As much as the pandemic has changed plans for the gambling industry, in many ways its accelerated plans for online gaming. But before this “new normal” started, our Becky Liggero Fontana chatted with David Flynn, CEO of Swintt and part of the Glitnor Group, to understand their plans for expansion, and to grow their online presence.

And at the time at least, Glitnor was looking to move into several new markets. “In our two brands, we first began focusing on the Swedish market, so the fastest growing business in the Swedish market the last quarter which is always great to know,” he said. “In terms of other markets outside, we’re looking at Canada, New Zealand, also looking at India very soon as well, in terms of market expansion, and given the history a lot of the founders in the business, Japan’s also a very important market for us going forward.”

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Specially now though, as countries are all looking at how their respective industries should be regulated, matching local demands is important. That’s something Flynn noted they’re good at. “I mean from a customer services perspective, that’s really, really important to get that right. Making sure that we adhere to the regulations, and certainly in terms of responsible gaming as well, and making sure that we have our technology correct, Spelpaus, the words in the Swedish market of course. In terms of affiliation, it’s about making sure that we have the right offering for that particular market, that we’re offering Lucky Casino in that particular market, and so far, so good. It’s managed to pick up extremely well from a very, very humble beginnings.”

Some people may not realize it, but the “smart city” is already here. As we integrate things like smart lightbulbs, smartphones and smart thermostats into our lives, we are laying the foundation for an eventual smart city, where everything could be connected. As the technology behind the creation of smart devices continues to develop, smart cities could eventually become even smarter and take on an entirely new personality.

Smart devices are meant to simplify our lives and increase efficiency. Nowhere are these improvements needed than on the streets, where the quality of services offered to residents can be improved. Integrating “smart” technology into things like the distribution of electricity and transportation can lead to a better use of resources at lower costs, which ultimately is a winning situation for everyone. McKinsey Global Institute asserts, based on a study it conducted, that integrating smart technology into city operations can improve the quality of life of inhabitants by anywhere from 10-30%.

According to Bernard Marr, there are a number of examples where smart technology can help serve the community. As urban areas become more popular for living, there is a greater need to provide better traffic flow, and technology can make this happen. Smart systems can adjust public transportation routes on the fly and smart traffic light systems can be integrated in an effort to reduce congestion. This has already begun in some places, such as Hangzhou in China, where a smart traffic system led to a decrease of 15% in traffic jams.

It’s not just about traffic and congestion, though. Spain’s leading telecommunications company, Telefonica, has developed a refuse indication system that can notify trash collectors if public containers are full or not. This way, they don’t have to waste time hitting each container and can concentrate only on those that are ready to be emptied. Marr adds, “[This] also means KPIs (key performance indicators) can be more closely tied to bottom-line impact, such as how many bins are close to overflowing and won’t be emptied within the next few hours. This is far more meaningful than measuring abstract factors, like how many waste collection trucks are out on the road.”

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.

Relax Gaming enters landmark partnership with Svenska Spel

Relax Gaming, igaming aggregator and supplier of unique content, has landed a major deal to launch its extensive portfolio of casino games with Svenska Spel.

Nebraska may become one of the next states to embrace gambling. There has already been substantial discussion on the subjects of casino expansion and legalized sports gambling, with several bills introduced earlier this year to the state legislature. If lawmakers wanted to know what the public opinion on the topics is, they only need to look as far as the “Keep the Money In Nebraska” campaign, which is a citizen-led effort to bring casinos to the Cornhusker State. The group handed over to state lawmakers yesterday three ballot measures that they hope will make it onto this November’s ballot, and which are backed by around 475,000 signatures. 

One of the three measures addresses a necessary amendment to the Nebraska Constitution to allow casinos to pop up at the state’s horse tracks. The second is just as important, paving the way for the creation of the Nebraska Gaming Commission (NGC) to oversee the gambling activity and the third sets the criteria for how taxes could be implemented on casino offerings. Backed up by close to a quarter of the state’s residents, there is more than enough public support for lawmakers to take the initiatives seriously. 

The Keep the Money In Nebraska campaign was launched by Ho-Chunk, Inc., a development group established by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and supported by the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. Lance Morgan, the president and CEO of Ho-Chunk, is excited about the possibilities the signature-gathering effort is demonstrating and states, We’re thrilled. We worked super-hard to do this. We’re hoping that the people’s voice gets to be heard.”

The campaign’s name comes from the obvious – state and local governments are losing out on important tax revenue as gamblers cross state lines to wager. Regardless of any personal like or dislike of gaming, gamblers are going to gamble no matter what – legally or illegally. As soon as legislators realize this, they can push for legalized gambling and capture a part of the more than $150 billion that they have been missing. 

The New Zealand Warriors are bracing for more bad news, with several first-grade players set to abandon the NRL restart and return to New Zealand. Several members of the New Zealand Warriors have complained of homesickness, with David Fusitu’a, Agnatius Paasi and Ken Maumalo all set to return to Auckland. The Warriors have delivered an ultimatum to NRL bosses after their families were denied entry into Australia. The three players are set to return to New Zealand on July 19.

The recent second wave of COVID-19 cases in Victoria has increased the restrictions on international travel.

The New Zealand Warriors’ coaching staff have submitted a list of replacements to the NRL for them to continue for the duration of the season. Before the competition restart in May, the Warriors were told by the NRL that their families would receive special exemptions to enter Australia. The New Zealand side only agreed to play on the proviso that their families could join them in Australia.

The side has been away from home since May, with the players becoming frustrated by the lack of progress over their families joining them.

The coronavirus has slowed down the world, but things are starting to pick up again. The casino industry has been reeling from a lack of forward progress due to wide-sweeping lockdowns and shuttered operations and Las Vegas, once a bustling hub of action earning hundreds of millions of dollars a week, could only settle for crumbs while Nevada remained quarantined. Now that things are, relatively speaking, returning to normal, casinos are trying to get back to business and casino regulators are trying to push forward with the ever-growing pile of items they need to address. One of the most lingering topics is that of the planned merger between Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, which still needs to find approval in several states for it to be successful. It looks like, finally, the deal is coming to the table in Nevada and others, possibly as early as next week. 

Nevada, New Jersey and Indiana still have to weigh in on whether or not the merger should be allowed. New Jersey regulators brushed aside the topic when they met last month, and is reportedly going to address the merits of the deal when the state’s Casino Control Commission meets on July 15, according to Casino.org. Indiana is said to be ready to take up the merger, as well, and the Indiana Gaming Commission will reportedly formulate its decision on July 10. Three days later, that decision will be presented to the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, which will make the final decision. As it stands now, neither New Jersey nor Indiana is expected to stand in the way of the casino powerhouses joining forces to create the largest casino operator in the U.S. 

The last remaining piece of the puzzle is Nevada. With New Jersey and Indiana reportedly on board, Eldorado and Caesars are confident there won’t be any trouble in the Silver State, and the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission could reach a decision in separate meetings that are scheduled for July 8. Because of the size of the resulting company, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had to give its approval, as well, and, with the government agency signing off on it last week, Nevada regulators, as well as the rest, can feel more comfortable about discussing the merger.

With the various regulatory groups expected to weigh in within just a couple of weeks, the marriage between the two companies could be consummated soon. It may have already happened if it hadn’t been for COVID-19, but, with so many moving parts, it isn’t a deal that could be decided easily. There have been concerns about the number of properties the combined company would control, which is why Eldorado and Caesars have been working out deals to reduce the overall footprint. With Eldorado just having completed the sale of the Isle of Capri Casino in Missouri, which was purchased by Twin River Worldwide yesterday, the FTC is happy, and the remaining regulators will most like be happy, as well. 

A dramatic conclusion to the opening WSOP bracelet event saw both Phil Hellmuth and Tony Dunst get close to picking up the gold before missing out at the last.

Hellmuth announced his intentions very early in the day as he made his way to Vegas to play the online event:

On way to Vegas to play @WSOP online tourneys: first tourney is today at WSOP’s Online Poker Site. Staying at the newly refurbished, always magnificent, @AriaLV! Socially distanced bracelet hunting! #WSOP2020 #POSITIVITY pic.twitter.com/K3bY0yhlQ9

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) July 1, 2020https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js