Malta’s gaming regulator hopes to launch a unified self-exclusion system across all its online gambling licensees.

On Tuesday, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) announced that it was embarking on a project to enable gamblers to “self-exclude across all licensed gaming channels, be it land-based or remote.” The announcement follows the recent upgrade in the MGA’s unified self-exclusion system for its land-based gaming licensees.

The MGA’s licensed online operators are currently required to offer self-exclusion services to their specific gambling clients, but the MGA believes there remains “a gap in the protection offered within its regulated environment.”

The MGA says it will spend the next few weeks assessing a range of technical solutions, which could include Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) due to its “inherent characteristics of immutability and decentralization.” In March, the MGA announced plans for a ‘sandboxed test environment’ of DLT to determine its suitability for use by Malta’s gaming operators.

Will the real owner of Macau’s Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel please stand up?

A tug-of-war over Imperial Palace‘s ownership started anew after Macau junket investor Suncity Group took over the shuttered property in the special administrative region’s Taipa area.

Suncity’s Executive Director Andrew Lo confirmed on Tuesday that the group has taken over Imperial Palace as Suncity seeks to position itself as a major contender for Macau’s license rebid scheme within the next few years, according to the Hong Kong’s Ming Pao Newspaper report.

At present, Suncity controls 50 percent of the VIP junket market share in Macau, representing about a 20 percent share of the market’s total GGR when factoring in direct VIP and mass/slots.

Las Vegas casinos are bracing for a summer of strife after unionized workers voted to go out on strike on June 1.

On Tuesday, roughly 25k members of Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 voted 99% in favor of a citywide strike as early as June 1, when 50k workers’ current union contracts with 34 Vegas casino resorts are set to expire.

Culinary Union secretary-treasurer Geoconda Argüello-Kline called a strike “a last resort,” saying workers want to reach a new agreement but are prepared to hit the picket lines if there’s no agreement by June 1.

The unions, which represent everything from bartenders to porters to guest room attendants, are seeking (among other things) greater workplace safety and protection from sexual harassment (even if Steve Wynn has left the building). The unions also want a “fair share” of the casinos’ “enormous anticipated cash flows and Trump tax windfalls.”

Swedish online gambling operator Mr Green has planted its flag in Latvia’s market while rebranding itself as MRG.

On Wednesday, Mr Green announced that it had inked a deal to acquire 75% of the shares of Latvian-facing online gambling operator 11.lv, which holds local licenses for betting, casino and live casino gaming. Mr Green says it will pay €2.8m for this stake, with the remaining 25% to be held by 11.lv’s two founders.

Mr Green described 11.v as Latvia’s third-largest iGaming operator, generating revenue of €944k in Q1, up 44% year-on-year, while earnings came in at €162k. The operator has 15 employees at its offices in Latvia’s capital, Riga.

Mr Green CEO Per Norman said 11.lv has “strong brand recognition in Latvia and will be the base for our expansion in the Baltics.” The first step in this expansion will be to launch the Mr Green brand in Lativa in conjunction with 11.lv, which will give the company “a broad attractive offering for the Baltic markets.”

UK-listed gambling operator Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) has reached a deal to acquire US daily fantasy sports operator FanDuel.

On Wednesday, PPB and FanDuel issued a joint release announcing they’d reached “a definitive agreement under which the companies will merge their US businesses.” Specific terms weren’t disclosed, but the transaction is expected to be complete by Q3 2018. Rumors of the pending union first made waves last week.

The ‘merger’ involves only PPB’s US-facing Betfair US operations, which includes the TVG online horseracing business and a Betfair-branded New Jersey online casino site.

PPB will hold a 61% of the enlarged US company, with options to increase that stake to 80% after three years and 100% after five years. PPB will also appoint the US entity’s CEO and a majority of its directors.

Swedish authorities swooped down on Cherry AB CEO Anders Holmgren, arresting the embattled gambling executive in connection with his alleged involvement in insider trading.

The arrest of Holmgren inside his office on Tuesday stemmed from Sweden’s Economic Crime Authority (EBM) investigation on Cherry AB’s 2017 trading, according to a Privata Affarer report. Financial regulators accused Holmgren of using Cherry AB’s profit warning to amass shares in the gambling company amounting to SEK12 million ($1.37 million).

Based on their timeline, Cherry AB issued a profit warning in November 2017 due to problems pertaining to the integration of its ComeOn asset. Last month, Cherry announced that the company was able to beat the revenue expectations of financial analysts.

Investigators, however, found that the Holmgren-led Cherry AB bought company shares three weeks before it announced its earnings for Q1 2018.

Casinos in Vietnam’s special economic zones (SEZ) have enjoyed the possibility of considerable tax breaks to help build the industry. The normal tax rate was between 20% and 22%; however, a proposal to offer reduced rates was presented, much to the delight of casino operators.

The lucrative agreement saw a tax reduction of 100% in each of the first four years, and then 50% in each of the subsequent five years. After that, the tax amount would have been 10% for an additional 21 years before the casinos would begin to pay taxes at the normal rate. The enthusiasm and excitement morphed into chagrin recently, as the country is considering a completely different tax structure, according to local media reports.

Under the new plan, the casinos would receive a preferential tax rate of 17% for the first five years. Additionally, an excise tax of 10% had also been suggested under the initial proposal. However, casinos would be on the hook for an excise tax of 15% for the first ten years under the new deal.

The tax incentives would apply to casinos in Van Don, Bac Van Phong and Phu Quoc. There are two casinos planned for Phu Quoc, in the south, and Van Don, in the north, that are the only two authorized to allow gambling by locals under a pilot project expected to last three years.

Poker Central has announced the broadcast talent and live stream schedule for the upcoming World Series of Poker, and the team is playing it safe with the tried and tested trio of Ali Nejad, Lon McEachern and Norman Chad.

I haven’t watched the World Poker Tour (WPT) in donkey’s years. I don’t have a TV. I don’t have the luxury of time. If I did tune in, it wouldn’t be the same. Mike Sexton leaving to join the partypoker revolution must have left the WPT feeling like a Feast without the chunk of chocolate in the middle.

Poker’s like Clark Kent. There’s not much to look at, but there is some unseen, unfelt power, bubbling underneath the shirt. Sexton used to rip it off, Hulk Hogan style. His voice became the WPT, and without it, I am not sure the experience would be the same.

The WPT knew that.