Monthly Archives: December 2016

Russia telecom agency celebrates domain whack-a-mole ‘success’

Russia’s telecom watchdog agency is celebrating what it claims is a successful campaign against unauthorized online gambling sites, although its claims actually undercut its argument.

Figures released last week by the Roskomnadzor agency showed that it had identified nearly 87k website domains in 2016 that were in violation of various Russian laws, triple the number of domains so identified in 2015.

Of 2016’s offenders, around 52k were ordered offline by Roskomnadzor, while a further 34.5k were taken down by network operators without the agency having to crack the whip.

Some 15,900 sites were flagged by the Federal Tax Service (FTS) for offering prohibited online gambling services. Of these unwanted online gambling domains, 12,561 (79%) were subsequently blocked by the agency, second only to “extremist materials” in the 22 categories of unauthorized data tracked by Roskomnadzor.

Russia telecom agency celebrates domain whack-a-mole ‘success’

Russia’s telecom watchdog agency is celebrating what it claims is a successful campaign against unauthorized online gambling sites, although its claims actually undercut its argument.

Figures released last week by the Roskomnadzor agency showed that it had identified nearly 87k website domains in 2016 that were in violation of various Russian laws, triple the number of domains so identified in 2015.

Of 2016’s offenders, around 52k were ordered offline by Roskomnadzor, while a further 34.5k were taken down by network operators without the agency having to crack the whip.

Some 15,900 sites were flagged by the Federal Tax Service (FTS) for offering prohibited online gambling services. Of these unwanted online gambling domains, 12,561 (79%) were subsequently blocked by the agency, second only to “extremist materials” in the 22 categories of unauthorized data tracked by Roskomnadzor.

Russia telecom agency celebrates domain whack-a-mole ‘success’

Russia’s telecom watchdog agency is celebrating what it claims is a successful campaign against unauthorized online gambling sites, although its claims actually undercut its argument.

Figures released last week by the Roskomnadzor agency showed that it had identified nearly 87k website domains in 2016 that were in violation of various Russian laws, triple the number of domains so identified in 2015.

Of 2016’s offenders, around 52k were ordered offline by Roskomnadzor, while a further 34.5k were taken down by network operators without the agency having to crack the whip.

Some 15,900 sites were flagged by the Federal Tax Service (FTS) for offering prohibited online gambling services. Of these unwanted online gambling domains, 12,561 (79%) were subsequently blocked by the agency, second only to “extremist materials” in the 22 categories of unauthorized data tracked by Roskomnadzor.

Philippine online gaming industry still unsure where it stands

Online gambling technology provider PhilWeb’s hopes of acquiring a new gaming license in the Philippines have hit a major snag.

On Tuesday, PhilWeb filed papers with the Philippine stock exchange revealing that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) had informed PhilWeb that the company will have to compete for the right to provide gambling technology at PAGCOR-licensed eGames cafes.

Until this summer, PhilWeb supplied technology to hundreds of eGames cafes, which offer internet-connected terminals providing online casino products for local residents. Then newly elected Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared “online gambling must stop,” leading to PAGCOR declining to renew PhilWeb’s gaming license.

PhilWeb went into a death spiral that was only halted when chairman Roberto Ongpin agreed to sell his entire stake in the company, leading to hopes that PhilWeb would have its license renewed under different management.

The top casino stories of 2016

It’s been a long and largely sucktastic year, so without wasting any more of anyone’s time, here are the top casino stories of 2016:

MACAU BOUNCES BACK

Macau’s casinos broke their prolonged losing streak in August, posting their first year-on-year gaming revenue gains in 26 months. The positive momentum has continued for four months now, offering operators further hope that their long jurisdictional nightmare is finally behind them.

Macau welcomed two new integrated resorts in 2016, and so far the pair have experienced wildly different fortunes. In keeping with Wynn Resorts’ boss Steve Wynn’s penchant for opulence, Wynn Palace was aimed at high-end customers, a demographic that wasn’t yet in short supply when the $4b project began construction several years back. Wynn Palace has to date performed far below expectations, forcing management to make changes to its gaming floor meant to attract more mass market customers.