Sports betting operator DraftKings has somehow convinced its Illinois casino partner to rebrand the property with the DraftKings name ahead of its launch of legal wagering.

On Thursday, DraftKings announced that the Casino Queen venue in East St. Louis would henceforth be known as ‘DraftKings at Casino Queen.’ The parties recently announced a partnership that will see DraftKings launch a retail sportsbook at the property, followed by a digital betting product, pending regulatory approval.

DraftKings chief business officer Ezra Kucharz said the rebranding would allow his group to become “a part of the fabric of Illinois’ rich sports culture.” Casino Queen president Terry Downey welcomed DraftKings to “our family,” adding that the rebranding “will enhance the Casino Queen iconic brand while introducing the sports betting industry leader to our state.”

It’s unclear how much cash DraftKings may have forked over to the casino to achieve this branding concession, but it amply demonstrates the lengths to which DraftKings is prepared to go to ensure market access to US states that have approved legal wagering.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The UFC’s two-week stay at its incredibly unique Fight Island in Abu Dhabi comes to a close Saturday – although the organization will be back many, many times – with a Fight Night card headlined by a middleweight bout between contenders Robert Whittaker and Darren Till. The main card overall will begin at 8 p.m. ET.

The 29-year-old Whittaker (20-5) is from Australia and ranked No. 1 in the division, so in theory he would deserve a shot at middleweight champion Israel Adesanya with a victory Saturday. However, Adesanya will fight No. 2 contender Paulo Costa next.

That’s probably because Whittaker was beaten soundly by Adesanya via second-round knockout (punches) in Whittaker’s last trip to the Octagon in October 2019. Whittaker had been on a nine-fight winning streak and was the middleweight champion thanks to back-to-back victories over Yoel Romero (ranked No. 4). “The Reaper” now likely will have to wait until 2021 for a rematch with Adesanya – assuming a win Saturday, and that’s far from a sure thing with Whittaker only a -130 favorite.

Australian casino operator Crown Resorts is trialing cashless purchases of chips at its gaming tables, a move that has problem gambling groups fearing the worst.

On Thursday, Western Australia talk radio station 6PR reported that the Crown Perth casino plans to embark on a test-run of an electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS) system at “a small number” of its gaming tables starting next Monday (27).  

The trial, which has the blessing of the state’s Gaming & Wagering Commission, will allow gamblers to use their debit cards to purchase chips without having to leave the table and walk back to the casino cage. The Commission said Crown has been instructed to provide “a report on the use of the facility at the completion of the first three months of operation.”

Problem gambling advocates warn that removing the ‘friction’ of having to leave the table to purchase chips will exacerbate problem gambling activity but Crown is simply moving in lockstep with the larger societal shift away from handling cash. 

Before Manila-area casinos have any hope of reopening, and definitely before they have a hope of returning to strong revenues, the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) likely has to come to an end. Nobody knows exactly when that day is going to come, but new comments from the President’s office suggest it may be even further off than anyone could have guessed.

Rather than loosening restrictions, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told CNN Philippines’s Pinky Webb that it’s a distinct possibility that, if the Philippines should reach 85,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 by the end of the month, Manila will reenter Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ):

“That’s a distinct possibility, although it’s a possibility that I wish would not happen because we all know that while we have to contain the disease, we also need to re-start our livelihoods ‘no.”

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After attending the SBC Digital Summit North America last week, the regulated U.S. sports betting market is top of mind and I wanted a bird’s eye view of the landscape from a professional who is right there in the trenches.

I first met Brett Smiley at a networking dinner during G2E Vegas 2018 and was instantly impressed by his knowledge of the sports betting industry and his passion for American sports. Smiley is the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of SportsHandle (now part of the Better Collective family) and has been writing about sports for publications such as Sports Illustrated, FOX Sports, ESPN Chalk for over ten years. 

Now with a special focus on the regulated U.S. sports betting market, Smiley is nicely positioned to provide us with an update of how COVID has impacted the regulation process across the United States amongst other hot topics in the region.

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Although unions are looked down upon by many American businesses, they just want what’s best for the people who can make those organizations wealthy, and they can be very reasonable. That was proven on July 21 when the Culinary Workers Union dropped its lawsuit against MGM resorts.

Local 226, which filed the lawsuit, abandoned it in favor of “expedited” arbitration. MGM has agreed to meet them over the bargaining table to see what safety measures they can agree to.

“This arbitration is a first step and the Culinary Union will continue to negotiate aggressively and take any other steps necessary to ensure workers and their families are protected,” Secretary-Treasurer Geoconda Argüello-Kline said in the statement.

Although an agreement hasn’t been made just yet, the union took to Twitter to declare victory:

Sports gambling is coming to the U.S. and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) is doing its part to make it a viable, safe industry. It is launching an initiative that will not only promote sports gambling education within the league, but will also foster a better overall understanding of the industry across the entire U.S. The program has been developed through collaborative efforts between the union and several problem gambling advocacy groups, and could even help raise sports gambling awareness to the point that opponents are left on the sidelines. 

The Professional Athletes Foundation (PAF), a union-founded entity that gives former NFL players financial assistance and counseling, announced yesterday a two-year agreement with GVC Foundation U.S. and EPIC Risk Management that will lead to the creation of both in-person and virtual sports gambling education programs for members of the NFLPA. The collaboration will also proactively market and oversee the programs once they go live. GVC and EPIC will be responsible for the creation of the content, and the PAF, as well as the NFLPA as a whole, will provide the management of the advertising, marketing and delivery of the programs to union members. 

Explains Andre Collins, the executive director of the PAF, “This is the first program that the NFLPA/PAF has ever run on problem gambling education and awareness. As the first major professional sports league in the U.S. to undertake this project, we’re proud to tackle this issue head-on. We urge all sports leagues to address problem gambling with the seriousness it deserves.”

GVC Foundation U.S. is a responsible gambling entity that was founded by gaming operator GVC Holdings. It has already been involved in numerous programs designed to help mitigate concerns over problem gambling, including an initiative that involves Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching hospital belonging to Harvard Medical School, as well as another involving the University of Nevada Las Vegas and the International Gaming Institute. 

Macau is on the road to recovery, but will have to face a couple of roadblocks along the way. The city desperately wants to get its casinos back in action as quickly as possible and needs to have open borders and free travel to help make this possible. However, Hong Kong, which is always an important travel feeder for Macau, is extending its quarantine rules, and this could have an impact on the city’s timeline for a return to normal operating levels.

Hong Kong has a two-week quarantine rule in place for anyone arriving from Macau, Taiwan or mainland China. It was previously expected that the quarantine requirement could be lifted by August 7; however, the government has now extended the period to September 7 in light of a modest spike in the number of positive coronavirus tests seen in the city. According to the government, there were 113 new infections recorded yesterday, the highest daily increase since COVID-19 made its first appearance.

There has been a total of 721 infections in Hong Kong since July 6, per a report by the South China Morning Post, and a total of 2,131 cases overall. The origin of many of them can’t be identified; however, there is at least one clue. An employee at the Hong Kong Jockey Club recently tested positive, and health officials are now exploring whether or not others at the facility may be infected.

When it seemed like the worst of the coronavirus saga was in the past, Macau, Hong Kong and others began relaxing lockdown orders, but free travel was still not permitted. Anyone arriving to Macau has to show a negative coronavirus test and Macau still has a mandatory two-week quarantine requirement in place for certain arrivals, including those from Hong Kong. Given that Hong Kong accounts for around 18.7% of Macau’s traffic, according to numbers from last year, it’s a substantial market that the city needs to be able to embrace in order to move forward.

This is a guest contribution by Ed Drake, a writer with CoinGeek.com. The U.K. is starting to look at regulating the way digital currencies advertise due to the false promises many projects have put forth. This article first appeared on CoinGeek.com.

Regulators in the United Kingdom are preparing to treat digital currency ads like other financial promotions, bringing them within the remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

City Minister John Glen announced the proposals amid increasing concerns over investor protection, with the U.K. government keen to subject digital currency ads to the same regulations as other financial adverts.

Glen said that companies selling regulated investments with digital currency elements could still be required to register with the FCA, warning investors only to deal with those companies that have secured legal authorization from the regulator.

August 1 can’t get here soon enough for Rank Group. The U.K.’s casinos have been shut down since March, much like those in many other places, because of the coronavirus, and the phased relaunch of commercial activity in the country had gambling operators appearing as the runt of the litter. With Prime Minister Boris Johnson lifting restrictions as of the start of next month, the Rank Group has high hopes for more than 40 of its Grosvenor Casino properties in the country. This next week is going to be one of the longest of the year.

Rank Group has announced that it will begin opening 44 Grosvenor venues starting August 1 through a staggered plan that will see the casinos in England turn the lights back on in various stages. Casinos in Wales and Scotland, however, will have to remain shuttered for now. Gambling operations across the country were left in the dark as the government believed they couldn’t provide sufficient coronavirus protection for their patrons.

The continued shutdown doesn’t just risk company revenue; it also risks revenue generated by the U.K., as well as employment levels. With restrictions soon to be lifted, the country can continue to get back on its feet and become stronger. The Rank Group is ready to assist and will do everything it can to help ensure it adheres to government health policies designed to prevent COVID-19 from making a rebound in the U.K. Grosvenor’s managing director, Jonathon Swaine, explains, “The health and safety of our customers and teams remain our priority. We want to create the best gaming and hospitality experience which guests know and love and a lot of work has gone into ensuring we have the highest standards of hygiene and safety measures in place to do so when we reopen. We’re looking forward to welcoming customers back to Grosvenor Casino clubs across the country very soon.”

In keeping with that pledge, Grosvenor customers will be required to use hand sanitizer, which will be made available in all its casinos. There will be constant cleaning done to tables, chips and gaming machines, and masks will be provided to those who want them. In addition, gaming tables and machines will see dividers placed between them and the number of gamblers allowed will be reduced. Cash will still be accepted; however, just like in other parts of the world, the casinos will prefer that patrons switch to cashless alternatives.

In theory, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. is, as its name suggests, is designed to protect the environment. However, some people are concerned about a rule change just finalized yesterday that appears to be counter to the government-backed group’s directive. It has decided to alter rules that will allow certain environmental permits to be issued quicker than before, and some industry insiders believe that this change could prove counterproductive to safeguarding the environment.

In seeking an air, water or hazardous waste permit, the requesting entity has to be ready to accept challenges from the local community. These challenges make their way to the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and the appellate process can sometimes take years. However, going forward, the EAB will have to make a decision within 60 days, while being able to extend the review period once by another 60 days if necessary. In addition, the EPA reversed course on a standing rule and will now allow amicus briefs to be presented by outside parties. This, too, could result in the entity seeking the permit to drum up support from sources with no skin in the game.

The EPA asserts that these new measures will help protect the environment and reduce pollution even more, but not everyone is convinced. Tom Carper, a Democratic Senator out of Delaware, made his opinion known just before the rules became active, stating, “Far from ‘modernizing’ EPA’s air, water and hazardous waste permit appeals process, this rule would take us backwards – back to a time when industries could pollute without consequence and when Americans had little say over the projects built in their own backyard. This proposed rule is yet another short-sighted attack on the ability of communities, including low-income communities and communities of color, to have a meaningful voice in projects that impact their health.”

Carper was formerly the governor of Delaware and also the former chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He has been a senator for almost 20 years and currently sits as the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, so he has substantial knowledge on the subject of government operations and the environment.