Business & Financial

Reuters: Casinos to Vet High Rollers Funds

(Reuters) - U.S. casinos may soon have to vet where their high rollers' funds come from under a requirement being developed by the U.S. Treasury Department, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The move is part of a push to address longstanding regulatory and law enforcement concerns that criminals can use casinos, which have not historically been as closely monitored as banks for compliance with anti-money laundering laws, to convert proceeds of crime into money that appears clean.

Submitted by Reuters on, Mar/27/2014

PokerHost Moves to Equity Poker Network: Leaves Merge Gaming

PokerHost.com, the online poker arm of sports betting website SBG Global, will be leaving the Merge Gaming Network and moving to the newly formed Equity Poker Network, it was revealed on Wednesday.

Equity Poker is currently home to the online poker arms of Heritage and 5Dimes sportsbooks.

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Mar/26/2014

Caesar’s to Shut Down Harrah’s Casino in Tunica

JACKSON, MISS. — (Associated Press) - Caesar’s Entertainment said Wednesday that will close its Harrah’s casino in Tunica on June 2 and lay off as many as 1,300 workers.

Las Vegas-based Caesar’s, which owns Harrah’s Reno, Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harveys Lake Tahoe, also owns the adjoining Horseshoe Tunica and Tunica Roadhouse in a nearby complex. The company said employees will have preference for openings at those operations and at Caesar’s properties under development in Las Vegas.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Mar/26/2014

New Jersey Online Gambling Estimates Cut by 7 Percent

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) — Morgan Stanley has lowered its estimate of the U.S. Internet gambling market to $3.5 billion by 2017, down from a previous forecast of $5 billion.

The Wall Street firm cited worse-than-expected technical issues, but says it's optimistic about the new industry's long-term prospects, with an $8 billion market by 2020.

It also lowered its first full year estimate of New Jersey's Internet gambling revenue from $541 million to $203 million. Fitch Ratings is sticking with its $200 million forecast for New Jersey this year.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Mar/25/2014

888 Holdings Sees Surge in Share Price

888 Holdings, the online gambling firm, was up 8.6% Tuesday in trading.

The company has reported a 30% increase in pretax profit in 2013, driven by a continued strong performance from its core casino and poker products.

It said that pretax profit rose to USD53.2 million in 2013, up from USD40.8 million the year before, as revenues for the year rose to USD400.5 million from USD375.8 million.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Mar/25/2014

Bill to Allow NJ Licensing of Foreign Internet Gambling Firms One Step Closer

(Associated Press) - A plan to let New Jersey casino regulators oversee foreign Internet gambling companies if they move their operations to Atlantic City has moved a step closer to approval.

A state senate wagering committee approved the bill Monday.

The measure is sponsored by Sen. Raymond Lesniak. He says many overseas gambling companies want the stamp of approval that would come from submitting to New Jersey's casino regulators, who are among the strictest in the nation.

The foreign firms wouldn't be able to take bets from anyone in the United States.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Mar/24/2014

William Hill, Ladbrokes Shares Hit Again Following UK Budget Woes, Downgrades

Leading UK bookmakers William Hill and Ladbrokes witnessed yet another share decline on Monday following a downgrade and unfavourable football results over the weekend.

BetOnline

Hill dropped 1.33% Monday, Ladbrokes dropped 0.53%.

Submitted by Gilbert Horowitz on, Mar/24/2014

Online Gambling Affiliates Now Welcome in New Jersey With Income Access

Popular online gambling super affiliate company Income Access has entered into a partnership with Betfair.com to allow affiliate marketing in New Jersey.

Internet gambling firms are looking for creative ways to catch up with bwin.party, which so far has dominated the airwaves and offline media throughout the New Jersey-New York-Pennsylvania region.

Whether affiliates will be enticed enough to focus on such a limited market remains to be seen.  Only those physically located in New Jersey will be able to wager with Betfair.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Mar/21/2014

SatoshiDice.com Bitcoin-Denominated Stock Sale Draws Ire of SEC

Bloomberg News is reporting that the Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting an investigation into the Bitcoin-denominated stock sale of the online gambling website SatoshiDice.com.  

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Mar/19/2014

Paddy Power Pistorius ‘Will He Walk’ Bet Ad Most Complained About Ad Ever

The UK Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) has said that Irish bookmaker Paddy Power’s Oscar Pistorius murder trial 'Money Off If He Walks' ad was the single most complained-about advertisement ever recorded.

Paddy Power was forced to pull the ad after the ASA issued it a dire warning.

The ASA in its findings released Wednesday said: "We acknowledged that the ad had appeared in the context of a high profile murder trial that had received extensive media coverage and was of interest to the public.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Mar/19/2014

William Hill, Other UK Bookmakers Hit Hard by Budget Blow

(Reuters) - The FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday, with insurer Legal & General and gambling company William Hill slumping as changes imposed by the UK budget threatened their profits.

BetOnline

Submitted by Reuters on, Mar/19/2014

Fred Done Done With Manchester United: Refunds Bets to Win Premier League

BetFred.com’s colorful founder Fred Done has been widely criticized in the past for refusing (at least for a short while) to pay an Olympian’s granny the bet she placed on her long shot grandson and, more recently, proposing to slash employee salaries in half (something that does not appear to have come to fruition just yet).

Submitted by Ean Lamb on, Mar/18/2014

Ladbrokes Boss Rewarded £4.7m: 85 Per Cent Pay Raise: Still Faces August Axe

Richard Glynn may be on the hot seat if he can’t turn things around at the UK’s second largest bookmaker, Ladbrokes.  Glynn has already been issued a dire warning that he will be getting the axe come August if financials don’t improve come August.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Mar/18/2014

PartyPoker Founder Sued by Chevron Over Alleged Fraud

A judge in Gibraltar has that oil giant Chevron can move forward with a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages from PartyPoker (now Bwin.Party) co-founder Russell DeLeon in connection with his financing what the oil company says was a liability suit that ultimately turned into a racketeering conspiracy.

Submitted by Ace King on, Mar/18/2014

Caesars to Develop Casino in South Korea

SEOUL/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Caesars Entertainment Corp looks set to build its first gaming resort in Asia after South Korea granted preliminary approval for a large-scale foreigners-only casino - a key boost for a company that has largely missed out on the region's boom in gambling revenues.

The consortium of Las Vegas-based Caesars, Singapore's OUE Ltd and Hong Kong-based Lippo Ltd is also one of the first foreign ventures to gain an entry into South Korea's casino industry, a promising market by virtue of its proximity to China and the country's wealthy punters.

Submitted by Reuters on, Mar/18/2014

Ifrah Law Wins Dismissal in PokerStars Class Action

Ruling for defendants in plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction likely spells end of class action

Submitted by Press Release on, Mar/17/2014

Billionaire Macau Real Estate Developer Joseph Lau Found Guilty of Bribery

(Reuters) - Real estate developer Chinese Estates Holdings said on Sunday its Chairman and Chief Executive Joseph Lau has resigned after he was found guilty of bribery and money laundering charges in Macau.

Submitted by Reuters on, Mar/16/2014

New Hampshire House Kills Gambling Bill

CONCORD, N.H. (Associated Press) - New Hampshire's House has stuck to its long-term tradition of opposing a casino and killed a bill that proposed licensing one casino with up to 5,000 video slots and 150 table games.

The House voted 173-144 Thursday to kill a bill that was the result of a special commission appointed to study regulatory issues after a casino bill failed in the House last year. The House has repeatedly rejected efforts to legalize casinos.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Mar/14/2014

Caesars Claims Hidden Agenda Behind Mass Unflattering Background Check

Attorneys for Caesars Entertainment are citing newly released information from a Massachusetts Gaming Commission report as the main reason for an “unflattering background check” that prevented the casino giant from landing a lucrative contract in the state.

Submitted by Gilbert Horowitz on, Mar/14/2014

Mandalay Bay Will Pay Half-Million Dollars After Drug, Prostitute Bust

LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) - The Mandalay Bay Resort plans to pay a half-million-dollar fine after employees at an upscale Las Vegas Strip lounge provided prostitutes and drugs to undercover officers.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a proposed settlement with the casino this week. It’s awaiting approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Mar/13/2014

Bwin.Party Sees Return to Growth Ahead of World Cup: Activist Investor Watches

(Reuters) - Online gambling company Bwin.Party said this year's soccer World Cup would help it to return to growth after problems in Greece and a shift away from riskier markets cut earnings in 2013.

Bwin.Party is concentrating on fewer markets where regulations are more clear cut and is expanding in the United States as gambling rules are relaxed there.

Rival Betfair, another of a cluster of online gambling companies that have grown up over the past decade, is pursuing a similar strategy.

Submitted by Reuters on, Mar/13/2014

Internet Gambling Growth Slows in New Jersey

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) — The growth of New Jersey's Internet gambling market slowed somewhat in its third full month of operation, with the Atlantic City gambling websites posting a nearly 9 percent revenue increase in February.

The 16 online gambling sites had posted a 28 percent gain in January, to $9.5 million. In February, the online sites won $10.3 million.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Mar/12/2014

Las Vegas Gambling Pioneer Jackie Gaughan Dies at 93

(Associated Press) - A Las Vegas gambling pioneer who once owned much of the downtown casino market has died. John "Jackie" Gaughan was 93.

Clark County coroner's officials say Wednesday that Gaughan died in hospice care.

Gaughan is most closely associated with the El Cortez casino, which he used to own. He lived in a penthouse apartment there and was known to play poker in the casino almost every day.

He has also been associated with the Showboat, the Golden Nugget, the Pioneer and Boulder clubs, the Flamingo and the Royal Inn.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Mar/12/2014

Online Poker Room TigerGaming.com Now Offering 24 Hour Payout Guarantee

The management of the Chico Poker Network are once again thrilled to announce that, after their acquisition of the network, they can now put out a very strong and positive message to all players at TigerGaming.com! They are offering 24 hour payouts, guaranteed - via Skrill, Neteller and EcoPayz, to all their players online!

Submitted by Press Release on, Mar/11/2014

Sands Casino Guest Credit Card Information Hacked Into

If you have stayed at the Sands Bethlehem Casino or any of the other Sands Las Vegas affiliated casinos, including the Venetian, you may want to double check your credit card bill.  It turns out that customer credit cards have been compromised as part of a hacking that took down all of Sands site an entire week last month.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Mar/07/2014

Satoshi Nakamoto Claims Not to Have Been Creator of Bitcoin (Video)

LOS ANGELES (Associated Press) - Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto said Thursday that he is not the creator of bitcoin, adding further mystery to the story of how the world's most popular digital currency came to be.

The denial came after Newsweek published a 4,500-word cover story claiming Nakamoto is the person who wrote the computer code underpinnings of bitcoin.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Mar/07/2014

‘I’m Not a Sore Loser’ Says Man Suing Casino That Let Him Lose $500k Drunk (Video)

"Just picture a drunk walking the street and he's drunk, and someone pickpockets and takes his money from him. That's how I characterize it," Mark A. Johnston said in an interview with CNN. "I feel like it's the days of old Vegas, the way they've been extorting me with letters and attorneys."

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Mar/07/2014

Paddy Power Stops Pistorius Bet: 1000 Wagers Taken, Over 5000 Complaints

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has finally caved in and ceased taking wagers on the Oscar Pistorius murder trial in South Africa.   Pistorius shot his wife dead last year, mistaking her for an intruder.  The paraplegic runner insists the shooting was an accident.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Mar/06/2014

Some Payment Processors to Block Unlicensed Online Gambling Sites in UK

Some of the UK-based payment processors have agreed to block money transactions to and from unlicensed online gambling sites.

BetOnline

Submitted by Ace King on, Mar/06/2014

Ultimate Gaming Joins Forces With Peppermill Resort Spa Casino

LAS VEGAS - Ultimate Gaming, America’s first regulated online gaming operator, and Peppermill Resort Spa Casino, Reno’s premier AAA Four-Diamond resort, have agreed to terms in a joint marketing partnership. 

Submitted by Press Release on, Mar/06/2014

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