German online betting operator Mybet says its new software platform is performing well despite double-digit revenue declines in the first half of 2017.

On Tueday, Mybet released its H1 report card, which showed group revenue of €17.1m, a 28.5% decline from the same period last year. Earnings totaled €7m, although this was mainly due to the impact of the €11.8m settlement Mybet reached in May with Westdeutsche Lotterie Gmbh over the latter’s violation of German competition law.

Mybet CEO Markus Peuler called the H1 results “unsatisfying but not surprising,” given this year’s lack of a major football tournament and the company’s casino site being blocked in Greece. But Peuler claimed the “first changes in customer behavior on our new platform and in profitability we observed are very exciting.”

Mybet launched its new online platform in March, and the company says casino customer activity increased following the rollout. What’s more, despite both casino and sports revenue falling in H1, earnings in both verticals increased from Q1 to Q2. Mybet noted that the period in question was brief, and Q1 featured a plethora of punter-friendly sports results, but should these sequential trends continue, it would represent “a significant success for the company.”

Nevada casino gaming revenue fell just shy of that magical monthly benchmark of $1b in July, despite double-digit declines in some major table games.

Figures released Wednesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) showed statewide casino gaming revenue hitting just under $998m, a 1.7% decline from the same month last year but over $100k more than the casinos earned in June 2017.

The gains came despite casinos on the Las Vegas Strip reporting revenue falling 7.7% year-on-year to $565.6m. Virtually the entire rest of the state was in positive territory, led by the Boulder Strip, which reported revenue up nearly one-fifth to $66.4m.

Slot machine revenue did its part to boost July’s numbers, rising 5.1% to $632.1m. But table games played spoiler, falling 11.7% to $365.8m, led by double-digit declines at baccarat ($120.9m, -19.6%), blackjack ($100m, -12.2%) and roulette ($32.4m, -14.3%). Craps played contrarian, rising 19% to $40.4m, while the second half of the World Series of Poker gave poker revenue a modest 1% bump to $12.4m.

Massachusetts state officials are warning of possible revenue losses as a result of New Hampshire’s approval of online lottery sales.

The South Coast Today reported that Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and Lottery Executive Director Michael Sweeney are prodding the legislature to pass a bill that will allow the state lottery to sell products online and introduce Keno.

Goldberg described the Massachusetts Lottery as “sitting here like dead ducks” as the state watches its neighbor launch its Keno game in the first quarter of 2018.

“I think the thing they have to really look at is what drove the profit last year. Keno, for the last two years, we’ve beefed up sales and it has helped carry the ball,” Goldberg told the Lottery Commission on Tuesday, referring to the revenues that the lottery brought to Massachusetts’ coffer.

It’s been said that there is always a first time for everything.

And to prove this, a Gujarat High Court judge made an unprecedented decision on Tuesday to not only hear the opinion of professional poker players, but even allow them to show the court videos on how poker is played, GLaws.in reported.

The single judge bench of Justice Rajesh Shukla is currently hearing special civil petitions filed by the Indian Poker Association (IPA), AAA Gaming and several other poker clubs, which are seeking to clear the uncertainty over the legality of playing poker in the Indian state after the Ahmedabad police commissioner said that poker is not exempted under the Gujarat Prevention of Gambling Act because it is a game of chance.

On Tuesday, Glaws.in’s Jay Sayta reported that despite objections by government representatives, Mihir Thakore, senior counsel for some of the petitioners, was able to “persuade the court to allow [Abhishek] Goindi and [Aditya] Wadhwani to place their research and thoughts before the court.”

Hong Kong-listed property developer Landing International Development Ltd. is eyeing to move its foreigner-only casino to Jeju Shinhwa World.

In a regulatory filing, Landing told the HongKong bourse of its plan to transfer to Jeju Shinhwa world from its current facility at Hyatt Regency Jeju Hotel.

Jeju Shinhwa opened its 344-unit serviced resort condominium Somerset Jeju Shinhwa World in April.

Landing’s integrated resort project, which includes Jeju Shinhwa, remains to be under construction and is expected to be complete by 2019. The firm plans to construct a Lions Gate Entertainment Inc.-inspired theme park in order to lure recreational tourists to the integrated resort.

Bitcoin’s price climbed to a new record high on Wednesday, proving that investors are still interested in snapping up the digital currency.

The cryptocurrency rose to as much as $4,602.79 during early Wednesday morning’s trading, according to Bitcoin.com data. Bitcoin edged off that high in the afternoon trade, when its price went down to $4,559.93.

Bitcoin prices have been enjoying a strong rally, rising close to 400 percent this year. The digital currency broke through $4,000 for the first time in early August and has been trading in that range for a few weeks.

Analysts attributed the price surge to sustained investor interest in acquiring the digital asset, despite its lofty trading price, especially following reports of an increased nuclear threat from North Korea. According to state news outlets, a North Korean missile launched on Tuesday crossed Japan’s northern Hokkaido island before landing in the sea.

Did the gambling industry play a role in delaying the storm warning at the height of Typhoon Hato?

Macau authorities are now digging deeper into a recent report published in the South China Morning Post that ‘casino factor’ was the root cause behind the delays to the storm warnings.

ShanghaiDaily.com reported that Fernando Chui, chief executive of Macau, has formed a commission and special taskforce to review and handle Macau’s response system for major disasters.

A team of graft busters, on the other hand, was formed to probe the city’s weather bureau over its handling of Typhoon Hato. The report said that the probers will include the gaming industry in their investigation.

The President of the International Olympics Committee wants to lure more Millennials into the bosom of the Olympic movement but draws the line at killing terrorists.

I was sports mad when I was younger, but the Olympics?

I used to watch the top British athletes: Steve Cram, Steve Ovett, and Seb Coe, and would always tune in to watch the 100m & 200m, but the rest of the crap?

Even the football matches aren’t real football matches.

A trio of tales from the World Poker Tour, including news of the billionth dollar payout at the WPT Legends of Poker, a resounding success in Brazil, and a friendly bust in Reno.

I have a triumvirate of tales of the unexpected from the World Poker Tour (WPT), and we’ll begin at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, and the 16th WPT Legends of Poker.

The event attracted 763 entrants, making it the second-largest, WPT Legends of Poker in history, and it drew more attention than a dancing dolphin because the player finishing in 47th place would receive the WPT’s one-billionth payout dollar.

The man featuring in most headlines tomorrow morning will be T.J.Shepherd, and it’s a tale that was not only unexpected, but it should also be read to the vibe of melodious harps.

The world’s smartest people worry that Artificial Intelligence will turn the human race into paper clips, but as PokerStars show in their latest innovation, they will never crack poker commentary.

I was always a Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) man myself. Due to rights issues, none of the players bore their real name, and I would spend the first week in ‘Edit Mode’ updating all the squad names.

I preferred PES over FIFA because of the quality of gameplay, but soon FIFA caught up, and EASports turned me. One of the things I loved about FIFA was the quality of the replays. I was hooked on watching the post match action, and the only thing that let it down was the commentary.

From watching your replays on FIFA to begging the byline bystander for a copy of the VHS he created of your U12 Cup Final, people love to receive an injection of ego crack by reliving the past, and PokerStars have picked up on it.

The second most populous country in the world has a spa for elephants, and three poker leagues, after the man on a mission to ‘Sportify Poker’ prepares to unleash his league in the region.

When a TV series ends, I feel like someone has died. And to learn that I may have to mourn until 2019 to watch Game of Thrones Season 8 makes me want to emigrate to the South Pole, and spend the next few years perfecting my Snowman building skills.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Spin-offs.