Live dealer online casino specialist Evolution Gaming says it started 2017 off at the same accelerated pace with which the company closed out 2016.

In a Q1 trading update issued on Thursday, Evolution reported revenue of €39.7m and earnings of €17m in the three months ending March 31, representing year-on-year gains of 60% and 66%, respectively, while profit rose 67% to €12.7m. Evolution says the quarter enjoyed “generally high player volumes among all types of customers, both small and large well-established operators.”

Evolution has undergone significant growth since Q1 2016, a fact underscored by its payroll rising to 3,780 employees from 2,128 a year ago. Accordingly, operating expenses shot up 56% to €25.7m, but the company’s earnings margin still improved one point to 43%.

Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund credited the continued success to the addition of several new customers in Q1, including myBet, Matchbook, White Hat Gaming and Codere, the latter deal marking the company’s entry into the Mexican market. Meanwhile, many of Evolution’s existing customers launched new environments and added additional tables, and the company’s new poker products – including Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold’em – are proving a hit with these clients’ end users.

Australian casino operator Crown Resorts has denied any deal to partner with a China-backed group on a Queensland casino project.

On Thursday, The Australian quoted a Crown spokesperson saying the company “has no agreement” with either ASF Group or ASF Consortium, a China-backed developer that hopes to build a A$3b integrated resort casino on the Gold Coast’s Southport Spit.

One year ago, local media reported that Crown was negotiating a deal with ASF Group/Consortium to run the gaming operations at the proposed Queensland casino project. But Crown now says these talks were only preliminary and no partnership exists between Crown and ASF, which is led by the Chinese government-owned China State Construction Engineering development firm.

This casts doubt on claims by ASF that its membership includes a “Tier 1 casino operator.” While the company has never publicly confirmed the identity of this casino operator, The Australian reported that it has had communications with ASF in which the group identified Crown as its gaming partner.

The Australian government’s proposal for a complete ban on betting operators advertising during live televised sports broadcasts has sparked a flurry of pushback from stakeholders.

On Wednesday, The Australian reported that Communications Minister Mitch Fifield would present a proposal next Tuesday (25) calling for a ‘siren to siren’ ban on betting ads during live TV sports broadcasts, while offering broadcasters reduced license fees to offset the expected loss of advertising revenue.

On Thursday, The Age reported that the Australian Football League (AFL), National Rugby League (NRL) and Cricket Australia are pushing Fifield to amend his proposal to exempt betting ads in live sports broadcasts after the 8:30pm watershed. The leagues also want a guarantee that betting ads will continue to be permitted in the one-hour window immediately preceding live sports broadcasts.

In a bid to inject some sanity into this discussion, AFL boss Gillon McLachlan reportedly reminded Fifield that, despite all the hysterical media headlines, sports betting accounts for less than 5% of Australians’ overall gambling spending.

Embattled online gambling operator Jack Lam has sold his controlling stake in Jimei International Entertainment Group Ltd, the Hong Kong-listed junket investment company announced on Wednesday.

Jimei International disclosed in a filing that the deal, which took place last April 7, involved a maximum consideration of HK$443.2 million (US$57 million) for Lam’s 65.05 percent stake. It will be divided into two batches: the first, totaling HK$222 million, was already settled, while the second batch, which amounts to HK$221.2 million, will be paid on January 5, 2018.

Under the deal, the amount for the second batch of payment may be adjusted downward if Jimei International “is unable to recover part of its outstanding receivables,” estimated to be at HK$227 million, at the end of 2017.

Lam’s company, Reach Luck International Ltd, has been identified as the seller in Jimei International’s filing, but the document did not mention if the beleaguered junket tycoon will keep any shareholding in Jimei International after deal is finalized.

The Recreational Poker has been the ‘go to’ strategy in the poker world for a while now but there is still a long way to go and many poker rooms are only doing enough to get the headline rather than genuinely protect those wholly unaware.

The reason Bodog brought in all-anonymous tables universally was because ‘pro’ players buy hand-data, via their screenname, and use that data against recreational players. This isn’t being a ’pro’ player, its cheating. Worse than that, a lot of these genuinely, recreational players don’t even know it’s happening.

Bodog are now taking another step in helping real players enjoy a level playing field with an all-table ‘Quick Seat’ feature. Again some have used this as an option – as they now do with anonymous tables – as an option. But to opt in you have to understand the shady dealings of the sharks, which recreational players do not.

I don’t understand? OK, if somebody steals money from your bank account fraudulently that money is returned to you. You don’t have to ‘opt in’ to this system, it is in place. Bodog poker offers a safety net to ALL players, not just those savvy enough to opt in.

Las Vegas casino operator MGM Resorts International paid its head honcho 25.1 percent more in 2016 after the company beat its earnings target.

James Murren, chairman and chief executive of the casino group, received a total of $16.6 million last year, up from the $13.3 million he received in 2015, MGM Resorts reported in a proxy filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

For 2016, MGM Resorts set a target of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $2.14 billion. Actual EBITDA came in 8 percent higher, triggering a bonus that was 41.3 percent higher than planned, according to the company.

Murren’s 2016 base salary was kept at the 2015 level of $2 million, but the MGM Resorts chief stock awards—consisting of restricted stock and performance-linked shares—rose 19 percent year-on-year to reach $7.44 million. Murren also received $1.52 million in “other compensation,” including $250,000 for personal use of aircraft and $391,814 for personal security services.

Las Vegas casino operator MGM Resorts International paid its head honcho 25.1 percent more in 2016 after the company beat its earnings target.

James Murren, chairman and chief executive of the casino group, received a total of $16.6 million last year, up from the $13.3 million he received in 2015, MGM Resorts reported in a proxy filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

For 2016, MGM Resorts set a target of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $2.14 billion. Actual EBITDA came in 8 percent higher, triggering a bonus that was 41.3 percent higher than planned, according to the company.

Murren’s 2016 base salary was kept at the 2015 level of $2 million, but the MGM Resorts chief stock awards—consisting of restricted stock and performance-linked shares—rose 19 percent year-on-year to reach $7.44 million. Murren also received $1.52 million in “other compensation,” including $250,000 for personal use of aircraft and $391,814 for personal security services.