THE AMERICAS
FanDuel exited Texas after a deal with the state AG and Georgia’s AG joined the ‘DFS is illegal’ club; DraftKings scrapped its eSports sponsorships while 888Poker replaced DraftKings as World Series of Poker sponsor; Amaya Gaming said it won’t publish 2016 earnings guidance; Georgia’s casino legislation died on the vine and Florida pols failed to approve the Seminole Tribe’s new gaming compact; online bookie 5Dimes was linked to a Costa Rican money laundering probe; legislative inaction could put a halt to the Illinois Lottery’s online sales; Zynga got its second new CEO in less than a year; the United Auburn Indian Community joined PokerStars’ California coalition; Carl Icahn threatened to cancel a $100m cash injection for the Trump Taj Mahal; online casino operator LeoVegas pushed for a North American IPO and Loto-Quebec’s online gambling IP-blocking plans could contravene the Trans Pacific Partnership.
EUROPE
The UK government made racing’s week by confirming ‘race betting right’ plans; Paddy Power was fined £310k for AML/KYC lapses; both Gala Coral Group and Sky Betting & Gaming’s 2015 results got a major boost from mobile channels while Sportech’s online operations took a tumble in 2015; Lithuania likened unauthorized online gambling sites to digital smuggling while Russia mulled financial penalties for anyone who helped punters access banned gambling sites; TitanBet inked its first major football partnership with Sevilla FC; 888Poker scrapped its rakeback schemes; PokerStars’ French site stopped accepting Austrian players; Novomatic and a Czech investment group teamed up to acquire control of Casinos Austria; Power Media’s Michael Finderup touted the power of email marketing; Gaming Realms’ Simon Collins said startup founders should demonstrate commitment by quitting their day-jobs; TrackingDesk’s Laurent Malka discussed the importance of traffic management for affiliates; Anna Mazoruk recapped the Georgia Gaming Congress 2016 and Rafi Farber considered the effect on gambling sites if the UK left the European Union.