The idea of including integrated resorts (IR) as part of Japan’s landscape captured the world’s attention when the country’s legislation approved the concept almost two years ago. However, the initial attraction wore off as the implementation of the process began to take longer than anyone had expected. With no clear launch date yet established, several companies have already bowed out and a massive bribery scandal surrounding the IR plans has rocked the foundation even more. Now, opposition forces in Japan’s legislative body are teaming up to try to reverse everything that has happened since the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) set the IR wheels in motion.

According to various local media outlets, politicians with the main opposition parties in Japan have agreed to team up in order to jointly introduce a bill that would abolish Japan’s IR Promotion Act, the initial bill passed in 2016 that paved the way for gambling resorts in the country. The bill is expected to be entered when lawmakers resume their ordinary session on January 20, but is more a symbol of the legislators’ disgust with how the gambling scenario has played out, and not so much an attempt at undoing what has been done.

This is because, as the opposition party lawmakers would know, the LDP has a controlling stake in both of Japan’s parliamentary chambers, which is going to make it extremely difficult for any bill such as this to receive support. Japan’s legislation doesn’t appear to be too concerned with the upcoming bill, either, as it is diligently working on the rollout of the various measures necessary to see the first IR locations chosen and the first licensees selected.

The recent bribery scandal set back the entire IR implementation process in a big way and was an embarrassment to the country. It had many people saying, “I told you so!” as they had warned that gambling would only bring about nefarious activity, but the LDP is still convinced that, despite a few bumps in the road, the industry is going to prove to be positive and very lucrative for the country.

Las Vegas Strip anchor The Bellagio is getting a chance at redemption in a lawsuit that dates back almost six years. It was in 2014 that former employee Andi Kraja was allegedly ridiculed for his weight, ultimately leading to coworkers branding him with the moniker Fat Andy. When he took the casino to court for not doing anything to prevent the name-calling, a jury last year awarded him $500,000, but Bellagio is now claiming that Kraja lied in court. According to an update in the case by Law360.com, a federal judge has agreed.

The Bellagio had inflicted “emotional distress” on the former food service worker by not stepping in and controlling the actions of the other employees, according to Kraja. A sign had reportedly been placed at his workstation on several occasions that carried the unwanted moniker, and Kraja stated under oath that he had visual evidence of the sign. That evidence came in the form of pictures he allegedly took in June and August 2014.

Kraja had alleged that the sign was essentially permanently installed – encased in plexiglass – and was present for several months. However, fellow employees who testified for Bellagio said that they never saw any sign.

After the jury awarded Kraja his payout last year, Bellagio filed a brief with the court shortly after with the help of new lawyers and new forensics, arguing that the entire case had been fabricated by the disgruntled former employee. To support their claims, they provided documentation that asserted that the two photographs had not been taken on the dates Kraja had claimed – both had been taken the same day in August, only minutes apart.

Things didn’t go so well for sports gambling proponents in South Dakota last year after a bill to legalize the activity, successfully passed by the Senate, failed in the House. Now, watching as other states in the region are contemplating measures to greenlight the activity, South Dakota lawmakers are ready to try again, hopeful that the increased attention given the subject across the country will work in their favor.

Ultimately, whether or not sports gambling comes to South Dakota is up to the state’s residents. They have to vote on the subject for it to be accepted, but that can’t happen unless changes are made to South Dakota’s Constitution. An amendment to make those changes is underway, and the evolving political climate, with 2020 being an election year, could help those efforts.

The city of Deadwood would most likely be the hub for the activity. It is already known as the state’s primary gaming area and any legislation would reportedly target casinos in the city as locations for sports gambling. According to the executive director of the Deadwood Gaming Association, Mike Rodman, “It’s very clear that people have the opportunity to legally bet on sports, they want to do that, and we just want to give our customers here in South Dakota that same opportunity.”

Rodman made his remarks to local news station KOTA TV, explaining that Montana and Wyoming are poised to see sports bets taken in those states this spring. He added, “The competition around us with Iowa starting in August, last month in November they did fifty-six million dollars’ worth of sports wagering.”

A college basketball player with the Louisville Cardinals has become the target of a gambler’s ire after his team lost last month against rival Kentucky Wildcats. Jordan Nwora, an All-American player and the lead scorer for the Cardinals, had an unusual off-night and didn’t put up the numbers he was expected to show, singlehandedly causing – in the mind of the gambler – the team’s loss. As a result, Nwora reports that he has received death threats for the loss of the game and the gambler’s money. While threatening violence and murder over the loss of a game is bad enough, the fact that the wager was apparently only for $15 makes one wonder what’s going on inside the head of the gambler.

Nwora went just 2-for-10 on the court December 28 in the 78-70 overtime loss against the Wildcats. He was off his game all night, also shooting just 3-for-6 on free throws when he normally rates higher than 80%. Every athlete, at some point, has a bad day, and the post-Christmas game was it for the 6’8” forward.

To show that he still has the right stuff, Nwora was back on top this month when he scored 32 points against Florida State and another 19 points this past Tuesday against Florida. The latter game helped the Cardinals come back from a two-game losing streak and, after the contest, Nwora sat down in front of reporters to discuss his performance recently.

It was then that he made the revelation that he had received a death threat over his performance against the Wildcats. He explained to the crowd, “I had somebody message me and say they wanted to kill me over a $15 bet. It’s a $15 bet! If that’s what you’re worried about, I think you have more issues than worrying about me.” That’s a sentiment shared by virtually every sane person.

An entertaining first day at the felt for players taking part in the MILLIONS U.K. Super High Roller saw Luke Reeves go into the books well ahead of the field.

The $25,000 buy-in saw 23 total entries, although late registration will remain open for the first two levels on Day 2 to encourage as many players as possible to get in amongst it in the hope of taking down what will be a big first prize at the British festival that is kicking off the year in style.

The Super High Roller event is actually the biggest ticket event at the partypoker MILLIONS festival, and predictably, some of Britain’s finest poker players were in attendance. Sam Grafton and Ben Heath were both at the felt, although only Heath would survive the day with chips.

Overnight chip leader

Online gambling operator LeoVegas has withdrawn its Royal Panda brand from the UK, the latest operator to apparently decide the market’s increased regulatory burden is too great.

On Tuesday, Royal Panda informed its customers that the brand would leave the UK market as of January 31. The notice stated that UK gamblers were now prevented from signing up new accounts, while existing UK players will be prevented from making deposits or placing new sports bets as of January 20.

All gambling activity will cease as of January 31 at 9am local time, and any sports wagers placed by January 20 for events occurring after January 31 will be voided and the funds returned. For bets already placed on events occurring after January 31, Royal Panda “will be in touch with you shortly to explain what will happen to your stake and any potential winnings.”

Royal Panda encouraged its UK players to withdraw funds in their accounts “as soon as possible, as your account will be inaccessible after 31 January.” After that date, Royal Panda will “proactively attempt to release funds” using the payment method on record and contact any customers for whom this is no longer possible. Any funds remaining in accounts as of January 31, 2021 will be donated to the GambleAware charity.

Cambodia’s casinos are observing the country’s new online gambling ban, according to government officials.

On Wednesday, the Khmer Times quoted Ministry of Finance official Ros Phearun saying all of the 91 casinos in the country that had been offering online gambling had ceased those operations as of January 1, in accordance with the directive issued by Prime Minister Hun Sen last August.

Phearun said a joint committee consisting of government officials, police officers and military police had conducted inspections of all 91 casinos since the online gambling license revocation took effect. These inspections will continue for the foreseeable future to ensure that no casinos attempt to restart their online offering once the media focus shifts.

Phearun said there were now 118 licensed casinos in Cambodia, a significant reduction from the day before Christmas, when Phearun stated that there were 141 casinos. Around 70 casinos were based in Preah Sihanouk province but by December 31 Phearun told Reuters that there were now only 36.

Online gambling operator Global Gaming hopes a court review will resuscitate its revoked Swedish license while 500.com has been forced to suspend its Swedish activity after failing to renew its license on time.

On Tuesday, Global Gaming 555 AB announced that the Administrative Court of Appeal in Jönköping had agreed to review a court ruling centered on last June’s revocation of the company’s Swedish gaming license by the country’s Spelinspektionen regulatory body.

The regulator revoked the license after determining that Global Gaming’s Ninja Casino brand had failed to demonstrate sufficient compliance with Spelinspektionen’s anti-money laundering and social responsibility rules. Global Gaming’s attempts to appeal the revocation have so far been unsuccessful, including the most recent court ruling last November.

Global Gaming CEO Tobias Fagerlund said Tuesday that his firm was relieved by the Jönköping court’s willingness to review the November dismissal of Global Gaming’s appeal, adding that the company continues to view the license revocation as “disproportionate and incorrect.”