Spain’s gambling regulatory chief says “social alarm” supports the government’s plans to dramatically restrict online gambling operators’ ability to promote their products to Spanish bettors.

On Monday, Mikel Arana, who was appointed head of Spain’s Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) gambling regulatory body in May, gave his first public interview in that role to local media outlet El Diario. The discussion largely focused on Spain’s plans to restrict advertising to a five-hour overnight window and prohibit sports sponsorships.

Arana said Spain was already suffering from an “excess of publicity” of gambling products prior to the country’s COVID-19 lockdown but the enforced confinement of Spaniards of all ages convinced the masses that advertising levels were “a real exaggeration” of what was desired.

Arana justified the government’s plan to eliminate welcome bonuses because “the main percentage of new players is the age range of 18 to 21 years,” whose personalities are “unfinished” and are therefore “more likely to react to advertising and have problematic consumption.”

Macau casino operators’ stocks are soaring on news that China’s Guangdong province will lift its 14-day quarantine for individuals returning from the world’s top gambling hub.

On Monday, authorities in Guangdong and Macau announced “the orderly promotion of the normal exchange of personnel” between the two regions. The change is scheduled to take effect at 6am on Wednesday, July 15.

Guangdong imposed its Macau-specific COVID-19 quarantine rules in late-March, requiring all individuals arriving on the mainland from Macau to self-isolate for 14 days (at their own expense). Guangdong is China’s most populous province and the closest to Macau in geographic terms, making it the single largest source of gamblers for Macau’s casinos.

All individuals seeking Guangdong access will need to provide a negative COVID result from an approved testing site and apply for entry at least 24 hours prior to arrival. The quarantine will still apply to individuals who (a) display COVID-19 symptoms, (b) have had contact with COVID patients or (c) have traveled overseas in the 14 days prior to arriving in Guangdong.

Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group has been hit with a financial penalty after breaching COVID-19 rules at its flagship Sydney casino.

On Monday, the Liquor & Gaming New South Wales regulatory body announced that it had imposed a AU$5,000 penalty on The Star for allowing guests at its eponymous Sydney casino to consume alcohol while standing and mingling over the weekend.

All NSW venues that have been cleared to resume alcohol sales following the country’s pandemic shutdown are required to ensure patrons are seated while quaffing pints and cocktails. Liquor & Gaming NSW compliance director Dimitri Argeres said The Star was “aware of its obligations” due to the regulator having paid two previous visits to the Sydney casino over the past two weeks to ensure compliance.

The Star partially reopened its Sydney venue in the first week of June, leading to a full reopening at the start of this month. But the venue’s ability to remain open could be in jeopardy after The Star confirmed Monday that one of its guests had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month.  

Taiwan’s cyber cops have disrupted yet another major technology support hub for sketchy China-facing online gambling sites.

Late last week, the telecom division of Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced the arrest of 34 individuals suspected in involvement in a major online gambling software and payment processing support network for a variety of China-facing gambling sites.

CIB officers reportedly became aware that the Taipei-based Yi Digital Entertainment Development was a front for unauthorized online gambling activity in January. In addition to the arrests, police seized 29 computers, 103 phones, 140 UnionPay cards and 323 ‘U Shields’ (apps that assist mobile banking transactions).  

The group’s alleged ringleader reportedly recruited individuals on the Chinese mainland to open local bank accounts through which the online gambling payments could be processed. The Yi Digital business reportedly handled online gambling transactions worth over NT$10m (US$340k) per day over an unspecified period.

The English cricket summer started with both sides making a poignant statement in response to the Black Lives Matter movement sweeping the U.K. Both England and the West Indies took a knee on the field together, with moving statements from the commentators, that brought cricket great Michael Holding to tears.

West Indies assistant coach Roddy Estwick captured the mood of his side’s feelings:

“For me it was a good feeling because we have to make change, for us it’s all about equality, it’s all about honesty, it’s all about treating everybody equal and for us that was very, very important. Fortunately, enough we were able to make a statement so we were happy as a group to do it and I thought it was really wonderful to see England supporting us as well.”

England cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent and West Indies commentator Holding talked about how racism had shaped their careers in a powerful precursor to the action on the field.

The National Rugby League (NRL) has been left reeling, as sacked Canterbury duo Corey Harawira-Naera and Jayden Okunbor have both had their life-time bans overturned on appeal. The Bulldogs stars will both be eligible to return to the NRL in 2020.

The Canterbury duo were banned from the game earlier this season for their involvement in a Port Macquarie school sex scandal. Okunbar had received an indefinite band from the game after being found guilty of acting inappropriately during the visit to Port Macquarie. Harawira-Naera received a two-year ban for code of conduct breaches.

The NRL Appeals Committee has reduced the deregistrations handed down to Canterbury duo Corey Harawira-Naera and Jayden Okunbor.https://t.co/or8uV9zr9S

— NRL (@NRL) July 13, 2020https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

After an unpredictable weekend of Premier League football, the battle for next season’s European places has never looked closer. Manchester United, Chelsea and Leicester are separated by just two points heading into the 35th round of fixtures… who can grab three points and stride towards glory?

Chelsea vs. Norwich (Tuesday, 8.15pm GMT kick-off)

What looks like an easy three points for Chelsea might be anything but in what has become the Premier League season where nothing is predictable. With Sheffield United’s 3-0 victory over Chelsea at the weekend, The Blues suffered their 11th league defeat of the campaign.

Frank Lampard will be desperate to get Chelsea back to winning ways and on the face of it, taking on Norwich looks like a home tie from the West Londoners’ dreams. The Canaries, relegated on Saturday after a 4-0 home drubbing by West Ham and in particular, Michail Antonio, have been in dire form. That being said, however, they will now have nothing to fear, and can play with the freedom of knowing that they’re already down.

The latest in our series of classic hands from the World Series of Poker comes from a year in which, as we’ve previously covered at some length, Qui Nguyen eventually triumphed over Gordon Vayo after the mother of all ‘I Knew It’ moments ended the Johnny Bax Dream.

It was also, of course, the year that Griffin Benger and Will Kassouf dragged things down to such a playground level that they were each banned for one year from making sandcastles in the Rio crèche. 

Before Qui Nguyen would win the WSOP Main Event of 2016, however, he was almost a bystander in a dramatic hand hand featuring one of the best folds of that, or any, World Series.

Although Nguyen’s pre-flop call will prove interesting, the hand is eventually contested between two other players, Australia’s James Obst and U.S.A. player Michael Ruane.