Casino junket operator Jimei International Entertainment Group is branching out into the world of cinema now that its gaming operations have dried up.

On Wednesday, Jimei alerted the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the company had hired noted film director F. Gary Gray “in relation to the development and production of motion picture projects.” Gray (pictured) is the acclaimed director of such films at Straight Outta Compton, The Italian Job and this year’s installment of the Fast & Furious franchise, The Fate of the Furious.

Jimei says its deal calls for Gray to develop three movie projects over three years, and if Jimei approves any of the projects, it will negotiate Gray’s role in their production, be it as director, producer or executive producer. Gray has agreed not to sign any similar deals with any other “Chinese-owned or controlled company.”

Earlier this month, Jimei proposed changing its name to the Starlight Culture Entertainment Group to reflect “the further business diversification and enhancement of the entertainment business of the Group,” and at last we learn what that diversification entails.

Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International Holdings (IPI) will open its permanent gaming venue next month after finally getting the nod from local regulators.

On Thursday, the Marianas Variety reported that the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) had given IPI the green light to launch gaming operations at the unfinished Imperial Pacific Resort (pictured). The company said it plans to hold an official opening ceremony at the Resort on or before July 15.

IPI currently operates a temporary Saipan ‘training’ casino, Best Sunshine Live, which is located in a high-end shopping mall in Garapan. Last month, the CCC gave conditional approval to IPI’s request to launch gaming operations at the unfinished permanent venue, which has been subject to numerous development delays.

The terms of IPI’s gaming license required the Resort’s 250-room hotel to be open to the public before gaming activity could commence on the premises. But in April, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Lottery Commission granted IPI an extension of the deadline for completing Phase One of the Resort from Aug. 31, 2017 to Aug. 31, 2018.

Nevada casinos came tantalizingly close to crossing the magical $1b gaming revenue threshold in May, no thanks to the state’s licensed sports betting operators.

Figures released Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) show the state’s casinos generated gaming revenue of $991.6m in May, 3.5% higher than the same month last year and over $100m more than the state reported in April 2017.

The gains were evenly distributed across most of Clark County, with only the North Las Vegas region in negative territory for the month. Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip fared slightly worse than the overall average, rising just under 3% to $546.8m.

Slots revenue was up 7% to just over $647m, while blackjack ($110.8m, +3.2%) outpaced baccarat ($100.9m, +13.2%) to claim the month’s table game crown. A solid month at the state’s roulette wheels ($36.5m, +29.2%) allowed the game to easily outperform craps ($30m, -4.8%). Total games and tables revenue was up 13.7% to $344.4m.

Macau’s number of suspicious transaction reports (STR) rose by more than one-quarter last year, according to the local financial watchdog.

Macau’s Financial Intelligence Office (GIF) recently issued a report showing that it received a total of 2,321 STRs last year, up 28.4% from 2015’s total. Of the 2016 total, GIF sent 240 STRs to Macau’s Public Prosecution Office for further investigation.

Macau’s gaming sector accounted for 1,546 STRs in 2016, up 24% year-on-year. However, the gaming sector’s share of the overall STR pie was down 2.4 points to a devilish 66.6%, as the number of STRs related to financial institutions and insurance companies reported even larger growth, rising over 38% year-on-year to 696.

The GIF also reported receiving 79 STRs from ‘other institutions,’ which it describes as being predominantly “merchants of high value products.” This category’s 2016 figure was also up over 38% year-on-year.

Colombia has issued its first online gambling license as it prepares to block unauthorized operators from accessing local punters.

This week, Colombia’s Coljuegos gaming regulatory body issued the country’s first official online gambling license to a subsidiary of Medellin-based electronic gaming machine operator Aquila Global Group. The company plans to operate online in Colombia using the Wplay.co brand.

Aquila Global said it expects to invest COP 15b (US $4.9m) in its online operations over the next three years and has set a goal of signing up 1m customers over that span, an ambitious target in a country with a population of only around 50m.

Last October, Colombia became the first Latin American jurisdiction to approve online gambling legislation. Online licensees will pay 15% tax on their gross gaming revenue and annual fees of roughly $200k. The government hopes to raise COP 8b ($2.6m) in the first year following its online market launch.

A division bench of the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Court has given Indian rummy sites the green light to continue their operations—albeit with restrictions—as the court continues to deliberate on Telangana’s new gaming ordinance.

On Thursday, GLaws.in reported that the High Court ruled that rummy companies based in Telangana like Ace2Three could accept customers based outside the state, while continuing to prohibit players from within Telangana.

The Telangana Cabinet recently passed an ordinance amending the state’s Gaming Act of 9174 to ban online gambling. The Telangana State Gaming (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 added new definition of “cyber space” in the gaming legislation, making betting and gambling through the internet illegal, which means that playing online matka, sports betting, poker and rummy in the state will now incur criminal penalties.

This prompted Ace2Three, along with fellow rummy sites Rummycircle and Junglee Rummy, to file petitions, noting the “unconstitutional” ordinance violates the sites’ “fundamental right to carry out trade and commerce,” according to the report.

Hong Kong-listed gaming services company Success Dragon has given up its greyhound racing and horse racing agreements in Vietnam, citing adverse changes in the country’s regulatory environment.

In a filing, the company announced that it has terminated its deals with Sports and Entertainment Services (SES), Xuan Thanh Greyhound Racing (XT) and Thien Ma-Madagui Racing (TMM), effective June 28, 2017. Success Dragon provides hardware and software equipment for the three companies, as well as outsourced management services for SES’s greyhound racing business in Vietnam.

The termination is in response to the changes in the regulatory conditions—including a cap on daily betting amounts for Vietnamese players and ban on international simulcast of races—which Success Dragon said “make the operating environment for provision of services for racing business as contemplated under the agreements unattainable.”

The company estimated it will incur HK$111 million (US$14.22 million) losses from “operating loss incurred for approximately HK$40 million; one off impairment loss on the property, plant and equipment of approximately HK$70 million.”