THE AMERICAS

Quebec securities regulator revealed details of an insider trading kickback scheme involving former Amaya CEO David Baazov; betting tout Adam Meyer pled guilty to felony extortion and racketeering charges; Scientific Games split off its social gaming operations into a separate entity; Caesars Entertainment lost its bankruptcy mediator and said it would test-run Gamblit Gaming’s skill-based games at its Harrah’s Rincon property; Carl Icahn formally requested the closure Atlantic City’s Trump Taj Mahal casino and six-times World Series of Poker bracelet winner Ted Forrest found himself wanted by police for writing $215k worth of bad checks at Wynn Resorts casinos in Las Vegas.

EUROPE and AFRICA

The UK government was said to be readying a review of fixed-odds betting terminals while the UK Gambling Commission said it wouldn’t impose new in-play betting restrictions; Betsson acquired TonyBet’s Lithuanian operations; the German state of Hesse offered temporary online betting permits; Italy’s online sports betting market grew twice as fast as land-based operations while Italy’s prime minister vowed to reduce slots outside casinos by 30%; French online sports betting set new turnover and revenue records; Austria’s competition watchdog blocked Novomatic’s takeover of Casinos Austria; Malta Gaming Authority’s Joseph Cuschieri explained plans to simplify its regulatory regime; Microgame’s Marco Castaldo examined the challenges faced by today’s omni-channel operators; Gidani Ltd’s Dawid Muller reviewed African nations’ push to regulate gambling; FSB Tech’s Dave McDowell discussed new opportunities in virtual sports and eSports while Rebecca Liggero recapped the second annual WrB London conference.