Macau tax revenues have sharply declined as a result of the coronavirus’ impact on the casino sector. Even if the casinos are hurting, government officials are not keen to give them a break. In a statement issued by Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong, he explained that there is no tax break for the industry expected to be considered.

As part of the statement, the secretary indicated that the local revenue earned from taxes on casino operations through the first two months of this year fell to a record deficit exceeding MOP40 billion ($4.9 billion). This shortfall was a direct result of the casino concessionaires having little to no business, due to Covid-19.

In 2019, he explained that the local government recorded a tax surplus of MOP51.4 billion ($6.42 billion), with MOP82.1 billion ($10.26 billion) in expenses and MOP133 billion ($16.61 billion) in revenue. However, the largest percentage of revenue came directly from gaming taxes collected during the year, coming in at MOP112.7 billion ($14.08 billion).

Those numbers look like a dream now, as the coronavirus virus led to a 15-day shutdown of casino operations during February. January, which already brought some virus caused volume declines, saw the gross gaming revenue dropped by 11.3% in comparison to the same month in 2019. Overall gaming revenue reached MOP22.1 billion ($2.76 billion) with the government collecting tax revenues of MOP8.8 billion ($1.1 billion).

On March 5, Cebu police announced that they had arrested two Chinese nationals working at a (POGO) on suspicion of kidnapping three fellow Chinese nationals.

The two were arrested in a house in the Techwood Subdivision, Lapu Lapu City’s Soong Village. During the arrest, the three victims were rescued.

Sadly, this isn’t the first time the POGO industry has been caught up in kidnapping stories.. In January, five Chinese nationals were arrested for kidnapping a female POGO worker of Taiwanese dissent. In the same month, two Vietnamese women were rescued after being abducted by Chinese nationals in Las Pinas City.

Increasingly violent crime, even if unrelated to POGO operations themselves, are becoming a common topic in the news. On February 27, a POGO worker was murdered, shot dead and his companion wounded during an apparent money exchange deal gone awry. When police arrested the suspects involved in the incident, they discovered that the two were holding fake IDs.

The coronavirus epidemic has had a chilling effect on the casino industry in Southeast Asia, and Las Vegas may soon see the same. On March 5, casino stocks began to tumble as the financial markets reacted negatively to the spread of the COVID-19 virus to Nevada.

The first patient in Nevada has tested positive for the coronavirus virus. A man in his 50s has been hospitalized and is now in isolation in southern Nevada. He had reportedly traveled to Washington State, where it is speculated that he had contracted the virus.

This news was devasating for casino operator stocks. Early in the day, it was reported that the Red Rock Resort shares fell by 11.3%, falling to $17.03. As the day went along, the value of the target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow noreferrer”Red Rock Resort stock continued to decline, decreasing 13.86% to a share value of $16.53. MGM Resorts International shares also saw a significant drop in their value as the stock market opened, falling 8.7% to a new price of $21.28. They have also seen a continual decline, falling another 3% to a price value of $20.60.

Other stocks saw a sharp decline as well. Boyd Gaming Corporation dropped 9.3%, falling to $22.43. Wynn Resorts Ltd fell 9.5% to a value of $95.62. The Las Vegas Sands Corporation shares have seen the smallest decline, falling 4.14% this afternoon to a total of $54.88.

Michigan’s sports gambling market is getting full. Just in time for NCAA basketball’s March Madness, FanDuel has secured the last retail sports betting license through a partnership with Detroit’s MotorCity Casino Hotel. The deal allows the U.S-based sportsbook to launch retail operations at the gambling house, as well as offer online action once the Wolverine State greenlights virtual sports gambling. With this new partnership, all commercial sports gambling licenses have been issued.

Legal Sports Report tried to get feedback from FanDuel on the new agreement, but it preferred to keep quiet. However, the partnership is a huge coup for the leading sportsbook, which already controls 44% of the market in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. That success, according to company CEO Matt King, comes from proprietary technology and competitive pricing that is made possible by FanDuel’s parent company, Flutter Entertainment.

FanDuel is going to go up against MGM Resorts, which operates Roar Digital through a joint venture with GVC. Penn National completes the triad of commercial licenses, thanks to its purchase of the Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit from last year. Anyone else looking to grab a piece of the action, such as DraftKings, will have to rely on native tribes in the state as partners. Several entities, including Fox Bet and William Hill, have already made friends with Michigan tribes, so there aren’t many choices left.

Michigan’s road to legalized sports gambling wasn’t exactly smooth. Legislation was passed in 2018, but then-governor Rick Snyder, more than likely pouting over being replaced by Gretchen Whitmer, vetoed a number of bills, including an online sports gambling bill, as he was walking out the door. Whitmer put the tables back in place almost a year to the date of Snyder’s tantrum.

On February 5, a fire broke out in a hotel room at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The MGM Resorts International-owned property suffered almost $600,000 in damages as a result, according to an MGM statement, but that wasn’t the only headache of the day. When a press conference was held that afternoon, officers confirmed that they were looking for a suspect who had set the fire, but who had also reportedly sexually assaulted an Excalibur employee. However, it turns out the employee was behind the arson and had also made up the rape allegations, all because she thought it would be a good way to get revenge against her employer. 28-year-old Aviaon Lee made it easy for investigators to figure out the whodunnit.

Lee was arrested on February 19 after digital breadcrumbs uncovered her plot. She used a computer to search for phrases like, “Can you sue hotel job for sexual assault” and “How much can you sue a company for injury,” as well as “Workplace rape definition” during web surfing sessions ahead of her big day. She now faces charges of arson, burglary with a deadly weapon, wanton destruction of private property and false reporting of a crime.

That fateful day, Lee was discovered by a security guard patrolling the hallways of the hotel. She was bound in duct tape and left in a fetal position, with the tape wrapped completely around her head. After she was set free, the “victim” claimed that she had been sexually assaulted by a white male, who surprised her as she was cleaning a hotel room. Forcing Lee onto a bed, he raped her and then moved her to a second bed, setting the first on fire in order to cover his tracks.

Lee seemed to have forgotten one glaring trait shared by virtually all casinos around the world. They love to record everything that goes on in every corner of the property, and police became dubious of her claims when they were not able to find any surveillance footage of her assailant. And, because investigators are investigators because they have experience, they also felt the whole thing looked staged.

With concerns over an increase in money laundering activity through online gaming operations and the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) industry, authorities in the Philippines are looking to step up efforts to curb the activity, as well as cut into illegal online gambling. To help in the process, the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the country’s gaming regulator, is making a sizable grant to the Department of Justice (DOJ). It has already released the first round of financial support to the agency, which will be used by its Office of Cybercrime to run the Cyber Fusion Operations Center. In total, over $200,000 in grant money will be sent to the DOJ by PAGCOR.

From 2017 to 2019, around $276 million in online casino transactions were flagged as “suspicious” by the Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council. The assertion was made yesterday as the council’s executive director, Mel Georgie Racela, appeared in a Senate-led hearing regarding POGO activity. He also pointed out that some of the financial activity could be tied to drug trafficking, fraud and other illicit operations.

In addition, during the same hearing, a representative of the Philippine National Police (PNP) told the Senate that there have been at least 73 casino-related kidnappings over the last three years. Most are linked to loan sharks who hold gamblers for ransom in order to force their families to pay substantially more than was borrowed.

Adding to the growing list of concerning activity tied to online gaming, there have been reports of human trafficking. One example is a Taiwanese expat who previously told the Senate that she was forced to work 24 hours a day and “treated like a slave.”

Concern over the coronavirus grabbing hold in the U.S. has already forced a number of states, as well as casino operators, to alter their daily routines. California has declared a state of emergency after seeing its first coronavirus-related death and Nevada is beginning to feel the pinch as the virus lands in Las Vegas. Travel and domestic tourism are taking a hit as a result, and one hospitality boss is turning to Congress for some relief before things get out of control. Casino.org reports that the CEO of HotelPlanner.com, Tim Hentschel, wants Congress to authorize temporary tax breaks for travelers so they’ll have an incentive to get out of the house.

Hentschel believes that Congress should help the industry rebound, asserting that the economic damage has already been done. While the government has bailed out industries in the past, offering billions of dollars in stimulus to vehicle manufacturers and more, the executive wants the relief to go directly to consumers. He explains, “The coronavirus was an unforeseen tragedy that posed inevitable consequences that aren’t the fault of any one person. That’s why I’m calling on the government to offer a $2,000 write-off for travel-related expenses to help our industry rebound and give people the freedom to travel.”

Apart from the case seen in California and Nevada, Washington State has already recorded ten deaths attributed to the virus, and Oregon is beginning to see signs, as well, with one casino already forced to halt operations. Off the coast of California also sits a cruise ship that the Golden State won’t let dock after 21 individuals onboard, both crew and passengers, showed signs of possible infection.

The coronavirus has been devastating to Macau’s economy, already reeling from a 2019 that was slower than expected. Revenue has dropped by almost 90%, and Hentschel’s stimulus idea is designed to prevent a similar fate of the US gaming industry. He adds, “Politicians are proposing stimulus packages or cutting interest rates, and these are all measures that would be helpful to the travel industry and economy as a whole as we face the aftermath of the coronavirus.”

The Netherlands appears to be expecting far fewer online gambling license applicants than previously stated, while rule-breaking ‘cowboys’ may have to spend a little longer in the penalty box.

This week, the Dutch government released a draft General Administrative Order for implementing the Remote Gaming Act the legislature approved one year ago. The draft will now be pored over by legislators for further tweaking.

Minister for Justice and Security Sander Dekker also sent letters to both legislative chambers in response to suggestions for further tweaks to policies on gambling advertising, responsible gambling and the ‘time out’ that will be imposed on online ‘cowboys’ who didn’t heed the Kannspelautoriteit (KSA) gambling regulator’s warning shots.

30-MONTH TIME OUT FOR COWBOYS

With 10 weeks to go, this year’s English Premier League had looked set for a fairly dull title race until last week provided the comedy aspect that until Saturday evening at Vicarage road, we had been missing. To say that Liverpool were made to look silly is the understatement of the season, with footage of their ineptitude away to Watford fast overtaking other similar moments on YouTube.

Watford scored three against the runaway league leaders in a little over 15 minutes, and at this time of the season, it’s a reminder that teams with more to play for can often overcome the odds. Given that just three points separate the teams between 15th and 19th place in the Premier League, that counts for a lot of teams, and with Bournemouth visiting Anfield and Watford heading to Crystal Palace, it’s worth checking the value very closely. Here are three matches from this weekend’s fixtures that could go either way and a little guidance for you if you’re thinking of taking on the bookies.

Arsenal vs. West Ham (Saturday, 3pm GMT kick-off)

There’s no doubting that both sides will be desperate for the points at the Emirates Stadium, with Arsenal and West Ham clashing at the traditional time of 3pm on Saturday. Both sides have had a decent rest between games, with Arsenal’s F.A. Cup win over Portsmouth out of the way on Monday evening and West Ham resting up for a week after their 3-1 triumph over Southampton.

The last time T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas hosted a major fight, it was an epic Tyson Fury knockout of champion Deontay Wilder in a boxing ring. This Saturday it will be an Octagon in the arena for UFC 248, which is highlighted by a middleweight bout between unbeaten champion Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero. The main card overall starts at 10pm ET on pay-per-view.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The 30-year-old Adesanya (18-0), from Nigeria, didn’t get his first title fight despite a gaudy record until UFC 236 in April 2019 when he beat Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision for the interim middleweight crown. Adesanya next fought then-champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 and knocked him out in the second round so this is technically Adesanya’s first title defense.

Don’t expect Adesanya to win on the ground as he has zero submission victories, while 14 of his 18 are by knockout or TKO. Adesanya is 7-0 since joining the UFC and his first fight in the organization was on the undercard of Romero vs. Luke Rockhold at UFC 221.

Sweden’s regulated online gambling market posted higher revenue in its first year, although even the local gambling regulator isn’t sure how big those gains might have been.

Figures released Thursday by Sweden’s Spelinspektionen regulatory body show locally licensed gambling operators generated revenue of just under SEK24.8b (US$2.63b) in 2019, with the final quarter turning in the year’s highest quarterly total at SEK6.65b. The figures are only preliminary and are largely based on Swedish Tax Agency data.

The 2019 total represents a rise of around SEK1.4b from 2018’s total, and Spelinspektionen said it at least appears that Swedish market sales “increased significantly” last year. However, the regulator cautioned that the gains could reflect the fact that it may have underestimated internationally licensed online gambling operators’ revenue in previous years.

The catch-all category of Swedish-licensed online gambling operators and casino cruises accounted for just over SEK14b of 2019’s total. As with the overall figure, the online category had its best quarter in Q4 at SEK3.65b.