As promised, Singapore began blocking unauthorized online gambling sites on Monday (2) in keeping with the restrictions of its new Remote Gambling Act (RGA). On Tuesday, a spokesperson from Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs told Agence France Press that the city-state’s digital guardians had succeeded in blocking “several hundred” online gambling sites from accessing their Singapore customers.

In addition to blocked sites, Singapore’s financial institutions have begun blocking money transfers to and from unauthorized sites. The Monetary Association of Singapore has ordered the Association of Banks in Singapore to ensure compliance with the RGA, which was approved by legislators in October. The RGA mandates harsh penalties for anyone caught flouting its restrictions, be they operators, gamblers or middlemen.

The RGA allows exemptions for certain local online operators who make significant contributions to local charitable/social causes. Lottery/betting operator Singapore Pools and race betting operator Turf Club have each previously indicated that they will apply for exemptions within the designated six-month window.

The list of blocked websites will be continually updated but not made public. Among the sites currently being blocked is IBCBet, which had already begun purging its Singaporean customers just days after the RGA’s passage. Other Asian online betting giants like SBObet are also confirmed to be on the naughty list.

Meanwhile, IBCBet has informed all its customers that it will soon be operating under the new MAXBET brand. A notice posted to the IBCBet site this weekend announced the launch of Maxbet.com, which “will soon replace www.ibcbet.com.” The notice said IBCBet will remain functional “for now” and login details remain the same for the new MAXBET site. Customers were told to expect emails detailing the change.

The Philippines-licensed IBCBet is considered one of the biggest Asian-facing online betting sites with a high brand profile, so the desire to rebrand is puzzling. However, the company garnered a lot of unwanted publicity via the arrest of Paul Phua last July in Las Vegas on charges of illegal online sports betting. Prosecutors claimed that Phua’s son Darren told them his father was a majority owner of IBCBet, although other reports have indicated that Phua sold the majority of his stake in the company years ago.

It’s time to get out of European gaming stocks, at least for now.

Something is happening in Greece, a wild card that almost nobody understands. Very rarely in history do these things happen, but political mainstreamers don’t see it coming. They are blinded to it, because they are so neck-deep in the muck of the system itself that they can’t see outside of it.

Here I am not referring to SYRIZA, Greece’s new ruling party, per se (whose leader Alexist Tsipras hates “large gambling interests and profiteering rampages”). SYRIZA is the new radical left wing party that just won 149 seats out of 300 in the Hellenic Parliament to renegotiate the Greek bailout. SYRIZA and Tsipras are just like the others, never saying anything of substance besides a few catchphrases, never being specific, never making any sense. Alexis Tripras is a red herring.

I’m talking about the new Greek Finance Minister, a guy named Yanis Varoufakis. I’ve been following this man for three years now, and I never thought he could actually make it to the Finance Minister’s seat. Unlike the other 299 politicians in the Hellenic Parliament, Yanis Varoufakis speaks like a human being. I think he actually is one.

In a nutshell, it’s like this. If just another politician occupied the Greek FinMin seat, eventually he’d be bought off by the Troika, that trifecta of acronyms like ESM and EFSF that hold all the bailout funds, and the proverbial can would be kicked down the road again. But Varoufakis is not just another politician, and that’s what political mainstreamers, as well as Eurozone leaders themselves, just don’t understand. He’s serious. He wants to default, he’s been saying it for years, and he is the only one with the guts and independence to mean what he says and do it.

Before I get into the seriousness of Varoufakis, the relevant advice is to get out of all European gaming stocks over the next week, maximum two weeks. Sell into upticks and go to cash, not all at once if you have heavy positions, but start zeroing out your holdings. Bwin.party has been trending up over 30% since its bottom in August. Ladbrokes is up 6.5% since the start of the year. William Hill is up close to 5%. Paddy Power is up 30% over the last 6 months. Betfair is in a continuing monster uptrend. Regardless of where you entered, if you’re up or down, all these stocks are in some kind of uptrend, whether short term or longer term. There is about to be at least a countertrend dip in the best case scenario, regardless of fundamentals.

To understand what Varoufakis wants to do, I encourage you to listen to this interview he had back in 2012, before he was ever on the political scene. Also take note of the way he talks. It is not politician-talk. He does not want any more bailouts, he has said he will not accept any more Troika funds, and he actually carries his resignation letter in his inside pocket. In his words, from his blog:

Software development company BetConstruct appointed Vahe Baloulian as the new Chief Executive Officer, taking over the responsibilities from company’s former CEO Suren Khachatryan.

Baloulian has begun his terms as CEO of BetConstruct in January. He previously had consulted by BetConstruct on corporate and managerial strategy through independent igaming consultancy eGaming Partners Inc.

BetConstruct’s new CEO will work between the company’s London, Yerevan (Armenia) and new Los Angeles offices, as the technology provider expands its B2B services and competencies throughout the igaming market.

“BetConstruct is a game changer in this industry, I have been working with the company for the last four years as an executive consultant and I am thrilled to join their talented team of people who are bent on making sure that gaming industry continues to innovate and thrive,” said Baloulian.

Baloulian, with more than 15 years of experience in igaming operational management specializing in strategic product development, held senior management roles at 888.com from 1998 to 2004, Red Planet Gaming as a CEO from 2006 to 2011 and California Poker Network CEO from 2009 to 2011.

Meanwhile, Group Operations Director Ian Chuter leaves UK-listed online gaming operator Betfair next week, after more than three years of service.

Chuter led Betfair’s global customer operation team, including fraud, payments, trading, telephone betting, and market operations.

The FIFA presidency is up for grabs on May 29, 2015, and now, three candidates have been officially announced to challenge incumbent president Sepp Blatter for the highest and most important position in all of football.

The three candidates are former Portugal international Luis Figo, Dutch FA president Michael van Praag, and Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan. The three were deemed eligible to run for the presidency after their respective bids met the requirements set by the sport’s governing body.

Conspicuous by his absence is former Newcastle United player David Ginola, who made news earlier this month when Irish bookmaker Paddy Power launched a (somewhat) serious campaign to champion Ginola’s attempt to become FIFA president. His inclusion isn’t actually surprising since many believed that he was nothing more than a nuisance candidate put in place to give Paddy Power more mainstream news coverage. On that end, the stunt ended up becoming a huge success so it’s not like Paddy Power is sweating over Ginola’s failed bid.

In any case, Blatter remains the odds-on favorite to win the presidency. Should he do so – he’s a 1/6 favorite – it would become his fifth term as the governing body’s president, extending a run as president that began in 1998. Blatter’s tenure has often times attracted controversy from all sectors of the sport, but the other three candidates appear to be in for a tough task unseating the incumbent this time around.

Former FIFA executive Jerome Champagne was originally touted as the most serious threat to Blatter’s throne, but the Frenchman announced his withdrawal from the race after receiving only three of five required nominations from football associations. With him out of the running, Figo is now considered as Blatter’s closest rival, although his odds fall somewhere in the 12/1 to 16/1 range. Those are still better odds than the ones van Praag and Al-Hussein have, both of whom are around the 20/1 to 25/1 range to topple Blatter’s presidential bid.

If the three candidates have any chance of beating Blatter, they’re going to have to do to their homework and get some votes in Asia, Africa, and South America. The three regions are widely considered Blatt territories and it’s entirely within reason that the current FIFA president could end up sweeping all available votes from associations in those areas.

Figo, van Praag, and Al-Hussein have to do that, and then fight to receive the backing of UEFA, which has 53 of the 209 available votes. These are tasks that are far easier said than done, which is why most see Blatter winning this vote handily and continuing his reign as FIFA president.

Billionaires Lawrence Ho and James Packer promised to bring a world-class integrated resort and casino to the Philippines that would rival any of its kind in the world. On Monday, February 2, 2015, the two men, together with their local partner the SM Group, finally brought that promise to life.

City of Dreams Manila ushers in a new era of gaming and entertainment in PAGCOR’s Entertainment City complex. City of Dreams Manila joins Bloomberry Resorts’ Solaire Hotel and Casino as the first two of the four IRs planned for the area.

As expected, Ho and Packer led the opening festivities, offering Filipinos a brief look at the two foreign casino titans sitting (and standing) side-by-side. During the press conference, Ho divulged to the gathered media that he has always had his eye on Manila as the next logical expansion for Melco Crown, which he and Packer co-own.

“Our vision was always to find greatest locations in Asia for integrated resorts. We’ve been very selective,” Ho said, almost sheepishly. “After Macau, Manila is really the first place we decided to go into.”

Meanwhile, Packer cut a far different aura to Filipinos, many of whom have only seen the man on the Internet. The imposing Packer stood proud and tall, befitting his almost 6’6” stature, but his intimidating aura was immediately stripped of when he offered his thoughts on the resort.

The Australian billionaire said that he hadn’t been as hands-on on the development process as Ho. So like most people, he was blown away by how the resort turned out, admitting that the “property has exceeded my highest expectations.”

“I can see tourism growing hugely in the Philippines. I think you do have more fun in the Philippines,” Packer added to the amusement of the media who couldn’t help but notice the billionaire’s reference to a recent ad campaign by the country’s Department of Tourism.

iGB announced the IGBA Awards 2015 winners, following a glamorous evening held at the Chelsea Football Club in London on February 1st.

iGB Affiliate Awards have always been one of the highlights of London Affiliate Conference. A night full of surprises, with an attendance list that reads as a who’s who of the Affiliate industry. Hosted by the comedian Tom Stade and THePETEBOX, a beatbox artist from the UK opening the event, the best affiliates in iGaming industry gather as one to join the fun and to celebrate the excellence in the iGaming Affiliate Industry.

The big winner is bet365 as it won three awards-Best Affiliate Program (Sports Betting), Best Affiliate Program (Overall), and Players Choice – Best Online Sportsbook.

Winners of Best Manager by category are bwin.party Kriton Kounelakis for Poker, Affiliate Edge Martyn Beacon for casino, Coral Connection’s Anthony Hodgetts for Sports Betting, Quick Think Affiliates’s Gavin Walters for Bingo, Plus500 Nadav Shilo (Financial) and Redbet.com Marius Filip as Best Affiliate Manager (Overall).

“This means a lot. We put down a lot of work. I think this is our third in a row. We are happy, proud and thanks everyone for voting. It has been amazing!” said Bingoport.com winner of Best Bingo Affiliate to CalvinAyre.com.

“This is the first year we’ve been here. We won this award now three times in a row and we are lucky enough to be here to accept the award. So we’re just happy about that,” said PokerNews.com winner of Best Poker Affiliate.

“We have been shortlisted for the Best Sportsbook Affiliate for six to seven years, finally something to take home. Obviously we did not see it coming for the mobile. It’s quite nice and it’s happy for everyone,” said Flashscore.com (Best Mobile Affiliate)

Sports bettors wagered just under $116m on the Super Bowl with Nevada sportsbooks, falling just short of 2014’s record $119.4m haul. Nevada Gaming Control Board chairman A.G. Burnett reported that unaudited figures put the state’s 191 licensed sportsbooks’ net win at $3.26m, representing a 2.8% hold, the lowest figure since the 0.8% win from Green Bay’s defeat of Pittsburgh in 2011. This year’s win was also a fraction of last year’s record $19.7m payday.

Most books reported losing money on the game itself while making their bones off prop wagers. The results would have been much different had Seattle not opted for that ill-advised pass from the one-yard line. MGM Resorts International VP of Race & Sports Jay Rood told Bloomberg that Malcolm Butler’s interception caused a “significant seven-figure swing” for the casino’s sportsbook.

William Hill US director of trading Nick Bogdonovich echoed these sentiments, saying the firm “got killed on the game itself” but eked out “the smallest of profits” via futures and props. Wynn Resorts Race and Sports Book director Johnny Avello told KTNV his book lost money on the game but “counting the props and everything, it wasn’t a disaster.”

Jay Kornegay, exec director of the Westgate Las Vegas Sportsbook said the offside call against Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett that brought the ball from the goal to the five-yard line following Butler’s interception was “probably the best encroachment in the history of football.” Bets on a safety were among the most popular prop wagers taken on this year’s game.

GTECH TAKING MGM MOBILE

In related news, Italian gaming technology firm GTECH has inked its first digital sports betting deal in the US with MGM Resorts. The deal will see GTECH subsidiary GTECH Interactive UK provide enhanced sports betting technology at 12 MGM properties in Nevada and GTECH’s OnPremise mobile sports betting and casino gaming technology at 10 MGM properties. The companies plan a phased deployment of the technology starting in Q3 2015.

MGM senior biz-dev VP Thomas Mikulich said GTECH was selected due to its “end-to-end experience, expertise and technological innovation.” The technology will allow MGM sports bettors to wager “seamlessly across multiple gaming channels” while OnPremise will allow guests at 10 MGM properties to enjoy mobile slots and table games “whether they’re at a sportsbook, slot floor, restaurant or poolside.”

Official figures show that Macau casino gross gaming revenue fell for an eight straight month in January.

According to the data released by the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) on Monday, Macau casino revenue fell by 17.4% year-on-year in January to MOP23.75 billion (US$2.97 billion), following the 30.4% year-on-year decline in December.

The number of Macau-registered junket operators also dropped 16% in January to 183 compared to 217 in the same period last year.

Rating agency Standard & Poors said the sector will experience further drops in revenue in the short term, but the situation can be reversed if operators broaden their customer base to focus on China’s growing middle class and non-gaming holiday-makers.

“We still view the long-term growth drivers for the gaming sector in Macau as good. Demand should remain firm, thanks to China’s healthy economic growth and its growing middle-class, said Joe Poon, Standard & Poors’s analyst, in a report.

Meanwhile, casino services and property firm Macau Legend Development Ltd. announced that the company has received all the necessary permits from the Macau government to open its Harbourview Hotel.

The 444-room hotel does not have any gaming but the facility is connected to the firm’s Babylon Casino by a bridge. The company had previously announced that it had been granted 35 additional gaming tables which will be deployed at the Babylon Casino and  Pharaoh’s Palace Casino.

Lee Davy takes a gander at the shortlists for the inaugural American Poker Awards, and takes a punt at who he thinks will get lucky on the night.

On February 27th 2015, at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, the Global Poker Index (GPI) will take another baby step towards their ‘sportification of poker’ when they host the inaugural GPI American Poker Awards.

Kara Scott will host the event that will recognize the achievements of the main players in the North American poker industry during 2014. I counted at least a dozen awards, and nine of them will have been selected via a nomination process involving a 60-person strong nomination panel and select jury.

Here are my winners.

Media Person of the Year

1. Nolan Dalla

2. Chris Grove

The poker software analysis tool, Hold’em Manager, and a series of Hold’em Manager 2 apps, are now available to buy, using Bitcoin, after the company set up a Bitcoin transaction method in their online store.

Whether you want to purchase apps on Apple’s app store, book an inter-galactic flight on Virgin Galactic, or buy yourself a pair of stockings and suspenders from Victoria Secret, you can do so buy using Bitcoin.

The value of the cryptocurrency may be continuing to drop (at the time of writing one Bitcoin is worth around $230. It once exceeded $1,000) but that hasn’t stopped some of the largest companies in the world giving customers the opportunity to purchase products using the cyber stuff.

The poker industry has also gotten into the act. And whilst we are used to discussion centered on Bitcoin online poker rooms, it’s refreshing to now hear that poker software companies like Max Value Software has also thrown their hat into the ring.

Max Value Software is the parent company of Hold’em Manager and PokerTracker – the two premier online poker analysis software products, and over the weekend, Hold’em Manager posted news on their forum that they are to allow customers to use Bitcoin to buy Hold’em Manager 2 (HEM2) and a series of non-subscription based HEM Apps.

The adoption of cryptocurrency now means there are six ways to purchase HEM products: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, PayPal, Neteller and now Bitcoin.

HEM products: NoteCaddy Premium, Leak Buster 4.0, SitNGo Wizard 2, Tilt Scanner, and most of the Table Scanner 2 services can all be obtained using Bitcoin. TableNinja II and Table Scanner 2’s Insta-Scan service is still off limits, according to PokerSoftware.com.

Phil Ivey has once again won the Aussie Millions $250,000 LK Boutique Challenge. The third time he has done so in the past four years.

There are plenty of reasons to love Australia. There is the wonderful wildlife, amazing people, and for Phil Ivey: the Aussie Millions $250,000 LK Boutique Challenge!

The great man has just defeated Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald, in heads-up action, to take the first prize of AU$2,205,000, and leapfrog over Daniel Colman to take third spot in the All-Time Hendon Mob Live Tournament money list.

[Image Credit: PokerAsiaPacific & Kenneth Lim]

It’s the third time in four years that Ivey has won this title. Sam Trickett’s 2013 victory against a German onslaught the only blot on Ivey’s Melbourne landscape. In truth, you could sense it was coming. The great man sharpening up his weapons of mass destruction with a 23rd place finish in the $10,600 Aussie Millions Main Event just days earlier.

25 entrants created a total prize pool of AU$6.1m, and only five players would walk away with a profit. Actually, that’s inaccurate because one of the five cashers didn’t make a profit. Scott Seiver bought in for AU$750,000, and must have been extremely grateful to end up in fourth spot for a $15,000 loss.

Erik Seidel, himself an Aussie Millions specialist, finished fifth after running A3 into the pocket kings of Doug Polk; Scott Seiver would be flushed out in fourth by Timex; and Polk would cash in third after his A5cc ran into the AQo of the Canadian.

Tom Marchese has banked himself a tidy profit of $600,000+ after winning back-to-back $25,000 High Roller events at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Did you know that there is an event called The Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake? It’s an annual event held in Gloucester, over the Spring Bank Holiday, and it’s a race to catch a 9lb round of Double Gloucester cheese as it’s rolled down a hill.

Did you also know that there is an event called The Aria $25,000 High Roller? It’s a poker game where men, and women, who can afford a $25,000 buy-in, sit down and play cards.

What do the two have in common?

They both involve Big Cheese on a roll.

Tom “BigCheese_Poker” Marchese has just finished at the top of the pile of both the Aria $25,000 High Roller II and III in Las Vegas. It’s a perfect start to a year that follows on from his most successful.

In 2014, Marchese banked over $4.4m, including three seven figure scores, one of which came in September when he was victorious in the $100,000 Super High Roller event also at The Aria. He begins 2015 with over $600,000+ in profit after topping fields of 41 & 42 entrants, in what is fast becoming THE place to be in Vegas poker.

Sri Lanka’s new government said that the country does not need investment from Australian billionaire James Packer, after the gaming mogul pulled out his luxury resort development.

“Packer says he will not come. Who asked you to come?” Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in a statement. “Please don’t come, not in this lifetime.”

“We need only good investors. We don’t want an economy relying on casinos,” Wickremesinghe added.

James Packer’s Crown Group abandoned plans for the $350 million resort-casino development on Friday, after the new administration had decided to ban approval for casinos and withdrew significant tax concessions granted under the previous regime in efforts to turn Colombo into a regional gaming hub.

Sri Lanka’s new government came to power on January 9 and Sri Lanka’s new President Maithripala Sirisena had reportedly pledged in his manifesto to cancel the new casino projects.

Aside from Australia’s Crown Resorts Ltd’s proposal, two other Sri Lanka casino schemes—the US$300-million Queensbury resort by Sri Lanka’s Vallibel One Plc. and the US$850-million Waterfront Properties development of John Keells Holdings Plc were affected by the latest Sri Lankan government announcement.

With a local joint venture partner, Crown had proposed the development of a resort with a 400-room hotel, with shopping, entertainment and convention facilities and a casino but after receiving cabinet approval in 2013, its plans faced strong opposition from Buddhist leaders who were angered by the tax concessions approved for the project and feared that an enlargement of the casino gaming industry would damage community values and culture in the mainly Buddhist nation.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

If you still need to catch your breath after what is without question the most dramatic Super Bowl finish in history, I can’t blame you. I’m still at a loss for words myself, having just been part of a dramatic sequence of events in the closing stages of the game that will be talked about for years to come.

A lot of you saw it the same way I did. A go-ahead touchdown with a little over two minutes left put the New England Patriots ahead of the Seattle Seahawks, 28-24. The defending champs had one last drive to answer the bell and up until the last play – I’ll get to that later – Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense put on a thrilling comeback attempt, highlighted by a seemingly inconceivable twisting-on-his-back catch by Jevon Kearse. Words really can’t do justice to the catch; it was that incredible.

With the Seahawks on the Patriots goal line, underrated Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler managed to overshadow Kearse’s acrobatic catch with a fantastic interception to clinch the win for the Pats. Incredible.

The entire game was a nip-and-tuck affair that featured the Patriots going up by 7 late in the second quarter before the Seahawks answered with 17 straight points to go up by 10 in the fourth quarter. Just when it seemed like Seattle was on its way to win its second Super Bowl title in a row, Tom Brady and the Patriots came to life just in time to post 14 straight points of their own to go up 28-24, setting up the amazing sequence of events that will define the greatest Super Bowl ever played.

Say what you will about Tom Brady, but he proved for the last time that he belongs in a completely different discussion in the pantheon of greatest quarterbacks to have ever played this game. With this win, he not only won his fourth Super Bowl title to put him even with Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, but he did so while also setting numerous Super Bowl records. Tom Brady is the GOAT, ladies and gentlemen. There’s no denying that now.

On the flip side, what the hell happened on that last play, Pete Carroll? 2nd down on the New England two-yard line with two timeouts left and you call an inside slant when you had Marshawn Lynch in the backfield? I’ve never been the type to question a football coach’s acumen, but I’m making an exception this time.