Kenyan sports betting operator SportPesa has resumed operations in its home market after over a year of warring with the government over taxes.

On Friday, SportPesa announced its triumphant return to the Kenyan betting market, saying it was “delighted” to be once again serving local punters. The brand exited the market in September 2019 following a lengthy tax dispute with the Kenya Revenue Agency (KRA) based on different definitions of what qualified as ‘winnings.’

SportPesa’s return is a little more complicated than it may seem, as the company has transferred the rights to the SportPesa brand to a new locally licensed bookmaker, Milestone Games Ltd, and a new website, ke.SportPesa.com. The new betting app is reportedly suffering some teething problems and customers have been advised to stick to the website for the time being.  

SportPesa Kenya’s official Twitter feed has informed bettors that it they previously held a SportPesa account, their log-in details remain the same and all they need to do to reactivate their account was to read and accept the updated T&C’s.

Kenyan sports betting operator SportPesa has resumed operations in its home market after over a year of warring with the government over taxes.

On Friday, SportPesa announced its triumphant return to the Kenyan betting market, saying it was “delighted” to be once again serving local punters. The brand exited the market in September 2019 following a lengthy tax dispute with the Kenya Revenue Agency (KRA) based on different definitions of what qualified as ‘winnings.’

SportPesa’s return is a little more complicated than it may seem, as the company has transferred the rights to the SportPesa brand to a new locally licensed bookmaker, Milestone Games Ltd, and a new website, ke.SportPesa.com. The new betting app is reportedly suffering some teething problems and customers have been advised to stick to the website for the time being.  

SportPesa Kenya’s official Twitter feed has informed bettors that it they previously held a SportPesa account, their log-in details remain the same and all they need to do to reactivate their account was to read and accept the updated T&C’s.

China’s lottery sales suffered a downturn in September after a two-month growth streak, a trend that is likely to continue following new rules restricting ‘high frequency’ lottery products.

Figures released Friday by China’s Ministry of Finance show overall lottery sales of RMB35.8b (US$5.35b) in the month of September, a 1.5% decline from the same month last year. The decline ended the market’s modest growth streak over the past two months, which followed 18 months of annual declines.

September’s decline was entirely due to welfare lottery sales falling 11% to RMB13.9b, while sports lottery sales rose 5.8% to RMB21.9b thanks to the resumption of global sports leagues following their pandemic halt.

For the year-to-date, overall sales are down 27% to RMB230.7b, with welfare lottery down 28.8% to RMB101.9b and sports lottery falling 25.4% to RMB128.8b.

Italian government officials have imposed further lockdown restrictions on the country, putting the brakes on the recovery of the local casino industry. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that Italy would go into a second lockdown period until the November 24.

The move is a blow to the country’s casino and gaming industry as they struggle to stage an economic recovery in the last quarter of 2020. The restrictions include the full closure of bars and restaurants until 6:00 pm on weekdays, and full closures on Sundays. Businesses deemed to be non-essential have also been instructed to shut-down by the government.

Despite the restrictions, the gaming industry is still afloat; local residents can purchase lotto tickets at local outlets under strict social distancing guidelines.

Italian gaming operators have expressed their discontent with the latest lockdown rules. The main trade bodies for the gambling industry in Italy have gone on the offensive, lobbying for a swift end to the lockdown in local media outlets.

Action movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme (JCVD) is set to star in a new campaign for Belgium online sportsbook and casino 777.be. The new deal will see the iconic Belgium movie star continue his association with the local sportsbook until 2022.

This isn’t the first time that JCVD has leant his name to the 777 brand; Van Damme partnered with 777 on their 2019 marketing campaign, that generated 13 million views on YouTube. In the latest campaign, Van Damme plays a vigilante who is out to educate players on responsible gambling habits.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mog5I7z24hE?feature=oembed&w=640&h=360]

Van Damme recorded two clips for the company in September this year. Both of these will be played across European channels TF1 in Wallonia, and VTM in Flanders, as well as Youtube. Always the showman JCVD showcases some of his iconic action movie poses while promoting safe and responsible gambling practices.

If the gambling industry is going to adopt Bitcoin SV (BSV), and it probably should, it’s going to need some system of tokens. Tokens will help ease customers into the ecosystem, and provide a powerful system of managing assets and promotional offerings. And thanks to James Belding’s Tokenized, that platform is coming.

The Tokenized CEO recently presented an online demonstration of his company’s first application, due for release in November. The Bitcoin Association organized webinar demonstrated the Tokenized platform, from which a business could manage all of their tokenized assets.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Nj-x8KWGg?feature=oembed&w=640&h=360]

Using the Tokenized platform, a business will be able to manage every aspect of their tokens, from creation, to issuance, to the rules applied to it. By using the power of the BSV blockchain, companies can use smart contracts to manage all of the rules applied to their tokens, and monitor everything from one place.