It’s often a risk commissioning a new show for any platform. That’s why you often see the same sorts of series pop up. A disgruntled detective with a drink problem? It’s worked before. A dysfunctional family who snip cynical put-downs at each other? Why change the habit of a TV production lifetime? But in terms of poker on screen, it can often be exactly the same.

Gangsters chucking cards at each other, East End bad boys risking the roof over their head on four of a kind? We’ve all seen these poker tropes before.

So why does Hank’s Home Game on PokerStars feel like a fresh take on the celebrity cash game format that has been around since the 1980’s?

For one, the stars of the show are pretty impressive. There’s Hank Azaria, star of The Simpsons, of course, but he’s by no means the only big name. He’s joined in Episode 1 by Josh Charles, Jon Hamm, Michael Cera, Michael Ian Black and Don Cheadle – a stellar line-up of superstars.

The new Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRGL) in Ukraine was put in place to help shape the country’s online gaming industry and it has been busy putting together all the pieces of the puzzle. However, it still has more work to do, as Ukraine’s new Gambling Law is still being fine-tuned. This has led to some confusion among gaming operators, of which 15 have had their license applications rejected, who are trying to figure out how the CRGL could have turned them down when, at the same time, it approved a license for Speisiks LLC, the company behind the Cosmolot gaming brand. 

Last Wednesday, the commission awarded Speisiks a license to operate Cosmolot in the iGaming realm. It had previously held an instant lottery license, but stepped away from the activity almost two years ago. Other online gaming operators have been patiently waiting to receive updated guidance on several points regarding technical certification of the country’s new gambling laws, and are now wondering how the CRGL could have given Speisiks a license without that guidance having been delivered. 

The government of Ukraine has yet to implement “technical accreditation” requirements needed to satisfy certain aspects of iGaming, including which operating systems and software can be used, as well as what types of compliance controls are to be put into force. Without that information established, it isn’t clear how Speisiks was able to find approval, unless it had a helping hand from someone on the inside. It’s expected that the other gaming candidates who have found their applications rejected will file a legal challenge, possibly against both the CRGL and Speisiks, which could further hamper efforts to bring a legitimate iGaming market to the country.

The CRGL came into existence about three months ago and is already being viewed as incompetent to handle its responsibilities. This is enough to give the anti-gambling crowd fuel for their opposition and their argument that gambling only leads to corruption on all levels. Everyone is now requesting that better oversight be given to the industry and to CRGL, and 4H Agency CEO and Senior Partner Ulya Machavariani asserts, “Developments continue to gather pace in Ukraine; however, applicant parties still await vital information on technical certification to address legislation requirements. The next months will be critical in how a regulated market shapes up. Out of the blue, CRGL offered its first license this month, but greater transparency certainly could help the market.”

The Philippines House of Representatives are trying to fixt their online gambling taxation problem. The House voted 198-13-2 to pass House Bill 5777 on February 8, creating an opportunity for President Rodrigo Duterte and the Senate to finally get the tax revenues they want from the Philippine Offshore Gambling Operators (POGOs).

Rappler broke the news early Monday evening:

JUST IN: Voting 198-13-2, House approves on 3rd reading House Bill 5777 imposing taxes on persons engaged in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations. | via @maracepeda pic.twitter.com/qcEEsMfflk

— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) February 8, 2021https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Online cockfighting is one of the Philippines solutions to dwindling gambling tax revenues, but could it sabotage another important vertical? The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) says they’ve seen lower sales since e-sabong blew up in 2020.

Although online cockfighting is still not legal and regulated, it’s increasing in popularity, and PCSO general manager Royina Garma says that’s a problem. “Definitely, lottery sales are affected by online sabong,” Garma said.

The problem is that cockfighting itself is typically legal. “As far as I know, [the cockpit is] legal because they have permits from local governments. But online cockfights are illegal,” Garma said.

She urged the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation and local government to go after illegal online offerings. Local governments in particular, who issue permits for cockpits, should investigate if any online offering is coming from their territory. Start looking for webcams, boys!

As with everyone else in the gaming industry, Scientific Games suffered hard times last year from COVID-19. However, it was still able to ink new deals to expand its footprint and this may be one of the reasons why the company’s board has decided to hang onto President and CEO Barry Cottle. The Las Vegas-based gaming company announced through a filing (pdf) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last Friday that Cottle will remain at the helm for the foreseeable future and gave him a nice boost in salary as a way of showing its appreciation. 

Scientific Games and Cottle signed an extension of their existing agreement last Thursday. Cottle’s current contract had been good through the end of May and, as of June 1, will now continue for another three years. As long as things don’t take a massive downturn, Cottle will hold his position until May 31, 2024, after which there could be automatic annual extensions until everyone decides that it’s time to move on. 

Cottle had agreed to take a cut in pay to help the company overcome the coronavirus pandemic, foregoing his usual $1.75-million salary. He is also being rewarded for that gesture, with Scientific Games approving a bump up to $1.8 million a year. While agreeing not to receive his salary last year, he still may have been eligible for bonuses, which were reportedly as much as 350% of that base salary. The gaming executive’s contract stipulates a bonus of 100% for reaching target goals and 250% for certain long-term incentive opportunities. It isn’t clear how much, if any, of the bonuses were paid last year. In addition to the increased salary and the bonuses, Cottle will also receive 50,000 restricted stock units, which will be vested in “substantially equal installments on each of May 31, 2022, 2023 and 2024.”

Cottle has been at the helm of Scientific Games since June 2018. That was when the company’s former CEO, Kevin Sheehan, stepped down after steering the ship for just two years. He came over to the gaming industry from the cruise ship business, having served as the CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings for seven years before joining Scientific Games. Prior to his promotion, Cottle had served as the CEO of Scientific Games subsidiary SG Interactive.

Gambling Portal Webmasters Association (GPWA) Program Manager Maria Florides has a passion for the world of affiliate marketing. Florides took some time out of her schedule to sit down with Calvinayre.com lead reporter Becky Liggero Fontana to share her thoughts on the future of affiliate marketing in the gambling sector.

After more than 15 years in the industry, Florides confesses that she has a passion for a business that she fell into. “I started in customer support for a few years,” she said of her beginnings, but that the night shift pushed her to try other things. “I started working with other companies doing affiliation… I loved looking after all the affiliates,” Florides said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t30Qf9OWaVk&feature=youtu.beVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Maria Florides believes affiliates will bounce back in 2021 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t30Qf9OWaVk&feature=youtu.be)

Florides then explains the GPWA is the perfect way to feed her passion for affiliate marketing. The organization was built to offer advice and support to affiliates within the industry. “They’re all getting very interested. The very small affiliates, they come asking for help, advice from us and from the other affiliates in the community,” she added.

Chung Chak “John” Lee laundered millions of dollars through Crown Resorts casinos in Australia. That’s the allegation against him as Australian authorities try to get him extradited from Thailand. Apparently, as has already been demonstrated on several occasions, Crown Resorts made it easy for individuals to pass huge bags of money through its operations without many questions asked, and Lee may have been one of those who took advantage of the casino operator’s lax policies.

Lee was arrested in Thailand this past December, accused of being an international drug lord and a part of The Company, an international crime syndicate. The organization has been on the radar by law enforcement around the world, as well as the United Nations, for managing around 70% of the methamphetamines that entered Australia. However, Lee wasn’t just into drugs and led activity in both Hong Kong and Bangkok that catered to high-rolling gamblers. He didn’t just offer them a connection to the tables, though. He reportedly had joined forces with Crown to drive business and, according to investigators, laundered millions of dollars through Crown’s casino in Melbourne in 2012.

This isn’t the first time that Lee’s name has been linked to Crown. The Company was featured in news pieces on several occasions last year and the year before, all showing how easy it was to use Crown’s operations to launder funds. Those reports, and Lee’s illicit activity, are what led to the investigation into Crown’s history and New South Wales’ Bergin inquiry into the company’s ability to hold a gambling license. That inquiry is expected to wrap up at any time, and Crown is facing the possibility of losing its license and/or being forced to completely revamp its executive ranks to appease regulators.

The 65-year-old Lee is reportedly a high-ranking boss in the 14 K Triad and is said to have spent the past 30-plus years running illegal drug operations across the globe. He is also said to have connections with Broken Tooth, another notorious triad boss reportedly on the run somewhere in Malaysia. Lee apparently has well-placed connections, including in some high-ranking offices in both Taiwan and Thailand. That might create some delays in his extradition to Australia, but it’s not likely to prevent it, unless he figures out a way to conveniently escape before the extradition order can be approved.

The Londoner Macao, the casino resort in Macau formerly known as Sands Cotai Central, opened today. The Sands China property took almost a year longer to prepare, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will feature an ambience completely designed after some of the top attractions in and around London. It will also offer a new VIP room from the Tak Chun Group, who, per a report from GGRAsia, confirmed at the end of last week that it is adding its name to the amenities at the property. 

Sands China, the Asian arm of Las Vegas Sands, has taken to installing thematic casinos in Macau and decided to highlight the best of London when it moved to revamp the Sands Cotai. The global pandemic forced the construction schedule to be altered, and Sands announced late last year that it was ready to begin welcoming gamblers this month. The remainder of the property will be rolled out in phases that will most likely span the rest of this year.

Sands Cotai held a Tak Chun VIP room last year prior to the start of the upgrade and is now anxious to try to get back to normal as it looks like COVID-19 is finally being brought under control. The junket operator also has VIP rooms in other Macau properties, including MGM Cotai, The Plaza Macao and Wynn Palace Cotai. Everyone, including Sands and Tak Chun, is hoping that they will be able to get off on the right foot this week, which marks the beginning of the annual Chinese New Year holiday. However, with travel advisories in place, many hotels still have ample vacancy and the turnout may not be as great as expected. 

Once things do settle down, though, The Londoner will already have a nod of approval from some scholars. Glenn McCartney, the U.K.’s honorary consul in Macau believes Sands has done a great job in bringing London to the city, and the associate professor of Integrated Resort and Tourism Management at the University of Macau told GGRAsia, “It’s absolutely important that the Chinese traveller understands” a brand and added that the Londoner Macao’s brand is “very clear.” He explained, “You can invent your own branding, [but] that takes some time to ramp up. The Londoner [Macao] straight away has iconic things, like the buses, or the phone boxes, or the many other things in the property.”

The Japanese city of Yokohama has a steep hill to climb if it hopes to stay in the integrated resort bidding competition. Hoping to convince the public that it’s still worth it, the town’s leaders recently held it’s first of six public briefings to explain why an IR is worth it.

“We hope that you will understand the various attractions of an IR, the job creation, positive impact on Yokohama’s economic development and the contribution to the city’s finances,” said Deputy Mayor Toshihide Hirahara.

“I believe that this will be one of the sparks needed for economic recovery after coronavirus,” he added.

Of the questions that the public asked included how much revenue the city can expect to gain from an IR. City officials responded that 15% of the casino’s revenue would go toward the city, as well as entry fees for Japanese citizens. On top of that, with the added jobs and business that an IR would bring, tax revenues would surely increase.