The largest daily fantasy sports (DFS) site in India is now the official partner of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The deal comes as Dream11 joined forces with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to concrete the exclusive partnership and will be intact for a minimum of four years, at which time the relationship could be renegotiated.

BCCI announced the deal last week. The partnership begins with the upcoming IPL season, which kicks off on March 23. It will see Dream11 integrated into an array of activities in the IPL, as well as featured in marketing material. It is reportedly designed to enhance fan engagement in both cricket and fantasy sports.

Dream11 co-founder and CEO Harsh Jain states of the arrangement, “We are very excited to partner with the BCCI and provide an engaging cricketing experience for the IPL, which is the pinnacle of sports leagues in India. Dream11 is deeply integrating with the IPL, which is set to grow from its 1.4 billion TV impressions and 200 million online viewers in 2018, to achieve our goal of growing from 51 million users to 100 million users in 2019. It’s great to see how our dream of making fantasy sports intrinsic to sports fan engagement has come true.”

A statement from the Committee of Administrators for the BCCI added, “The online viewership of IPL is growing each year and it’s essential for us to engage with the fans on digital platforms as well. Partnering with the biggest fantasy sports platform in India, Dream11 will help us in further increasing the popularity of the IPL amongst cricket fans.”

The largest daily fantasy sports (DFS) site in India is now the official partner of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The deal comes as Dream11 joined forces with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to concrete the exclusive partnership and will be intact for a minimum of four years, at which time the relationship could be renegotiated.

BCCI announced the deal last week. The partnership begins with the upcoming IPL season, which kicks off on March 23. It will see Dream11 integrated into an array of activities in the IPL, as well as featured in marketing material. It is reportedly designed to enhance fan engagement in both cricket and fantasy sports.

Dream11 co-founder and CEO Harsh Jain states of the arrangement, “We are very excited to partner with the BCCI and provide an engaging cricketing experience for the IPL, which is the pinnacle of sports leagues in India. Dream11 is deeply integrating with the IPL, which is set to grow from its 1.4 billion TV impressions and 200 million online viewers in 2018, to achieve our goal of growing from 51 million users to 100 million users in 2019. It’s great to see how our dream of making fantasy sports intrinsic to sports fan engagement has come true.”

A statement from the Committee of Administrators for the BCCI added, “The online viewership of IPL is growing each year and it’s essential for us to engage with the fans on digital platforms as well. Partnering with the biggest fantasy sports platform in India, Dream11 will help us in further increasing the popularity of the IPL amongst cricket fans.”

Kazuo Okada is hoping he can buy his way back into the public’s good graces. He has recently embarked on a social media campaign that will reportedly include frequent updates on YouTube and Twitter and has also announced that he will give away around $890,000 to one of his social media followers. He has already uploaded one video to YouTube and now has his second available to the world.

Okada wants to regain control of the companies from which he was forced out. In order to help this happen, he expects the social media presence and cash bribe will go a long way to setting the record straight. After his new campaign was launched last week, he has already amassed 4,000 followers on Twitter and his first YouTube video was viewed over 7,100 times.

The newest video, available on Okada’s YouTube channel, seem to show a commitment to following through with his promise. The second video is designed to be a self-introduction, opening with the assertion, “You probably don’t know me,” and stating, “I started with nothing nearly 50 years ago. There is a reason I’m here. I’ve been removed from my position as chairman of the company that I founded and was running. This is extremely offensive.” Okada was referring to Universal Entertainment Corp.

The video, which has 1,800 views, includes a request for followers to continue supporting him and a pledge to offer more videos. It also reminds his followers of the major cash giveaway.

Kazuo Okada is hoping he can buy his way back into the public’s good graces. He has recently embarked on a social media campaign that will reportedly include frequent updates on YouTube and Twitter and has also announced that he will give away around $890,000 to one of his social media followers. He has already uploaded one video to YouTube and now has his second available to the world.

Okada wants to regain control of the companies from which he was forced out. In order to help this happen, he expects the social media presence and cash bribe will go a long way to setting the record straight. After his new campaign was launched last week, he has already amassed 4,000 followers on Twitter and his first YouTube video was viewed over 7,100 times.

The newest video, available on Okada’s YouTube channel, seem to show a commitment to following through with his promise. The second video is designed to be a self-introduction, opening with the assertion, “You probably don’t know me,” and stating, “I started with nothing nearly 50 years ago. There is a reason I’m here. I’ve been removed from my position as chairman of the company that I founded and was running. This is extremely offensive.” Okada was referring to Universal Entertainment Corp.

The video, which has 1,800 views, includes a request for followers to continue supporting him and a pledge to offer more videos. It also reminds his followers of the major cash giveaway.

Kazuo Okada is hoping he can buy his way back into the public’s good graces. He has recently embarked on a social media campaign that will reportedly include frequent updates on YouTube and Twitter and has also announced that he will give away around $890,000 to one of his social media followers. He has already uploaded one video to YouTube and now has his second available to the world.

Okada wants to regain control of the companies from which he was forced out. In order to help this happen, he expects the social media presence and cash bribe will go a long way to setting the record straight. After his new campaign was launched last week, he has already amassed 4,000 followers on Twitter and his first YouTube video was viewed over 7,100 times.

The newest video, available on Okada’s YouTube channel, seem to show a commitment to following through with his promise. The second video is designed to be a self-introduction, opening with the assertion, “You probably don’t know me,” and stating, “I started with nothing nearly 50 years ago. There is a reason I’m here. I’ve been removed from my position as chairman of the company that I founded and was running. This is extremely offensive.” Okada was referring to Universal Entertainment Corp.

The video, which has 1,800 views, includes a request for followers to continue supporting him and a pledge to offer more videos. It also reminds his followers of the major cash giveaway.

The Grand Ho Tram integrated resort (IR) in Vietnam reportedly has a target on its back. According to Inisde Asian Gaming (IAG), the venue has been singled out for possible acquisition by Warburg Pincus, LLC, a U.S.-based private equity firm. The rumors have yet to be confirmed by Warburg, which already controls about 10% of the resort.

Ho Tram is on Vietnam’s southeast coast about two hours from Ho Chi Minh City. Phase 1 of the project cost approximately $600 million to complete and offers a casino with space for 90 gaming tables and a hotel with 541 keys. It also features a golf course designed by Greg Norman and, this past December, opened a second hotel that brought the total number of rooms to 1,100. Developer Ho Tram Project Co. asserted when the second hotel opened that it had already injected, and will inject a total of $1.1 billion into the project.

The IR has been trying to change laws in the country in order to allow locals to gamble. However, those efforts have so far not been successful. Vietnam is currently involved in a pilot program at the Corona Resort to determine if locals should be allowed to gamble, and a second casino is expected to be included in the program in the near future. That second casino is currently under construction in Van Don.

Founded in 1966, Warburg has investments of around $40 billion in a number of industries, including industrial manufacturing, financial services, real estate, energy, health care, technology and retail. The company maintains offices in both the U.S. and China.

The Grand Ho Tram integrated resort (IR) in Vietnam reportedly has a target on its back. According to Inisde Asian Gaming (IAG), the venue has been singled out for possible acquisition by Warburg Pincus, LLC, a U.S.-based private equity firm. The rumors have yet to be confirmed by Warburg, which already controls about 10% of the resort.

Ho Tram is on Vietnam’s southeast coast about two hours from Ho Chi Minh City. Phase 1 of the project cost approximately $600 million to complete and offers a casino with space for 90 gaming tables and a hotel with 541 keys. It also features a golf course designed by Greg Norman and, this past December, opened a second hotel that brought the total number of rooms to 1,100. Developer Ho Tram Project Co. asserted when the second hotel opened that it had already injected, and will inject a total of $1.1 billion into the project.

The IR has been trying to change laws in the country in order to allow locals to gamble. However, those efforts have so far not been successful. Vietnam is currently involved in a pilot program at the Corona Resort to determine if locals should be allowed to gamble, and a second casino is expected to be included in the program in the near future. That second casino is currently under construction in Van Don.

Founded in 1966, Warburg has investments of around $40 billion in a number of industries, including industrial manufacturing, financial services, real estate, energy, health care, technology and retail. The company maintains offices in both the U.S. and China.

March Madness, the annual basketball tournament for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), is now underway in the U.S. It kicked off yesterday with the selection of spots in the bracket and Rhode Island made sure it was ready for sports gambling fans before the series. The state’s two sportsbooks installed self-betting kiosks just prior to the launch of March Madness, the most popular sports gambling activity after the annual NFL Super Bowl.

The two casinos, Twin River Tiverton and Twin River Lincoln, added the self-betting kiosks in order to reduce lines at the sportsbooks’ ticket windows. Both casinos are owned and operated by Twin River Management Group and testing by the Rhode Island Department of Revenue was able to conduct testing prior to March Madness to ensure they were functioning in accordance with state gambling laws.

17 kiosks are expected to be installed at Twin River Lincoln while the Tiverton venue will only offer five. Rhode Island is the first state in the New England region to offer sports gambling, giving it a superior edge to other states in the area. Both the Lincoln and Tiverton casinos launched their sportsbooks late last year.

By getting ahead of its neighboring states, Rhode Island will be able to capitalize on the popularity of sports gambling in the region and is expected to earn as much as $11.5 million in sports gambling tax revenue. There are some projections that indicate the take may not be as significant as some anticipate, but there is no history upon which to build a complete picture.

Imperial Pacific, the company that hopes to one day – eventually, maybe, perhaps – complete construction at the Imperial Palace integrated resort (IR) in Saipan is under fire once again. The company is being sued by a handful of ex-employees who allege that Imperial Pacific practices human trafficking and human rights violations. The lawsuit is just the latest in what seems like a continuous string of inappropriate and questionable activity at the company.

According to a press release, the lawsuit was filed in U.S. federal court by seven Chinese construction workers who were employed by Imperial Pacific to work on the Imperial Palace project. They allege the company was in violation of the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, as well as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Anti-Trafficking Act. They are also seeking compensation for injuries sustained on the job.

The plaintiffs filed their lawsuit last Friday. It reads, in part:

“Plaintiffs and many of the other Chinese construction workers on the Casino Project paid large recruitment fees for jobs in Saipan based on the promise of good conditions, high wages, legal work status, and immigration benefits.

When casinos in Macau find their licenses expiring in a few years, they may not be able to simply head to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ, for its Portuguese initials) and request a new one. According to the wording in current laws, new concessions could only be issued following a complete bidding process as if it were the first time casinos were ever launched in the city. Casino operators have been pushing for clarification on how the new licensing process will be handled, but gaming officials have remained silent. They appear to want to continue the silent treatment and are still not sharing any details of what’s going to transpire in 2022 when the concessions run out.

The DICJ, during a press conference last Friday, received a barrage of questions about gaming and the concessions, but would only offer that it is more “inclined” to introduce a new public tender bidding war. The press conference had been organized by city officials to announce that all six casino operators are now in sync with after the DICJ offered concession extensions to SJM Holdings and MGM China Holdings. Both of these companies previously would have seen their concessions expire in 2020, not in 2022 like the others.

Heading the press conference was Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong Vai Tac. A journalist tried to get clarification on the tender process for 2022 and Leong only offered, “When the gaming concessions expire, the Macau government is inclined to launch a public tender [for new gaming rights].” He didn’t elaborate on whether or not the tender process would be made available prior to the expiration of the current licenses or if the government would consider extending the concessions past 2022, but added, “As I’ve said before, we’ll consider factors of Macau’s economic stability, financial security and also of [China’s] national security. On this issue we will listen to opinions from society for our overall consideration.”

According to Macau’s gaming laws, concessions are offered for twenty-year terms, with the possibility of a five-year renewal if the city approves. However, that is the maximum amount of time allowed and a new concession could only be authorized through a new public tender.

Another casino will be popping up soon in South Korea. New Silkroad Culturaltainment has announced the governor of South Korea’s Jeju island has given them formal permission to develop their Glorious Hill casino resort, reports GGRAsia.

The permission goes to the companies Macrolink Glorious Hill subsidiary, who will develop five-star hotels, shops, homes, entertainment venues, health care facilities, a theme park and a golf course, in addition to a large-scale casino.

Silkroad isn’t a stranger to Jeju island though. They already have the MegaLuck Casino, located in the Jeju KAL hotel, and it’s been doing pretty well. The operation brought in HKD54.32 million ($6.9 million USD) for the first half of 2018, representing a 57.8% growth over 2017. They reported the strong growth came from favorable Chinese VIP sentiment.

This new Glorious Hill resort is a bid by the company to bring in a more “sustainable” revenue stream. Considering it will be a big step up from the smaller MegaLuck Casino, and the companies’ other revenue steam of wine and alcohol distribution, this is a big step for them.