California’s tribal casino operators have been given more time to pursue legal sports betting while the state’s cardroom operators have been given more time to twiddle their thumbs.

On Thursday, California Superior Court Judge James Arguelles gave a coalition of gaming tribes another 90 days in which to gather the signatures necessary to get their proposed sports betting amendment on the state’s 2022 election ballot. The tribes now have until Oct. 12 to gather the minimum 1.1m signatures (and ideally around 1.5m).

The tribes sued the state last month seeking 180 additional days in which to continue their signature-gathering efforts, which were close to completion in March when the state imposed social distancing restrictions due to COVID-19. While the tribes missed the window for the 2020 ballot, Thursday’s ruling means they don’t have to start all over for their 2022 push.

Arguelles’ ruling is only tentative, giving both the tribes and the state some wiggle room regarding exactly when the signatures must be submitted for verification. The state expressed some unease that the process would coincide with the 2020 election, possibly putting an undue burden on election officials, and Arguelles signalled that he would be comfortable hearing requests for minor schedule tinkering.

Online betting is coming to the Indian state of Karnataka after the local government authorized the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) to throw open its digital doors.

On Friday, the Karnataka state government gave in-principle approval for the BTC to conduct online betting. The BTC filed an online betting application in May in a bid to salvage its season, which has seen racing halted due to India’s struggles to flatten its COVID-19 curve.

Local media quoted BTC exec Harimohan Naidu saying the company was developing a mobile betting app, digital wallet and streaming service that will hopefully be deployed in around two months. By that point, the expectation is that racing will have resumed on a spectator-free basis, but punters will be able to watch the action online while accessing the digital betting product.

Some of India’s state governments have been overwhelmed by their COVID-19 struggles and Naidu suggested online betting would help top up the state’s coffers. Online betting “will naturally expand our customer base tremendously, increase our turnover and also revenue to the government.”

Cambodia’s casinos have been cleared to reopen provided they observe strict health requirements aimed at minimizing further COVID-19 transmission.

On Friday, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen declared that casinos would be allowed to reopen provided they obtain the approval of Ministry of Health officials. A government spokesman announced the PM’s decision in a Facebook post following the government’s weekly cabinet meeting.

Cambodia’s casinos, including NagaCorp’s NagaWorld facility in Phnom Penh and the smaller gaming venues in border areas such as Bavet and Poipet as well as the once-thriving Sihanoukville region, were all ordered closed on April 1 as the government attempted to flatten its COVID-19 curve.

The medical measures that casinos will be required to impose weren’t specified in the report. The government has reportedly promised unspecified tax breaks for the country’s casino operators, which could end up benefiting their rank-and-file staff, many of whom have struggled financially during their COVID-19 furloughs.

CasinoBeats Malta Digital Days 2 and 3 continued to bring a wealth of content and insights to its delegates. The jam packed conference had a panel on nearly every topic, guaranteeing something relevant to every delegate.

A view from the top

Starting Day 2, panelists Paris Smith, CEO of Pincael, Petra Zackrisson, CCDO, Betano Stoiximan, Americo Loireiro, director at Solverde, Marten Forste, COO of LeoVegas and modetartor William Scott, director of Warrenside, spoke on the first Leaders Panel. 

Smith spoke quite a bit about how Pinnacle’s employees have done through this Covid-19 pandemic. “The mental health of the employees for me I worked around the clock, not just how they were dealing with work but how they were dealing with themselves. People didn’t really think how children were responding.”

The rebuild has well and truly begun for Manchester City as winger Leroy Sane completed a protracted transfer to Bayern Munich. The 24-year old German winger had made no secret of his desire to return to his homeland and his refusal to sign a new contract forced City to sell their prized asset.

Leroy Sane has joined Bayern Munich. #ThankYouLeroyhttps://t.co/FwlHmoCJTT

— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 3, 2020https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Sane had struggled over the last 12 months at Etihad Stadium, a serious knee injury picked up in the Community Shield final against Liverpool has meant he has been below his best. The German forward passed his medical earlier this week in Germany, signing a five-year contract with the 2020 Bundesliga champions.