If there’s a will, there’s a way.

In case New Jersey voters will reject a plan to expand casinos to the northern part of the state this November, New Jersey lawmaker Ralph Caputo has already prepared a Plan B to get slots machines into the state’s racetracks.

Caputo’s Plan B is simple: amending two bills he introduced this year to authorize video lottery terminals – essentially slot machines – at state racetracks including the Meadowlands in East Rutherford and Monmouth Park in Oceanport.

CBS Philly reported that unlike the ballot question referendum, Caputo’s Plan B will not involve asking the public’s permission. To do that, Caputo will simply remove a requirement for a new referendum in his bills.

BtoBet is pleased to announce its partnership with the market leading supplier of end-to-end digital gaming solutions, NYX Gaming Group, to provide a seamless integration to its Open Gaming System, NYX OGS.

Kostandina Zafirovska, BtoBet’s Chief Operating Office stated, “I firmly believe the combination of BtoBet’s technological platform with NYX Gaming Group’s high quality digital games will perfectly fit players’ needs and expectations worldwide.”

Zafirovska continued, “The NYX OGS Casino solution works seamlessly with the business analysis solution included within the BtoBet platform. Together we offer Gaming intelligence across their whole suite of games. In fact, it provides real time and accurate data analysis per customer in order for the operator to automatically segment the player base. Ultimately this allows for the delivery of the right product at the optimal time for every player, using the best performing games for specific promotional activities and more effective ad hoc marketing campaigns.”

David Flynn, EVP of Business Development at NYX Gaming Group commented on the move, “This agreement with BtoBet represents a strong partnership and allows us to further expand into regulated markets. We are delighted to have a partner who can deliver extraordinary knowledge based on Artificial Intelligence and innovation, which we can apply to the gaming experience across our extensive range of desktop and mobile casino games via the OGS. Our design studios conceive ideas and concepts that deliver an exceptional experience to players and operators alike. Partnered with BtoBet’s omni-channel platform, we will elevate the ability of operators to attract, retain and increase the lifetime value of players. We look forward to working with the team at BtoBet and growing our respective businesses.”

A flood of opportunity awaits the Philippine gaming industry as the once chilly relations between Manila and Beijing begins to thaw.

President Rodrigo Duterte is now in China for a four-day state visit not only to offer Chinese President Xi Jingping an olive branch but also to seek billions of dollars in investments from the world’s second-largest economy.

For most analysts interviewed by Business World, Philippines’ pivot to China provides a sliver of optimism for the gaming industry that faces oversupply issues.

An improved Manila-Beijing relations will spur an influx of tourist in Mainland China to the island nation as well as Chinese high rollers evading the inconvenience of China’s anti-corruption drive.

One of the key participants of Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Russia will be a speaker that is unique for Russia – financial analyst and former vice president of JPMorgan Chase Tone Vays. On November 10, he will present his vision on how blockchain will develop in Russia and globally.

Participant of the largest US conferences

Tone Vays is an expert in the sphere of finance and cryptocurrencies, author and creator of the LibertyLifeTrail website. Has been working on Wall Street for 10 years. Having a master’s degree in financial engineering (Florida State University), started as a risk analyst at Bear Stearns. After the 2008 financial crisis became a vice president at JPMorgan Chase.

Being an expert in the sphere of economic trends, trading and risk analysis, started to deal with cryptocurrencies in 2013. Began to actively spread ideas related to digital money, and became an author of scientific papers on this topic. Was Head of Research at BraveNewCoin and wrote analytical materials for CoinTelegraph.

In a move harking back to Maoist tactics, 18 Crown Resorts staff are behind bars in mainland China for trying to please Chinese consumers. The Chinese government’s economic policy is heavily mercantilist, which means that it thinks that money has to stay inside its borders and that the economy is a competition between countries as to who can collect the most cash. That’s why they don’t take kindly to companies trying to lure cash away. In reality, stockpiling cash is not going to help anyone if that cash is not eventually spent on consumption. Mercantilism is the equivalent national policy of being buried with one’s money. The point of an economy is actually to collect goods and services with your cash in order to increase one’s standard of living, not to collect cash for the sake of bragging about some meaningless trade surplus.

But don’t expect the Chinese government to figure this out any time soon, especially when they get to go on fun power-trip missions like locking up innocent people (who may happen to be technically guilty of advertising a casino in China, they are still innocent people). These 18 staff, some major executives, are hanging out in Chinese jails now, waiting to be charged. With Crown’s annual general meeting set to kick off on October 20th in two days, it is unlikely that these people will be charged until after the meeting is over, if only just to increase the pain of the unknown for the company and its shareholders.

At the risk of sounding callous – and God willing these people will be released very soon once the Chinese authorities are legally paid off for their freedom – is this a buying opportunity now in Crown, and what does this sudden move say about the environment in China? The short answers are yes, this is a buying opportunity in Crown, and what this means for China and Macau is more interesting than what this means for Crown.

The reason this is a buying opportunity in Crown is that while Crown is reliant on Chinese VIPs, it is not that heavily reliant on them. Crown’s VIP segment accounts for 27% of the top line by normalized revenue, though probably a little bit more because 25% is wagering and nongaming activities, and it’s hard to tell how much of that 25% is also VIP contributed. Probably not all that much. 27% sounds like a sizeable chunk, but consider that VIP is down 7% since 2015 on an annual basis, but overall revenue is still up 5%. The numbers being thrown around by analysts seem to be that this sudden crackdown will dampen Crown’s VIP revenues by 5%, but they’ve already weathered bigger drawdowns without it hurting their overall revenues. They can take this hit.

The wheels of justice have started turning for the two British men indicted for video game gambling offenses as they entered a “not guilty” plea during their arraignment.

YouTube star Craig Douglas and Dylan Rigby both pleaded not guilty to the charges of promoting a lottery and advertising unlawful gambling before the Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Friday, according to a BBC News report.

Douglas, who also goes by “Nepenthez,” is a prominent gamer with 1.3 million followers on his YouTube channel.  A separate case was filed against Douglas for allegedly inviting children to gamble by advertising a gambling website connected to EA Sport’s FIFA.

This is the first time that British authorities are prosecuting persons for their involvement in video game betting. The case has been adjourned until 6 February 2017, when the court will hold a hearing expected to last a week.

Football’s governing body FIFA has created a working group to look into the growth of eSports to see what opportunities are present to help enhance the beautiful game on a global scale.

Tonight, Manchester United head to Anfield to take on Liverpool. It is the biggest derby in English football. When I was a kid, the whole world stopped on its axis in the build up to this game. We would use our school jumpers for goal posts and play out the game ahead of the real thing. Those with great Dads would head to watch the match live, and the ones with Dad’s who were too busy working their right arm down the pub would huddle around the TV set or radio.

I wonder how many kids will be watching the game tonight?

I wonder how many of the working class can afford a Sky TV subscription?

The fifth edition of SiGMAgazine is out and contains a wealth of information about the remote gaming as well as the top c level executives shaping the industry, specifically from Malta.

The 220 page magazine can be accessed here.

In the words of editor Eman Pulis, “The publication is unlike any other magazines out there for two reasons – the focus is on Malta, on the c level executives and personalities shaping the industry, as well as on the show itself. We are circulating 5,000 copies before the show to entice any last minute delegates to grab a few passes and join us for a few days of networking in Malta.”

Issue five of SiGMAgazine features a series of interviews; with renowned legal advisor Alan Alden from Kyte Consultants, MGA chairman Joseph Cuschieri, Vera&John CEO Johan Königslehner, games developers Kasper Kau and Luigi Spina, startups, twitch affiliates and much more.”