Greek gaming and lottery operator Intralot and UK-licensed sports betting technology provider Amelco have teamed up on a new omni-channel sports betting solution.

On Tuesday, Intralot and Amelco announced the signing of a definitive agreement for a new strategic partnership to develop “a suite of next-generation sports betting products” that will marry Intralot’s World Lottery Association-approved retail lottery experience with Amelco’s ATS online sportsbook platform.

The agreement calls for both companies’ technical teams to work side by side to co-develop a unique product. The companies say the new partnership will target “regulated lotteries and pure sports betting operators globally.”

Intralot CEO Antonios Kerastaris said his company’s experience in offering betting, lottery, interactive and video lottery terminal products in over 55 jurisdictions would be “widely enhanced by integrating Amelco’s innovative software functionalities.”

MGM Resorts’ latest Macau casino has a new name and a shiny new mascot to announce its imminent arrival.

On Tuesday, MGM China unveiled an 11-meter, 38-ton statue of a lion that will command the north entrance to MGM Cotai, the company’s in-development Macau integrated resort. The company hopes the statue, which is gilded in around 32k sheets of 24-karat gold leaf, will become “an important landmark attraction” and a “signature icon of Macau.”

MGM also announced that MGM Cotai will have a new Chinese name when the oft-delayed property opens in the second half of 2017. Chinese guests will know the property as Mei Si Mei Gou Mui 美獅美高梅, which translates as ‘Beautiful Lion, Beautiful MGM.’ (Guess ‘Beautiful Baccarat Money Hoovering Zone’ was taken.)

In attendance at this week’s unveiling was MGM China co-chair Pansy Ho, who said the imposing lion statue “reveals our passion and dedication for MGM Cotai and its significance.” Ho said MGM’s two Macau properties “each possesses distinctive characteristics strategically put in place to enhance the city’s diversified non-gaming offerings.”

MGM Resorts’ latest Macau casino has a new name and a shiny new mascot to announce its imminent arrival.

On Tuesday, MGM China unveiled an 11-meter, 38-ton statue of a lion that will command the north entrance to MGM Cotai, the company’s in-development Macau integrated resort. The company hopes the statue, which is gilded in around 32k sheets of 24-karat gold leaf, will become “an important landmark attraction” and a “signature icon of Macau.”

MGM also announced that MGM Cotai will have a new Chinese name when the oft-delayed property opens in the second half of 2017. Chinese guests will know the property as Mei Si Mei Gou Mui 美獅美高梅, which translates as ‘Beautiful Lion, Beautiful MGM.’ (Guess ‘Beautiful Baccarat Money Hoovering Zone’ was taken.)

In attendance at this week’s unveiling was MGM China co-chair Pansy Ho, who said the imposing lion statue “reveals our passion and dedication for MGM Cotai and its significance.” Ho said MGM’s two Macau properties “each possesses distinctive characteristics strategically put in place to enhance the city’s diversified non-gaming offerings.”

Almost a year has passed since the news of the $81 million Bangladeshi bank heist broke out, and yet the Philippines has yet to make progress in its efforts to curb money laundering, the U.S. government said in a report.

The 2017 edition of the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released by the U.S. Department of State identified five locations in the Asia Pacific region as “countries/jurisdictions of primary concern.” Last year, the state department’s list included Macau, Australia and Singapore. These three were no longer identified in the 2017 list, but Philippines—as in 2016—continued to receive extensive criticism.

If you recall, the Philippines made global headlines in February 2016, when hackers stole $101 million from Bangladeshi bank accounts in New York, of which $81 million was transferred to a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation in Manila. From there, the money was reportedly withdrawn through remittance firm Philrem Services Inc before it was funneled through the local casino industry by two Chinese junket operators.

The incident has prompted calls for changes such as the inclusion of casinos in the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Act, although progress has yet to be seen.

The AUD$3 billion (US$2.3 billion) casino, apartment and hotel mega-project in Australia’s Gold Coast has been put into spotlight for its alleged links to the Chinese government.

After a thorough legwork and research, The Australian found that the Sydney-based, ASF Group, which is behind a consortium tasked to build the multi-billion dollar construction project on the Gold Coast is backed by Chinese-based interests.

What makes it interesting, according to the news report, was the fact that these Chinese-based interests that hold the vast majority of shares in ASF has links to the Chinese government.

The report added that “there could be a backlash if it emerges the anti-gambling Chinese government is the key proponent of the project” since “China is detaining without charge three Australian Crown employees on suspicion of gambling.”

Lee Davy rounds up the night’s Champions League Round of 16 action including a humiliating exit for Arsenal, and a berth in the quarter-finals for the champions Real Madrid.

The one thing I won’t miss when Arsene Wenger leaves Arsenal at the end of the season – and he will leave – is his disgraceful bias during his post-match interviews.

After his side was tossed out of the Champions League in the Round of 16 like a rag doll for the seventh successive season 10-2 on aggregate, after another 5-1 defeat at home, Wenger blamed the officials, and produced a baffling statement:

“My team has produced a huge effort and played well.”

Customers of Chinese digital currency exchange Huobi will soon be able to withdraw bitcoin from their accounts.

In a statement posted on its website, Huobi announced that its bitcoin withdrawal service will commence “once approved by the regulatory body.”

The announcement comes less than a month after Huobi, along with OKCoin, announced that it will completely halt bitcoin and litecoin withdrawals for 30 days while the improve their anti-money laundering capabilities and prevent “illegal transactions.”

The two companies are part of China’s so-called “Big 3” exchanges—the third being BTC China—that came under fire after investigators of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) discovered “irregularities” in their operations, including offering  a loan feature called margin trade.

The simmering geopolitical tension between China and South Korea may drive Chinese casino high rollers away from the land of the morning calm.

Analyst David Bain of Aegis Capital Corp. noted in its note on Monday that China’s “escalating economic retaliation” against the deployment of a U.S. missile system on South Korean territory has put South Korea gambling industry at the losing end.

With this development, Bain believes that the likely winner of this political tension is no other than Macau.

“Mainland Chinese travelers may look to Macau and other destinations as an alternative to South Korea,” the analyst pointed out.

On February 16, 2017, the last remaining remnant of businessman-turned United States President Donald Trump’s former glory was carted away by a recycling company based in Philadelphia.

The relic was the “Trump” sign, which once glimmered in the then iconic resort town known as Atlantic City. As Trump ascended to the most powerful office in the world, workers begin to take down what became a symbol of what went wrong in the city built on lucky streaks and last chances.

So how will history judge Trump as a businessman, tactician, and a leader?

According to infographics provided by OnlineBingo.co.uk, Donald Trump has been directly involved in five separate casino-related bankruptcies. He was also separately involved in a six bankruptcy case for his Plaza Hotel in New York in 1988.

PokerNews returns to the World Series of Poker as the official live reporting team after a two-year absence, but is that a good thing for the poker community?

When I first got into live reporting, I was more likely to find myself in the midst of a Martian sandstorm than work at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

It was Las Vegas.

I lived in Ogmore Vale.