Connecticut shouldn’t allow tribal casino operators to proceed with the opening of $300 million casino resort in East Windsor or doom will fall on the state, according to Attorney General George Jepsen.

The Hartford Courant reported that state House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz sought the legal opinion of the attorney general—and part-time soothsayer—as lawmakers juggled different gambling-related bills, including the proposed scrapping of the East Windsor casino license and the opening up of the state to competitive bidding for expanded gambling.

In his reply, Jepsen warned lawmakers on Tuesday that Connecticut might jeopardize the state’s lucrative revenue sharing agreement with tribal casino operators Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan should the opening of East Windsor casino proceed.

Jepsen made a thorough evaluation on the proposal of the two tribes to disregard the federal approval and go on with the construction of the casino resort in East Windsor, eventually arriving at a conclusion that such plan would be detrimental to the state of Connecticut.

Denmark’s licensed online gambling operators now account for over half of all market revenue, according to the local regulator’s annual report.

On Monday, Denmark’s Spillemyndigheden regulatory agency released its 2017 annual report, which showed overall gambling revenue of DKK9.2b (US$1.53b), a modest 3.2% rise over 2016’s total but 18.4% higher than in 2012, the year Denmark liberalized its online gambling market.

Lotteries remain Denmark’s dominant vertical, accounting for revenue of DKK3.1b last year, an amount virtually unchanged from 2016. Sports betting (land-based and online) claimed the second-largest slice at DKK2.3b, a 7.4% year-on-year improvement. (The report didn’t break out separate online and land-based betting stats.)

Online casinos ranked third with DKK1.8b, a 15.5% year-on-year gain, while gaming machines outside casinos suffered a 1% decline to just under DKK1.5b. Denmark’s seven land-based casinos’ revenue was flat at DKK375m, as was horse betting at DKK116m.

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Komeito are set to present the much-awaited Integrated Resorts bill before the Japanese Diet on April 27, according to a Reuters report.

Chikako Ikeda, an official at the LDP’s political affairs committee, announced that the bill is ready to be tabled on Wednesday, after a month of ironing out the nitty-gritty of the IR bill provisions. Much of the discussions between LDP and Komeito centered on new rules that will govern Japan’s first casinos, including the push for allowing six Japanese cities to host the integrated resorts.

Initially, both parties locked horns on the number of licenses that Japan will give out. The LDP came in very aggressively with a proposal for either five or six licenses, while Komeito has proposed limiting casino licenses to two or three locations.

They also deliberated on the issue of Japanese casino visitation. Unlike the LDP, the junior coalition partner wanted to limit residents’ casino visits to no more than three times a week and 10 times per month.

Alex Dreyfus finally releases his hand, and it’s a monster. The French entrepreneur has created chiliZ, a fan-controlled esports platform that will revolutionise the way that fans engage with their favourite esports teams/players.

“Wayne Rooney is shit.”

My mother’s words, not mine.

“David Beckham is a ponce.”

Shortly after regaining her voting power, Elaine Wynn has already made her first request—to overhaul Wynn Resorts’ board of not-so-young directors.

Wynn, currently the casino operator’s largest single shareholder with 9.26% stake, sent a letter to the current board of directors on Tuesday, in which she requested sweeping changes in a bid to “fully restore” Wynn Resorts‘ reputation. Specifically, Wynn wanted the board to “reopen the window” for at least 60 days ahead of the 2018 annual general meeting so shareholders can nominate directors and propose other business.

“I hereby request that… the board take steps that would allow for a majority of the board to be comprised of new directors effective at the 2018 annual meeting,” Wynn wrote.

To achieve this, Wynn outlined two “possible paths.” The first involved declassifying the board, or the existing directors could vote to increase its size so “the newly elected directors would constitute a majority of the board.”

Week 35 of the Premier League kicks off with a spot of midweek action as Brighton move eight points clear of safety with a vital draw at home to Spurs.

When you’ve been absent from the limelight for 34-years, the last thing you need is for the spotlight to cast you aside like a steak bone. After Brighton’s battling 1-1 draw against the away day specialists Spurs, it seems likely that the bone still has some meat on it after all.

Spurs arrived at the Amex unbeaten in 12 away games, albeit licking their wounds after the 3-1 defeat to Man City ended their 14-match unbeaten run. Mauricio Pochettino made six changes, ahead of the weekend’s FA Cup Semi-Final tussle with Man Utd, and that must have given Brighton some hope.

And the Seagulls need hope.

This is a guest contribution by Martin Owens. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

In one sense it’s inevitable that gaming and gambling law should lag behind the technology. After all, there were no laws or regulations for automobile traffic until the automobile came along. But in the United States especially, gambling law has been allowed to stay fixed in the past. Faced with the accelerating changes of the digital age- social media, virtual goods, new formats and platforms-American gambling law threatens to become not merely outdated, but irrelevant and even un-Constitutional.

Comparing the Elements

Of the three elements that go to make up gambling- consideration, prize, and chance, chance is by far the most controversial. Merely labeling a given activity a “game of chance” is to condemn it altogether under the laws of many US states, and cast suspicion on its legitimacy in most of the rest. Yet chance is the most nebulous and least clearly defined of all these legal elements.

The former French World Cup winner, Christophe Dugarry, heavily criticises Neymar Jr after the Paris St Germain star decided to stay in Brazil playing online poker instead of being in Paris celebrating the title with his teammates.

It was a wet and cold Saturday morning {like most Saturday mornings in South Wales}. I am driving down the motorway when the phone rings. It’s my boy.

“Dad, have you left yet?”

“Yeah.”

Asian casino operator Donaco International has had a rough couple of years. It purchased the Star Vegas Resort and Club in Poipet, Cambodia, in July of 2015 for around $360 million, but has had to deal with nightmare partnerships since then that has resulted in million-dollar losses. In a recent report to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASE), however, Donaco said that Star Vegas is on the rebound and that revenue will soon be where it was supposed to be a year ago.

In its filing with the ASE this week, Donaco said, “Management has been successful in signing up a number of new VIP junkets to replace those that left the property last year.” It added that chip turnover for the first quarter had reached just over $594 million. This figure represented a 25% deficit over last year’s total; however, it was a 64% improvement over the second half of 2017.

The company is still trying to recover its losses and it won’t be an easy task. There currently isn’t much interest in the company by investors, as one-year returns on the company’s stock are in the red by about 43%. Donaco recently bought back or cancelled a combined 3.35 million ordinary shares, picking up $579,318 in the process.

The ASE filing added that Donaco had just begun working with a new VIP junket in February, which helped the company increase turnover that month by 13% compared to February 2017. Of Star Vegas specifically, Donaco said, “For the financial year to date, …in terms of U.S. dollar terms, EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization] of US$22.98 million is down by 41%, compared to US$39.05 million last year.”

In a world where governments advocate for additional transparency, especially when it comes to gambling winnings, there’s an interesting story developing in the Indian state of Kerala. The Kerala High Court has sided with the people, striking down a proposal by tax agents that would have forced state lottery agents and distributors to reveal names of winners. Chalk one up for the little man.

Last Friday, Justice A. Muhammed Mustaque ruled that the government doesn’t have the authority or legal competence to authorize the rule, according to The Hindu. The justice also reversed a rule that allowed Goods and Service Tax (GST) authorities to determine whether or not a lottery abided by existing Lotteries Act rules. The decision was welcomed by a number of lottery operators and certainly is surprising in the wake of tighter regulatory controls in the country.

The decision confirms a previous petition entered by Mizoram lotteries. Last year, the Mizoram government attempted to sell lottery tickets in Kerala, but the Kerala government seized the tickets and ordered Mizoram to suspend the sales efforts in the region. Mizoram relented, but the Kerala government accused Mizoram of violating the Lotteries (Regulation) Act. Kerala accused Mizoram of facilitating tax evasion activities worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This wasn’t the first time that the two regions have squared off. In 2010, Mizoram stopped selling lottery tickets in Kerala after it began a serious clampdown on the activity. A number of legal complications arose, and Mizoram decided it was better to pull back instead of engaging in a legal war.

PokerStars’ launch in India got a boost this morning after the online gaming giants announced that Muskan Sethi would join Aditya Agarwal as a brand ambassador for the company. And we have a round-up from the Asian Pacific-Poker Tour in Korea.

I wonder if Muskan Sethi’s publicist has a spot under his or her wing?

What an incredible four years for a young woman whose personal mantra is to make a life, and not just a living. The story is a classic one, the highly intelligent and learned young woman struggling to find her place in the world. It’s an inspirational story we should consume greedily alongside our sugar-laden Starbucks trips and sneaky packets of crisps from the gas station.

Sethi was born in the midst of 1.3 billion people.

CoinPoker is hoping to make a real splash in the poker world. It just last week announced that it would be sponsoring the 2018 Asian Poker Tour, and has now partnered with the Japanese Poker Association (JPA) to sponsor the 2018 Japan Poker Cup (JPC). The sponsorship deals are designed to put CoinPoker on the front lines in the Asian poker communities, and its agreement with the JPA could prove to be a game-changer in Japan.

Through the sponsorship, CoinPoker will launch a series of qualifiers for entry into Day 1 of the JPC. The move will allow the JPA to open up the country’s largest poker tournament to everyone in the country. Kinichi Nakata, the president of the JPA, said, “I believe in the CoinPoker project, and I believe in a successful partnership between CoinPoker and the Japan Poker Association.”

The JPA and CoinPoker spent several months putting together the deal.  It should prove to be a mutually beneficial agreement and CoinPoker will now be positioned as the largest cryptocurrency-based online poker site in the region. In a Medium post, the CoinPoker team said, “We plan on delivering several exclusive tournaments and promotions that will reward JPA players while showing them what CoinPoker is all about.”

This month, CoinPoker will begin to offer online satellite tournaments for the chance to win a seat at the JPC. The satellites will run until August and will be made available to anyone registered with CoinPoker. Despite the month being half over, the schedule for the tournaments has yet to be published.