Tag: Gambling

New Bill Could Finally Bring Online Gambling to Michigan

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On Tuesday night Michigan lawmakers voted 68-40 for two main bills that are intended to create a Lawful Internet Gaming Act that would responsible for regulating online renditions of the state’s licensed brick-and-mortar casino games. Introduced last year by Rep. Brandt Iden, R-Portage, the legislation, if passed, will see to the establishment of a Division of Internet Gaming within the existing Michigan Gaming Control Board.

This new division will be tasked with issuing internet gaming licenses thus allowing the state’s operational casinos to accept online bets – it will also include sports betting supposing the board decides to legalize statewide sports betting following the recent Supreme Court ruling that paved way for the activity.

All online gambling will be made through the existing land-based casinos that will receive the licenses from the new division, which implies some partnerships are bound to surface as a result. The same will go for the existing tribal casinos that will be working with the state to achieve the new technology.

“People in Michigan are already gambling over the internet, but they are doing so at risky and illegal websites,” Rep. Iden pointed out. “The Michigan websites will have strict state oversight, unlike the illegal and unregulated sites our resident use now, at great risk to their finances and personal information.”

Michigan plans to impose an 8 percent tax rate on online gambling revenue – 35 percent of this tax revenue will go to the Internet Gaming Fund that will be tasked with enforcing the online gambling regulations. The lion’s share of the revenue (55 percent) will go to the city of Detroit which hosts all three of Michigan’s commercial casinos while the remaining 10 percent would be shared equally between the school state aid fund and the Michigan transportation fund.

Tribal Casinos Not Left Out

On condition that their compacts are either recreated or amended, the bill will also allow Michigan’s 23 tribal casinos to offer online gambling. The tribe’s quest for inclusion was among the most pressing concerns and impediments to the bill during the initial stages of its launch. Fortunately, they did get what they wanted thanks to a “poison bill” that would effectively rescind online gambling and sports betting in the state in case the federal government decided to bar the tribal casinos from participating in the new online venture.

The bill still has a long to go though. Michigan residents will have to wait until the Senate session resumes this fall that is the next step towards legal and regulated online gambling in the state.

“When we come back in the fall,” said Iden. “This is going to be at the top of the agenda. Michigan should be at the forefront of that.”

Ocean Resort Gets License Hearing Ahead of Grand Opening

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Atlantic City’s Ocean Resort Casino is set to have its gaming license hearing on June 20, just eight days before its grand opening ceremony. The New Jersey Casino Control Commission which made the announcement requires the new owners of the former Revel Casino to obtain a casino license in order to offer gambling services at the renovated property.

Also set to open its doors on June 28 is Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City that was formerly known as the Trump Taj Mahal and just sits just a few paces away from Ocean Resort. Unlike Hard Rock which managed to acquire the gaming license in May, Ocean Resorts is yet to be heard. During the June 20 hearing, the state regulators will meet with Ocean’s management to make sure that they are aware of the burden of operating a gambling establishment.

The hearing will begin at 1 pm local time with the gambling regulator adding that in case some issues remain unhandled by the end of the session then one more hearing will be held the following morning. On the other hand, if everything goes well Ocean Resorts will be granted the gambling license. This will be followed by a building inspection and operations tests, both of which have to be completed before the June 28 official launch date.

What’s In Store?

The Ocean Resort management team welcomed media representatives earlier this week to give the public a sneak peek of the renovated property. The casino will be operating a 138,000-square-foot casino with 2,000 slot machines and a decent number of table games, a spa, nightclubs, six pools and some other family-friendly entertainment facilities. Also on the menu will be over 20 dining facilities, 16 of which will begin operating as soon as the casino launched on June 28.

The gaming floor will further include a sportsbook that will be operating in conjunction with William Hill, a British bookmaker. This comes just in time after the United States Supreme Court ruling that paved the way for sports betting.

“This is the heart of our casino. This will create amazing energy. There’s nothing better than seeing a lively group cheering on their favorite team. The casino is supposed to be a fun, vibrant, exciting environment and often times the sportsbook is the heart of that excitement. I think that Atlantic City will benefit greatly from having that added experience to all of its casino resorts,” Ocean Resort advisor Seth Schorr commented on the casino’s sports betting offering.

As part of the grand opening, the casino will be throwing a huge celebration on the opening weekend. This will feature performances from Jermaine Dupri, Diplo, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Kaskade and many other high profile artists. With Hard Rock’s opening weekend scheduled for the same time, Atlantic City is bound to light up with festivities that you cannot afford to miss.

Scotland Hospital Opens Rehab Center for ‘Crypto Addicts’

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We have all witnessed, or at least heard of, cases of various forms of addiction right from the infamous drug addiction to alcohol addiction and even problem gambling. In essence, one can get addicted to almost anything, and perhaps we have always overlooked the fact that even crypto falls into the broad spectrum of these addiction hazards.

While the rest of the world – most of it, that is – has been indulging the blissful pursuit of a crypto future, a hospital in Scotland has decided that it is about time that the issue of ‘cryptocurrency addiction’ (yes, it is a thing) is taken seriously. Castle Craig Hospital, the largest addiction treatment facility in Scotland, has recently established a residential treatment course to help ‘crypto addicts’ recover from obsessive cryptocurrency trading and get back to normal life.

The launch of the crypto rehab center was mostly influenced by requests by people asking the hospital to treat problems related to cryptocurrency. Clearly, this is starting to get out of hand and thus it needs to be addressed as quickly as possible.

Are You a Cryptocurrency Addict?

Are you among those people who have their eyes fixed on Coinmarketcap all day long waiting for the right moment to buy or sell cryptocurrencies? Do you have trading accounts on a bizarrely large number of crypto exchanges? Are you spending large amounts of money crypto? Do you keep trading even after losing money hoping to gain it back?  Do you scoff at people who do not know what HODL, bull, bear, whale, ATH, FUD, and FOMO mean?

If your answer to most of these questions is yes then I am sorry to tell you that you definitely have a problem, at least according to behavioral scientists. There is currently no mention of cryptocurrency addiction on scientific literature but the experts have noted that the trading in crypto can become a behavioral addiction just like problem gambling.

“The high risk, fluctuating cryptocurrency market appeals to the problem gambler,” says Chris Burn, a gambling therapist at Castle Craig Hospital. “It provides excitement and an escape from reality. Bitcoin, for example, has been heavily traded and huge gains and losses were made. It’s a classic bubble situation.”

Some Agree, Some Do Not

Since there was no literature to study, the only source of information was the cryptocurrency trading community itself. Niko da Costa Gomez, a frequent crypto trader who has been making more profits than losses in his crypto investments, says that the idea of cryptocurrency addiction is not one that he would subscribe to. He does not “think anyone is really addicted to trading cryptocurrency unless they are very rich.”

Manav Singhal, the chief executive of Velix.ID, a blockchain startup, is also unconvinced that cryptocurrency is a valid issue. In fact, the CEO is one of those traders who keep trading even though he has been making continuous losses.

“I think profits and losses are just a part of the trading, and it is no different than trading any other kinds of securities,” goes his rather philosophical answer. “Gambling addicts are just that — gambling addicts. They can choose any addiction they want, and it can be cryptocurrencies, but that doesn’t mean that a majority of cryptocurrency traders are addicts. There’re many reasons that make you trade cryptocurrencies frequently, given how fast things are changing in the industry. I am not signing up for any rehabilitation any time soon.”

These sentiments are shared by most, if not all, cryptocurrency traders and this points to one very prominent issue in any addiction – no one admits the problem in the first place.

Spanish Online Poker Revenue Spike Amidst EU Liquidity Deal

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In January, both France and launched an effort to pool their online poker players so as to revive the industry following its decimation by some ring-fenced policies that both countries’ governments have adopted in the past. One of the effects of this development has been a significant spike in the Spanish online poker revenue in the first quarter of the year.

According to the first quarter financials that were released last week by Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), the Spanish regulator, the total revenue for online gambling in the country hit a whopping $190.5 million – this, in comparison to the revenue statistics from the same period last year, represents a mind-blowing 28 percent revenue jump.

Sports betting boasted of the lion’s share of the profit having generated $95.3 million, which is nearly half the profit. This particular sector also went up 15.9 percent from the same period last year. However, when compared to the gains from online poker, the revenues from sports betting turn out not to be as impressive.

The country’s poker revenues hit a record $25 million, with the cash games actions going up 30 percent to $9.8 million. Tournament revenue went up by a whopping a 50.2 percent to $15.2 million. In addition to this, total expenditures on the Spanish cash games went up 19 percent while the tournaments went up 40.4 percent.

Is Shared Liquidity Paying Off?

From the revenue statistics, this appears to be the case. Spain is just the latest benefactor of the new shared liquidity agreement that comprises of four EU companies: Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy. France and Spain become the first to get into the agreement and the French online poker industry has also equally benefited from the agreement as there was an immediate improvement in the gross gaming revenue – it went up 8 percent in the first quarter of 2018.

Portugal joined the pool in early May and this, in turn, pushed the profits of the pool even higher. GameIntel reports that cash game traffic on the share liquidity online poker network saw a 27 percent boost in the first week of after Portugal joined in.

More Competition

Being the first online poker operator to share its Spanish, Portugal and French online poker players, PokerStars managed to get an early head start in the new shared liquidity landscape. However, this is bound to change very soon as now a number of new players are eyeing the lucrative opportunity that the share liquidity agreement presents.

Some of these online poker operators that are going to give PokerStars a run for its money are Winimax, which will kick off their offerings with Spain and France later this year, and PartyPoker which is expected to connect its Spanish and French poker player on June 4.

Push for Lower Online Gambling Tax Rate Succeeds in Victoria

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Following massive concerted lobbying efforts by corporate bookmakers led by the executive director of Responsible Wagering Australia, Victoria has made a decision to introduce its own tax on digital betting that is nearly half the rate of other states. Last year, South Australia levied a 15 percent consumption tax on online gambling that has been rumored to be also appealing to Queensland and Western Australia.

The Australian state of Victoria, however, chose to take a different path that was made public on Monday when state officials announced that it was planning to implement an 8 percent tax rate for online betting entities. This directive, according to Victoria’s state Cabinet Minister in charge of finance, will be implemented as from January 1st next year.

After years of tax evasion, targeted online gambling operators will be required to pay the rates which, as indicated in the announcement, will only apply to the bets that are placed in the state of Victoria. As such, said online gambling operators will be required to effectively put in place measures that are geared towards determining the locations of their customers.

Tim Pallas, the states finance Cabinet Minister, the move to introduce the move to lower the tax rate is long overdue and it will be implemented primarily to ensure that Victorians get their fair share of the highly lucrative multibillion-dollar online gambling industry. In addition to this, the state government projects revenues of up to a whopping AUS $30 million every year.

The Mixed Reactions

Even though the Conroy-led Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) expressed that they were a bit disappointed by the announcement made by the state of Victoria, they did acknowledge what they termed as “consultative approach” by the government – the RWA is the body mandated to ensure that responsible betting practices are adhered to in Australia.

“The online wagering industry already pays a significant amount of consumption tax through the GST, as well as corporate income tax to the federal government,” Stephen Conroy said. “An 8% tax does not adequately account for these significant contributions and will result in Victoria having one of the highest effective wagering tax rates in the world.”

The organization argued that by setting the Point of Commission tax rates at half of what is offered by other states such as South Australia, Victoria will undermine the betting companies that are currently operating in other states where the tax rate is set at 15 percent.

Conroy further pointed out that online gamblers and online betting operators are currently being charged significant amounts through Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the federal government tax scheme. His concern is that the consequence would be the likely occurrence of a double taxation which will, in turn, make Victoria’s tax burden is actually higher than what it seems.

Nevertheless, Victoria’s tax course is intact and has already been finalized so as to guarantee the legislation is rolled out in full by January 2019.

Ireland-based Paddy Power Betfair Acquires FanDuel

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In a move aimed at capitalizing on the United States online sports betting market, Paddy Power Betfair Plc has agreed to merge with closely held New York-based daily fantasy sports site FanDuel. The Dublin-based Paddy Powe Betfair made the announcement that the acquisition had been completed and that the two parties were only waiting for final regulatory approval which – this deal is expected to close by the third quarter of this year.

While both companies were already in talks for a possible merger, the United States Supreme Court ruling that struck down the federal ban on sports betting seems to have escalated the process. As such we might see Paddy Power Betfair participating in U.S. sports betting very soon.

“We are excited to add FanDuel to the Group’s portfolio of leading sports brands,” said Peter Jackson, Paddy Power Betfair chief executive officer. “This combination creates the industry’s largest online business in the US, with a large sports-focused customer base and an extensive nationwide footprint.

The Group has leading sports betting operating capabilities globally and strong operations on the ground in the US. Together with our substantial financial firepower, we believe we are now well placed to target the prospective US sports betting opportunity.”

Paddy Power will own 61 percent of the Paddy Power-FanDuel merger business since it will contribute its U.S. assets and $158 million for the combined business. The agreement further gives the Dublin-based company the option of increasing its ownership to 80 percent after three years and 100 percent after five years.

FanDuel has over 7 million registered users in the United States. This, in addition, the over 40 percent share of the U.S. daily fantasy sports market makes it a great partner for Paddy Power which has been on an expansion course in the United States for the past few years. For instance, Paddy Power merged with Betfair three years ago and acquired Draft last year.

Given the growing demand for sports betting offerings in the United States following the Supreme Court ruling that struck down PASPA, more of this type of mergers and acquisitions are on their way – that is, mergers between parties that already handle legal sports gambling in the U.S. and other parties with big digital footprints in the United Sports market.

While the ruling did not automatically legalize sports betting in all the states, a number of states are moving towards a future where sports betting is legal. This is enough to give the interested parties enough incentives to start preparing.

U.S. Lottery Industry Wants In on Regulated Sports Betting

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A decent number of states have either already legalized sports betting or are on exploring similar legislation that will lead the United States to a new era that will be defined by a regulated multibillion-dollar industry. This presents a plethora of new opportunities that have attracted a number of new interested parties including the gaming operators, the professional sports leagues, and most recently, the lottery industry.

The $80 billion United States lottery industry through the North American Association and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) said in a statement that the lotteries are prepared to “help establish the real-world network that would be involved if called upon to do so.” The state lotteries have always supported the idea of state governments being given back the ability to decide on gambling laws for their respective states.

Thanks to last week’s Supreme Court ruling that lifted the federal ban on sports betting, all states can now legally draft their own sports betting laws and regulations and this opens up the field for interested parties to begin offering sports betting services.  The NASPL believes that they are well positioned and sufficiently equipped to join and offer sports betting services if given the opportunity to do so, their main advantage being, their strong relationship with pubs, bars, and clubs.

“In addition, some American lotteries already sell their products on the internet, a potential avenue for sports betting if a state allows that option,” the group’s officials said. “The court’s ruling on PASPA will help preserve the founding principles and integrity of American lotteries. The ruling will also potentially provide the freedom necessary to enhance the more than $22 billion that American lotteries returned to their states in FY2017.”

The Next Big Growth Category

Among the aggressive proponents of the Supreme Court ruling and subsequently the involvement of the lottery industry is the founder and chief executive of EquiLottery, Brad Cummings. He believes that industry should take advantage of the opportunity to ensure the legislation is benefits all the relevant gaming verticals. He pointed out that both state and national lotteries should look into creating new categories tailored specifically for sports gambling. This will give them a fighting chance and allow them to compete with all the other gaming entities that stand to benefit from a regulated sports betting market.

“Some states allow at least live horse racing to be a basis for a lottery game, some states prohibit any live sports integration with lottery and most are silent on the issue,” he said. “We advise that regardless of their situation, state lotteries should fight to be included and expand their product offerings into the sports gaming market. While these will be games of chance that don’t directly compete with the skill versions that are sure to be offered by others, the lotteries have some unique advantages that allow them to solve problems that traditional sports gaming cannot; a big one being the licensing fee leagues are demanding for their product to be utilized. Since the margins are much larger on lottery games, especially draw games which I think are the most analogous to a live sports lottery category, the fee won’t be cost prohibitive like it can be if taken out of a vig.”

Chinese Government’s Gambling Ban Is Still Almost Intact

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As it stands, all forms of gambling save for two types of lotteries are still officially victims of the gambling ban that has been imposed by China’s government. While horse racing operations are allowed albeit to a very limited extent, sports betting has been banned completely with all the forms of gambling being confined to the autonomous region of Macau, the only place in China where casino gambling is allowed.

Hundreds Arrested in Illegal Online Gambling Ring

As part of the efforts to implement the gambling ban, the country’s authorities have recently dismantled a major illegal gambling ring and in the process arrested over 100 suspects – this was done in two separate and effectively coordinated operations. The antigambling administration of China has also been working diligently against land-based gambling operators.

The raid on online gambling rings reportedly involves 13 different gambling websites with over 100,000 registered users who had collectively wagered over RMB350 million ($55 million) before the crackdown. The investigation began in February after Chinese authorities received a tip that a local firm had been renting out its servers and providing technical support for unauthorized online gambling operators. Since then, the number of people that have been arrested for being suspects in the online gambling rings has reached 453, and this could be an indication how deep-rooted the activity is.

Is Moving Gambling Operations to Hainan the Answer?

A number of industry experts do not believe that the country’s island of Hainan could become the next Chinese casino hub, much like Macau. The experts believe that such a decision would be made by the government and at the moment it would be a long shot to think that the Chinese government would allow such a thing. However, if by some miracle this goes through, the casino industry experts have expressed a lot of optimism that the island, which is considered to be China’s “Hawaii” could open doors for several kinds of sports lotteries.

A couple of months ago, there were reports that the government had been considering legalizing some forms of gambling on Hainan Island. This came to pass later in April 2018, when the government officially revealed that it was going to officially legalize horse racing as well as many other types of sports lotteries on the island. The move was part of the country’s bid to turn the island into the largest pilot free-trade port.

While this would have effectively ended the gambling monopoly of Macau, it will take some time before it officially begins. In fact, according to Su Guojing, gambling sector expert, and founder of the China Lottery Industry Salon, casino gambling outside Macau contradicted to the overall ideology and legislation in China. As such, it was nearly impossible for the Chinese government to allow the establishment of land-based casinos outside Macau, at least not for the moment.

What Is Next for Pro Leagues After Supreme Court Ruling?

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It has been a week since the United States Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) thus effectively giving states the go-ahead to liberate over their own sports regulation and rules. Still, the landmark ruling remains quite a big deal especially because the implications it comes are huge, to say the least. While it will take time for various stakeholders to adjust appropriately to this development, it is impossible to ignore the ongoing discussion pertaining to how a legalized and regulated sports betting system will affect the professional sports leagues’ businesses.

In the recent past, a number of leagues – the most recent being the NFL – through their commissioners or other high ranking officials have expressed concern about the integrity of their games being compromised due to increased legal sports betting. This has been touted by many experts as a misguided opinion. To elaborate this, Nevada is a great example of a legalized sports betting market that has thrived without any evidence of match-fixing.

Getting the Best Out of It

It is estimated that more than $150 million is illegally wagered on sports each year. On a similar note, the Nevada Gaming Control Board also recently revealed that over $4.8 billion had been wagered on sports in Nevada Sports Books. As such, the Supreme Court ruling will actually be beneficial to the professional sports leagues by taking the billions that are illegally wagered in sports and subjecting it to state regulation and the league’s oversight.

Acknowledging the fact that sports betting has always been with us is the first step towards making it work for everyone involved. By bringing it to the open, the ruling will make it easier for the leagues to monitor the games that are most likely to be fixed and the players they need to keep an eye on. This kind of oversight would be impossible in an illegal sports betting market.

Also, the ruling came at a time when most state legislatures in the United States are already in recess. This means that the professional sports leagues have plenty of time to ideally and strategically position themselves to collaborate with individual state legislation when the 2018-2019 legislative period begins. This way, they will be able to effectively assist in tailoring new sports betting laws in order to ensure that their interests are also considered as the United States enters a new era of legalized sports betting.

The relationship between professional sports and gambling has never been as mainstream as it is now. While the leagues have not been particularly welcoming to the idea of embracing sports betting, the professional sports teams have on the other hand participated in one way or the other albeit indirectly. For instance, a number of teams have willingly invested in Daily Fantasy Sports and accepted money for the use of their logo in state lotteries and in-stadium casino signage. Clearly, there is a bright future ahead for all the stakeholders, they just need to know when and how to capitalize on this new opportunity.

CoinPoker to Launch First-Ever Crypto Series of Poker

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CoinPoker, a unique online poker room built on blockchain technology, is about to revolutionize the concept of online poker with the launch of the world’s first Crypto Series of Poker (CSOP). The poker room that has always reiterated that it is built on trust and transparency announced that the daily tournaments of CSOP will take place as from May 27 to June 3 and will feature a total prize pool of ten million CHP (the operator’s in-house cryptocurrency).

“Join in on a week of daily tournaments taking place between May 27 and June 3. The series kicks off with a quarter and half a million CHP prize pools, and ends with an epic final event where 2,500,000 CHP is yours for the taking,” said CoinPoker spokesperson from.

The company through its spokesperson also added that the unique poker series is being launched to give back to the poker room’s early adopters who have, without a doubt, contributed immensely to the growth of CoinPoker. However, every other player will also get to enjoy the best of what the platform has to offer.

Online poker has certainly grown in popularity over the past few years, players still have to put up with a variety of complex problems that include the lack of control over the funds, problematic withdrawal services, and lack of transparency as well as high burn rates for recreational players. CoinPoker found a way of going around all these problems by utilizing a fully decentralized set of contracts – the platform operates on the Ethereum smart contract based cryptocurrency protocols.

CoinPoker’s ambitious new venture is however not the first time that the platform is commanding a lot of attention from poker enthusiasts. The company has previously been part of partnerships with some of the largest poker tournaments such as the Japanese Poker Association (JPA) for 2018’s Japan Poker Cup that begun in April and is set to continue till later in August.

 “On top of the benefits for online poker players, our collaboration with multiple poker leagues in the form of online satellites make live poker events accessible to players in different corners of the world,” says Paulius Mikaliunas, CoinPoker’s Head of Poker Operations. “The release of our upcoming mobile app will help boost these efforts, alongside ambitious plans for diversifying the games on our platform to ultimately give CHP investors and CoinPoker players more value.”