Italy’s land-based gambling operators have been ordered to remain shut until at least May 3 and will likely be the last businesses to qualify for a new staggered reopening plan.

On Saturday, Italy’s government published its latest decree on retail commerce lockdowns to prevent further transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Betting shops, bingo halls and slots/video lottery terminal (VLT) rooms have all been ordered to remain shut until at least May 3.

The government is planning a staggered reopening of retail operations starting May 4, with strict rules regarding how many customers will be allowed inside shops. For example, shops occupying less than 40 square meters will only be allowed to admit a single customer at a time, and retail staff must wear masks, gloves and conduct twice-daily cleanings of the whole operation.

By May 11-12, the government plans to reopen some court facilities and professional offices. It’s possible that some bars, restaurants and other ‘entertainment’ venues will be allowed to reopen starting May 18, but much will depend on the number of new COVID-19 infections. Horseracing meets in Rome and Milan have been told they will remain under lockdown until at least May 14.

Belgium’s online gambling operators are mulling a legal challenge of the country’s new €500 deposit limit, as their business is already down nearly two-fifths due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, the Belgian Association of Gambling Operators (BAGO) publicly expressed its displeasure with the Belgian Gambling Commission’s decision to impose a €500 weekly deposit limit per customer across all Belgian-licensed sites. The BGC justified the move by saying gamblers need extra help resisting temptation during their COVID-19 self-isolation.

BAGO members plan to challenge this new limit, which can be lowered even further at a customer’s request but cannot be lifted under any circumstances, regardless of whether a customer can demonstrate sufficient financial capacity to justify higher spending.

This type of upper-limit wiggle room was supposed to be permissible under the old rules, provided a customer’s finances were verified by the National Bank of Belgium’s Central Individual Credit Center. But even under those rules, any increase request wouldn’t take effect for three days to ensure gamblers couldn’t ‘chase’ their losses.

South Korean casino operator Paradise Co Ltd has reopened its gaming venue on Jeju Island despite keeping its other operations shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a filing with the South Korean stock exchange on Monday, Paradise announced that it was once again extending the closure of its casinos in Seoul, Busan and Incheon to conform with the government’s efforts to minimize further spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The casinos will now remain shut until at least April 20.

However, the company also announced that its Casino Jeju Grand had reopened on Monday at 6am. It’s unclear why the Jeju venue – which, like Paradise’s other gaming operations, are only accessible to foreign passport holders – was afforded this distinction, particularly given the current international travel restrictions to traditional holiday spots such as Jeju island.

Jeju’s local government recently sued two women who visited the island despite one of them showing signs of COVID-19 infection shortly after their arrival. Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong said the suit was filed “to send a strong warning against actions” that threaten further spread of COVID-19.

Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) has shed another top executive while local politicians continue to seek answers on the company’s phantom social contribution funds.

On Friday, the Marianas Variety reported that IPI had made the “difficult decision” to bid farewell to chief financial officer Ed Chen, based on the company’s view that “a leaner finance department is essential to the success of the company going forward.”

Chen is the second senior figure to leave IPI in less than a week, following the resignation of director Teng Sio I. IPI said the company’s current goal was to have “an efficient and effective organization to endure economic hardship and thrive in the future.”

There’s no question that IPI is enduring hardship, having recently announced that it lost over $508m in 2019 and shut down its Imperial Palace Resort casino, in part to minimize further spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus but also because the pandemic has effectively cut the remote casino off from its international customers.

The world was a very different place two months ago. Almost all of us were permitted to go out as often as we liked all day and night, with social gatherings like live poker events not just allowed but encouraged by every poker brand with a tournament festival.

So many things have changed in the last weeks and months that it might be easy to think that nothing from the world before Coronavirus exists. It’s a comfort, then, to see that Pablo Silva, who won the MILLIONS South America Main Event back in February, has claimed another win in the Irish Open Online Main Event.

With a field of 2,945 players, the Irish Open Online Main Event was won by Brazilian player Silva, who defeated Hungary’s Andras Nemeth heads-up to win €462,100 and the title as a truly major event signed off Sunday with a bang.

The final day began with just 51 players still in the Main Event, with Sihao Zhang the overall leader. The action was fast and furious, with Zhang working hard to hold onto his lead by the time the final table action began and just eight players sat at one virtual table.

In the fast moving world of gambling, sometimes you might miss news that could be important to you. To make sure you’re all caught up on gaming industry news, be it online or brick and mortar, we’re rounding up the some of the announcements and partnerships from the last week that you might have missed.

SBTech enters South African market with Bet.co.za platform migration

SBTech, the leading technology supplier to the regulated iGaming sector, has made its first entry into South Africa, launching its full sportsbook and igaming platform with Bet.co.za, South Africa’s premier online and mobile sports betting brand.

The new offer includes an innovative Lucky Numbers product and an integration with BetGames.TV, enabling players to bet on live lottery draws and live games, using bespoke, localised payment options.

Malaysia isn’t yet anywhere close to a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with infections continuing to rise. As the government continues to take steps to stem the tide of the virus, Genting Malaysia Bhd has announced that their resorts will remain closed until April 28.

The company posted the announcement on their website, in a prominent popup. It reads:

“Following the announcement made by the Prime Minister of Malaysia to extend the Movement Control Order (“MCO”), please be informed that Genting Malaysia Berhad’s headquarters in Wisma Genting, Kuala Lumpur, Resorts World Genting (RWG), Resorts World Awana, Resorts World Kijal and Resorts World Langkawi will continue to be closed until 28 April 2020.”

Digging deeper into the site’s notice page, they add, “Operations at our Resorts will resume upon the lifting of the MCO. We will continue to monitor the situation and make the necessary announcements as more information becomes available.”

The gambling industry is a paradox. The entire gambling industry was built on risk, be it a risk on a sports team or a dealer drawing a five-card 21 to beat a 20. That risk doesn’t regularly carry over to innovation despite the gambling industry employing some of the most innovative minds in technology.

I was at ICE London 2020, and if you weren’t there, you didn’t miss much. Think about ICE 2016, and it was pretty much the same. Sure, there were some new small booths off to the side of the convention hall, the names had changed, but they essentially offered the same solutions to the same “problems.”

We know there are great innovators in the space and the Ayre Group is looking to make their innovations ready for the mainstream of the gambling industry.

If your company is building gambling or gaming applications, or any applications that support the industry, such as payment solutions or backend platforms, we want to hear about it.