Malta continues to do everything it can to ensure it can enjoy a positive reputation from the global community. Always big on gaming, it has been implementing measures to ensure that there aren’t any scandals that could rock the boat as it becomes a powerhouse in the industry, and the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is determined to weed out all components that could cause problems. Former CEO Heathcliff Farrugia left in a hurry at the end of last month and the gaming regulator has been driving home its plans to prevent match-fixing. In another move that is indicative of Malta’s desire to maintain a cleaner profile, the head of the Malta Financial Service Authority (MFSA), Joseph Cuschieri, has now given up his position, as well.

Cuschieri’s resignation won’t come as a surprise to most. He is the former chairman and CEO of the MGA and was found to have some type of link to a supposed criminal, Jorgen Fenech, who is said to have been behind the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana. Fenech was a casino operator who, along with several other high-profile Maltese figures, was concerned about an exposé being developed by Caruana that was reportedly going to blow the lid on corruption and bribery at the highest levels of government and business in the country. 

After moving from the MGA to the MFSA, Cuschieri, at one point, felt it was okay to travel with Fenech to Las Vegas on a trip that was paid for by the casino mogul. In light of the ongoing murder scandal and talk of conflicts of interest, the man charged with leading Malta’s financial regulations had already stepped away from his responsibilities earlier this year, but had not officially resigned until now. 

In a letter he wrote two days ago announcing his resignation, Cuschieri asserted that he still didn’t feel that he had done anything wrong, but that extricating himself completely from Malta’s political and financial activity was the best course of action. He explained that he wanted to “avoid any unnecessary media attention and external pressures at such a critical juncture” and added that his resignation “should in no way be interpreted as an admission of any wrongdoing and/or misconduct.” That sounds oddly similar to what Steve Wynn said when he “voluntarily” decided to resign as CEO of Wynn Resorts following his sexual misconduct scandal. Cuschieri further offered, “I came to this conclusion following a period of deep reflection – that in the circumstances it is both in the interest of the Authority and myself to part ways.”

Casino employees in Peru have had enough. After being forced to be out of work for eight months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are becoming increasingly frustrated and want the government to figure out how to let them back on the job like other countries have been doing. They have been more and more vocal as the shutout wears on and decided that rallying in from the country’s Congress yesterday would be the best way to make sure their collective voice was heard.

Local news outlets in Peru report that more than 50,000 workers took to Peruvian streets in various parts of the country yesterday to protest the ongoing shutdown. Many countries have figured out how to let their gambling industries begin to open, as long as they comply with certain health protocols, but Peru is still ignoring the possibilities. Despite the fact that certain casinos, like those in some U.S. states, have had to backtrack as new COVID-19 cases mount, there has still been a lot of progress made since this past July.

At the beginning of this month, Peru’s National Chamber of Tourism sent a letter to the country’s then-president, Manuel Merino, asking that the casino industry be allowed to reopen, citing health protocols and measures that had been established by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism. Merino never responded and, as the country became gripped with protests over what was seen as a lack of support for the people, he resigned less than a week into his tenure. His predecessor, Martin Vizcarra, didn’t do a much better job, and was ousted in a major bribery scandal that hit the country.

Speaking to local media, a spokesperson representing the frustrated casino employees, Johan Escalante, asserted, “We’re already in compliance with protocols. All betting rooms have been adapted to comply with the guidelines established by the Ministry of Health and by Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism. We already have an approved pre-protocol the [authorities] haven’t published it yet.”

The Americas

Nevada continues to come under pressure from the pandemic. A new order passed by Governor Steve Sisolak will force all gambling facilities, bars and restaurants to reduce their capacity down to 25% due to the spike in COVID-19 cases. Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson is the favourite for his comeback match. Iron Mike is set to take on Roy Jones Jr in an eight-round exhibition match. Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City has shown signs of recovery in the third quarter of 2020. Figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show that it was the only Atlantic City Casino to post a narrow profit. Responsible gaming remains a hot topic in Iowa. Local authorities have come down hard on DraftKings for not following state guidelines. The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) still has Steve Wynn in its sights. The local body wants to impose a lifetime ban on Wynn following the fallout of his misconduct scandal.

Europe

Swedish gaming authorities have been forced to revise their COVID-19 strategy. Land based casinos have been forced to shut early in the face of a surge in cases. U.K. National lottery operator Camelot posted near record sales in the first half of the fiscal year. The U.K. operator generated sales of £3.85b in the six months ending September 26. Europe has yet to take full advantage of the benefits of integrated resorts. The SIGMA Europe conference tackled the question on how the European market can embrace the benefits of larger integrated resorts. France’s online gambling market continues to shake off the pandemic cobwebs. Figures released by France’s Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) gambling regulator show locally licensed online gambling operators generated combined revenue of €405m in the three months ending September 30.

Online sports betting operator Betcris has launched a dedicated site for the Brazilian market as it waits for the country to finally launch its regulated wagering regime.

On Thursday, Betcris announced the launch of br.betcris.com, a Portuguese-language site that offers Brazilian customers a variety of sports betting and casino options, along with access to the company’s Betcris Arena loyalty program. Site visitors will even find the grinning face of Brazilian football great (and Betcris brand ambassador) Ronaldinho grinning out at them.

Betcris has prioritized its Latin American operations, as evidenced by the official betting partnerships the company signed this summer with the National Football League and Major League Baseball for LatAm markets. But Betcris CEO JD Duarte called Brazil “priority number one” for his company this spring as Betcris signed on to sponsor Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top flight of Brazilian football.

There’s no question that Brazil, with a population of around 213m sports-mad souls, is LatAm betting’s great white whale. Brazil approved betting legislation two years ago but has dragged its feet ever since on determining the appropriate licensing model and crafting the necessary regulations.

Greek lottery and betting operator OPAP swung back into profitable territory in the third quarter although its retail operations have once again been shut due to pandemic precautions.

Figures released Wednesday show OPAP generated revenue of €391m in the three months ending September 30, a 0.7% fall from the same period last year but more than triple the Q2 2020 sum. Pre-pandemic cost controls allowed earnings to inch up 1.5% to €105m while net profits rose 8.3% to €52.8m.

OPAP’s Q3 benefited from the reopening of its retail operations in June after COVID-19 forced the closure of its lottery, betting and video lottery terminal (VLT) networks in March. Numeric lotteries remained broadly negative in Q3 thanks to retail capacity restrictions, with revenue down 9.3% to €179m, while the Instant & Passives segment fell 14.1% to €27.1m.

Betting enjoyed no such slump, rising nearly 14% to €104.6m as major leagues resumed play following their pandemic suspension. Live betting accounted for 45% of Q3’s total, with 35.5% of live bets now coming via Playtech-powered self-service betting terminals.

The Premier League passes the quarter-mark this weekend as the 10th game for most clubs takes place. With three points on offer, only goal difference separates Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at the top of the league, while at the bottom, winless West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United will face each other.

Let’s take a look at a couple of the games which have most bearing then provide our betting predictions for all 10 games.

Everton vs. Leeds United (Saturday, 5.30pm GMT kick-off) 

One of the games of the weekend, Everton host Leeds for the first time in top-flight action for 16 years. The Whites won’t be encouraged by what happened when they last visited Goodison Park in the league campaign, when defender Steve Watson was adapted to midfield in stunning fashion as he scored a hat-trick and The Toffees made things very sticky for Leeds.

UK gambling revenue took a small dip in the 12 months immediately preceding the pandemic outbreak despite a surge in lottery activity.

Figures released Thursday by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) show total gross gambling yield (GGY) of £14.2b in the 12 months ending March 31, 2020, a modest 0.6% decrease from the same period 12 months prior. This marks the second year in a row in which overall GGY has fallen from the previous year.

The reporting period concluded 11 days after the UK market entered its (first) pandemic lockdown, so the wholesale upheaval since that unblessed event isn’t reflected here. But the period does include the dramatic reduction of stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT) in betting shops from £100 to just £2 that started April 1, 2019.

Total GGY minus lotteries was down 4.5% to £10.2b, as National Lottery sales rose 10.4% to £3.4b while other lotteries shot up 13.2% to £611.6m. Lotteries (both online and retail) accounted for 28.2% of the market’s overall GGY.

The winner of the 2020 partypoker Caribbean Poker Party Main Event is Peruvian poker pro Diego Ventura, and he did it in style as he won the top prize of $879,894.  

Going ‘wire to wire’, Ventura led after his Day 1 flight, the end of Day 2 and was the last man sitting with chips from his home as he dominated the event with merciless skill and power.  

On a day which will always be remembered for the passing of another Diego, Ventura proved himself to be as untouchable on the felt as Maradona once was on the football pitch. Entering the Main Event for $5,300, Ventura made it look easy as he became the fifth and surely greatest CPP Main Event champion.  

The final day started off with Ventura leading the way by some distance, sitting with 300 million chips when his nearest rival had 193 million and third in chips had less than half the chip leader’s stack. That dominance by the Peruvian never ended, with three players busted before the first break even began.  

Players are suffering more muscle injuries than ever in the Premier League this season due to the shortened English football season. It’s not only in the EPL, however, as the problem is just as rife in the Football League. In a season that has been truncated by COVID-19, what can the average manager do to prevent these happenings and lessen the risk while maintaining high levels of match fitness? 

To find out, we spoke again to somebody who knows about football because they work within it. The Secret Coach knows plenty about players fitness, having helped players of various ages cope with the physical stresses and strains of the game we all love. They’re a professional football coach in English football… who will remain anonymous. The Secret Coach has worked with some of the biggest names in the game, been through the coaching badges and is currently part of the coaching team at an English league side… and that’s all we’re telling you. As ever, this week, The Secret Coach pulls no punches! They start by explaining to us exactly how it works at the top level.  

“All teams have improved sports science departments these days, crunching the numbers of players’ GPS and fitness data so there is a lot more help and guidance for managers,” says The Secret Coach. “Pre-season is a gradual build-up, with some players not at optimum fitness when the season starts due to international tournaments and holidays to allow for rest. This season, that has not happened, with minimal preparation and players thrown into lots of games. That robustness has not been built up over time.” 

The gradual process would usually have seen players catching minutes at intervals in a pre-season that allows them to build up to full fitness. Instead, Premier League players got four weeks off since the end of the preceding season due to Project Restart.  

Quebec’s provincial gambling monopoly is refuting allegations that its casinos are facilitating money laundering by organized crime figures.

Le Journal de Montreal issued a series of reports this week alleging that the Casino de Montreal had “rolled out the red carpet” for multiple individuals linked to organized crime, including Stefano Sollecito, a reputed mafia figure who gambled millions at the casino despite declaring annual revenue in the mid-five-figure range to Canadian tax authorities.

The reports claim that Sollecito (pictured) and other crime figures have been showered with perks by Loto Quebec-managed casinos, including comped hotel rooms, restaurant meals, concert tickets and rounds of golf. Figures like Sollecito were members of the Casino de Montreal’s rewards program and were granted access to its swankiest VIP lounges.  

A 2019 report by Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC) pegged the gambling sector as the country’s third-most popular means for organized crime to launder proceeds of illicit activity, behind only private businesses and underground banking operations.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

What, you thought the always-busy UFC was going to take the American Thanksgiving weekend off? Not hardly. There’s a Fight Night card on Saturday night again from the organization’s Apex facility in Las Vegas and it’s headlined by a non-title matchup of American heavyweights in Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. The main card is set to start at 10 p.m. ET and is available on ESPN2/ESPN+.

The current heavyweight champion is Stipe Miocic, who isn’t expected to fight again until March at the earliest and most likely against No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou.

The 29-year-old Blaydes could get his title shot at some point in 2021, though, as the Oklahoma native (who hasn’t fought for a UFC belt) is 14-2 and has yet to face Miocic. The only two losses for “Razor” were to Ngannou by early-round TKOs.

Canadian sports bettors are rejoicing after their government confirmed plans to authorize single-event wagering, although fixed-odd race betting fans may be miffed at being left out of this party.

On Thursday, Canada’s Minister of Justice David Lametti confirmed Wednesday’s rumors that the federal government would amend the Criminal Code’s sports betting provisions to eliminate language restricting provincial gambling monopolies to parlay wagers.

Specifically, Lametti is proposing to allow provinces and territories “the discretion to manage single-event sport betting in their respective jurisdictions and offer Canadians an opportunity to place bets in a regulated environment either online or in physical facilities.”

Lametti said the proposed changes would “help create a safe and regulated environment” for Canadian bettors, while “taking profits out of the hands of organized crime.” Lametti also suggested the changes would encourage operators to “work with Indigenous people to strengthen their participation in the gaming industry.”

The Europa League returns tonight as clubs such as A.C. Milan, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City are all in action in the fourth gameweek of the competition.  

Who will take a giant step towards qualification for the knockout rounds and who will be left wondering if their next two games might be their last in the tournament? Let’s take a look.  

Napoli vs. HNK Rijeka (8pm GMT kick-off) 

There’s bound to be a very special atmosphere in Naples, regardless of whether fans will be able to attend the game in any way. The passing of perhaps Napoli’s most influential player and the greatest of all-time in Diego Maradona, who died yesterday aged just 60, has plunged the entire city into mourning.  

The Europa League returns tonight as clubs such as A.C. Milan, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City are all in action in the fourth gameweek of the competition.  

Who will take a giant step towards qualification for the knockout rounds and who will be left wondering if their next two games might be their last in the tournament? Let’s take a look.  

Napoli vs. HNK Rijeka (8pm GMT kick-off) 

There’s bound to be a very special atmosphere in Naples, regardless of whether fans will be able to attend the game in any way. The passing of perhaps Napoli’s most influential player and the greatest of all-time in Diego Maradona, who died yesterday aged just 60, has plunged the entire city into mourning.