Florida-based casino operator Hard Rock International (HRI) appears set to win the race to build a new resort in Spain after all the other contenders dropped out.

Last week, Spanish media reported that HRI and Hong Kong-listed Melco International Development had walked away from a tandem bid to win an integrated resort license in the so-called Center for Recreation and Tourism (CRT) planned for Spain’s Catalan region near Barcelona. That reportedly left only the joint bid of local firm Grup Peralda and Malaysian operator Genting in the running for the Catalan license.

Since those reports, Melco confirmed on Friday that it had “decided not to participate in the current bidding process owing to other committed development projects in the pipeline,” although the company wasn’t ruling out exploring “future opportunities at the CRT.” Simultaneously, the Grup Peralda/Genting pairing announced it was also withdrawing its bid for consideration ahead of the June 30 deadline, which would have required bidders to ante up €2.5m along with their design proposals.

On Friday, local media outlet El Pais reported that HRI would be proceeding with a solo bid to operate in the CRT. Details on HRI’s bid, including the size and scope of the project, will reportedly remain unknown until local officials make an announcement scheduled for July 10th. HRI is controlled by Florida’s Seminole Tribe, which operates the bulk of the state’s major land-based gambling venues.

As the debate over Segregated Witness rages on, the bitcoin community is starting to lose sight of the digital currency’s original ideology—to become a decentralized money that will help everyone move out from the arms of the banks.

It’s time, however, to get back on track.

In a rare appearance at the recently held The Future of Bitcoin event in the Netherlands, Australian academic and inventor Dr. Craig Wright made a case for bitcoin scaling—and for the bitcoin community to finally start acting like one.

“We need to scale. We need real leadership,” Wright said. “There should be no king in bitcoin. There will be no king in bitcoin. We are a community, and it is time we start acting like one.”

Nordic online gambling operator Betsson AB has called on the European Union’s trade watchdogs to prevent the Netherlands from taking enforcement action against the company’s Dutch-focused brands.

For years now, the Netherlands has been prepping new online gambling legislation, although legislators have yet to completely agree on how best to proceed and the expectation is that a regulated market won’t arrive until H2 2018 at the earliest.

That hasn’t stopped the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) regulatory body from taking aggressive action against online operators it deems to be serving Dutch punters without permission. Betsson, which operates the Dutch-facing Oranje and Kroon brands, is now arguing that the KSA lacks the legal justification for taking such action.

In a statement published on its website last Friday, Betsson notes that the European Commission (EC) suspended infringement proceedings against the Netherlands a decade ago based on the country’s pledge to adopt an online gambling policy more respectful of EU rules regarding open trade between member states.

Malta-based affiliate network Matching Visions has acquired 30 percent share in Betting Gods as the company seeks to expand its market for growth.

Betting Gods founder and Director Darren Moore confirmed the company’s tie-up with Matching Visions ahead of its relocation in Malta and the Amsterdam Affiliate Conference, saying that the partnership will enhance each other’s offerings and services.

The company, which ranked 2nd of all betting companies on Trustpilot worldwide for its in-depth betting advice, offer a comparison service on its professional tipster network, which allows visitors to weigh up the winnings of the various experts who provide advice on the site.

Moore said that sports fans who have a membership with their company will now be able to benefit from some amazing deals and offers to enhance their betting experience to a new level.

Japanese casino mogul Kazuo Okada is out to prove that blood isn’t thicker than water as he attempts to regain control of his sprawling business empire.

Channel News Asia reported that Okada sued his son, daughter, and wife in HongKong after the latter started a boardroom coup that resulted to his ouster from Tokyo-listed gambling firm Universal Entertainment Corp. He also included Universal as a respondent in the case.

The report, however, didn’t mention the grounds of the lawsuit, which Okada filed against his wife Takako, his son Tomohiro, and his daughter Hiromi. But in an earlier interview with Reuters, Okada said the lawsuit against his family is his way to take control of Okada Holdings Ltd., which is the majority owner of Universal.

It would be recalled that Tomohiro and Hiromi, who holds a combined majority shares in Okada Holdings, led the boardroom coup against the septuagenarian billionaire. Records from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed that the Japanese patriarch resigned from the company.

In this World Series of Poker round-up, you learn how Thomas Cannuli won the largest online bracelet buy-in event ever, and how Andreas Korn took down the $5k No-Limit Hold’em event.

An appearance in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine can send you out of the stalls like a thoroughbred racehorse, or into hibernation like a big old grizzly bear with a belly fun of honey.

For Thomas Cannuli, it was the latter, but he has woken from his slumber.

The 2015 sixth place finisher has taken down Event #61: $3,333 WSOP.com Online No-Limit Hold’em High Roller, after topping a field of 424 entrants (320 unique, 104 re-entries) to capture the $322,815 first prize.

Daily fantasy sports is close becoming a regulated industry in yet another U.S. state.

On Friday, New Jersey senators voted 29-6 in favor of a bill that would legalize, regulate and tax daily fantasy sports in the state. The bill, A-3532, is now waiting for Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s signature.

Under the bill, fantasy sports operators will be required to pay the state “an operations fee in an amount equal to 10.5 percent of fantasy sports gross revenue for each quarter,” which, in turn, will be deposited in the state’s general fund. The Office of Legislative Services estimated that New Jersey could gain up to $6.6 million annually in revenue from the fantasy sports market, according to the New Jersey Law Journal.

The bill sets a number of conditions, including players must be at least 18 years old to play. It also stipulates that prohibits players under 18 to participate in fantasy sports activities in the state. It also allows casino licensees and licensed racetracks to partner with fantasy sports operators “to offer fantasy sports activities.” However, if a fantasy sports site is operated by a casino, all of its servers must be located in Atlantic City; and if a site is operated outside New Jersey, at least one server must be located in Atlantic City. People on casinos’ self-exclusion lists will not be allowed to play under the bill, which also prohibits daily fantasy sports operators from running games based on high school sports in the state.

Like a zombie rising from the dead, infamous con artist Jan Robert Gustafsson appears intent on worming his way back into the online gambling industry.

In mid-May, I began hearing industry buzz around a new Manila-based online casino game distributor, QTech Games. The company is headed up by Jonas Alm, who also serves as CEO of software developer Mahjong Logic.

QTech’s promotional material indicated that it was offering a large selection of games from familiar industry names such as NetEnt, QuickSpin, Habanero and others, at prices below the industry average.

But shortly after I began contacting some of these companies to inquire about their QTech connection, their names started vanishing from QTech’s website. To understand why, it helps to know a little about Gustafsson’s shady history in the online gambling world.