A fugitive Taiwanese online gambling billionaire has been arrested after initially escaping a crackdown on his operations this summer.

On Thursday’s, Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced the arrest of a man identified only as Zhuang on suspicion of illegal gambling, money laundering and involvement in organized crime.

Taiwan News reported that Zhuang was none other than Chaung Chou-wen, chairman of Taichung-based Xin Li Wang Intl Holding Group, who has been granted honorary titles in Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia for his significant investments in local development projects.

Chuang (pictured) reportedly went underground in August after the CIB targeted an illegal online gambling business in Taichung City. Those raids followed an initial raid on an affiliated gambling network in January.

A fugitive Taiwanese online gambling billionaire has been arrested after initially escaping a crackdown on his operations this summer.

On Thursday’s, Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced the arrest of a man identified only as Zhuang on suspicion of illegal gambling, money laundering and involvement in organized crime.

Taiwan News reported that Zhuang was none other than Chaung Chou-wen, chairman of Taichung-based Xin Li Wang Intl Holding Group, who has been granted honorary titles in Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia for his significant investments in local development projects.

Chuang (pictured) reportedly went underground in August after the CIB targeted an illegal online gambling business in Taichung City. Those raids followed an initial raid on an affiliated gambling network in January.

Sports betting technology provider Kambi Group set a record-setting pace in the third quarter of 2020 on US expansion efforts and the resumption of major league play.

Figures released Friday by the Stockholm-listed Kambi show the company generated revenue of €28.1m in the three months ending September 30, up 22% from the same period last year. Operating profit nearly doubled to €6.5m as margins gained 8.4 points to 23.3% and after-tax profits shot up 122% to €5.1m.

Kambi’s good fortune came as major leagues returned to action following their pandemic-related suspension this spring. This resulted in betting turnover at Kambi clients rising 62% year-on-year to €669m, easily outpacing the previous high of €560m in Q4 2019. Kambi CEO Kristian Nylén said the difference between Q3 and Q2 2020 “couldn’t have been starker,” with September accounting for 43% of Q3’s total.

Kambi boasted 17 launches (three online, 14 land-based) during Q3, including Penn National Gaming’s hotly anticipated debut of its Barstool Sportsbook app in Pennsylvania in September. Kambi also signed a major new client in Churchill Downs Inc’s BetAmerica brand, while inking a long-term extension with existing partner LeoVegas.

The gambling industry learned the hard way in 2020 that Soccer, or Football if you prefer, is an irreplaceable part of any sportsbook offering. At a pair of panels at the SBC Digital Summit CIS, experts looked at the best way to keep the offering alive going forward, and the lessons learned from when it mostly went away.

At the first panel, named “Betting and Sports,” retired Barcelona midfielder Gaizka Mendieta discussed the need to keep sports betting safe for the customer to keep regulators in countries like, oh let’s say Spain, happy. “There’s now a sense of responsibility from official bodies and organizations to make it responsible for those who have access to these platforms. I know for sure because I’ve worked with different organizations that they’re trying to combine those two things.”

Speaking of Spain, which placed sponsorship and advertising limits on gambling operations, Mendieta believes there is a way forward to make everyone happy. “In particular, the Premier League and La Liga are working on trying to find a middle point where they’ll be allowed to do so and La Liga is now in talks with the government. In La Liga, I think about all but four or five clubs all have some sort of partnership with betting related companies.”

He revealed that sports leagues can do more thanks to gambling partnerships. “Thanks to these revenues and income, they can support grassroots, academies, etc. It’s beyond what most people do actually see in this relationship.”

Foxwoods Resort Casino is going to try a new tactic to attract certain gamblers. The property in Mashantucket, Connecticut is creating a gambling area specifically for the 55-and-over crowd, converting one of the existing gambling floors to an area exclusively for the age group. In addition, the venue will host a party today to get things going, complete with a DJ and Boone’s Farm wine. 

Foxwoods boasts of its new endeavor, “It’s time to let the grown-ups play! The safe, sanitized and socially distanced Rainmaker Casino at Foxwoods is exclusively for guests 55 plus from 10AM to midnight every weekend in November! Listen to the best of the 80s while playing your favorite slot machine. Play using your Foxwoods Rewards Card to enjoy special Fox Perxs and giveaways right at the machine. Enjoy complimentary beverages while you play and Happy Hour cocktails made with Boones Farm and kamakazis. [sic]”

The introduction of the space is designed to get more people back in the casino after it was shuttered in March because of COVID-19. Because it’s a tribal casino, it didn’t have to adhere to state anti-COVID-19 policies, but the Mashantucket Pequot tribe decided to take a break like everyone else before reopening at the beginning of June. Despite a strong re-entry that saw Foxwoods report gross gaming revenue that was off by only 4.9% from June of last year, traffic has trailed off some since then and August and September revenue has dropped. The casino has been running at just 25% its normal capacity, and August saw a year-on-year decline of 25%, while September had a 20% decrease. 

Foxwoods was recently recognized as the top casino outside Las Vegas by USA TODAY. Its assortment of gaming options has attracted a niche crowd that includes mostly an older demographic and prides itself on providing an atmosphere that is routinely highlighted as one of the best in the business. It has carried over that commitment as the state, and the country, continue to deal with COVID-19, and says in a statement, Foxwoods continues to hold a positive safety track record driven by guests and team members continually respecting health protocols and maintaining social distancing.”

The global tennis community has been dealing with a match-fixing scandal that has already accused over 130 individuals, from players to officials, of being involved. Not even the French Open has been immune from the fraudulent activity, and the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) has had its hands full getting to the bottom of a wide-reaching investigation. The TIU has now taken action against two Bulgarian players, both brothers, for their participation, convicting them of several corruption offenses.

Karen and Yuri Khachatryan are now going to take some time off from tennis and will have to break out the wallets to provide compensation for their errant activities. Karen has been banned for life from tennis and will have to pay $250,000, while brother Yuri received a ten-year ban and has to cough up $50,000. The bans and fines follow a little more than a month after unranked Spanish player Gerard Joseph Platero Rodriguez was hit with a four-year ban, including a six-month suspended sentence, and a $15,000 fine.

Karen is said to have violated the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP) on a number of occasions, including five instances of match-fixing and nine of soliciting other players to throw matches, as well as continuously attempting to impede the TIU’s investigation. Yuri also violated the TACP by attempting to solicit players to rig matches, lack of cooperation with the investigation, tampering with evidence and providing false information, gambling on matches and assisting others so they could gamble on matches. 

The TACP specifically prohibits certain gambling-related activity, including the “[solicitation] or [facilitation] any other person to wager” and the “attempt to contrive the outcome” of a match. Players, officials, coaches and virtually anyone tied to the sport are prohibited from gambling on tennis matches and from offering money or incentives to a player in order to get them to help fix a game. The TACP also requires that those in the tennis ecosystem cooperate in investigations, and the Khachatryans’ efforts to derail the investigation has now cost them all the work they put into tennis.