Financial watchdogs probing the insider trading allegations against former Amaya Gaming CEO David Baazov have identified a pattern of kickbacks surrounding the company’s major acquisitions and other deals dating back six years.

On Wednesday, La Presse said it had studied a report by Quebec securities regulator Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) into allegations that Baazov (pictured) illegally profited from stock trades based on foreknowledge of Amaya’s deals, including the $4.9b acquisition of the Rational Group, the parent company of PokerStars.

La Presse reported that the AMF’s investigation had concluded that “several agreements were reached” between Baazov and other individuals – including Baazov’s older brother Josh/Ofer and Josh’s former business partner Craig Levett – for “the payment of dividends to tuyauteurs” (Google translated as ‘pipefitters’) in the form of cash, checks and luxury items, including a Rolex watch.

The AMF said these arrangements were “negotiated before the offenses” occurred and displayed a “high level of organization and sophistication.” The conspirators reportedly engaged in email exchanges laying out the specifics of share transactions, evidently to help calculate the exact amount owed via these deals.

Australian bookmakers’ spending on ads during televised sporting broadcasts rose nearly one-quarter in the first half of 2016.

On Wednesday, The Australian quoted Nielsen data showing bookies spending AUD 125m (US $95.8m) on adverts shown during sporting telecasts in H1. The figure, which doesn’t include pay-TV channels, is nearly 25% higher than the same point last year.

Paddy Power Betfair subsidiary Sportsbet led all spenders with over $38m, up nearly one-fifth year-on-year. The next closest competitors, Ladbrokes and CrownBet, spent about $20m apiece, while domestic mainstays Tabcorp and Tatts were well back of the pack at $18m and $8m, respectively.

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon is attempting to wean networks off their gambling ad dependency by pushing a scheme that would reduce broadcasters’ license fees to make up the shortfall caused by a ban on gambling adverts. However, terrestrial TV industry bodies have argued that the fee reductions would be insufficient to get the networks on board with Xenophon’s plan.

Maryland’s casinos have generated over $100m in combined revenue in four of the last five months, although August’s total barely cleared the bar.

Figures released by the Maryland Gaming Control Board show the state’s five casinos earning $100.3m in August, 3.9% higher than the same month last year. With the exception of June, the state’s monthly revenue tally has topped the $100m mark every month since April. It’s also the ninth straight month of year-on-year revenue gains.

Maryland Live continues to rule the revenue roost, claiming $55.9m of the overall total, 7.25% higher than August 2015, while Horseshoe Casino Baltimore held on to second place with $27.7m (+0.5%). The rest of the players finished as follows: Ocean Downs ($6.2m, +2.1%), Hollywood Casino Perryville ($5.9m, -9.5%) and Rocky Gap ($4.5m, +3.4%).

Maryland Live’s owners Cordish Companies have announced that Sept. 13 will see the groundbreaking ceremony on the property’s $200m hotel expansion. The 17-story hotel, which is expected to be ready to receive guests by Q1 2018, is intended to help the casino combat new competition from MGM Resorts’ new $1.3b National Harbor venue, the state’s sixth and final casino, which plans to open before 2016 is through.

The US will earn nearly $12 billion in gross gaming revenue if legalized sports betting will be extended beyond Nevada and other states where it is currently lawful

The Las Vegas Sun reported that Gambling Compliance Research Services (GCRS) has released its latest research note on the sports betting industry just a month after the U.S. Court of Appeals struck down a bill legalizing sports betting in New Jersey for the third time since 2013.

In the report, GCRS has predicted that the US will snatch the title of the world’s largest sports-betting market from UK if sports wagering is made legal in the country. The study estimated that the US market is more than four times the amount of the United Kingdom, which is $2.8 billion.

“U.S. policymakers, casino groups and sports leagues have all begun to consider what a regulated sports-betting market would look like without the PASPA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act) prohibition,” GamblingCompliance’s managing director, James Kilsby, said in a news release. “States are already moving rapidly to regulate daily fantasy sports, but sports betting represents a far larger and more lucrative opportunity.”

Italy is considering a proposal that could pave the way for the taxation of bitcoin transaction.

Several days ago, a local taxation office tabled a proposal introducing bitcoin—which currently has no legal definition in Italy. This proposal has yet to go into effect, but when it does, companies dealing with bitcoin and other digital currencies will be required to pay its dues to the Italian government.

However, it appears that the proposal doesn’t apply to consumers and other people who deals with bitcoin.

Still, this plan goes against the European Union’s stance on bitcoin taxation. In October, the European Court of Justice declared that the exchange of bitcoin and other digital currencies should be treated like traditional money, meaning they should be exempted from value-added tax (VAT).