Monthly Archives: September 2016

PAGCOR reject PhilWeb mobile lottery bid

Gaming regulators in the Philippines have formally rejected a mobile lottery proposal that was intended to pull struggling gaming operator PhilWeb out of its death spiral.

On Tuesday, PhilWeb filed a notice to the Philippine Stock Exchange indicating that it had received a letter from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) regarding PhilWeb’s August 24 proposal to launch a new mobile phone lottery platform.

The letter, dated Sept. 20 and signed by PAGCOR CEO Andrea Domingo, said that the proposal to launch the text-based betting system called PAGCOR Text Bonanza had been denied. Domingo said the rejection reflected the government’s current policy “to strictly regulate and ensure non-proliferation of gambling avenues which are accessible to lower income brackets of society.”

Local media had reported in early September that PAGCOR had rejected PhilWeb’s proposal but PAGCOR had until now not publicly commented on these reports. PhilWeb had projected that the lottery could generate up to P100b (US $2b) in annual revenue. PAGCOR is currently mulling privatizing the state-run PCSO lottery.

Saipan rolls out welcome mat for junkets

Gaming regulators in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands say they have no plans to limit the number of junket operators authorized to bring high rollers to Saipan’s lone casino.

Earlier this month, the Commonwealth Casino Commission issued its first junket license to South Korea’s Big Bang Entertainment. On Monday, the Commission’s exec director Edward Deleon Guerrero said “no number” had been set as the upper limit of junket operators licensed to serve local casinos.

Guerrero told the Saipan Tribune that the Commission was still vetting the 17 junket applications it has received in addition to Big Bang’s. Guerrero said the Commission was also enlisting the help of Saipan’s only current casino operator, Hong Kong-based Imperial Pacific International, to help vet junket applicants “from the financial perspective.”

Imperial Pacific’s local subsidiary Best Sunshine International opened a temporary casino in a shopping mall last November while it finishes work on its permanent gaming venue. That permanent venue, previously referred to in filings as the Grand Mariana Casino and Hotel Resort, will operate as the Imperial Pacific Resort (artist’s impression pictured) when it opens in early 2017.

Sports betting experts detail the threat to integrity of professional sports through illegal wagering

UK Experts: Thriving Illegal Market and Lack of Regulation Create Atmosphere Ripe for Manipulation

Sports betting experts detail the threat to integrity of professional sports through illegal wagering

Leading voices from the United Kingdom have released new information detailing how a legal, regulated sports betting market will enhance the integrity of sports in the United States, not diminish it as outdated myths have long suggested. Dr. David Forrest and Rick Parry, two leading experts within the UK sports betting world, released their report, The Key to Sports Integrity in the United States: Legalized, Regulated Sports Betting, detailing how the United States must adopt an approach similar to that in the United Kingdom to allow legal, regulated sports betting in an open and transparent market.

“The federal ban on sports betting has failed,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the AGA. “American sports fans have shown a strong desire to wager on sports and a legal market would preserve the integrity of the games fans love to watch.”

“Despite being illegal, betting on sports is a common and generally accepted activity for Americans,” said Parry, chair of the United Kingdom Sports Betting Integrity Panel. “In fact, the proportion of American adults who place illegal wagers on sports proves to be roughly the same as those betting legally in Great Britain.”

Forrest and Parry’s research concludes the following:

1) Americans want to bet on sports and prohibition has largely failed as the restrictions are ignored.
o Despite being illegal, betting on sports is a common and generally accepted activity for Americans. This is done casually through office pools or more seriously and systemically through illegal bookies or offshore gaming sites. In short, sports betting is taking place – on a significant scale – despite being illegal. In fact, the proportion of American adults who place illegal wagers on sports proves to be roughly the same as those betting legally in Great Britain.
2) Left unchecked, black market gambling in the United States has thrived.
o The United States and China represent the largest illegal sports betting markets in the world. By way of example, an illegal sports bookmaker who was prosecuted in New Jersey in the late 1990s had an annual volume of $200 million, higher than the largest legal bookmaker in Las Vegas.
3) Illegal gambling threatens the integrity of sports.
o Legalized and regulated sports betting brings with it transparency and oversight, both for sports book operators and customers. However, illegal sports betting has no such transparency or mechanisms available for tracking bets, making it an ideal venue in which to profit from the manipulation of sports. Cutting off the flow of funds into the illegal market is critical to removing the incentives for manipulation.
4) A legalized, regulated market would layer in consumer protections against the potential problems associated with sports betting, allowing these problems to be addressed and better controlled.
o The problems the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) sought to address, such as problem gambling and crimes associated with sports, such as match fixing and point shaving, can instead go unnoticed in an unregulated environment. By creating a legal regime, individuals are permitted, within limits, to engage in an enjoyable activity while consumer protections create transparency and accountability to address potential problems linked to sports betting.
5) America should look to nations with mature sports betting markets, like Great Britain, when adopting a legalized framework.
o To reap the benefits of a legal sports betting market, America must put in place a robust regulatory structure with appropriate controls. Keeping fixers’ money and manipulation out of sports must be a collaborative effort that brings together the expertise of regulators, betting operators, police authorities and the governing bodies of sports. It is vital that a new, legal market is made attractive for consumers in order to ensure they move away from black market betting. Looking at the legislative mistakes made by some countries when legalizing sports betting will allow America to implement a strong framework at the start, and make it far less likely that it will have to amend weak or ineffective laws later on.

“Our research concluded that legalized and regulated sports betting is in fact a necessary condition to preserve and protect the integrity of sports,” said Dr. Forrest, professor of economics at the University of Liverpool Management School and honorary professor at Macau Polytechnic Institute.

AGA recently estimated that fans across the country will bet $90 billion on NFL and college football games this season. However, $88 billion – or 98 percent – of all bets will be made illegally thanks to PASPA, the failed federal government ban signed in 1992 that prohibits sports betting outside of Nevada.

Ongame Network closing next month

The once mighty Ongame poker network is reportedly not long for this world.

Earlier this month, Russian poker affiliate Pokeroff.ru reported that the Ongame Network had informed its remaining customers that the site would be shutting down effective Oct. 15. On the plus side, the network is reportedly averaging only around 100 customers, so there won’t be too many people to disappoint.

Ongame was once a titan in the online poker world, but it never really recovered from its withdrawal from the US market following the 2006 passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

In 2011, Ongame’s owner, sports betting operator Bwin, embarked on its ill-fated merger with PartyGaming. Since that anschluss came with the also-faded-but-slightly-more-healthy PartyPoker brand, Ongame was deemed a ‘surplus asset’ and the hunt was on for someone to take this lemon off Bwin.party’s hands.

GameCo bringing skill-based video games to Atlantic City casino floors

Atlantic City casinos could welcome their first skill-based gaming machines as soon as next week, provided state regulators sign off on the plan.

On Tuesday, New York-based startup GameCo announced that it would debut its new video game gambling machines (VGM) on the casino floors of Caesars Entertainment’s three AC properties this fall.

GameCo plans to install 21 gaming positions in “high-traffic, prominent locations” at each of the three Caesars’ properties. There will be three triple-unit carousels at Caesars Atlantic City, two at Harrah’s Resort and two more at Bally’s. A GameCo spokesperson said the games will go live “most likely in two weeks.”

The first game will be a first-person action game titled Danger Arena. Players will be presented with a random game scenario and the payout will be determined by how many robots one manages to vanquish along the way, although GameCo claims the VGM will maintain “the same casino economics as slot machines.”

NJDGE and Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Quebec Reach Accord, as Canadian Regulator Agrees to Pull Out of US Markets

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) has ordered its licensees to cease offering bets to the entire US market, after reaching an agreement with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement […]

The post NJDGE and Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Quebec Reach Accord, as Canadian Regulator Agrees to Pull Out of US Markets appeared first on .

NJDGE and Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Quebec Reach Accord, as Canadian Regulator Agrees to Pull Out of US Markets

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) has ordered its licensees to cease offering bets to the entire US market, after reaching an agreement with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement […]

The post NJDGE and Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Quebec Reach Accord, as Canadian Regulator Agrees to Pull Out of US Markets appeared first on .

GAN ink Station Casinos social gaming deal; PNG launch mobile slots app

Online gaming technology provider GAN has inked a social gaming deal with Nevada-based regional casino operator Station Casinos.

On Tuesday, GAN announced that it had struck a deal with Station to provide the operator with GAN’s Simulated Gaming free-play online casino product. The deal was originally announced in early August without revealing that Station was the client.

That August announcement claimed the free-play product would launch in late 2016 but Tuesday’s announcement said the launch wouldn’t come until “early 2017.” GAN also confirmed that the social casino would be integrated into Station’s myBoardingPass on-property rewards program, allowing customers to earn real-world rewards at Station’s 19 properties through online play.

Station marks GAN’s second Nevada client and its fourth major US casino client with over $1b in annual revenue. GAN CEO Dermot Smurfit said the Station deal would generate material income and earnings for GAN in 2017.