China’s lottery sales rose nearly 10% in the first quarter of 2018, primarily on the strength of the sports lottery product.

Figures released Tuesday by China’s Ministry of Finance show total lottery sales of RMB40b (US$6.3b) in the month of March, a nearly 6% rise over the same month last year. The gains pushed the first quarter’s total sales up 9.4% year-on-year to RMB104.2b ($16.5b).

The sports lottery drove Q1’s sales, rising 18.3% year-on-year to RMB51.9b, while the welfare lottery just managed to maintain its market dominance despite rising a mere 1.8% to RMB52.2b. The sports lottery is expected to surge even higher once the 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off this June, much as the sports lottery surged dramatically during the 2014 event and the Euro 2016 tourney.

CHINA’S FIRST SPORTS BETTING PODCAST

Belgium has become the latest country to whip out the ban-hammer on videogames’ so-called ‘loot boxes’ as an unauthorized form of gambling.

On Wednesday, the Belgian Gaming Commission (BGC) announced that a panel of its judges had examined the use of paid loot boxes in the games Overwatch, Star Wars Battlefront II, FIFA 18 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and concluded that the products meet the definition of “games of chance.”

The BGC employs several parameters to determine whether a product meets that ‘game of chance’ definition, including the existence of a game element, whether chance has a role in the game, and whether a bet can lead to profit or loss. The BGC also found fault with loot boxes for offering players an “emotional profit forecast,” whatever that is.

Only three of the videogame titles studied by the BGC were found to be in violation, as EA, the makers of Star Wars Battlefront II, subsequently amended its product to eliminate paid loot boxes. The BGC noted that the loot box “phenomenon is broader than the four games tested,” and thus many other games were potentially in violation.

Nevada casinos have to ensure that gamblers who partake of the state’s legal marijuana products don’t go reefer mad at the gaming tables.

Last week, the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) amended its rules governing gambling while under the influence of intoxicants to incorporate Nevada’s newly legal recreational marijuana use. Nevada began legally selling the herb to adults over the age of 21 on June 30, 2017 and the rest of the state’s legal environment continues to play catch-up.

Nevada’s gaming laws already prohibit casinos from dealing with gamblers who are alcohol-impaired, but the new policy declares that gamblers who are “visibly intoxicated” from marijuana can neither gamble nor be sold alcohol inside a casino.

The precise definition of ‘visible intoxication’ from pot use remains a bit of a mystery, suggesting anyone who suffers from an involuntary bout of the giggles or appears a little too interested in finishing that bag of Cheetos could find their evening’s entertainment on the gaming floor brought to an abrupt and unceremonious end.

Online gambling operator Kindred Group reported revenue up one-third in the first quarter of 2018 thanks to record-high active customer numbers.

On Wednesday, the Kindred Group revealed that its revenue over the three months ending March 31 was up 36% year-on-year to £207.8m, while underlying earnings shot up 57.4% to £47.5m and after-tax profits spiked 83.4% to £33.6m.

Kindred CEO Henrik Tjärnström partially credited the gains to last year’s addition of UK-facing online casino operator 32Red, which contributed £17.9m in revenue and £2.6m in earnings to the Group’s Q1 scorecard. The acquisition also propelled Kindred’s active customer ranks to a record 1.38m in Q1, up from 1.23m in the same period last year.

All of Kindred’s product verticals were in the black in Q1, led by the casino & games category’s revenue of £103.2m, up from just £77.4m in Q1 2017. Sports betting revenue rose 42.6% to £94.7m, while poker improved nearly one-quarter to £4.6m. Only the ‘other’ category played spoiler, falling by £400k to £5.3m.