Australia’s government is set to introduce a new national gambling self-exclusion register, while a major bank imposes new limits on credit card gambling.

On Thursday, the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher saying that every Australian state and territory had now signed on to the new National Consumer Protection Framework, which will impose a uniform set of 10 minimum standards for the country’s online sports betting operators.

The framework has been in the works for years but the state of Queensland was, until this month, the lone holdout, as it was working on its own problem gambling framework. With Queensland now on board, the framework will be implemented nationwide over the next 18 months.

Among the most important features of the new framework is the ability for problem gamblers to self-exclude from all online betting operators with a single click. Bettors will also have the option to pre-commit to wagering and deposit limits.

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) says its members handled nearly 1m online payment transactions per day over the course of 2017.

This week, the EGBA released its 2017 report into its members’ activities in 19 European Union member states’ online gambling markets. EGBA members, whose ranks include digital giants Bet365, Betsson, GVC Holdings, Kindred Group and ZEAL, collectively hold 134 different online licenses, averaging 7 licenses apiece.

EGBA members currently have offices in 14 EU countries, employing over 33k staff in digital and high-quality jobs.

EGBA companies ‘contributed’ around €325m to sports federations, leagues and clubs – through sponsorships, advertising and sports rights – last year. Around €120m of this sports contribution was spent in Italy, so this figure is likely to dip significantly in future years, as that country’s new prohibition on gambling advertising takes effect.

The crackdown on UK online gambling companies operating without “effective standards” has resulted in fines of nearly £14 million ($17 million) for three online casinos, while a fourth firm has to cease operating in the country.

On Thursday, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) said the three companies—Daub Alderney, Casumo, and Videoslots—failed “to put in place effective safeguards to prevent money laundering and keep consumers safe from gambling-related harm.” Daub Alderney was ordered to pony up £7.1 million ($9.06 million), while Casumo has to pay £5.85 million ($7.4 million) and Videoslots would pay £1 million ($1.28 million) in lieu of financial penalty.

The fourth company, CZ Holdings, surrendered its license to the gambling regulator following the review. The UKGC also issued Advice of Conduct letters to nine other operators, while a further six remain under investigation.

The review, which started in February as part of the regulator’s probe into how the gambling industry addresses problem gambling and money laundering, found that Videoslots only conducted basic checks on customers who reached €2,000 ($2,278) deposit level within a 24-hour period—an inadequate approach “as it means that the same approach is adopted for all customers irrespective of the level of risk attributed to the customer,” according to the UKGC.

Playtech’s iPoker Network has become the first B2B poker network to take advantage of the new European shared liquidity laws by merging skins in France and Spain with the door open for Portugal and Italy to follow suit.

With the British preparing to rip themselves from the heart of the European Union (EU), the Americans preparing to wall itself in, and my two-year-old daughter screaming the word ‘mine’ when I grab her rainbow coloured T-Rex as she slurps on her spaghetti, it’s nice to write about a moment shared.

On Monday, the iPoker Network became the first B2B poker network to take advantage of the new European laws allowing online poker rooms in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain to share the same dishwasher.

The plan is to merge Betclic and Unibet.fr on the French side of the divide, and bet365, Betfair, Casino Barcelona and Sportium on the Spanish side. It’s fantastic news for the online poker rooms and players alike with greater guarantees and prize pools for players and more revenue for skin owners. The story first broke on the Spanish poker news site todoeljuego.com, and Playtech officials turned the gossip into reality when a press release landed in my inbox a few days later.

Emperor Entertainment Hotel Limited reported a profit of HKD155.7 million ($19.9 million) for the six months ended September 30, 5.3% lower than the same period last year.

In its filing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE), the owner of the Macau Grand Emperor Hotel said that its casino’s revenue was HKD546.7 million ($69.9 million), 6.8% lower than the same period last year.

“While VIP segment delivered stable performance, gaming concourse segment was lackluster as a result of capacity expansion in Cotai. Nevertheless, the Group strived to enhance the table yield and improve customer segmentation, which enabled the Group to mitigate, to a certain extent, the impact of heightened competition,” the report read.

Total revenue from April to September of this year was HKD665.6 million ($85.1 million), 5.2% lower year on year. Of this, gaming operations contributed HKD546.7 million ($69.9 million). Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was HKD194.7 million ($24.9 million), of which HKD165.1 million ($21.1 million) came from gaming.

Aristocrat Leisure Limited reported a 34% increase year on year in net profit after tax and before amortization of acquired intangibles (NPATA) for the year ended September 30, on the back of record results in the North American and the Australia-New Zealand markets.

NPATA for the twelve months to September 30 was AUD729.6 million ($532.6 million), from AUD543.4 million ($396.6 million) the same period last year.

“This result reflected the strong performance delivered across the Group’s global portfolio, including profit growth of 16% in the Americas land-based business (to US$650m), a 9% lift in profit in the market-leading ANZ business (to $207m) [US$151.1 million] and transformational profit growth of over 170% (to US$331m) in the Digital business, with sustained organic growth supported by acquisitions,” the company’s press statement read.

North American gaming operations growth was in Class III and II units, up 25% to 20,114 units and 8.1% to 24,264 units respectively.

When it rains it pours! This week we have three events taking place in three different locations, all of interest to the online gambling industry and beyond. Its obviously impossible for any one person to attend all three, but thankfully, there are resources such as our lovely selves at Ayre Media who will be summarizing the content for you.

Without a doubt, the iGaming industry is in a period of change and while there are definitely some growing pains, its an incredibly exciting time right now. The crypto world is shifting dramatically, separating the “get rich quick” schemes from the those who are truly interested in changing the world, the regulated sports betting market is finally kicking off in America and Malta is leaping off the map as the number one spot for online gambling and blockchain businesses.

Week of November 26th Conference #1- CoinGeek Week Conference

I know what you’re thinking! Stop worrying about the price of crypto currencies right now and instead focus on the legitimacy of the technology behind them – what’s important is the long term vision, the blockchain’s ablity to scale, stay secure and stable and enable safe, instant transactions.

PlayUp, which acquired daily fantasy sports (DFS) platform Draftstars from CrownBet this past April, is taking the platform to India. According to a press release by the company, PlayUp has launched DraftStars.in, which offers real-money fantasy games to residents in the country.

After the site launched last week, there have already been more than 2,300 new users registering for the platform. DraftStars is expected to operate under the control of Fantasy Studio (India) Pvt. Ltd., a company based in Delhi.

According to the press release, “PlayUp Ltd, the parent company to Draftstars, has long held a strong Indian audience, where it was the 4th ranked sport-related website in October 2018. India is renowned for its enthusiastic sporting population, something that has reflected the rapid growth of fantasy sports in the country.

“A recent report commissioned by the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming (IFSG) demonstrated the exploding popularity of skill-based betting in the country. India currently has more than 20 million fantasy sports users, a number expected to grow to 100 million users by 2020. The report also showed that a staggering 89 percent of users play fantasy sports at least once a month.”

Last year, David Peters won the Seminole Hard Rock Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open $5,000 NLHE tournament, picking up $104,309 in the process. In a feat not seen very often in the poker world, Peters took down the same event this year, giving him back-to-back titles at the same event. This year was a little sweeter, though, with Peters earning $143,159 for his performance.

Perhaps as a good luck charm, Peters won the same outfit he wore last year, a grey and black pullover. He outplayed a field of 95 entries to take the title and said afterward, “It’s kind of crazy. It was a fun tournament. I’m wearing the same sweatshirt and everything. Things went pretty well at the final table early on. Then I lost a bunch of chips and I battled back and it worked out.”

Peters now has seven titles and 24 final tables on the year. He currently sits in fourth place on the Card Player Player of the Year (CPPOY) leaderboard with 7,629 points. The $10-million-plus live action winner already has one CPPOY title, which he received in 2016. Last year, he finished in sixth and could be in the same position, or better, before the end of this year’s POY race.

The $250,000 guarantee at the event was easily blown away by the turnout. When registration closed, the prize pool had increased to $451,250 and Peters would find himself among several tough competitors, including WSOP bracelet winners Joey Weissman and William Givens. Givens would ultimately bow out in eighth place with $15,794 and Weissman made it to fourth before being sent to the rail with $34,972. Jeff Gross, a member of Team PokerStars, exited in seventh with $18,050 and 2018 Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza Main Event winner Stanley Lee would follow in sixth, taking home $21,434.

It’s that time of year. Federal taxes are coming due for U.S. taxpayers in April and, while four months may seem like a long time to prepare, now is the time to start getting things ready. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018 (TCJA) has introduced a number of changes that could help, or hurt, eligible individuals.

The TCJA introduced a number of small reductions for certain individual tax brackets. It also increased the individual alternative minimum tax, as well as estate tax exemptions. Major changes to taxation of foreign income were also added. However, the downside is that it eliminated or limited a number of tax breaks and most of the tax relief offered is only temporary.

The law states that all gambling winnings must be reported. Some U.S. players may receive a Form W-2G, which covers certain gambling winnings, from casinos where they have played and won. The form is issued if net winnings total $600 or more and are at least 300 times the amount wagered. They can also be issued if an individual is subject to the withholding of federal income tax. Casinos are obligated to withhold 24% if the net winnings are over $5,000.

For recreational gamblers, winnings have to be reported on Line 21 of Form 1040, the standard federal tax filing form. They should be listed under the “Other Income” category and recreational players may deduct losses against their winnings, which must be listed as an itemized deduction on the taxpayer’s Schedule A.