The state government of Kerala is initiating sweeping reforms to combat illegal lottery operations in the state, according to The New Indian Express.

Among the reforms that the state government plans to implement are: the conduct of live telecast of the draw of lots; setting up of more offices of the Lottery Department in other districts; and revising the prize structure.

Finance Minister Thomas Isaac believes that these reforms will help the state government rein the illegal lotteries operating in the state when asked by V D Satheesan of the Congress during a reply to a notice for adjournment motion.

During the congressional hearing, Isaac conceded that the illegal lottery called ‘ezhuthu lottery’ was thriving in Kerala.

It may not be the new Macau or Las Vegas, but if things go as planned, Japan’s casino trajectory may just follow that of Singapore, according to an analyst.

Casino gambling is prohibited under Japan’s constitution, but multiple reports have surfaced over the past weeks about a plan to push for the legalization of casino gambling in the country. There is no guarantee that the so-called Integrated Resorts Promotion bill will make the legislative cut, and even if it does, there may not be enough time in the extraordinary session – which commences later this month and wraps up in late November – to address the always contentious casino question.

In an interview with Reuters, ruling Liberal Democratic Party General Council chair Hiroyuki Hosoda said “there was a near-certainty the bill would be debated in the current parliamentary session.”

Unlike previous efforts, the chances of success are higher this time, according to Global Market Advisors managing partner Steven Galloway, thanks to international casino operators who have stepped up their efforts to educate Japanese legislators and stakeholders on the benefits of casinos.

Blockchain is popularly known as the underlying technology behind bitcoin, but many institutions are starting to find other uses cases for the technology. And some have reportedly succeeded already.

Take the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), for example. The Australian bank has completed what it says is the “first global trade transaction between two independent banks” using blockhain to sell cotton to China.

The transaction between CBA and U.S. bank Wells Fargo involved a shipment of cotton from the state of Texas to Qingdao in China. According to Lifehacker, the proof-of-concept transaction made use of a distributed ledger by Skuchain’s Bracket system, along with other “internet of things” components.

“The trade introduced a physical supply chain trigger to the terms of the transaction to confirm the geographic location of goods in transit before a notification is sent to allow for release of payment. The tracking feature adds a new dimension, providing all parties with greater certainty compared with traditional open account and trade instruments like Letters of Credit, which focus on documents and data,” the bank said.

Not much has changed with NetEnt since January. The powerhouse continues to grow impressively, with lots of wind at its back, extremely confident and slick executive management, exciting products, and it’s still situated on dangerous fault lines. The question with NetEnt is as it has been for some time now. That is, not whether it is a good company, but whether its valuation is too high and already priced for the rapid growth that it has been experiencing for years.

Since the beginning of 2012, NetEnt shares have increased by an enviable 710% while the top line has increased 142% and the bottom line 223%. The fact that shares are outpacing top line growth by a factor of 5 and bottom line growth by a factor of 3.2 is not itself worrying, as growth stocks like NetEnt almost always rise faster than the actual growth of the company’s earnings. The question is how much faster than proportional is warranted, and in an environment like Sweden’s that is a very hard question to answer.

Part of it is investors pricing in future growth, which is understandable. But another part of it is Sweden’s ultra loose monetary policy that has actually gotten even looser since we last covered this stock in January. See Swedish interest rates, negative in January 2016, even more negative now:

Negative interest rates force investors to take money out of banks and to put that money anywhere (literally anywhere) where it will not be eaten away by time. If any of us had our money in a Swedish bank we’d all be chasing the best companies just so our deposits will not shrink over time due to crazy Riksbank policy. So the question is, if interest rates were normal in Sweden, and if not normal at least above zero for heaven’s sake, then how much would NetEnt shares have outpaced the company’s growth? Perhaps by a factor 3 top line and 2 bottom line instead of 5 and 3.2? These are all numbers out of a hat and there is no way to know, which is why buying any more NetEnt stock now is a gamble on how much longer the Riksbank can maintain negative interest rates. Gambling is for punters, not investors. It’s fine to do both separately, but  it is unwise to mix the two into the same endeavor.

Sony Entertainment Network has partnered with Electronic Sports League to offer a new tournament option on PlayStation 4, and Lee Davy believes it opens the gates for the new breed of gamblers.

It’s Christmas soon, the time of the year where parents add debt on top of the debt, so they look like the greatest parents in the world for at least a day.

My 15-year old son spends 40% of his time with his girlfriend, 59% playing on his Xbox and PlayStation, and 1% saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ during our highly stimulating phone conversations.

He spent the weekend with me. Technically, that’s not true. He spent the weekend in my house playing online with his friends. I asked him if his mother was buying him the latest virtual reality (VR) headset for Christmas?

The successful Cash Game Festival moves online with innovative Twitch streaming plans and the Grosvenor United Kingdom Poker Tour release 2017 tour dates.

From humble beginnings in Tallinn, Estonia, the Cash Game Festival Tour has become a unique experience not offered by another beast, and this week the team drop their anchor in the fish-filled waters of the iPoker Network.

From Oct 24-30 the Cash Game Festival crew will take their show online at participating iPoker skins such as NetBet, William Hill, and Bet365. The online event will feature 30 Twitch streamers competing in the event including the likes of Bryan Paris, Leon Lewis and Jason Glatzer. The action will be streamed in one-hour blocks starting at 6 pm UK time on players individual Twitch channels.

The Online Cash Game Festival is bold as it is brazen. Unlike a tournament, it’s a lot more complicated to stream hole cards for everyone sitting at a cash game, but the team believe they have a sensible solution. Beginning at 10 pm Mon-Fri UK time, the individual streamers will compete for three hours on a password protected iPoker table so everyone can view the hole cards. The commentary team of Brandon Allen and Enri Orav will also have access to all of the individual streams and will appear on them all throughout the week.

This is a guest contribution by Apuestamil CEO Victor Espinosa. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

In recent weeks, Colombian Government finally took a step forward in terms of regulation and legislation of eGaming, by interpreting and legalizing operation and licensing of state-of-the-art games and dynamics present today worldwide.  Government created a clear framework for companies that are willing to operate e-gaming mechanics in Colombia, such as sportsbooks, poker, fantasy sports, eSports, promotional games and online casino, among others. This article explains briefly the main aspects of the “EGaming Act” that was approved, in terms of taxes, licensing, opportunities and market challenges.

The Act states a levy of 15% on gross gaming revenue (GGR) when the return to the player, according to the rules of the game, is equal to or greater than 83% of the expected value of the bet. Additionally, operators of the games must pay a fixed amount for getting and maintaining an eGaming license, equivalent to eight hundred and eleven (811) monthly legal minimum wages (that is USD $200.000 approx.) for each fiscal year of continuing operations. It is important to note that the Act is practical, given that it doesn’t differentiate games by its nature (e.g. online poker vs online sportsbook), allowing a huge range of mechanics to be offered to players, simplifying legislation and licensing process for operators at the same time.

The Law and its related articles, also makes a distinction between games of chance and skill games. It states that when games are not defined by luck, chance or coincidence, but by the ability and skill of the players, operators will not be subject of levy or fixed gaming license. This is a big opportunity for any operator interested in promoting fantasy sports in Colombia. This distinction will open in the short term, a technical-academic debate due to the skill nature of this particular game. There is growing demand and interest in it by a new generation of young players, which are not attracted to the current offer of traditional old games.