Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) is pushing back against the notion that it doesn’t have enough money to pay its staff or contractors.

On Friday, IPI issued a statement saying that the company had been “experiencing transfer issues to fund the company’s payroll for the Aug. 17, 2018 pay period.” IPI claims that despite these issues, it had managed to pay “over 2,000” of its hourly employees on time this week, while salaried employees will receive their wages “within the week.”

Earlier this week, Rep. Edwin Propst used his personal Facebook page to post an IPI internal memo to its staff dated August 16 which first revealed the “partial payroll delay.”

Earlier this month, the Saipan Tribune reported that construction firm GPPC Inc and some other key contractors were asking local politicians to put pressure on IPI to pay its outstanding bills. An IPI rep told the paper that the company was “currently working on the settlement payment with GPPC and other vendors following the completion of its ongoing routine evaluation of all of its service providers.”

Global crime fighters Interpol are trumpeting their successful collaboration with Asian police forces in combatting illegal betting on the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

On Friday, Interpol released stats on its Operation SOGA VII, which involved cooperation with enforcement agencies in China – including Hong Kong and Macau – Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to ensure the least amount of people had fun during the most recent quadrennial football competition.

Interpol claims this latest operation resulted in 14,900 raids on illegal gambling dens that handled around $1.6b worth of World Cup wagers. Authorities seized over 1,000 computers and mobile phones along with over $1.7m in cash.

Interpol’s announcement made no mention of the total number of arrests in this summer’s operation, saying only that the seven SOGA operations to date resulted in over 30k arrests, the seizure of $57m in cash and the closure of 3,700 gambling dens.

Malta-based online gambling operator Kindred Group has inked its first US deal through a partnership with Hard Rock International’s new Atlantic City casino.

On Friday, Kindred announced it had entered into an agreement with the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City that Kindred claims will allow it to “take its first important step towards offering US customers online sports betting and gaming services.”

The deal spans an initial five-year term, with an apparent option to renew for an additional five years, although at whose discretion this option might be exercised went unstated. Kindred, which announced its US ambitions during its second quarter earnings call last month, confirmed its pursuit of a Casino Service Industry Enterprise License from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

The deal announcement was short on specifics, with Kindred US senior VP Manuel Stan saying only that the company was convinced its new casino partner “will give New Jersey customers an absolutely great sports betting and gaming experience.”