Casino operators interested in getting in on the integrated resort (IR) industry in Japan have been given a bit of news that will certainly start to make the negotiating wheels turn even faster. GGRAsia points out that Osaka is expected to begin making selections for its commercial IR partners this spring – just a few short months away.

MGM Resorts is already chomping at the bit to be selected. The company’s chairman, Jim Murren, was quoted by the Nikkei Asian Review as having said, “We will support Osaka in obtaining integrated resort certification.”

While Osaka is warming up to launch its attempt at an IR, Yokohama and its incumbent mayor, Fumiko Hayashi, is still hesitant on whether or not it wants a resort in its back yard. Hayashi is reportedly more interested in an upcoming City Council election, which will take place on April 29.

In order to be considered as a host for an IR, Japan’s Integrated Resorts Implementation Act stipulates that any local government wishing to be considered must file a formal resolution. In absence of such a resolution, the prefecture, city or town won’t be included in the final list of possible IR targets.

Maine is looking to join the sports betting bandwagon. The Portland Press Herald reports the state legislature will consider several bills that would sanction and regulate the activity.

The bills are still being written, so the exact contents of them are still unknown. Benjamin Collins, the representative from Portland, is sponsoring a bill that will help Maine’s native tribes, and believes a compromise measure between various bills will come together. Such a bill would include sports betting legislation for casinos, off-track betting parlors, harness racing and tribes.

Senate President Troy Jackson is sponsoring another two bills that would cover online and mobile gaming. His bills would prohibit betting on college sports, minor league teams as well as youth sports. His spokesperson said in a statement, “The general idea is to establish a regulatory structure for sports betting in Maine after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling this past spring.”

This news broke before the recent DOJ decision that the Wire Act would apply to online gambling, so it’s unclear at the moment if this would prohibit Jackson’s proposed bills.

Indiana lawmakers have filed a bill for the legalization of sports betting, hoping to accept license applications by October.

Representative Alan Morrison, in filing House Bill 1363, proposes a 6.25% tax on gross gaming revenue (GGR) for in-person bets placed, to be remitted every month.

A rate for mobile and online bets is not given in the bill. Unlike other states’ mobile betting provisions, the House bill doesn’t require prior in-person registration.

According to news outlet Sports Handle, State Senator Jon Ford, proponent of a similar bill, has pushed for a 6.75% tax rate on revenues, like in Nevada.

Bitcoin and online gambling were practically made for each other. As a payment system, Bitcoin provides the best experience for placing wagers, and the blockchain unleashes new possibilities for products that were prohibitively expensive or impossible before. Morris Mosseri, founder and chief technical officer of BlockChain Innovations (BCI), joined CalvinAyre.com’s Becky Liggero to explain what his company is doing to revolutionize the space.

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ICE London 2019 will be held from February 5 to 7, 2019, at the ExCeL in London.

Attending the exhibition, which according to Clarion Events is “the largest gathering of global solutions experts in the world, under one roof,” is free, but make sure to register. Included as well for attendees is the opportunity to discover over 550 global solutions providers, and to network with over 1,000 attendees who are part of the business.

The ICE VOX conference is actually composed of seven conferences, divided according to track, and will be held from February 4 to 6, 2019, also in ExCeL, London.

Featuring over 120 speakers who are specialists in their various fields, the conference promises valuable, actionable information for those who want an upper hand in the gaming industry.

The US online gambling market has been given 90 days to adjust to a new Department of Justice (DOJ) opinion on the scope of the Wire Act.

On Tuesday, the DOJ announced that it would wait 90 days before implementing its new Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion that the 1961 Wire Act applies not only to sports betting but also to other forms of online gambling. That new opinion, which was formally released on Monday, reversed a 2011 OLC opinion that led to the launch of multiple intrastate online lottery, casino and poker sites.

The DOJ called its 90-day delay “an internal exercise of prosecutorial discretion” intended to give affected operators time in which to modify their behavior to conform to the new opinion. The DOJ warned that the delay shouldn’t be interpreted as “a safe harbor for violations.”

All well and good, except no one is completely sure which operators need to modify their behavior, particularly given the Wire Act’s focus on interstate activity and the typically circuitous routes that online payment processing transactions can take.

The World Series of Poker drip feeds us a few more droplets of 50th Anniversary goodness after releasing details of the $10,000 Championship events, including a first for Short-Deck fans, and Dave Alfa wins the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event in Choctaw.

The game of Short-Deck has raced around the globe like a greyhound since the Triton Poker Series presented the game to the world during their 2018 event in Montenegro. Poker Central snapped it up, PokerStars launched an online version, and now the World Series of Poker (WSOP) will feed it a fake rabbit.

The news comes as the WSOP continues to unveil elements of the 50th Anniversary special in the summer, this time releasing details of the $10,000 Championship events.

There will be 20-events carrying a buy-in of $10k or higher with the four-day $10,000 Short-Deck No-Limit Hold’em Championship starting on Sunday, June 2. There is also a four-day $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em event to celebrate the 50th anniversary. Players begin with 300,000 chips, one-hour levels, with registration open until the start of Day 2. The whole thing begins May 31st.

PokerStars joins the Short-Deck revolution with the release of an online version called 6+ Hold’em, and Roman “RomeOpro” Romanovsky takes down the $2,100 buy-in Sunday High Roller during the PokerStars High Roller Club.

People living with Epilepsy don’t want to take a walk down the aisle that leads to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) tournament area in the Atlantis Resort, Bahamas. Giant electronic displays flank you either side blitzing your brain with all manner of digital artistry, including, amongst the noise, an advert for 6+ Hold’em.

Coming soon…

Pokerfuse told the world to expect 6+ Hold’em to make its debut on January 16th. They were a day off. A press release landed in my inbox January 15th to say the game was active in the real money lobbies of .DK, .EE and .NET with .COM, .EU, .UK and .ES joining a day later.

A telecommunications engineer from Switzerland has made an impact at the right time by taking down the WPTDeepStacks Main Event in Berlin, and Toby Lewis leads the WPT Gardens Poker Championships in California with half a million dollars up for grabs.

It’s January.

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA).

The Aussie Millions.