China is ramping up its efforts to combat online gambling, including the creation of an online blacklist and increased scrutiny of financial transactions.

Last week, China’s Ministry of Public Security held a meeting on combatting ‘cross-border gambling’ at which Minister Zhao Kezhi called on officials to investigate “a number of major cases” of internationally-based online gambling operators serving Chinese customers in order to “completely destroy a group of criminal organizations.”

Zhao added that it was “necessary to establish a ‘blacklist’ system for participating in gambling and employees and overseas tourist destinations.” The ministry also seeks to “strengthen the ‘fund chain’ and ‘technical chain’ governance measures and resolutely cut off the channels for the circulation of gambling funds.”

Zhao’s call was followed up Monday by China UnionPay announcing that some of its partners were failing to “take effective measures to curb illegal elements from engaging in illegal trading activities.” While UnionPay’s announcement also mentioned sketchy loan arrangers and other “illegal public merchants,” it reminded its partners that they are barred from doing business with online gambling and online lottery platforms.

South Korea’s largest casino has extended its shutdown caused by the rampant spread of the country’s coronavirus infection rates.

Last month, the Kangwon Land casino announced that it was shutting its gaming operations starting February 23 and extending through February 26 due to “growing concern about community infections” of the COVID-19 virus. That shutdown was later extended to February 29 after the government declared its highest possible alert due to a dramatic spike in the number of infections.

On Friday, Kangwon Land announced that the extension would be extended again, this time until 6am on Monday, March 9. The brief announcement didn’t specify whether this latest extension was taken at its own behest or at the request/order of the South Korean government.

On Monday, the government announced nearly 600 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, bringing its total infection count to 4,335, now officially the largest outbreak outside China. Of these infections, 26 individuals have died.

On February 27, Barry Gibson officially took over as the chairman at GVC Holdings. This begins a new governance under his stewardship. This coompletes a succesion plan announced by the company in November, 2019.

In an to update investors, it was explained that Gibson had taken control of the chairman responsibilities, ending the 12-year tenure of Lee Feldman. Gibson is an expert in mass marketing strategies. He is the former chairman at Homeserve Plc and served as the group chief executive at Littlewoods Plc. He also served as the senior independent director at Bwin.party Digital Entertainment.

Gibson takes over the position at a time when significant change is expected at GVC. They are seeking to expand their operation internationally, while simultaneously being forced to make some adjust to the U.K. market, which expects to see even more regulatory changes. Analysts believe that the stock price is about to take a major hit, as odds on GVC’s share price declining is the likely bet.

However, some analysts believe that these regulatory changes will have a minimal effect on the company. GVC Holdings is coming off a 2019 where the company had an earnings before interest, tax, amortization and depreciation (EBITDA) for 2019 between £670 million to £680 million ($877 million to $890 million). That was a bit of a surprise to many, following the action by new regulations imposed by the U.K. which limited the maximum stake of fixed-odds betting terminals.

On February 26, the Kansas moved one step closer to legalizing sports gambling when the state Senate passed a bill that would legalize the practice. This came after two years of haggling over the bill.

Lawmakers had been hoping to have passed a bill prior to Super Bowl LIV, knowing that that would have been a huge boon for the state. The push then was to try to get a bill passed before the NCAA’s March Madness got underway.

The bill, should it become a law, adults over the age of 21 can place wagers on both professional and college sporting events using online platforms, or by going to one of the four-state casinos. Kansas has four casinos: The Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City and Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel in Pittsburg.

Kansas would receive 7.5% of the profits from all bets placed inside a casino and 10% of the from bets placed online. The casinos would be allowed to negotiate their own deals with online sportsbook providers.

It’s a feeling that so many will understand. Spend an hour or two on a slot machine, just knowing that at any moment it is about to pay out, only to walk away with empty pockets and disapointment. Out of frustration, some may want to to smash the machine and teach it a lesson for being so cruel, but nobody actually does that, right?

One New York man certainly did. Thomas B. Waicul, was charged on February 26 after causing an estimated $1,500 in damages. The 47-year-old was arrested after punching a machine at the Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, New York and now faces a felony charge, authorities said.

But that has to be an isolated incident, right? Well, it’s not the first time a man was arrested for assaulting a slot machine. In June, 2019 of last year, a Florida man was arrested after he punched a ‘Quick Hit’ slot machine at the Seminole Immokalee Casino in Fort Myers.

Richard Stewart, 62, was arrested after deputies arrived to discover that the front glass of the slot machine had undergone substantial damage. The deputies discovered shards of glass on the floor and that the machine was no longer functional. Stewart was arrested after he told police that he was not able to pay for the damages. He, too, was charged with criminal mischief.

The English Premier is so well loved that sometimes it’s easy to focus on the football and forget why it hooks far more than the passing fans who love a stepover, a nutmeg or a mazy run. The sheer unpredictability of the results is the USP of the EPL, and there can be no better example of that than what happened on Saturday evening at Vicarage Road.

While other results went the way of the odds, such as the 0-0 stalemate played out by Newcastle and Burnley and the smash-and-grab win executed with predictable precision by Crystal Palace, there were some surprising moments.

Norwich rallied to defeat Leicester City at Carrow Road and grab three points that might yet give them the greatest escape from relegation in Premier League history. West Ham scored three goals to defeat Southampton to boost their own survival hopes. Bournemouth provided a stirring performance to get a point against a Chelsea side still smarting from the lesson Bayern Munich gave them in midweek. Let’s take a look at three more results that provided their fair share of headline moments.

Watford 3-0 Liverpool

Last Thursday, U.S.-based sports gambling and daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator DraftKings announced that it had set up shop in San Francisco, California. It might seem like an odd move, given the fact that the state currently doesn’t have legalized sports gambling, and the announcement has the industry rumor mills beginning to turn. Perhaps DraftKings knows something the rest of us don’t, and legalization is closer than imagined.

Last year saw a roller coaster ride for the subject of sports gambling in the Golden State. Efforts rose and fell, but, in November, it appeared that real progress was being made. However, nothing is certain until any legislative bill receives its final signature, and California’s tribes have already been viewed as a possible huge roadblock to legalized sports gambling.

This isn’t stopping DraftKings, though, installing itself in 4,750 square feet of office space in downtown San Francisco. It is the fourth office the company has in the country, after its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts and two offices in New Jersey and Nevada. Both of the last two were opened in just the last ten months.

Matt Kalish, the co-founder and president of DraftKings North America, says of the company’s new digs, “Among the iconic sports teams and landmarks, San Francisco is an ideal combination of design, culture and technology. Our committed, in-house marketing team could not be more excited to channel the spirit of the Bay Area in establishing DraftKings as an influential fixture of the West Coast as we continue to provide sports fans with the ultimate in creative sports-entertainment content.”

Montana businesses are ready to pull the trigger on sports gambling. 142 entities have received their licenses from the Montana Lottery Commission (MLC), the state’s chosen sports gambling manager, and are now waiting for the green light to begin accepting bets. However, the MLC isn’t quite ready to flip the switch. It is still putting the final touches on the necessary infrastructure, but hopes to have everything ready to go by next Monday.

Local media outlet KULR8 reports that the MLC is “still installing” the infrastructure and ensuring that all workers tied to the state’s sports gambling operations receive the necessary training on Montana’s Sports Bet Montana gambling kiosks. Any qualified property in the state that wants to offer sports wagers has to be trained on the kiosks before the license is issued.

As opposed to most states, Montana took a different, and more than a little controversial, approach when it decided to legalize sports gambling. Any business with a liquor license can install a Sports Bet Montana kiosk, which means that more than 1,400 businesses across the state are eligible to operate as a sportsbook if approved for a license.

In addition to the kiosks, sports gambling fans can also place their wagers online, and this could become the preferred method, as has been seen in other states. The online sports gambling app only works at one of the Sports Bet Montana locations, meaning no wagers while sitting on the sofa munching on chips and salsa, but the mobile app allows bets of up to $1,000. The in-store kiosks have a limit of $250 per wager.

The esports industry is growing at an incredible rate, and the gambling world are just waiting for the stars to align to make it the next big betting product. At the CoinGeek London conference, Kronoverse’s Adam Kling explained how, through using the power of Bitcoin SV (BSV), esports can prove itself to be a product of integrity, and provide all the data needed for operators to push it hard.

Kling began his presentation by emphasizing the growth esports is currently experiencing. “Last year alone, a billion dollars they hit finally, with 454 million spectators watching it,” he said. “In just a couple of years, $1.8 billion and 644 million watching.”

One of the common criticisms of esports scene has been a perceived lack of integrity, as many games are prone to cheating and match fixing. Players have been found to openly brag about their cheating methods online, Kling noted. Even if caught and banned, a lack of identity protocols has allowed them to sneak back in to major tournaments.

Kling described the two main methods game publishers are currently using to snuff out cheaters with a lack of success. “They can use a client side detection, which is really like an anti-virus software that runs and looks for suspicious programs,” he said. “And you have server side detection, where the game developer would essentially contract with an anti-cheat company to look on their multiplayer server and basically flag suspicious players by their statistics.”

Prague Gaming Summit 2020 (RƎ: LOADED)

The 4th edition of the Prague Gaming Summit has gone for a new look, a new format, and aims to provide a little something for everyone. Located at the Vienna House Andel’s Prague, this summit once again looks to be one of the biggest in Central Europe.

This one day conference will be packed with valuable talks and panels from leading members of the industry, and promises to be a valuable resources for building B2B deals. Bring as many business cards as you can, as this is the place to meet everyone helping to grow the region’s gambling industry.

What: Prague Gaming Summit 2020 (RƎ: LOADED)