work the nine to five. It’s not good. Very little happens, but I will do my best to create an update worthy of your time and attention with the scraps of poker news that breezed onto my desk this week like crispy brown leaves.

A few years ago, some Russian dude thought it would be a laugh to open up a PokerStars account and call himself SolidPenis. We’ve all been there. I once used the password SlimeyVagina for my BT account and had to change it after feeling a little sorry conveying it to the customer service clerk when moaning about poor customer service.

Well, the guy is probably regretting it right now after winning €250,000 while playing a Spin & Go while streaming live on Twitch. Now that’s one for the X-Files right there. A guy named SolidPenis wins €250,000 playing a PokerStars Spin & Go while streaming live on Twitch.

This is a guest contribution by Lisa Duckworth, Commercial Director of Isle of Man Post Office.  If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

Direct Mail is not dead. Let’s get that one out of the way to begin with. It may have been forced to adapt and evolve, it may even have been deposed from the top of the marketing pile, but it’s very much alive and kicking in our modern, digital world. In fact, as email marketing hits saturation levels, Direct Mail is experiencing something of a resurgence.

In the world of betting and gaming, Direct Mail has a valuable role to play both as a standalone marketing channel or as an integral part of the wider marketing mix. In a crowded and competitive market, it gives brands the opportunity to stand out from the crowd and create a point of difference from their rivals, with personalisation and tactile presence that a promotional email can never hope to match.

Still not convinced. Well you don’t have to take my word for it. Research for the US-based Global Marketing Alliance has shown that 48% of people look positively on Direct Mail, while 44% prefer it to all other forms of marketing.  In the UK, the positive perception of Direct Mail rises to 55% and there is an average response rate of 7%, compared to 3% for email marketing.

The 2016 International Dota 2 Championship has broken the record for the largest prize pool in the history of eSports, and Lee Davy has a dream that the same thing happened in poker.

I had a dream last night.

Would you like to hear about it?

Alex Dreyfus and I were lovers. One day he choked to death on a big piece of garlic that had accidentally found its way into his French onion soup.