European digital currency exchange Bitstamp has introduced a new pricing structure as it prepares to expand its trading portfolio.

Starting August 17, Bitstamp said it will add markets denominated in U.S. dollar, euros and bitcoin for ether, the ethereum-based digital currency. But instead of having a separate fee schedule for each trading pair that Bitstamp supports, the exchange said it makes more sense to unify the fees and introduce a “simple, straight-forward and competitive pricing.”

Under the new pricing structure, Bitstamp will combine the customer’s 30-day volume on all trading pairs before converting the amounts to U.S. dollar and then applying the relevant fee according to a simple fee schedule, which can be found on the exchange’s site.

To promote the new markets, Bitstamp said it will waive trading fees for those pairs until October 1 and will also offer discounts until the end of the year.

Jason O’Connor, the highest Crown Resorts official thrown into the Shanghai jail for promoting gambling in Mainland China, and four other staffers will finally be released from prison.

The Australian Financial Review reported that O’Connor will walk out of prison on Saturday, ending his 10-month detention. He will be leaving the Shanghai jail together with four other Crown staffers, including Malaysian national Alfread Gomez.

Upon his release, O’Connor and Gomez will immediately be deported back to Australia and Malaysia.

Chinese authorities have been keeping a close watch on casino operators who have been engaging in attracting high rollers from the mainland to gamble overseas by tweaking their respective marketing strategies.

Slot machine maker Aristocrat Leisure has acquired Israeli social gaming company Plarium Global Ltd, reinforcing the Australian company’s status as a technology business.

In a filing to the Australian Stock Exchange, the company announced that it has signed a binding agreement to buy 100 percent of Plarium for a total consideration of US$500 million cash, subject to customary completion adjustments.

Aristocrat plans to fund the acquisition via existing cash and an incremental US$425 million, seven-year term Loan B debit facility.

The deal is expected to boost Aristocrat’s exposure “to the fast growing digital market,” meaning that the company’s digital sources will grow to 22 percent of its overall revenue, based on results for the year that ended in March 2017.

Big brother has finally taken his eyes off the Philippines after the country included casinos under the coverage of the anti-money laundering law.

The Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) announced that the southeast island nation has dodged further scrutiny – and possible sanctions – from the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering after the government reported that President Rodrigo Duterte signed the casino bill into law.

Republic Act (RA) No. 10927, which Duterte signed in July, now includes gambling operators – land-based, online and shipboard – as well as junket operators as ‘covered persons’ under the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA).

Under the amended AMLA, Gaming operators must now report any single casino cash transaction that involves an amount of more than PHP5 million (US$100,000) or its equivalent in any other currency.

Cryptocurrency has found its first unicorn.

On Thursday, bitcoin start-up Coinbase announced that it has succeeded in raising $100 million in a new round of funding at a private valuation of $1.6 billion.

The Series D funding round was led by venture capital firm Institutional Venture Partners, and was joined by Spark Capital, Greylock Partners, Battery Ventures, Section 32 and Draper Associates.

The “unicorn” status is an honorific given to privately owned start-up companies with over $1 billion valuation. In June, reports surfaced that the San Francisco-based digital currency exchange was talking to investors to raise $100 million in what was poised to be the biggest fundraising round ever for a bitcoin company.

Lee Davy catches up with the Unibet Ambassador, Espen Uhlen Jørstad, to figure out what makes him so damn good at poker.

Espen Uhlen Jørstad took some detours on his way to his role as Unibet Ambassador.

The Norwegian star is a former World of Warcraft addict, professional coffee maker, former beer brewing junkie, and even spent some of his youth serving in the Norwegian military.

But what does he know about poker?