Monthly Archives: June 2019

13th Russian Gaming Week: Results of largest CIS gambling event

A two-day major exhibition-forum, Russian Gaming Week 2019, came to an end on June 7. It is the largest specialized event and one of the best-known gambling events both in Russia and in the CIS countries.

For the 13th time, it has brought together 1000+ manufactures, distributors, and operators in order to discuss new gambling trends and get to know industry representatives better.

RGW is organized by Smile-Expo, an international company that has been holding events dedicated to innovations for 13 years.

What was revealed at the conference?

Former PokerStars star Liliya “liay5” Novikova dies in tragic accident

Former PokerStars Team Online, and Russian Twitch star, Liliya “liay5” Novikova, has died at her home in Moscow in a tragic accident.

This morning while walking in the rain, complaining about the rain, I listened intently as the psychologist, Adam Grant, and ‘Making Sense’ podcast creator, Sam Harris, talked about the theory of ‘counterfactual thinking’.

Harris talked about an incident where he nearly ran over a homeless man in his car, stating that had the man died, how he would trade all of his problems to go back in time before he hit him. In response, Grant said that counter-factual thinking was the gateway to gratitude, and this is what dominates my mind, this morning, as I read that Liliya Novikova is dead.

Novikova is a former member of PokerStars Team Online who achieved fame streaming poker and video games under the pseudonym “liay5,” and according to the BBC News website, a representative from Russia’s Investigative Committee (SK), told the Russian news site TASS –  “During the initial examination, traces of an electrical injury were found on the victim’s body.”

International Masters of Gaming Law confirmed as global legal partner of Clarion Gaming

Clarion Gaming and the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL), the non-profit corporation which provides a forum for the exchange of knowledge and insight to gaming law, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which will see IMGL become Clarion’s Global Legal Partner on all legal and regulatory developments. The partnership will see both parties deploying their respective commercial and legal knowledge, expertise and marketing reach to enhance the quality of educational experiences offered to the global gaming industry.

In terms of specifics, the collaboration will see IMGL establish a high-profile presence at Clarion’s World Regulatory Briefing (WrB) event held at ICE London in February.  IMGL will work alongside the team at Clarion Gaming to advise on critically important legal and regulatory content and help secure authoritative speakers at Clarion Gaming events, including at ICE North America, iGB Live! and ICE Africa on matters of vital concern to the industry. IMGL will have the option to conduct IMGL Masterclasses at all of Clarion Gaming’s other events held throughout the world and will work with the production team to host and moderate legal tracks across the five verticals comprising: Sports Betting; iGaming; Esports; iLottery, and Affiliates. IMGL will continue to conduct their Spring and Autumn conferences and other IMGL Masterclasses globally.

Reflecting on the MOU, Kate Chambers, Managing Director of Clarion Gaming said: “Our skill lies in our ability to develop, create and organise professional gaming events which have the right chemistry and which engage with our stakeholders throughout the world.  This also entails working in collaboration with partners who are experts in their respective fields and the International Masters of Gaming Law certainly fit into that category.  Working in partnership with the IMGL will enhance our ability to deliver professional, informed, business experiences for our stakeholders many of whom travel vast distances to attend our events.  I look forward to a productive relationship with our friends at the IMGL and helping to deliver high quality educational and learning experiences to the global industry.”

“IMGL brings the most expert legal and regulatory advisors from across the world.  As a truly global organization of expert gambling lawyers, our partnership with Clarion ensures that together we can deploy that expertise and assist gambling industry stakeholders in enriching their sector expertise, particularly in relation to legal, regulatory and compliance at Clarion Gaming events for the benefit of their businesses for years to come. We are honoured to join with Clarion Gaming in this partnership in their role as the pre-eminent organizer of gambling events globally”, President Jamie Nettleton added.

Two Macau casinos to install floodgates ahead of typhoon season

The gambling mecca of Macau is battening down the hatches as it prepares for what has been predicted to be a heavy storm season. Forecasts are calling for as many as six typhoons to pop up in the waters around the city and local authorities are getting prepared. So are at least a few casino resorts, as two have installed floodgates as a precautionary measure.

When Typhoon Mangkhut, the strongest storm to hit the area in 2018, struck last year, it caused flooding in areas such as Taipa and Coloane, as well as most of the inner harbor. It also caused the city to halt gaming activity for the first time in years. According to GGRAsia, this year, Ponte 16 and Macau Fisherman’s Wharf are looking to offer better protections and installed the floodgates, as well as introduced other upgrades, in an effort to beat Mother Nature.

Legend Palace, which is located on Fisherman’s Wharf, had to be closed for four weeks due to flooding after Typhoon Hato struck the area in 2017. Universe Group Ltd.’s Ponte 16, which is located in the Inner Harbour district of Macau, also suffered flood damage to one of its gaming areas from that storm, which was determined to be a Category 10 typhoon, the strongest possible. The damages incurred by both facilities was particularly hard on SJM Holdings, which owns the gaming license for the two venues.

In a statement to GGRAsia, Success Universe deputy chairman and executive chairman Hoffman Ma Ho Man stated, “Two months ago, we’d already completed and installed new mechanical anti-flood barriers, which protects the left and right side of our property.”

Former Landing International exec to lead Mohegan operations

Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment has a new executive in its ranks. The company has announced that it has brought in fresh blood to oversee its international venues in Niagara Falls in Canada and in South Korea, and to handle the day-to-day operations of the venues. Former Landing Entertainment executive Christian Block is now ready to make a jump to Mohegan.

Block, who will serve as the president of operations for Mohegan in Canada and South Korea, has been in the casino business for over 30 years, holding senior positions in companies across the globe, including in the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He left Landing between “late 2018 and January,” according to his former employer, where he had served as an executive VP for casino. Landing Entertainment is a subsidiary of Landing International Development and, as the executive VP, Block oversaw the operations of the company’s South Korea venues, including the opening of Landing Casino at Jeju Shinhwa World. He was also, for a five-year stretch, the CEO of Les Ambassadeurs Casino in London, which was sold by Landing in 2017.

Mohegan recently acquired the gaming operations of Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino in Niagara Falls after it was awarded the rights from the venue’s owner, the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corp, in September of last year. Mohegan will also manage the Niagara Falls Entertainment Centre, a 5,000-seat theater expected to open before the end of the summer.

In a press release from Mohegan from this past Wednesday, the company stated, “Along with his support for these important international investments, Block will ensure the day-to-day compliance and regulatory controls are met.”