A very public spat over the transfer of a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player shows the need for protection for both players and the teams that invest in their growth in the esports industry.

As a father, I understand the need to take care of my child. I need to remain vigilant of a truck crashing into him while he is taking selfies in front of the Houses of Parliament. I have to be on hand to offer my feedback on his decision to have plastic surgery after his girlfriend leaves him for someone more handsome. But what if your child was an esports athlete? How do you protect them?

This question has arisen after a very public spat erupted via email, concerning the decision by the professional esports athlete Tsvetelin ‘CeRq’ Mangalski to leave the Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) side Outlaws to play for NRG esports.

The first email that found its way to my computer was from Mario Ovcharov, Chief Marketing Officer, UltraPlay. I wasn’t the only person to receive it. In a sense, it showed the maturity of the esports organisation as a whole when Ovcharov sent an open letter to 126 different people who work with the esports industry or the media, seeking opinion on the CeRq transfer. 

Lee Davy sits down with Derrick Morton, CEO of FlowPlay, the virtual world developer, to understand why people need an escape, why they choose FlowPlay’s worlds, and much more.

Let’s face it; the world sucks balls.

If not, we wouldn’t spend most of our time on the phone.

The virtual world is where the fun is at, and nobody knows this more than Derrick Morton, CEO of FlowPlay, a developer of virtual worlds such as ourWorld and Vegas World. 

The Maltese-based online sportsbook, Betway, will offer live odds at the Electronic Sports League Pro League Season 6, and the Swiss-based online bookie, Betradar, will do the same for League of Legends. 

What does the legendary Spanish tenor, Placido Domingo, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive have in common?

Give up?

They will both be appearing on stage at the Sparkassen Fyn Arena in Odense, Denmark, this side of the new year.

A round-up from the PokerStars Championship Barcelona, including, Sander van Wesemael winning his third PokerStars Cup of the season, Stephen Chidwick winning his second €25k Single Day High Roller of the season, and news of another huge PokerStars Championship Main Event first prize.

Fedor ‘freak’ Holz aside, predicting the winner of a poker tournament is like a meteorologist trying to predict the weather in Rotherham. But there was always one sure thing we could predict, Stephen Chidwick, would drop the baton in the home straight.

And now we can’t even get that right.

Chidwick, whom many in the know, refer to as one of the best players in the world, has a bionic sense of intuition and game theory, and now it seems the British pro has finally convinced luck that it isn’t all that bad on his side of the fence.

Police in India’s second largest city have broken up a high-end illegal casino operating out of a sprawling country house that has served as a location for multiple film and television productions.

Indian media reported that Delhi Police arrested 30 individuals at a 13-acre property in south Delhi on Tuesday night following an informant’s tip-off. Police had the property under surveillance for five days, waiting until they were sure the illegal activity was in full swing before springing into action.

A 12-man squad was forced to scale the nine-foot walls of the property because the main gates were heavily guarded. Once inside, police found four casino tables, gaming chips worth over Rs 30m (US $468k) and 42 liquor bottles (mostly single-malt whiskies). Police also seized 13 luxury cars parked outside the illegal gaming venue. Gamblers were reportedly alerted as to when the casino was open via a closed WhatsApp group.

Fourteen of those arrested were gamblers – described as wealthy businessman and property dealers – while another 10 were organizers and five were female attendants. Police also arrested the property owner, one Suresh Yadav, a retired army officer. Yadav reportedly rented the property in May for $39k/month to three men who were the main organizers of the gaming operation.

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) gaming officials want to take a closer look at the financial aspects of casino operator Imperial Pacific International Holdings (IPI).

On Wednesday, the Marianas Variety reported that members of the Senate Committee on Gaming plan to conduct a tour of IPI’s new Imperial Pacific Resort Hotel Saipan next month. The Resort had a partial opening of its gaming operations in July after repeatedly missing its targeted launch dates.

In advance of that tour, Committee chair Sen. Justo Quitugua has asked the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) to furnish information that will provide “an in-depth understanding of the financial aspects of the gaming industry.” The Committee says it wants the info by September 15.

Among the documents requested by the Committee are a detailed breakdown of gaming-related funds collected and taxed, as well as precise formulas for how those taxes were calculated. The Committee also wants to compare the casino’s rolling chip volume versus its gross gaming revenue.

Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) is looking to expand into the Philippines, according to a local media report.

The Philippine Star reported that GEG subsidiary Galaxy Casino has teamed up with Leisure and Resorts World Corp founder Alfredo Benitez (pictured) on an integrated resort project. The site of this proposed resort has yet to be determined but the joint venture reportedly plans to spend between $300m and $500m to bring the project to life.

This isn’t the first time GEG has been mentioned in connection with a Philippine-based gaming project. In 2012, sources at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) told Reuters that GEG was interested in setting up shop in Manila’s Entertainment City gaming zone, although these plans failed to materialize.

Apart from a small stake in Monaco’s state-owned gaming company, GEG’s existing gaming operations are entirely based in Macau, and while GEG withstood Beijing’s VIP crackdown better than some of its Macau casino rivals, GEG has likely taken notice of the fact that many Chinese VIP gamblers and junket operators have chosen to take their business to casinos in the Philippines, away from Beijing’s prying eyes.

Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) is looking to expand into the Philippines, according to a local media report.

The Philippine Star reported that GEG subsidiary Galaxy Casino has teamed up with Leisure and Resorts World Corp founder Alfredo Benitez (pictured) on an integrated resort project. The site of this proposed resort has yet to be determined but the joint venture reportedly plans to spend between $300m and $500m to bring the project to life.

This isn’t the first time GEG has been mentioned in connection with a Philippine-based gaming project. In 2012, sources at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) told Reuters that GEG was interested in setting up shop in Manila’s Entertainment City gaming zone, although these plans failed to materialize.

Apart from a small stake in Monaco’s state-owned gaming company, GEG’s existing gaming operations are entirely based in Macau, and while GEG withstood Beijing’s VIP crackdown better than some of its Macau casino rivals, GEG has likely taken notice of the fact that many Chinese VIP gamblers and junket operators have chosen to take their business to casinos in the Philippines, away from Beijing’s prying eyes.

The Sportium sports betting joint venture of UK bookies Ladbrokes and Spanish gaming operator Cirsa says it plans to launch online operations in Colombia before the year is through.

Earlier this month, Sportium execs gave a media presentation in Bogota’s Hollywood Casino, at which the company has chosen to plant its land-based sports betting flag. Sportium trotted out Colombian footballer Fabián Vargas, who plays for Bogota-based La Equidad, to help kick off the event.

Sportium CEO Alberto Eljarrat said the company’s application for an online license from local regulator Coljuegos was at an “advanced stage” and Sportium hoped to launch its Sportium.com.co site “very soon.”

Sportium is a major betting brand in Spain and also has an online presence in Mexico via its Casinolife.mx site. Last September, Sportium opened an office in Panama and Colombia is the next step on the company’s Latin American expansion horizon.