Nevada’s gambling regulators have ordered all table game players to wear COVID-19 masks if their presence isn’t physically separated from one another.

On Wednesday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board revised its health and safety policies for casinos that are reopening following their lengthy pandemic-related closure. The change comes after Nevada reported an unprecedented number of new COVID-19 cases, just two weeks after the casinos were allowed to reopen.

Casinos now “must require patrons to wear face coverings at table and card games if there is no barrier, partition, or shield between the dealer and each player.” The requirement applies equally to table/card players and spectators, and anyone else within six feet of the gaming position.

While casinos have encouraged guests to wear masks and are required to provide free masks to guests who request them, anecdotal reports suggest an extremely small minority of gamblers are opting to actually wear the things. This is despite evidence that widespread mask use is an effective means of limiting COVID-19 transmission.

The possibility of Colin Kaepernick returning to the NFL has been a source of much debate in the United States over the past month, but never has that discourse been as fevered as in the past 24 hours.

The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who has been without a team for nearly four years, has been touted to make a long-awaited return to the NFL in the wake of the recent Black Lives Matter debate, which has centred around the killing of George Floyd.

In the past 24 hours, President Donald Trump was asked about Kaepernick returning to NFL action and said that “If he deserves it, he should. If he has the playing ability.” In reference to Kaepernick’s form before his NFL exit in 2016, Trump said: “His playing wasn’t up to snuff.”

Quite apart from the fact that Donald Trump’s worries over Kaepernick’s standard of play count for about as much as a vegetarian’s restaurant review of an all-you-can-eat steakhouse, Trump’s less-than-glowing recommendation that the former 49er returns to football sounds borne of fear more than anything else. Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner told ESPN on Monday that “if Kaepernick] wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously it’s going to take a team to make that decision, but I welcome that, support a club making that decision and encourage them to do that.”

After months of waiting, like abandoned fun houses in fairs closed down for winter, casinos are to reopen in Las Vegas. What this means for the future of poker during the age of Coronavirus is, as yet, unclear, but one thing is for sure – the doors have been thrown open and one way or another, seats at poker tables will be filled.

The announcement that Las Vegas would be able to welcome players back to live poker is something that has been greeted with a mixture of feelings right across the poker industry. The reactions range from some recreational players being overjoyed that they can return to playing the game they love, through nervous anticipation of a changed game, up to plaintive misgivings on behalf of many of the top pros, who state simply that they won’t be returning no matter what until the threat of the virus is over.

Sorry dude, precisely zero chance that happens unfortunately! I don’t leave the house. At all.

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) June 18, 2020https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Senator Leila de Lima is the black sheep of Philippines politics. The Duterte government and its supporters rather she stayed quiet in her prison cell, and she’s saying anything she can to stay in the spotlight. She’s now joining the chorus of opposition senators hammering on the Philippine Offshore Gambling Operator (POGO) issue, calling for her own Senate probe.

Senator de Lima has filed Senate Resolution 440 to call for the probe. She cited a rise in POGO activities during the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for the probe, which “merits a clear and unequivocal action from the government, including Congress.”

“There is a need to determine the resolve in which our law enforcement sector to implement our laws against POGOs,” she added.

While most licensed POGOs are operating within the law, De Lima wants an explanation from the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the regulator of the sector, as well as the Department of Finance, on why POGOs should be allowed to continue operating “in spite of their well-documented, repeated and continuous offenses against Philippine laws.”

After having been forced to remain locked away for so long because of COVID-19, getting out of the house and exploring will be a nice change of pace. There’s no better place to do it, either, than the myriad of national parks across the U.S. There are plenty of options, including the Grand Canyon, The Blue Ridge Parkway and Yellowstone, and a recent study shows how visiting them isn’t just good for the personal experience – it’s also good for the economy.

The U.S National Park Service (NPS), which manages the parks across the country, recently published a study that was led by economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the NPS. Park visitation was found to contribute $21 billion in direct spending to the communities located within 60 miles of the parks. That revenue is responsible for the support of 340,500 jobs, of which 75% are located in those communities. The total benefit to the U.S economy attributed to the network of parks reaches $41.7 billion. 

Yellowstone saw four million visitors last year. They spent a total of $507 million in the surrounding communities, which provided the basis for around 7,000 local jobs and helped the local economies generate $642 million. Cam Sholly, the park’s superintendent, asserts, “The positive economic impacts of Yellowstone are essential to economies of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It is important that we continue working with our state and local partners to balance the many benefits of tourism with our continued efforts to protect the world-class resources within the park.”

Hotels and other forms of accommodations saw the biggest chunk, at $7.1 billion, last year. Restaurants did well, with a total of $4.2 billion in economic output recorded. Fuel for travelers came in at $2.16 billion and retail spending closed at around $1.93 billion. Putting those figures into perspective, hotels and other forms of lodging were able to employ 58,000 people, restaurants gave jobs to over 61,000, retail activity employed 20,000 individuals and other forms of recreation brought on 28,000 workers.

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.

Don’t miss out on all of the latest announcements. Our Press Release section is updated constantly.

IWG set to deliver instant win games portfolio to Virginia Lottery

IWG has signed a five-year contract with the Virginia Lottery to deliver its world-renowned instant win games portfolio through the provider’s locally-deployed RGS.

The Drew Las Vegas was going to give a huge boost to the city’s economy, starting with the number of jobs it would supply while being built. The casino, a revival of the once-popular Fontainebleau, would cost $3.1 billion to renovate and refurbish, and would be one of several projects along the Las Vegas skyline that are keeping the local economy engine moving. However, it was revealed at the beginning of the month that the project’s developer, the Witkoff Group, may have bitten off a little more than it could chew and could now be in a financial freefall that is forcing the project to a grinding halt. It had apparently defaulted on a $2-billion loan and, making the outlook even more bleak, has also left contractors high and dry. Several have now filed complaints to try to recover $36 million in total losses.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal (LVRJ) reported on the missing money, explaining that the lead contractor on The Drew’s construction, led by AECOM Hunt and Penta Building Group, has filed a complaint in Clark County, explaining that it is owed $18 million from the Witkoff Group. The contractor, which had previously helped build T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, had initially put its losses at $29.4 million before it lowered the figure.

In addition, an architecture firm brought in to assist with the project’s development, Bergman Walls & Associates, has submitted a request to put a lien on the property for $12.5 million. Other contractors that have been involved, some much smaller companies without deep pockets, have joined in, as well, complaining that they haven’t been paid their outstanding bills, either.

At the beginning of this month, five months after the Witkoff Group’s chairman and CEO, Steve Witkoff, confidently told regulators in Nevada that money was coming, the project was unexpectedly stopped. The company had not been able to make good on a payment worth $490 million to South Korean investors, and the future of The Drew was immediately put in doubt. The company, however, has not yet come forward to publicly affirm or refute the assertion that the project will not move forward.

In what may be a first-ever in the history of large-scale commercial development, a casino resort coming to Las Vegas might be completed sooner than anticipated. Circa Resort & Casino is being built by Derek and Greg Stevens, two well-known faces in Sin City’s gaming scene, and has been under construction for the past couple of years. The goal has been to have the venue operational by this coming December, but, according to Derek, the timetable will be beaten. Barring any major obstacles between now and then, part of Circa – the first five floors of the development – will begin to welcome patrons this coming October, two full months ahead of schedule.

Derek Stevens is behind several casinos in Vegas, including the D Las Vegas and the Golden Gate. His latest endeavor includes a huge 777-key hotel tower, casino, restaurants and other amenities, including a sportsbook that is billed as the largest in the world. In order to start generating some income on the property sooner, Derek and project leaders got together and figured out how to shift resources from the tower to the resort’s other options, which has pushed up the launch timeframe.

Derek tweeted about the new schedule yesterday. In referring to the property’s casino, sportsbook, restaurants and other amenities, he asserted, “We’re going to open those Oct. 28. You can circle the date.” The opening of the rest of the venue’s features will then follow in December as planned.

Over the years, Las Vegas has witnessed a lot of buildings come and go. However, Circa is the first project to be built completely from the ground up in around 40 years and has attracted a lot of attention. Anticipation is high for what the resort will offer, and the Stevens brothers have their work cut out for them if they want to impress the gaming community. So far, they appear to be right on track.

The Betway sportsbook had a good thing going, offering action on soccer players and their odds of moving from one team to another. However, after two players were recently found to have tried to game the system by providing insider information ahead of transfer announcements, the bookmaker has decided that it no longer wants to support the activity. Going forward, Betway will no longer offer any soccer player transfer action in any of the markets in which it operates. 

Betway has decided to exit the market in order to avoid being embroiled in any activity that could be deemed a violation of standing rules, and it wants other bookmakers to follow its lead. The company’s head of corporate communications, Alan Alger, said in the statement announcing the company’s decision, “The FA have strict rules on betting and we feel that offering odds on players to move to specific clubs highlights a grey area which has caused issues in the past. It is best removed as an option. When there are hundreds of prices and markets offered on most games, this is part of the football betting experience that we are happy to see shut down.”

Former Liverpool FC player Daniel Sturridge had expected to be on his way to Spain and Sevilla FC. He was so confident of the move that he whispered in the ears of at least one family member to take the action that would allow them to walk away with huge stacks of money. However, after the deal fell apart (he would end up going to Turkey’s Trabzonspor), the ruse was uncovered. That led to the Football Association (FA) hitting him with a four-month ban and a fine for $94,000, as well as his forced exit from the Turkish squad. 

In May, Kieran Trippier was charged by the FA with similar violations after it was revealed that the English player leaked his transfer to Spain’s Atletico Madrid last year. He is expected to respond to the allegations by the end of this month. 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has remained defiant in the face of social justice reform, continuing a ban on athletes from protesting at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Athletes will be banned from kneeling or raising their fists in protest.

Rule 50 of the Olympic charter states that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”

The IOC guidelines state that athletes who break protest rules at the Tokyo Games face three rounds of disciplinary action from the IOC, a sport’s governing body and a national Olympic body.

IOC Chief executive confirmed that athletes will face sanctions at the games in Tokyo. “If this political neutrality is not respected, then the Olympic Games will divide, and not unite, the world,” Bach insisted.

Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts has been forced out of his role in the wake of his mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis. Roberts was forced to resign by the Cricket Australia board after a tumultuous 18-month reign that included a $27.5 million budget cut. The board moved to appoint T20 World Cup boss Nick Hockley interim chairman. The move comes at a critical time for the sport who will be expected to postpone the ICC T20 World Cup.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brutally exposed the shortcomings of some of Australia’s biggest sporting organisations. Roberts joins former Rugby League CEO Todd Greenberg and Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle on the list of sports bosses who have been dumped in the last two months.

Roberts didn’t begrudge the circumstances of his departure, praising the organisation in a statement.

“It’s been a privilege to lead and serve the sport I love as CEO of Cricket Australia. Our team of staff and players are outstanding people who contribute so much to the game and I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together.”

Just over one year ago I conducted an interview with beBettor’s Co-Founder and CEO Harry Cott and we discussed his innovative “networked” approach to customer affordability in the U.K. market. Since then, Cott and his team have listened to client feedback and broadened their offerings to address a quickly moving and changing regulatory environment. 

“Its no secret that the U.K. regulator has been very active in the last 12 months, not only with fines and sanctions, but also with publication”, beBettor’s COO Scott McGregor shared with me in a follow-up interview. 

“From our point of view, we’ve had a focus on their affordability legislation and that started last year with the introduction of the Enforcement Report in June 2019”, he said.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEES78wpfc8?feature=oembed]

Australians continue to spend more money gambling online during their COVID-19 lockdown, while searches for online forbidden fruit soared at the height of the pandemic.

The most recent consumer spending figures from economic analysts AlphaBeta and credit bureau Illion show overall spending in the week ending June 1 down only 2% from ‘normal’ levels, thanks in part to the easing of lockdown restrictions as Australia’s COVID-19 infection curve flattens.

Spending in some categories – gyms, pubs, public transport, travel, etc. – are still well below normal while spending is higher in department stores (+21%), home improvement (+30%), apps, games & music (+30%), health services (+35%), alcohol & tobacco (+39%), furniture & office (+74%) and food delivery (248%).

Online gambling scored second highest with spending up 110% from normal, a much higher rate than the 60% rise the data showed in the week ending April 19. But it’s worth noting that some of Australia’s major sports leagues have since resumed play, offering Aussie punters a greater variety of online wagering options (and far more familiar ones than Russian ping-pong).