As promised/threatened, Colombia has begun blocking international online gambling sites not holding a local license.

Last October, Colombia became the first South American jurisdiction to approve national online gambling legislation, which was followed in March by the release of a list of 325 online gambling domains the country’s Coljuegos gaming regulator deemed to be serving Colombian punters without local approval.

This week, Finance Minister Mauricio Cárdenas used his personal Twitter account to announce that his ministry had instructed Coljuegos “to block cheating pages and betting evaders like play2wincasino.”

The Curacao-licensed Play2win’s domain is reportedly no longer accessible by users of TigoUne, the dominant local internet service provider. The country’s other ISPs are expected to follow suit in short order.

Deciding to evade a potential major regulatory hurdle, Galaxy Gaming Inc. has opted to take back its application for a license to develop and distribute new games in Nevada.

On Thursday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Nevada Gaming Control Board agreed to refer Galaxy Gaming’s licensing request back to the company.

Galaxy Gaming, which develops, manufactures and distributes casino table games and enhanced casino systems, is due to appear before the Nevada Gaming Commission on July 27, when the panel is set to decide whether to issue a license that “would enable Galaxy to develop and distribute new games in Nevada,” according to the report.

The commission has the option whether to concur with the board, overturn its decision or make it “the first case ever to be subject to a new law that enables the commission to reject but not deny licensing,” which, according to the news outlet, means that Galaxy Gaming may continue to operate in the state but will be unable to roll out new games.

US federal prosecutors have dropped all charges filed over five years ago against Calvin Ayre and the Bodog online gambling business.

In February 2012, the US Attorney for the District of Maryland indicted Bodog, Calvin Ayre and three other individuals on charges of illegal gambling and money laundering conspiracy. The indictment accused Bodog of offering gambling services to US customers between June 2006 and January 2012.

According to the Department of Justice, Bodog and the charged individuals were responsible for more than $100m in gambling proceeds being transmitted to customers in the United States. The original charges exposed the individuals to 25 years in prison and $1m in fines.

Neither the company nor the individuals ever appeared in court on the case, which remained dormant for more than five years. On July 14th, Chief Judge Catherine Blake of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland accepted a resolution that dismissed all of the felony charges against Calvin Ayre and Bodog. All of the charges against the other individuals were dismissed separately a short time ago.

A boutique investment firm in Switzerland has begun offering to buy bitcoins for its wealthy clients.

Zurich-based Falcon Private Bank recently partnered with cryptocurrency broker Bitcoin Suisse and rolled out a blockchain asset management service. The product is approved by the state regulator Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), according to the company.

The service allows customers to exchange and hold bitcoins via Falcon using their cash holdings. The firm has also installed a bitcoin ATM in its headquarters, which the public can access during business hours.

“We are proud to be the first-mover in the Swiss private banking area to provide blockchain asset management for our clients,” Arthur Vayloyan, Falcon’s global head of products and services, said in a statement. “Falcon is convinced that the time is right to enter this nascent market and it is our firm belief that this new product will fulfil our clients’ future needs.”

As River Mandovi’s floating casinos continue to search for an alternate waterway, a Goa minister has put forward an idea: Why not bring them to land?

Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai is pushing to shift the casino vessels in the state to be shifted to a suitable location on land. Sardesai, who is also the president of the Goa Forward Party, was quoted by the Times of India as saying, “We want to remove all casinos from the river and I am personally pushing to move them from there to land.”

The state government announced several weeks ago that it has extended the deadline for the casinos to wrap up their operations on the Mandovi river to September 30. The new deadline matches an earlier promise the government made to the casino operators—Delta Corp, Goa Coastal Resorts and Recreation, Highstreet Cruises and Entertainment, Golden Peace Infrastructure and Delta Pleasure Cruise Company—immediately following the recently held elections.

The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court also allowed Golden Globe Hotels Pvt. Ltd. to launch MV Lucky Seven on the river—a move that Sardesai opposed.

Money remains elusive for the proposed integrated resort in Mactan island, Cebu as Philippine-listed Calata Corp. announced that it has yet to raise funds for the casino project south of Manila.

Calata, which seeks to diversify its business from agricultural products to real estate, told the Philippine Stock Exchange in Thursday’s filing that the potential investor in the casino project has yet to raise sufficient funds to complete its financial commitment.

US-based management consultancy RickWise Global Capital Group has earlier been tapped by Calata to undertake business activities such as introductions to investor sources, service partners, and generally provide strategic and risk management advice.

The Philippine-listed company said RickWise informed the company that it is still needs more time to raise funds for the project. It would be recalled that the management consultancy company was in talks with Sino-America Gaming Investment Group LLC and Macau but it broke down earlier this year due to the perceived political uncertainty.

Malaysia-listed conglomerate Genting BHD has given the US market a vote of confidence as it starts its expansion plans in New York.

Genting has broken the ground on the $400 million expansion of Resorts World Casinos in New York (RWNY), six years after the casino operator opened its integrated resort in the Big Apple.

Scott Molina, the president of RWNY, said the expansion will bring out the potential of its gaming facility, especially since the property does not currently offer hotel accomodation. The company targets to complete the expansion plan in mid-2019.

The expansion project, according to Molina, includes the construction of a new 400-room four-star hotel with five-star suites that will rival Manhattan’s finest accommodations; a 2,000-sq.ft. spa and resort; another 140,000 sq.ft. of convention and meeting space; plus additional room for retail, food, and casino expansion.

The Cambodian government has handed the country’s top casino operator NagaCorp. an additional $16.6 million tax bill on its non-gaming operations.

According to Phonm Penhn Post, the Cambodian government came up with the hefty tax burden after it conducted its first-ever audit of the iconic Phnom Penh hotel and casino complex. The tax obligation was reportedly similar to the one that the government imposed on the casino operator last year.

The announcement from the Cambodian government comes just days after NagaCorp reported that it posted a $150.6 million net profit in the first six months of the year due to robust growth across all of its business segments.

Though the final number is still subject to negotiation, Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF)  deputy director-general for finance industry department Ros Phirun pointed out that the annual bill of NagaWorld in non-gaming revenue taxes starting this year is $16.6 million.