Online gambling operator Dafabet is being sued by a Kenyan interior design firm for allegedly infringing on its intellectual property.

Asian-focused betting operator Dafabet launched its Kenya-facing Dafabet.co.ke site in March, joining the likes of SportPesa, Betway and Elitebet in targeting this large African market. But local firm Dafabet Kenya Ltd (DFK) claims the gambling site is using trademarks that don’t belong to it.

DFK has a barebones website (Dafabetkenya.com) that describes the company as a Kenya-registered “top house sports designer input and equipment” firm. DFK also has a Facebook page which, like the Dafabet Kenya betting site, appears to have launched this March.

On Sunday, the Standard reported that DFK’s lawyers had filed a lawsuit accusing the betting site of “unlawfully, illegally and wrongfully” using DFK’s name to promote betting and gaming activities in Kenya. The lawsuit asks the court to block the use of the Dafabet name for betting purposes within Kenya.

While the government of India is busy deliberating on whether to create a regulatory framework for bitcoin, a new battle has erupted over which body should regulate the popular digital currency.

The finance ministry recently hosted a meeting to discuss the regulatory framework of digital currencies in the country. The agenda, however, was overshadowed by a disagreement between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) over which of them gets to control the legislative measures.

RBI considers bitcoin as security rather than currency, which means that it should regulated by SEBI, Business Standard reported. The central bank also proposed that the digital currency be traded as commodity derivatives, just like gold or silver, noting that SEBi should ensure that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin will not be used for illegal activities such as money laundering.

The securities board, however, rejected the proposal.

The fate of the Casablanca Casino in the Clark Freeport Zone in the Philippines remains in limbo because its new owner, casino investor Frontier Capital Group, has yet to cough up the remaining escrow requirements of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

Australia-listed Frontier Capital Group acquired the Stotsenberg Hotel and Casablanca Casino in 2015 for a total consideration of US$26 million. However, the state regulator shut down the casino operations at the Clark property in the first quarter of 2017 because Frontier Capital still needed to settle an escrow account amounting to PHP225 million (A$4.5 million), the casino investor said in a filing.

Frontier Capital originally covered the escrow amount with a bank guarantee, but it has lapsed. Now, the company said it plans to secure the escrow “with a cash deposit.”

“The company continues to seek the necessary funds,” Frontier Capital said in its filing.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivered on Monday his second state of the nation address, which was basically the same as last year—justifying  his campaign against drugs, crackdown on corruption, improving the country’s infrastructure while denying allegations of human rights violations.

In a two-hour litany of his supposed accomplishments during his first year in office, Duterte lashed out at his critics, the United States, and the mainstream media for putting his administration in the bad light instead of cooperating with him.

Surprisingly, Duterte spared the Philippine gambling industry from a tongue-lashing in this year’s state address.

If you recall, Duterte issued a marching order to stamp out online gambling in the Southeast Asian country on his first day in office. He reiterated his war on online gambling in his first State of the Nation Address last year.

Gambling heavyweights Caesars Entertainment and Malaysian conglomerate Genting Group are vying for the sole control of gambling operations in Ontario as it position itself as Canada’s premier gambling hub.

The Globe and Mail reported that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. has trimmed down the number of operators vying for the control of Greater Toronto Area’s gambling operations to three as the bidding process reached the final round.

According to the report, the chosen operator will oversee the gambling at Toronto’s Woodbine racetrack, Ajax Downs and the Great Blue Heron Casino in Port Perry. Citing unnamed sources, both Caesars and Genting are still in the running to become Ontario’s next gambling operator.

Also vying for the coveted venture was Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management. The three operators all declined to comment on the report.

This is a guest contribution by Florian a long time eSports enthusiast and co-founder of Esports-betting.pro. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

It has been anticipated for quite a while, and a couple of days ago it happened! The prize pool of the International 2017 (aka TI7) exceeded $20,770,460, therefore setting the new all-time high in the history of eSports prize money for a single tournament. For insiders, this might not really come as a surprise, but if you are not familiar with the eSports scene, you might wonder where all this money is coming from and how it can be that the winning team, consisting of 5 players and a coach, will earn next to 10 million dollars just for playing video games for a couple of days. In this article, we will look at where the money is coming from and dive deeper into the World of competitive Dota 2 and the betting markets evolving around it.

Before we get into more details about the International 2017, let’s take a short look at Dota 2. The game is published by Valve which is probably most known for its game and software client Steam. Dota 2 got officially released in mid-2013 and is a free to play 5 vs 5 Moba (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena). The goal of the game is to destroy the base and ultimately the nexus of the other team. If you want to see more, check out the video of the finals of last year’s International below.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzloD-t_Adk?rel=0]

The Poker Hall of Fame has honoured the late Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliot by enshrining him as a member, but hasn’t it come two-years too late?

The first poker player that entered my memory palace was Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliot.

I was tripping when someone turned the TV to Channel 4, and there he was playing poker. I thought he was a vampire, and then he was a vampire. Flying out of the tube, grabbing me by the throat, and sinking his teeth into my neck.

When I first met him, the vampiric memory wasn’t the reason I needed a change of underwear. My fear was born from meeting a legend. From the ‘Devilfish’ knuckle dusters to his suit, and all the imagery that had passed my field of vision for many years – I was in awe.

Three short poker tales including Dario Sammartino taking the lead in the 2017 Global Poker Index Player of the Year race, Javier Gomez winning the $2m GTD Card Player Poker Tour Main Event at the Venetian, and an underwater poker game.

Dario Sammartino has sprayed gravel in the face of Nick Petrangelo in the race to become the 2017 Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year (POY).

The Italian ranked #4 in the ranking has taken the lead after an incredible performance at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

The top ranked Italian in the GPI cashed in eight events, securing over $2.1m in earnings, with the competition barely registering a whimper. Seven of Sammartino’s cashes came in events with a buy-in exceeding $10,000, and a raft of different disciplines.

World Series of Poker rookie, Scott Blumstein, wins the third largest Main Event in history after beating fellow rookie, Dan Ott, in heads-up action after a commanding performance.

There was a moment during the masochistic madness of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event that I came close to writing to PokerNews to politely point out an error in the chip counts – they kept calling Scott Baumstein, Scott Blumstein. It’s not a mistake I will repeat, and for a good reason.

Scott Blumstein, the WSOP rookie, from Morristown, New Jersey, is the 48th WSOP Main Event winner, and proud owner of $8,150,000, at least until the tax man gets a hold of it.

The 25-year-old, who fell in love with poker after watching Chris Moneymaker win the 2003 Main Event, was competing in the Main Event for the first time.

The deadline for people to provide the Environment And Communications References Committee with submissions declaring the irrationality of banning online poker in Australia has passed, leaving the fate of the game in the hands of a bunch of people who probably know nothing about the game.

The tombstone has its epitaph.

Here lies online poker in Australia, a game that was in the right place, at the wrong time. 

The lights are out.