By joining ICE London 2019, to be held from February 5 to 7, 2019 at ExCeL in London, UK, you’ll get “unrivaled access” to numerous gaming venues during your stay, providing great ways to network and make new friends in the business.

Participating casinos granting various benefits to ICE London attendees are Aspers Stratford, Caesars Entertainment, Genting Casinos UK, Grosvenor, and The Hippodrome. All you have to do to avail of the perks is present your ICE visitor’s badge when going to whichever casinos you choose.

ICE London is part of London Week, which also includes the London Affiliate Conference. If you do arrive early or are already in the city, you’re welcome to join a handful of other gatherings, such as the third annual ICE Super Bowl party on Sunday, February 3, at the Pyramid Bar in ExCeL. Food and drinks will be served 10:30 p.m. onwards, while the game itself is scheduled to begin 11:30 p.m., although this is subject to change. As Clarion Gaming says, the party is for “whether you’re a die-hard fan or just up for a good evening of networking with some aptly American-themed food and drink.”

Plans are already being made for other events during the year, such as the 4th Japan Gaming Congress (JGC), coming in May. A JGC breakfast will be held on Tuesday, February 5, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., at the VIP Lounge. JGC will delve into what is to come for Japan’s gambling industry, “with essential discussions between local industries, international integrated resorts (IR) specialists, and government bodies focused on the IR market of Japan.”

Another contender is stepping up for one of the exclusive Japanese Integrated Resort (IR) licenses. Get Nice Holdings Ltd announced on Wednesday that its Genius Wise Holdings Ltd had partnered with Shotoku Rinaldo Corp to develop an IR project.

To seal the deal, Get Nice has granted share options worth HKD75.3 million (US$9.6 million) to three people involved with Sotoku Rinaldo.

GGRAsia reports this project is aimed at the Makinorhara-shi municipality, just southwest of Tokyo and Yokohama. If it pushes through, they plan to build hotels, casinos, restaurants, shops, entertainment facilities and convention centers, covering 400,000 square meters of floor area. The filing points out that they are the first to propose an IR for this part of the country.

Taking a similar approach to Kamori Kanko’s bid for an Hokkaido IR, Get Nice is boasting that the partnership gives them local credibility. “Shotoku Rinaldo Corp and its beneficial owners have long been conducting business in Japan engaged in healthcare, medical equipment [and] agricultural products as well as gaming related business in Asia,” the company said in the announcement.

Zen Cruises Private Limited, a company backed by the Essel Group, is going to begin offering casino cruises in India. The company has confirmed that it will launch its first premium leisure cruise, which will offer a fully-equipped casino, starting this April under the “Jalesh Cruises” brand name.

The 2,000-seat Karnika will be the first casino cruise ship to set sail as part of Jalesh. It will launch from Mumbai and travel to Goa before making its return trip, and will stop in various ports along the route. Zen adds that the cruise will include a number of entertainment shows, exotic and authentic cuisine and many adventure activities.

According to the casino section of the Jalesh Cruises website, “Roll the dice and spend your night with the lady luck and enjoy a flutter at Players Bar & Casino. Located on Deck 8, the Royal Casino will spoil you for choices. From most popular games like Blackjack, Poker, Scratch-off and Slot Machine Games to some amazing table games, this place is sure to rise up your excitement.

“While you are busy praying for your luck, we are here to quench your thirst with some sparkling spirits. Get ready to experience a slice of Vegas right at sea – with thousands of square feet of lights, action, slots, and tables.”

MGM China, Melco Resorts and Wynn Macau have all announced in the past week that they will be offering a “winter bonus” to eligible employees at their respective Macau venues. Not wanting to be left out of the mix, Galaxy Entertainment has now announced in a press release that it, too, will be providing bonuses, showing appreciation to the staff as employees took the company to “new heights” among “emerging market challenges.”

The bonus will be given, as in the case of the other casino operators, to all eligible employees at senior management levels or below. The announcement adds, “Although the gaming revenue has slowed down in recent months amid increased competition with newly opened properties, Galaxy Entertainment achieved a solid result overall last year.”

Galaxy has not reported its fourth-quarter or full-year financial results to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) and only reports full operating disclosures every six months, in accordance with the HKSE’s guidelines. However, in reporting its third-quarter EBITDA (adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization), it stated that the figure was $498 million. This represented a 10% increase year-over-year, but was also a 10% decline from the previous quarter.

The company further stated in its announcement, “Eligible team members will receive the 2018 discretionary bonus equivalent to one month of salary on January 31, 2019. For team members who joined Galaxy Entertainment between January 2 and October 3 in 2018, their bonus will be calculated on a pro-rata basis according to their service days in the year.”

GGRAsia reports it has received confirmation the Corona Resort and Casino in Vietnam is planning its grand opening this Saturday. The resort, which is located on Phu Quoc Island, is the first in Vietnam to make significant progress in the country’s gambling industry. As soon as it opens its doors, Corona will allow eligible locals to gamble.

According to the managing director and CEO of Upffinity Gaming Management (UGM), Daniel Kupsin, “We plan to open for business, including local citizens of Vietnam from the evening of January 19.” UGM is based in the Netherlands and was appointed by the Phu Quoc Tourism Development and Investment Company JSC (PQTD), a local property development and real estate firm, in 2017 to offer “casino management and advisory services” for Corona. The PQTD is controlled by Vingroup, a Vietnamese conglomerate.

Upon opening, all the amenities within the casino’s premises will be ready for use. These include all gambling activities, all restaurants and all entertainment outlets, among others. Kupsin adds that the venue was designed by Steelman Partners LLP, architectural firm out of the U.S. that has aided in the design of a number of large casinos across Asia and elsewhere.

The casino spans two floors and offers 202,361 square feet of total space. It will reportedly be open 24 hours a day and includes 100 gaming tables – baccarat, blackjack, sic bo, roulette and poker – and also offers 1,000 slot machines and almost 1,000 electronic gaming machines.

Rhode Island only introduced sports gambling to the state last November, but it has already begun to show considerable signs of life. Now, legislators are hoping to capitalize on its success and take the activity to the next level. A high-ranking senate lawmaker has introduced a bill that could pave the way for mobile sports wagers.

Senate President Dominick Ruggerio believes that sports gambling is going to be a boom to the state’s economy. Rightfully so, as operators must give 51% of their revenue to the state’s coffers. Ruggerio asserts that expanding the market to mobile platforms will make the activity more convenient and help the state earn even more revenue.

When the state legalized sports gambling last year, the Twin River Casino in Lincoln became the first to offer the option. The lawmaker’s bill wants to allow for the creation of an app that would allow anyone in the state to place wagers on sporting events from anywhere in the state. However, it adds that the individuals would first need to create an account in person at the Lincoln facility or at the casino in Tiverton in order to verify the gambler’s age.

Ruggerio said in a statement, “The new, in-person sportsbook that opened in November has been very popular, with lines stretching out the doors. It is an entertainment option that many Rhode Islanders enjoy, and visitors from outside the state are also flocking to our gaming facilities to place their wagers on sporting events.

The London Affiliate Conference 2019 is fast approaching. Scheduled from February 6 to 9 at ExCel London, the gathering will offer 20 talks on various affiliate-related topics, including two keynotes, Q&A periods and a debate.

Affiliates can gain free entry, and will have plenty of opportunities to network and party it up with each other. In between these socializing events, organizer iGB Affiliate has brought together many of the top experts in affiliate marketing to speak to the gathered crowd.

On February 7, the talks kick off with, “Stockholm Syndrome or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Swedish Regulator,” which focuses on surviving the shift from illegal operators to a regulated environment. Attendees can then hit up the first Question Bingo before lunch, “M&A Mania: How to Know if your Business is Ready for Acquisition.”

To end the day, discussion will shift to cryptocurrency. Nina Kacharava will discuss the advantages of betting with digital currency in her talk titled “Capturing the Crypto Craze: What’s the Appeal of Bitcoin Casinos and How Can You Be Involved?”

The European Union is taking another step towards getting standards in place for online gaming. It’s European Committee for Standardisation has asked Mark Pace, the managing director of Gaming Standards Association (GSA) to pave the way for the creation of online gaming activity reporting standards.

GGRAsia reports the GSA announced Pace would take the lead role of the new Technical Committee 456 to this role on January 15 in a written statement.

The goal of the committee will be to develop “a single set of data elements and a standard method for data to be supplied to regulators in each EU country.”

Pace was honored by the appointment, saying in a press release: