THE AMERICAS
A judge ruled creditor lawsuits could continue against Caesars Entertainment during bankruptcy proceedings; a federal indictment of two Israeli stock manipulators took down a major US-facing online casino group; DraftKings inked a partnership with Major League Soccer; Mohegan Sun launched a New Jersey online casino site and a free-play Play4Fun site in Connecticut; Boyd Gaming’s online gambling turned a $1.6m profit while Delaware’s online gambling revenue hit a new low; Antigua made a last-ditch effort to resolve its WTO dispute with the US; Yahoo’s definition of a daily fantasy sports guarantee came under fire; Tony Romo’s cancelled fantasy sports convention sued the NFL for $1m; BCLC’s PlayNow.com boosted annual revenue by 20%; a court ruled that the Bahamas didn’t need to recognize Baha Mar’s US bankruptcy filing; PokerStars queried its former US players on their daily fantasy sports preferences; GLPI finally sealed its REIT deal with Pinnacle Entertainment; Churchill Downs Inc. shut down Bluff Media; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology launched an online poker course; Stephanie Rccquel offered insights into building a social brand and Rebecca Liggero explained why casinos need to embrace NFC and Beacon technology.
EUROPE
Ladbrokes and Gala Coral Group sealed a merger deal but the merged brands will retain some independence; Italian police cracked down hard on the Betuniq online betting operation; Gaming Realms acquired the Slingo social casino brand from RealNetworks; sports betting became France’s dominant online gambling vertical; Casino Gran Madrid shut its online poker room; 32Red boosted its H1 revenue by 22% while Betsson’s H1 rose 19% and IG Group boosted its 2014 revenue by 5%; LGBTBet founder Kim Alexander discussed the unique challenges facing an LGBT-themed online gambling site; Liverpool FC inked a deal with MarathonBet and Winamax inked OGC Nice; PokerStars announced the priciest ever online poker tourney and the biggest ever WCOOP; Full Tilt signed Marc Kennedy as its first ever Player Ambassador; Bwin.party poker director Jeffrey Haas left the company but Rafi Farber explained why 888’s acquisition of Bwin.party won’t fail.