THE AMERICAS

Las Vegas visionary Kirk Kerkorian died at the age of 98; PokerStars’ California coalition launched an online poker advocacy group; Bitcoin online poker operator Bryan Micon decided to return to Nevada to face illegal online gambling charges; gaming device maker AGS acquired social gamers RocketPlay; the NBA dropped its opposition to Canada’s sports betting legislation; Jamaica greenlit two resort casino projects; Massachusetts regulators okayed next week’s opening of the state’s first casino; Nevada casinos confiscate $40k of counterfeit cash every week; casino execs pushed back against IRS plans to boost the tax on casino winnings; Caesars Entertainment was hit with a $6.3b lawsuit by its senior creditors; MGM Resorts CEO Jim Mullen said casino gaming floors will shrink; poker pro Erick Lindgren filed for bankruptcy protection (again); Caesars Interactive VP Seth Palansky talked up the importance of the Nevada-Delaware interstate online poker compact and Lee Davy continued his wall-to-wall coverage of the 2015 World Series of Poker.

EUROPE

Betfair posted stellar FY 2015 results; daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings applied for UK online gambling licenses; controversy over the skier_5 program had PokerStars rethinking its stance on third-party assistance software; Paddy Power fired its new advertising agency after just three months; Russian bookmakers protested a plan to tax bettors’ winnings; online poker operator PKR exited the French market; Playtech placed £250m worth of shares to fund its Plus500 acquisition; the German minister in charge of online betting licensing admitted the process was botched; NetEnt brought its games to William Hill’s retail shops; BetVictor sold its UK racecourse betting points to Star Sports; illegal Turkish gambling operators disguised themselves as labor unions and Rebecca Liggero previewed the top-five must-attend sessions at the iGaming Super Show 2015 in Amsterdam.