Greek casinos reported another downer year in 2014 as a struggling economy and illegal gambling options combined to do a number on gaming revenue. The country’s nine licensed casinos reported gambling revenue of €270m, 10% less than 2013’s figure and just over one-third the €776.7m generated in 2007. The numbers have been on a steady decline ever since, making Greece the closest thing Europe has to Atlantic City, where revenue peaked in 2006.

All nine casinos have suffered revenue declines since 2007, with the casino on Corfu holding up the best with a 28.9% decline. At the other end of the scale, the casino in Halkidiki in the north of Greece saw revenue tumble by 92.5% over the past seven years.

Greek media outlet Ekathimerini reported that two casinos – the two smallest – saw revenue gains over the first 11 months of 2014. The casino in Thrace saw revenue rise 53.3% to €5.5m while the aforementioned Halkidiki casino was up 49.3% to €5.5m. The other seven reported declines ranging from 1.5% to 48.6%. Overall betting turnover fell 5.5% to €1.4b during this span.

Casinos issued 2.3m admission tickets in 2014, 100k fewer than in 2013. By law, casinos are required to collect €12 from every punter who comes through the turnstiles. The casinos are lobbying to have this fee abolished in the hopes of attracting more customers and to help them deal with new competition in the form of thousands of new video lottery terminals (VLT) that are being rolled out in OPAP betting shops this spring.

OPAP PRIVATIZATION “NOT A DONE EVENT”

Speaking of OPAP, the country’s main opposition party – which is expected to win upcoming elections – has warned that the government’s sale of its one-third stake in the country’s betting monopoly “is not a done event.” Alexis Tsipras (pictured), who heads the left-wing SYRIZA coalition, called the privatization of OPAP a “national crime” due to the “scandalous terms this was done with.”

In 2013, the Greek government sold its stake to the Emma Delta consortium for €652m. The cash-strapped country has been forced to privatize many state assets as a condition of the €240b bailout Greece accepted in 2010 from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Americans betting on the 2015 Super Bowl will wager over $3.8b with unauthorized sportsbooks, 38x the $100m that will be wagered with Nevada casino sportsbooks.

So sayeth the American Gaming Association (AGA), whose CEO Geoff Freeman believes the numbers indicate that the current prohibition on sports betting outside Nevada is “clearly failing.” Freeman said the AGA are “closely examining the current state of sports betting, the laws that govern it and the best way forward for the gaming industry.”

The AGA based its math on a 1999 National Gambling Impact Study Commission report, which estimated between $80b and $380b was spent annually on illegal gambling. The AGA compared the $80b figure with the sum wagered with Nevada sportsbooks in 1999, then compared that with Nevada 2013 sportsbook handle. Nevada sportsbooks handled a record $119.4m on the 2014 Super Bowl, keeping $19.7m of that cash for themselves thank to the Seahawks’ pummeling of the Broncos.

In a speech on Thursday to the US Conference of Mayors, Freeman said the AGA wants to “partner with policymakers to revisit outdated policies in order to create an environment where gaming can thrive.” That may prove more difficult than Freeman envisions, as demonstrated by the Sisyphus-like struggle of two New Jersey Congressmen attempting to pass sports betting legislation.

The bipartisan pair of Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. and Rep. Frank LoBiondo are trying to end the tyrannical rule imposed on their home state’s residents by the 1992 federal PASPA sports betting prohibition that limits single-game wagering to Nevada. This week saw the two New Jersey pols resubmit the sports betting legislation they’ve been trying to pass for the past three years.

Pallone’s HR 457 would exempt New Jersey from PASPA’s control while LoBiondo’s HR 416 would allow all states a four-year window in which to enact their own sports betting legislation. The two Franks immediately co-sponsored each other’s legislation then put the bills back on the shelf with the others and got working on 2016′s edition.

New Jersey is currently awaiting its date with destiny and/or the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals as the state seeks to overturn the injunction imposed on its latest sports betting legislation. On Wednesday, the court set a Tuesday, March 17 date in Philadelphia, at which time the three-judge panel will determine whether oral arguments will be required.

Florida developer Glenn Straub moved one step closer to owning the Revel Casino Hotel (if he still wants it) after a federal judge shot down a request by business tenants of the old hotel and casino to stop the sale of the property because they wanted to appeal the sale.

Judge Jerome B. Simandle of the U.S. District Court in Camden, N.J. issued the order, freeing Straub from any obligations to honor the leases and other rights of the property’s amenity tenants and affirming Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gloria Burns’ ruling that the property could be sold “free and clear of liens, claims, encumbrances and interests.”

Judge Simandle also cited the “palpable risk of losing a ready buyer” as one of the reasons behind declining the request of the tenants and without any alternative buyer waiting in the wings, Revel could end up losing out and would be left “empty and commercially unproductive.”

“Such concerns would not sufficiently outweigh the far more prevalent interest in facilitating the success of bankruptcy proceedings and enabling such proceedings to reach finality,” Judge Simandle added.

Straub, through his lawyer Stuart Moskovitz, threatened to walk away from the deal if the tenants’ appeal were approved. But now that the issue has been cleared up and the developer is no longer in the hook to honor those leases, Moskovitz remarked that the purchase could proceed.

The real estate developer also scored a separate victory when Judge Simandle also junked a similar appeal filed by ACR Energy Partners LLC, the operator of the casino’s custom-built powerplant.

The powerplant issue has been a major sticking point in the sale of the casino. Canadian equity firm Brookfield Holdings abandoned its planned purchase of the casino because it couldn’t agree to a deal with the powerplant operator, which Revel reportedly paid more than $3 million a month when it was still open.

Irish betting operator Paddy Power has teamed up with NextGen Gaming, the Australian slot studio of online gaming company NYX Gaming Group to launch online slot titled “Merlin’s Millions Superbet.”

The new online slot will be available to access via Paddy Power’s desktop and mobile platforms.

NYX Gaming said that a number of games created by its Sydney-based games studio NextGen Gaming are to be rolled out for the operator, with Merlin’s Millions Superbet the first to go live.

Merlin’s Millions Superbet offers players 3D visuals and powerful anime with the likeable Merlin, the first of what has grown to become a three-game franchise featuring the character in his popular magical themed world. The Superbet functionality provides players the opportunity to leverage a unique 5-level ante-bet, offering the potential of wild multiplied wins and putting players firmly in charge of their own play volatility.

“The launch of NextGen’s Merlin’s Millions Superbet re-affirms Paddy Power’s commitment to providing the best in slots content, which is invaluable for both our acquisition and retention efforts,” Paddy Power’s games marketing manager, Conor Leavey said.

“We’re delighted to launch Merlin’s Millions Superbet™ to our partners at Paddy Power.” said NYX Gaming Commercial Director David Johnson. “Together with Foxin’ Wins, the Merlin’s franchise has become one that is followed by operators and players alike. 50 win lines across a 4×5 configuration offers players increased opportunities for magical stacked wins; in line with a dual feature set Merlin’s Millions Superbet increases player engagement and play time.”

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) has incurred more wrath of the Commission on Audit (COA), which is demanding that PAGCOR dispose of the remaining condominium units it bought from AMVEL Land Development Corp.

In its 2013 audit report released last week, the COA put PAGCOR in its place when it came to the latter’s investments in non-core assets. The Commission was referring to 66 condominium units PAGCOR bought from AMVEL with the intention of selling these units to PAGCOR employees and officials. But the COA discovered that of those 66 units, 54 remain unsold, which puts PAGCOR on the hook for Php218.1 million in unrealized profit.

The COA has recommended that PAGCOR intensify its efforts “to dispose the remaining 54 condominium units in order to recover the idle funds, which can be utilized for more profitable investments.”

“Considering that it was evident that its officers and employees were no longer interested in availing of the housing project, in view of the lapse of six years from the time the project was conceived, consider the possibility of offering the subject units to the public,” the COA added.

In true Filipino fashion, the COA used a colorful metaphor, comparing the unsold condo units to “unwanted children” that came about because of “poor planning” on PAGCOR’s part.

“PAGCOR could have avoided the incurrence of various expenses in the total amount of P16.237 million relative to the 54 unsold units had the diligence of a good father of a family been strictly observed and had there been proper planning and judgment in the purchase of the subject condominium units,” the COA said.

TRAVELERS INTL. DETAILS RESORT WORLD MANILA EXPANSION PLANS

Days after FanDuel released its revenue numbers from 2014, rival DraftKings is doing the same and if their numbers are any indication, it paints a rosy picture of the future of daily fantasy sports sites.

DraftKings revealed that it had earned $40 million in revenue in 2014, a sharp increase from its 2013 numbers when it posted a meager-by-comparison $3 million in revenue. DraftKings also announced that it had taken in around $304 million in entry fees from users, another impressive increase from 2013 when it only received $45 million in entry fees.

Just like FanDuel, DraftKings’ 4Q 2014 numbers were the biggest of the four quarters and largely contributed to the company’s overall revenue numbers. This isn’t surprising considering that its the quarter where most of America’s sports leagues are in action. Whether it’s the tail end of the MLB season, and the start of the NBA and NHL, the fourth quarter of every year is the prime season for daily fantasy sports.

Oh, and it’s also the only quarter of the year – not counting the playoffs and the Super Bowl – where the NFL is in action. DraftKings’ numbers in the 4Q of 2014 alone – $173.6 million in the entry fees – proves as much.

Despite its impressive revenue run in 2014, DraftKings still runs second to FanDuel in terms of fantasy users shares. The latter received $622 million in entry fees in 2014 with revenues of up to $57 million.

While there’s still a level of competition between the two sites, Atlas venture partner Ryan Moore, who led the company’s investment in DraftKings in the latter part of 2014, believes that bigger things are in store for DraftKings and the industry itself as a whole.

“The numbers don’t lie,” Moore told BetaBoston. “This is a much bigger market than anyone thought it would be, which is great news for both DraftKings and FanDuel.”

Take Our Poll

London gives you not only great conferences and expos but awesome parties where you can network, relax and drink, which is why we decided to ask our readers, “Which Conference party are you most looking forward to?”

67% said, “Fire and Ice,” 17% voted London Baby and 17% said, “LAC Closing Party.”

Fire and Ice 2015 will be held on Wednesday, 4th of February at the Troxy 490 Commercial Road, E1 0HX, London and is free for all igaming execs to attend. Doors will be open for general admission at 9:00 p.m.

Fire and Ice, famous for its provocative and unique entertainment attracting 2000 of the who’s who in iGaming industry from casino operators to media suppliers, takes guests back in time to the golden era of Victorian England with Fire & Ice 2015: The Reign of Queen Vic. Bask in the gilt of the court that sits on a foundation of depravity.

Lee Davy recaps the week’s headlines including a jail sentence for a British World Series of Poker bracelet winner, the end of Bluff magazine print edition, the closure of The Linq poker room, and a round-up of the action at the World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker Circuit and the 2015 Aussie Millions.

The week started out with news that the former 888Poker sponsored pro, PokerStrategy coach, and World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet holder, Darren Woods, was sentenced to 15-months imprisonment, and told to return £1m to those he had wronged, or else his sentence would be extended to one of six years.

The young man from the UK was said to have a net worth far exceeding £1m, giving you an understanding of the amount of money he was able to draw from the online poker industry, during his multi-accounting and fraudulent affiliate activities.

Woods has already been ordered to return £287,673 to an unnamed online gambling company. An amount believed to be on its way to the players he duped in due course.

Bye-Bye Bluff Magazine

Young Woods will have plenty of time to read whilst doing porridge, but one piece of literature he won’t be getting his hands on is a copy of Bluff magazine.

Earlier this week, Bluff Media, declared that the print version of their February issue would be their last. The dawn of the new age was upon them, and future issues of Bluff would be available in a digital only format.

Since its conception in 2006, LatestCasinoBonuses (LCB) has progressed into a multi-functioning site, which serves as the initial go-to hub for gamers across the world, seeking information relating to the gambling community. The unique thing about LCB is that they strive to cover virtually all aspects of gambling, in order to meet the interests of many, throughout the varying facets of the industry.

Within the LCB library, the options are endless. Visitors to the site can gain access to the latest gambling-related news, hundreds of online casino reviews as well as an entire directory dedicated to land-based casino reviews, thousands of free games, allowing members to try out literally thousands of games without actually spending a penny, and much more.

From the beginning, LCB has been both setting and breaking records, proving its proficiency within the online gaming sector. In fact, they broke their own record for ‘Most Online Ever’ at the forum, with 21,727 visitors in just one day, setting high standards among its competitors. However, this was just the beginning for the site.

As the years have gone by, they have reached new heights. Just as of early 2015, LCB announced a new total of free games offered to visitors, topping out at just over 3,000 games available, ranging from video & classic slots, parlor games, video poker and table games, powered by a variety of top-rated software providers.

While the New Year has only just begun, LCB is moving full speed ahead, setting the tone that hitting the 3,000 mark in free games is just one of the major feats they plan to accomplish in the following months. Just weeks after making this announcement, they have broken the news that they have reached yet another milestone in their journey of success regarding the total amount of members registered.

LatestCasinoBonuses.com is now celebrating its new sum of 70,000 current forum members and congratulations are certainly in order. The lucky member who helped them achieve this major milestone hails from the United States, and became a member on January 18, 2015 at 11:28:32 PM CET / 5:28:32 PM EST.

With several awards under their belt, including two Best Affiliate – Casino and Best Overall Affiliate for 2013 and 2014, LCB is clearly at the top of their game. Head to http://www.latestcasinobonuses.com/ for access to a complete online casino library, consisting of over 50,000 pages, and to become part of the magic.

A new online poker bill has arrived in California courtesy of Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer (pictured right). Titled the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2015 (read it here), the bill differs from Mike Gatto’s AB 9 legislation by allowing state racetracks to join Indian tribes and card clubs in the state’s online poker industry.

More importantly, the AB 167 bill contains no specific ‘bad actor’ clause, at least, not the boilerplate prohibition of any company that accepted wagers from state residents after Dec. 31, 2006. Instead, it deems companies/people to be ineligible if they have “contemptuously defied a legislative investigative body” of a US state, the federal government or a foreign jurisdiction “when that body is engaged in the investigation of crimes relating to poker, official corruption related to poker activities or criminal profiteering activity or organized crime.”

Ditto for anyone convicted ‘in a court of competent jurisdiction of a felony for either having accepted a bet over the internet in violation of United States of California law, or having aided or abetted that unlawful activity.”

The bill also doesn’t contain any mention of the dreaded phrase “covered assets,” clauses that block the use of software, brands, databases and other tools of the trade if said tools had anything to do with any felonious activity. As is, the bill offers the least possible resistance to Amaya Gaming and its new PokerStars property of any California online poker bill to date.

Not so lucky is any tribe that operates a gaming site that accepts wagers from players not physically present on Indian lands, which would be ruled ineligible. This clause is directed squarely at the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel and their Desert Rose Bingo site, which utilizes virtual private network technology to interact with gamblers outside its tribal boundaries.

FELONIES FOR PLAYERS

Alarmingly, the bill warns that “any violation” of the Act would be punishable as a felony. The language states that “the offer or play of any gambling game provided over the Internet that is not an authorized Internet poker game permitted by the state” would be prohibited. For Californians, merely patronizing an unauthorized site is a felony, “punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code.”

Sports books are still dealing the New England Patriots as -1 favorites. I’m guessing that all this brouhaha about those deflated balls during the AFC title game hasn’t dampened the Pats’ outlook ahead of the big game. Not that it should because all the controversy surrounding this deflated balls really is being blown way out of proportion. But hey, people need to have stories to write and fans need something to talk about, right?

God forbid, but with the Super Bowl still 10 days away, we need as many storylines as we can get. So we’ll settle for the DeflateGate, at least until a real narrative comes out. But for now, all the controversy surrounding those deflated balls hasn’t turned off people from betting on New England. Now here’s the question: is this really the actual number or are the Seahawks getting tremendous value right now without anybody noticing it?

The simple answer is “no” and “yes”.

See, a lot happened during the conference championship games. Seattle had to come back from 16 points against the Green Bay Packers whereas the New England Patriots steamrolled the Indianapolis Colts, deflated balls or not. The short-sighted view would be to interpret those results in a manner that put the Seahawks in a vulnerable light and the Pats as the all-conquering powerhouse.

Not surprisingly, that’s exactly what happened because the Seahawks went from -2.5 favorites to 1-point underdogs, even before the Pats-Colts game finished. The public bet on New England pretty heavily and if there was ever a smart play at this point in time, it would be to take the Seahawks as the short underdogs.

That or you can opt to hold off on taking any action and wait for the public to continue pounding on the Patriots. That could drive the number up to -2 for New England, or maybe even -2.5. There is a precedent for this and it actually happened just last year when bettors were all over the Denver Broncos in the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. We all know what happened after that. Nevada sportsbooks ended up posting $19.6 million in winnings.

So is it possible that Seattle’s being overlooked yet again? You bet it is.

Nevada has proposed amending its gambling legislation to make it illegal for anyone to profit from affiliate activity with online gambling sites not holding a Nevada license. Senate Bill 40 was pre-filed in December and referred to the judiciary committee in the hopes of passing in the 2015 session of the state legislature, which gets underway Feb. 2.

The one-page bill would amend Chapter 465 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, which includes language dealing with the transaction of wagers through ‘mediums of communication.’ It’s already illegal to accept or receive wagers without a Nevada gaming license, but SB 40 would extend that illegality to anyone who financially benefits from aiding someone offering illegal wagers.

Specifically, SB 40 makes in unlawful “to receive, directly or indirectly, any compensation or reward, or any percentage or share of the money or property played” with any person or entity not licensed for wagering by the state. The prohibition also applies to anyone “accepting or facilitating” wagers placed with unauthorized operators or for “transmitting or delivering anything of value resulting from a bet or wager” with the aforementioned rapscallions.

Assuming SB 40 passes, violators would be guilty of a category B felony, the penalty for which is a federal prison stint of between one and six years and/or a fine of up to $5k. The bill was made public the same day that a new California online poker bill proposed making it a felony for players to patronize any online gambling site not holding a state license. Must be something in the water.

While it seems evident that SB 40 would apply to revenue-sharing affiliates of international online gambling sites, concerns have already been raised that its broad language could be interpreted as applying to people who stake other players in poker games (online or otherwise). It would hardly be the first time legislators’ failure to get specific resulted in collateral damage.

The Macau Government Tourist Office reported that the city received 31.5 million visitors in 2014, a 7.5% increase over 2013.

Mainland visitors rose 8.5% to 28 million. Hong Kong and Taiwan remained the second and third biggest source markets for the city, although the total number of visitors from both jurisdictions registered year-on-year drops of 5% and 4.7%, amounting to 6.43 million and 953,000, respectively, whereas International visitor numbers dropped by 1.1%.

During an annual press conference yesterday, Director of the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), Helena de Senna Fernandes, projected 5% growth in the number of visitors travelling to Macau during the Chinese New Year period this year, with around 1 million people expected to visit Macau in the first week of CNY.

“[MGTO] estimates that the number of visitors in the CNY period will have a mild growth compared to last year, with about 800,000 mainland visitors travelling to Macau [during that period].”

Macau casino revenue fell 2.6% to 351 billion patacas ($44 billion) in 2014. Analysts estimates that Macau gaming revenue for the whole of 2015 is likely to fall between 4% and 8% year-on-year. If the prediction of year-on-year decline comes to pass, it would continue a trend seen last year of rising visitor numbers but falling gaming revenue.

“The gambling business went down in the second half of last year, but tourist numbers continued to increase,” said Fernandes. “The growing momentum of mainland tourists was especially strong. We are thrilled to know tourists don’t necessarily come here to gamble.”

MGTO director also remarked that the government will start working on the tourism this year by conducting a large scale study on the city’s tourism, costing up to 20 million patacas.

Russia-facing online gambling sites will be subject to payment-blocking as the country prepares for the launch of its regulated online sports betting market this summer. Online gambling is considered illegal in Russia, but select online sports betting operators expect to receive official legal blessing to operate by June.

Yury Fedorov, president of Russia’s National Association of Bookmakers, told eGaming Review that the plan is for all approved online bookies to channel payment processing through a self-regulatory organization (SRO). This centralized processing will allow Russia’s digital watchdogs to better distinguish between legitimate online betting payments and those made with unsanctioned operators.

Fedorov said the SRO payment processing system was not yet operational, but once all systems were go, other online payment channels in Russia would be ordered to “stop the arrangement of payments for all companies that are not in the SROs.”

Shortly before Christmas, the First Self-Regulatory Organization of Russian Bookmakers (First SRO) was established with Oleg Zhuravsky as president. The SRO’s website claims that it has signed up 11 of the 27 companies currently licensed in Russia as bookmakers. Each of these 11 operators has contributed RUB 30m (US $460k) to a safety fund to ensure players’ financial interests are protected.

On Dec. 30, Zhuravsky told VPROGNOZE.ru that First SRO “intends to fight against illegal betting websites by applying international law.” Zhuravsky said “the decisions of foreign courts will force illegal operators to stop their activities in Russia” and that the focus of the fight would be on large publicly traded firms rather than “small and insignificant operators.” Zhuravsky suggested the first actions against these bigger companies would take place this spring.

In December, Russia imposed harsh new fines on anyone caught organizing gambling – land-based or online – outside the country’s designated gambling zones. Last March, Russia instructed internet service providers to block over 50 online gambling sites, including domains belonging to the likes of PokerStars, William Hill and Ladbrokes. Both Ladbrokes and Betfair subsequently announced their withdrawals from the Russian market.

Russian also recently added several Bitcoin-related websites to its blacklist. The sites included both domestic and international domains. The government has provided little information as to what prompted the move but Igor Chepkasov, chairman of the Crypto Currency Foundation of Russia, told Coindesk that it appeared to be “a dress rehearsal for the prohibition of Bitcoin in Russia.”

A trio of stories connected to the World Poker Tour as the Bay 101 Shooting Stars are announced, Vince Van Patten’s worst nightmares come true on an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and Royal Flush Girl Ivy Tevez stars as one of the Girls of FHM January 2015 in the Philippines.

The World Poker Tour (WPT) Bay 101 Shooting Stars event may not take place until March, but we already know the 52-players who will be carrying a bounty on their heads when the fun begins.

Live satellites for the event will start operating on Feb, 16 with a series of buy-ins ranging from $275, $550, and $1,100 planned throughout both Feb and March. There will be a two-day $2,100 event on Mar 8-9, a $25,000 High Roller event Mar 11-12, with the $7,500 televised Main Event scheduled to take place Mar 9 -13.

The Main Event will take place over five days, and players can re-enter, if eliminated, up to the beginning of Day 2. The chip leaders on Day 1A and Day 1B will both receive a $10,000 bonus and each Shooting Star will carry a $2,500 bounty on this mug.

The list is subject to change, but here it is as it stands today.

Daniel Negreanu

Antonio Esfandiari

Lee Davy reviews the remake of the 1974 movie The Gambler, and gives you his verdict on the movie that believes the only way out is all-in.

It hasn’t been a very good week for me on the movie front. The Birdman didn’t really take off, and The Wild only taught me that if I ever wanted to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) then I would likely have my anus examined by a couple of crossbow holding rednecks.

So I was hoping The Gambler would restore my faith in cinema.

It didn’t.

I’m a gambling addict and so this movie should have been a match made in heaven, but I didn’t really get it? It didn’t connect with me, so how would it connect with the millions of people who are capable of playing roulette without placing a night with their wife on red?

The protagonist is Jim Bennett, a Literature Teacher played by Mark Wahlberg, who has a compulsion to bet everything that he has either playing blackjack or roulette (yes poker peeps you will be sorely disappointed). He isn’t playing to win. If that were the case he wouldn’t be drawing a card when he has 18 face up in a game of blackjack. He did. He hit.

By the time the movie starts he is already $250k deep in debt to a Korean gangster. Then, for no apparent reason (it becomes apparent as the movie progresses), a man approaches him and offers to stake him $50k – he takes it. I say no apparent reason because we never see the guy winning anything, which confuses the reasoning why people would give him money in the first place.

Canada’s Amaya Gaming has made a couple executive appointments, including the successful poaching of the former head of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp’s (OLG) online gambling division just weeks after OLG’s long-delayed online gambling site PlayOLG.ca had its official launch.

On Wednesday, Amaya announced it had appointed George Sweny (pictured on the left) as its new VP of strategic ventures. Sweny’s resume includes stints with OLG’s predecessor, the Ontario Lottery Corporation, as well as the Interprovincial Lotteries Corporation, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and the bingo unit of the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC). Most recently, Sweny served as senior VP of OLG’s charitable and iGaming divisions.

Amaya also appointed Chris Lewis (pictured, in uniform), former Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, as an advisor to Amaya’s board of directors. Amaya CEO David Baazov said Lewis’ experience would enable the company to “continue to lead the way in security processes and procedures as well as integrity.” Baazov said Sweny’s “extensive gaming experience in both the public and private sector” would help Amaya maintain “the highest standards in responsible gaming.”

Meanwhile, BCLC has appointed Dr. Kahlil Philander as its new Director of Social Responsibility. Philander is the former director of research at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada (UNLV) International Gaming Institute. Philander also serves as Senior Policy Researcher at the Responsible Gambling Council of Canada (where Amaya’s new hire Sweny has a seat on the board).

Moving east, Loto-Quebec has revamped its responsible gaming initiative, based around the theme of “a game should remain a game.” The campaign, which will run between January 18 and March 15, strives to educate players of the role of chance in various types of gaming and to dispel commonly held myths. The campaign stresses that there are “no tricks or strategies that can improve your chances of winning” at various types of gambling but “there are strategies and tools to limit the risk of losing control.”