July 2016 Infinity Gaming Magazine by Clever Duck Media

InfinityGaming www.gaming-awards.com | ISSUE JULY 2016

NEWS VIEWS INTERVIEWS Jan Jones Blackhurst Interview

GAMING + ARTICLES + BUSINESS+ GLOBAL+ ONLINE + NEWS+ APPS + AWARDS + etc

JUNE 2016

23 BARCELONA Delays ahead

14 26

JAN JONES BLACKHURST Exclusive Interview

STEVE JACOBS Finally settles case against Sands

Opinion Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in all external articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Infinity Gaming Magazine Any content provided by our feature writers or authors are of their opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.

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4 EDITOR NOTES Lana welcomes you to the December edition of Infinity Gaming Magazine.

6 OUR WRITERS Meet our feature writers, the superb writers on our rosta.

14 AFRICA RISING Christina Thakor-Rankin

14 JAN JONES BLACKHURST

Exclusive Interview

23 BARCELONA Delays ahead

AFRICA RISING Christina Thakor-Rankin

26 MORE THAN STRAWBERRIES Paul Swaddle

WIMBLEDON - MORE THAN JUST STRAWBERRIES & CREAM Paul Swaddle

33 KINGSTON Goes again for casinos

35 STEVE JACOBS Long court battle concludes

+ ALL THE LATEST NEWS & Opinions

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JUNE 2016

A note from the editor CONTACT US Clever Duck Media Centrix@Keys Keys Park Road Staffordshire WS12 2HA UK Tel: +44(0)1543 478 889 PRODUCTION Clever Duck Media Centrix@Keys Keys Park Road Staffordshire WS12 2HA UK

Summer brings all the sports events together

PUBLISHING Infinity Gaming Magazine is operated by © Clever Duck Media Ltd ®

Lana Thompson - Editor

Welcome to the July edition of the Infinity Gaming Magazine and a busy time for sports book operators. Welcome to the latest edition of Infinity

I hope you enjoy the magazine and re-

Gaming Magazine and what an amazing

member to make your nominations ear-

publication we have for you, a wonder-

ly as possible as the IGA10 will be the

ful interview with Jan Jones Blckhurst,

busiest and most exciting yet.

now she is one strong lady.

writers and Paul Swaddle keeps us up

Have a superb summer and catch you

to the latest developments this time

all very soon.

looking at sports betting, mobiles and Wimbledon, now you know summer is here when Wimbledon is on. Christina Enjoy the magazine.

trip to Africa and what the continent can offer the gambling industry and

So, “To Infinity and Beyond!”

what needs to be done before it is a power nation in the sector.

Regards,

We have already announced the cate-

Lana

gories for the 10th Annual International Gaming Awards and next will be the line-up of Judges.

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Sponsorship Opportunities Colin@cleverduckmedia.com Business Partnerships Svetlana@gaming-awards.com Marketing & Advertising claire@cleverduckmedia.com

As always we have our team of superb

Thakor-Rankin looks back on her recent

Company Reg. No. 687 1018 (Registered in England) V.A.T reg. no 972 6372 91

The Editor

Editorial Content & PR media@cleverduckmedia.com

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Infinity Gaming Magazine Contributing Writers A magazine is only as good as the content inside and with some of the leading specialists within the gaming industry. With specialised articles covering customer service, the gaming law, new prducts, technology and current affairs with the sector the Infinity Gaming Magazine is delighted to showcase our superb line-up of contributing writers.

Christina Thakor-Rankin Christina is Principal Consultant at 1710 Gaming Ltd, a specialist betting and gaming consultancy, delivering a range of services including licensing and compliance (incl. regulation, money laundering and social responsibility), business start-up, training and strategic reengineering, project management, research, business analysis and development, to start-ups and established multi-national operators and providers, gambling regu-

lators, law enforcement and government agencies, media, and specialist interest groups and associations within the sector, in both established and emerging markets across the world.

www.1710gaming.com

Liz Karter – Psychotherapist specializing in women and problem gambling Liz Karter is a specialist in gambling and women and has worked as a therapist in gambling addiction since 2001. Liz is also author of the book “Women and Problem Gambling” published in March 2013. In January 2010 having worked with all leading UK problem gambling treatment agencies, and having successfully established the first UK groups for women with gambling addiction, Liz launched Level Ground Therapy. A treatment service in the City of London, Level Ground specialises in meeting the individual needs of women with gambling addiction.

Throughout her career Liz has been regularly consulted by the media regarding her specialisation and has made frequent national TV and radio broadcasts including This Morning, Radio 4 You and Yours and Women’s Hour and given numerous national newspaper and magazine interviews.

Paul Swaddle - CEO Pocket App A self-confessed ‘gadget geek, Paul Swaddle has been working at the leading edge of mobile technology for the past 15 years. He co-founded Pocket App in 2011 to bring the creative and technical development elements of mobile technology together under one roof. This unique approach continues to differentiate Pocket App in today’s increasingly competitive landscape.

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Working across a range of communications disciplines such as acquisition, loyalty, retention and customer development, Paul understands the importance of a strategic and coordinated marketing approach, particularly between on and off-line communications. In the past decade he has enabled brands as diverse as Kellogg’s Fruit Winders, Barclays and Loaded magazine to get the best out of mobile.

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JUNE 2016

Africa Rising

betting’s new online frontier By Christina Thakor-Rankin

some

time

now,

the

bet-

ting and gambling sector has been busy trying to identify where the next

new

online

market

will

be.

The spectre of the US regulation continues to lurk in the background, albeit somewhat subdued following the stall in momentum after the euphoria of Nevada and New Jersey and the recent shift in focus from online gaming to Daily Fantasy Sports. Japan and Asia Pacific continues to have ‘watching brief’

stamped over it, as do Australia and India where the most likely drivers towards regulation, or continued prohibition (depending on which side of the fence one sits on) are likely to be social responsibility and integrity respectively. Europe continues to move towards regulation, but at an increasingly higher cost of entry in terms of licence requirements and taxation. For those operators with ambitions of growth beyond their own back yards, the traditional parts of the world where betting and gambling has a natural indigenous local consumer, the options appear to be dwindling. This goes some way perhaps to explaining the growing interest in those parts of the world, which historically, have been seen as ‘back-waters’ or bit players when it comes to betting and gambling. The other factor driving this shift in focus is technology, and to some extent local economic growth.

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Latin America appears to have replaced the US as the new regulatory hope in that part of the world. Some of this may be sheer optimism and hope. For instance, Brazil remains a talking point. As a betting person however what are the actual odds of a conservative country that failed to regulate in the wake of a World Cup, and which has realistically left it a

For those who see South Africa as the litmus test for African regulation & opportunity, the continent has dropped off the radar. More fool them, as those who were fortunate enough to be able to attend the recent East Africa betting and gambling conference in Kenya

JUNE 2016

bit too late for the Olympics, continu-

Historically, the great African hope has

ing to focus on gambling regulation

been South Africa – with its mature

given its current domestic political

land based betting and gambling sec-

Presentations from regulators indicate

challenges? Far more interesting is its

tor and regular stop-start discussions

an approach to the sector that is prag-

smaller neighbour Colombia, which on

about online regulation. Despite vari-

matic, welcoming and takes account of

the back of an established land-based

ous valiant attempts, a combination of

the various challenges faced by the sec-

gambling sector and biting recession,

things: politics, public opinion, taxation,

tor, from public opinion, to crime and

has started a consultation on regulat-

state v national, and technology have

social responsibility. Crucially there is a

ed online gambling which appears to

contrived to hinder progress and the

profound understanding and acknowl-

be sensible, pragmatic, and eminently

consensus now seems to be that noth-

edgement (arguably absent in other

achievable. Elsewhere in the region,

ing is likely to happen any time soon.

parts of the world) that in the world

there are periodic murmurings and

tunity laid out in glorious technicolour.

of online, prohibition simply does not

musings but nothing of any real sub-

Consequently, for those who see South

stance. In fact, if one were to let imagi-

Africa as the litmus test for African

nation run wild, an interesting propo-

regulation and opportunity, the con-

Whilst Kenya already has online bet-

sition might be Puerto Rico or even

tinent has dropped off the radar. More

ting, the event saw regulators from

Cuba. Discussions about the former as

fool them, as those who were fortunate

both Nigeria and Uganda openly dis-

a possible 51st US state, and whether

enough to be able to attend the recent

cuss their plans to launch their respec-

UIGEA applies to it, together with the

East Africa betting and gambling confer-

tive online regulations in the coming

new thaw in relations with Cuba, might

ence in Kenya last month will tell you.

months – not years. Nigeria already

in time, allow the US to utilise either

work - so deal with it.

has some experience in this area, but

as a possible legal ‘off-shore’ solution

Attended by some of the world’s ‘new

for Uganda this is a first, going as it

to its online gambling conundrum.

kids on the regulatory block’ such as

will from nothing to something, with

Nigeria, Liberia and Uganda, and Kenya,

the regulator asking for the assistance

In the absence of any tangible moves in

and operators keen to explore the con-

of operators in building their knowl-

the US, LatAm as its closest neighbour

tinent’s potential, the conference was

edge and understanding, and express-

will continue to be a source of interest

something of a revelation. In fact, the

ing a desire to learn from the sector.

and speculation, but perhaps not much

sensation was not dissimilar to arriving

more. So where could an online opera-

in a new location late at night, waking in

Lack of control of the internet, is not the

tor with ambitions of growth turn?

the morning, looking out of the window

only driven towards regulation -

and seeing a whole new world of oppor-

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Africa Rising - betting’s new online frontier timing is everything, and regulation in

And it’s not just sports-betting that’s big.

less than robust or of a lesser stand-

Africa 10 or even 5 years ago would

Both regulators and operators reported

ard than that of more mature jurisdic-

have been a little pointless. The two

a growing interest in virtual sports bet-

tions. What is evident is that Africa’s

non-negotiable pre-requisites to online

ting – already phenomenally popular

regulators are fully cognisant of the

gambling success are consumer appe-

in those months when football takes a

issues relating to problem gambling,

tite and accessibility.

break - some are even suggesting that

crime and integrity, and fully intend

the revenue generated by virtual sports,

to adopt and adapt best international

The current insatiable consumer appe-

available around the clock, could eas-

regulatory practice – operators should

tite for sports betting (an estimate of

ily far out-strip the revenues from the

not come to Africa hoping to be able

$11.3m in bets a day in Nigeria from

traditional betting market in time. The

to secure revenue by cutting corners.

last year already seems too low) appears to owe thanks to two

That said and some of the more tan-

things. The popularity of the

gential elements such as social re-

English Premier League, due in

sponsibility, the optimum level of

part to its plethora of superstars

taxation, understanding the impact

from the African continent, now

of integrity and crime may take a lit-

made accessible by the arrival

tle more work to get right - as they

of DSTV – Africa’s version of Sky

always do in a new environment, but

or Fox. Just as the launch of Sky

this will come in time.

Sports in the UK saw a revolution in the world of football betting in

Africa is moving forwards at a rate of

the UK, so the case with DSTV in

knots. The early movers are already

Africa – suddenly every match is

reaping the benefits, but this is just

available to watch. In a country

the start of the journey. As Africa con-

where every viewer is a pundit and an

natural barrier to this success is internet

tinues to flourish economically (Kenya

analyst – betting is now a very serious

connectivity – but for how much longer.

and Nigeria last year, Ivory Coast, Tanza-

business.

nia and Senegal this year, according to Already efforts are underway to better

the IMFs list of world’s fastest growing

Consumer appetite alone is not suffi-

utilise traditional mobile connectivity

economies), one can expect further in-

cient however. Consumers need a means

and communications, and it is surely

novation and adoption of technology,

of transacting online, and in a world

only a matter of time before some bright

and a population with increasing leisure

where cash is king and basics such as

spark develops a game which can oper-

time and disposable income.

electric power, let alone infrastructure

ate, albeit most likely with some form of

and desktops are not always easy to

cash-in and cash-out mechanism, in an

Combine this with pragmatic regulators

come by, the challenges are significant.

‘offline’ mode.

seeking to safeguard revenues and con-

For so long the less developed world

sumers in an environment that supports

has had to play catch-up until recently.

Other jurisdictions in Africa either al-

growth and sustainability and there is

The internet has opened up a new win-

ready in the process of implementing,

only one possible conclusion - for any-

dow of opportunity to entrepreneurs

or starting to look at regulation include

one seeking the next betting and gam-

and technologists seeking to not emu-

amongst others the Seychelles, Ghana,

bling market - Africa is the new frontier.

late but innovate. Cue the world’s first

Tanzania, Botswana. Africa is on the

real stab at mobile payments - M-Pesa,

move, and moving fast.

Sports Betting East Africa – Nairobi, Kenya (23-25 May 2016)

and betting applications that utilise text and messaging rather than relying on in-

A word of caution however for those op-

ternet connectivity.

erators hoping that expeditious regula-

Sports Betting East Africa – Accra, Gha-

tion or inexperienced regulators could

na (18-20 July 2016)

lead to a framework which is anything

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GAMING NEWS

JUNE 2016

Odobo goes out of business ketplaces like ours require wider scale to survive in an increasingly complex and fragmented regulatory landscape,” Odobo said. “We needed to recognise that the velocity with which the business was growing was outpaced by the costs associated with providing the services that Odobo offered. “As a result, we have made the very difficult decision to close the business.

dobo the game developer has ceased operations with immediate effect citing unmanageable running costs. The company that launched in 2011 by founder and CEO Ashley Lang will stop offering any services from Tuesday 31st May and its offices closed on 11th June. The company website said, “many of the challenges, costs and barriers associated with content production”, costs have got too high and it has been forced to close its doors.

“This decision was not taken lightly and we sincerely regret that it affects the partners and clients that have supported us. “We are proud of what we have achieved together and are grateful to the investors, developers, operators and suppliers who have been part of our journey.” Over recent months many of their leading staff and executives had left the company spelling troubling times for Odobo, it is not clear what will happen to any of the companies clients and current services offered.

“As our industry has evolved, it has become clear that mar-

New Jersey online May figures rise New Jersey online gambling figures for May made for good reading for operators as in total online gambling raked in profits of $16.5 million for the month figures released by state regulators showed. However it did not surpass the record breaking month of April which for the first time passed the $17 million mark for monthly profits. The rise shows a 33% year on year rise in online gambling for the state with revenues standing at $78.4 through to May compared to just over $60.3 million for the same period last year. The Borgata continues to lead the way with $3.9 million in online gaming revenues.

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JUNE 2016

Interview with Jan Jones Blackhurst Exec VP Government Relations & Corp.Responsibility at Ceasars Entertainment

Jan many thanks for letting us interview you, to start can we ask you for all our international readers what your role is and what does it entail?

And women are still hugely underrepresented in senior management positions as well.

Additionally, 85%

gest and most senior job of all in Hillary Clinton, will that help other women in business?

of Fortune 500 corporate board seats are held by white males and if equal

When Hillary Clinton is elected Presi-

proportions of men and women joined

dent of the United States I believe you

I am the Executive Vice President of

boards beginning in 2015, boardroom

will see the beginning of a new era in

Government Relations and Corporate

gender parity would not be reached

women’s rights, pay equality, and repre-

Social Responsibility for Caesars Ent…

until 2090! On pay equity, women con-

sentation of women in senior positions

in this role I oversee all of the Govern-

tinue to earn only 79c for every dol-

in American government and business.

ment Affairs globally, and design and

lar earned by their male counterparts,

execute all social responsibility, sus-

and significantly less for women of

tainability programs for the enterprise

color. So how can we say we are moving toward equality, when the statis-

You have supported equal opportunities for women within the business for several years, over that time have you seen an improvement of women reaching higher positions?

Do you think the US are better or worse in promoting women into senior and board level roles?

tics show we are hardly moving at all! I do not believe business globally has

Caesars are a huge company how is it represented by women in senior positions?

done a good job promoting women and utilizing the tremendous talent pool available to them.

American corpora-

tions have also been woefully inade20% of the exective team positions are

quate in their utilization and promotion

Although women dominate universities

held by women , and 37% Director and

of women in the workforce, and of the

and professional schools on every con-

above and xx Vice-Presidents, currently

world’s 5 largest gaming operators and

tinent except Africa, and earn 58% of

there are no women on our corporate

suppliers, female executives occupy

the BA degrees, 60% of MBA’s and 50%

board…the good news is that our new

only 15% or fewer of the senior lead-

of law degrees, this success has not

CEO, Mark Frissora, is hugely support-

ership roles. This is particularly amaz-

changed the numbers of women repre-

ive of gender parity and pay equality,

ing as women account for 70-80% of

sented in senior management positions

so I believe you will begin to see these

all purchasing decisions, and a recent

in business. In fact, more Fortune 500

numbers change rapidly! He advocates

Bloomberg study of stock performance

CEO’s are named “David” (4.5%) than

gender diversity as a significant factor

based solely on Gender diversity (% of

women who actually hold CEO posi-

in driving profitable business outcomes.

board, %of management team, and %

tions (4.1%).

of workforce) and using a 10 year look

There is a possibility one woman may make it to the big-

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back period, found this portfolio of stocks outperformed the S&P 500 by

JUNE 2016

JAN JONES BLACKHURST “When Hillary Clinton is elected President of the United States I believe you will see the beginning of a new era in women’s rights, pay equality, and representation of women in senior positions in American government and business.”

141%!

A Swedish online gambling supplier, NetEnt have a policy of having 50% of women on the board by 2020, do you think this positive discrimination is the right way to go in helping women achieve more senior roles?

quo, so if 95% of CEO’s, and 85% of cor-

C-suite executives maintain that they

porate board members are white males,

do have formalised goals for achieving

well then, it is only logical to assume

gender parity. Only when we embrace

that bias, unconscious or otherwise, will

that there is a problem, can we ad-

continue to exist. I am certain you are

dress it by putting goals and standards

aware of the “blind orchestra audition”

in place that will hold us accountable.

where applicants auditioned behind a screen which resulted in an increase in

We also need to begin to examine

the percentage of women hired for the

work cultures, as Anne Marie Slaughter

top five orchestras moving from 5% to

noted: “if women are ever to achieve

Transparency and measurement are

34%%...Business should have transpar-

real reality as leaders, then we have

essential to achieving gender parity.

ent and measurable goals around fe-

to stop accepting male behaviour

Setting clear goals and holding to that

male executive and Board member rep-

and male choices as the default and

standard is a move in the right direction.

resentation, employment policies and

ideal. We must insist on changing so-

Statistically we know that people have a

procedures, salary equity and pay policy

cial policies and bending career tracks

bias in favour of preserving the status

structures, and in the US only 44% of

to accommodate our choices too.”

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JUNE 2016

Interview with Jan Jones Blackhurst Recently at a talk in Las Vegas you made, you pointed to a specific company having only one only one women in their senior ranks, what was your reason for that? I actually showed a slide from a company website showcasing their senior team…I did not identify the company and specifically noted that I was NOT calling this company out, as almost any gaming company senior management team would look largely just the same. I was suggesting that all of us in the gaming industry have a lot of work to do, and as a highly regulated industry that regularly reports on a multitude of diversity and responsibility

issues to gaming

regulators worldwide, maybe we should consider reporting on our achievements (or lack thereof) in gender parity (and by the way, the large majority of those regulators are also male!)

gender parity conversation in isolation.

systems to fix gender imbalance in the boardroom, but only 10% of their

In your opinion what needs to change before women are given more leadership opportunities? Awareness, measurement transparency

Is the problem you think a gambling related issue for women getting more opportunities in business or is it more general than that?

and, possibly most importantly the in-

males colleagues agree…I think this goes back to the fact that 96% of CEO’s are male and 85% of their corporate board members are males, and the status quo is hard to change…this is particularly foolish when statistics

volvement of senior male colleagues in

I think it is a problem for business

confirm that companies with a higher

changing the dynamic. We have a mul-

more broadly…the gambling industry’s

percentage of female board members

titude of women’s organizations speak-

numbers are certainly no worse than

(not to mention female senior execu-

ing to the inequality and providing lead-

business in general, and in some cases

tives) significantly outperform their

ership training and mentoring, but until

markedly better…but generally although

non-diverse counterparts…What does it

men are actively and positively engaged

over 50% of gaming industry employ-

take to make men realize it is just smart

in changing the workforce composition,

ees are women, the senior executive

business to have women in key deci-

I believe we will make limited progress.

teams remain overwhelmingly male

sion making positions, not to mention

We also need to engage men around the

that new century leadership requires

Recent research has shown that having more women on the board of companies has a positive effect on the bottom line, with that in mind what is stopping the promotion of women?

strong social intelligence and team

reer tracks to accommodate our choices

Interestingly, the majority of women

I believe that to be the “rationalization”

too.” We cannot continue to have the

on corporate boards support quota

…But, as a society we need to embrace

concept of evolving work place cultures, as noted by Ann Marie Slaughter: “if women are ever to achieve real reality as leaders, then we have to stop accepting male behaviour and male choices as the default and ideal. We must insist on

building capabilities, and female executives outscore males on these metrics.

Is it the age old thing of women and pregnancy?

changing social policies and bending ca-

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JUNE 2016

that women will always be having chil-

It is very difficult, long hours, com-

trepreneurs, so finding time to run the

dren and that should not be a deterrent

mitment, dedication, but that is the

city, responsibly manage our growth,

to their success in an executive career...

same for both men and women…

and meet the needs of my constituents,

We have work cultures that were cre-

women simply face an invisible bar-

while raising my three children, had its

ated by white men in the 1950’s and

rier that makes their ascent more dif-

trying moments, but the experience was

it is time for that to change, not just to

ficult by tenfold. Many men, and actu-

far more exhilarating than difficult! And

accommodate women, but for the mil-

ally many young women, suffer under

as the Executive VP for Harrah’s Enter-

lennial workforce,

where both male

the delusion that there is no more

tainment, now Caesars Entertainment,

and female are demanding of similar

glass ceiling, that is simply not true.

I have had the privilege to work with

changes in work cultures.

We have

the ability with technology and modern thinking to accommodate all of our available talent to the highest and best use and many companies are beginning to consider how to adapt their work cultures to stop the loss of tremen-

three extraordinary CEO’s, Phil Satre,

Before we let you go Jan what has been more difficult in your life being Mayor of Las Vegas or being the Exec VP Government Relations & Corp.Responsibility at Ceasars Entertainment?

dous intellectual talent during child

Gary Loveman and now Mark Frissora, and help to grow a business from $1.5 billion to a 10 billion market capitalization. I also have been able to work and collaborate with some of the best minds in the gaming industry and government in pursuing new opportunities for gam-

bearing years…It is in all of our best

Neither have been difficult…I loved be-

ing and integrated resort development

interest to put old thinking away and

ing the first women Mayor of Las Vegas,

around the world. I do not think there is

look how to evolve to a better way to

it certainly had its’ difficult moments

a more exciting industry than ours and

utilize all the best talent available to us

but largely it was an incredible time

every day I am thankful for the tremen-

in my life…we were the fastest grow-

dous opportunities it has afforded me!

Personally how difficult is it to reach a senior role within the business?

ing City in America, fuelled by some of the world’s most imaginative en-

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JUNE 2016

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GAMING NEWS

JUNE 2016

Barcelona Casino delays prompt Melco share deal cancellation

elcolot Ltd and Melco International Development Ltd have jointly announced that their share deal for a casino bid near Barcelona in Spain has been terminated due to uncertainty related to the tender process.

Melco Property is one of the bidders for the gaming license to develop a hotel and casino complex in BCN World, a new recreation and tourism centre development in the Spanish region proposed by the Catalan government.

“As the timetable of the tender process for the casino authorization and the development of the project remain relatively uncertain in the current political situation in Catalonia… Melco and MelcoLot agreed to immediately terminate the share purchase Agreement,” the two companies, both controlled by Lawrence Ho, informed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after trading.

The October announcement indicated that the conditions for the deal required that Melco Property should be granted a gaming license from the Catalan government before June 30 this year.

Back in October 2015, the two Hong Kong-listed companies reached a deal that MeloLot would purchase 99% of the issued capital stake of Melco International’s subsidiary – Melco Property Development – for HK$502.9 million (US$62.9 million).

With the political situation in the region creating a nongoverning parliament the issue of any gaming license was unlikely to be agreed by any joint party. When and indeed if the change in situation happens it would be certain that Lawrence Ho and his company would again move but at present it seems a long delay in inevitable.

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Build Your Brand, Business & Social Responsibility

THE 10th INTERNATIONAL GAMING AWARDS NOMINATIONS OPEN

Categories for both Online & Land Based Gambling Industry CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES 28TH SEPTEMBER

GAMING NEWS

JUNE 2016

Curacao online gambling row rumbles on

he row over the legitimacy of Curacao online gambling licensing rumbles on in the Netherlands as now the Minister of Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk has fired back saying that his office is not responsible.

in Curaçao are unregulated and nobody supervises. According to both Dutch MPs the national telecom provider UTS, which is a public company, has a major role in these illegal activities.

Online casinos and the possible illegal activities connected to it are not a matter for the Netherlands. This is according to the Minister of Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk in response to written parliamentary questions. These questions came from the Dutch MPs Ronald van Raak of the Socialist Party (SP) and Andre Bosman of the ruling party VVD.

On the other hand, UTS indicates in a press statement that they are tired of the accusations of these two MPs.

Only online casinos from Curaçao focusing the Dutch market have attention of the Ministry of Security and Justice in the Hague. Plasterk did not say anything about the supervision of the Ministry on these online casinos.

According to UTS “we ourselves allow Curaçao to become victim of Dutch interests.” The telecom urges local MPs to raise this with the Dutch government thus preventing the reputation of the island to be affected.

“The good name of the company is unfairly affected. The management of UTS suspects the Dutch MPs to have a double agenda,” said UTS in their press release.

Van Raak and Bosman believes that the gambling industry

Greece raises online taxes to 35% The Greek government have raised the Gross Gaming Revenue duty for all online gambling companies to 35% effective by January 2017. With Greece struggling to meet the loan sanctions by the EU the country needs to meet a surplus of 3.5% of its current national budget, with a black hole of €1.5 billion raising taxes is the only way the government believe. Currently online gambling operators work on a sliding scale of between 30-35% of gambling duty, now it will be fixed for all at 35% including the state run OPAP. Greece has 24 licensed online gambling operators in the country and all were expecting the rise on tax so it is unlikely any will pull their businesses out of Greece. With the increase coming into effect at the start of next year the government believe they can raise some €54 million from online gambling.

INFINITY GAMING

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GAMING NEWS

JUNE 2016

Workers threaten strike in Atlantic City casinos

asino workers from the Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union have voted to take strike action if they are not offered a new fair contract by the 4th July holiday weekend in Atlantic City. In total four casinos will be affected by the strike, Caesars, Bally’s, Harrah’s, Tropicana and the Trump Taj Mahal say that their workers are supporting action that will start on the 1st July if a new contract is not forthcoming. At Caesars, which also owns Bally’s and Harrah’s, spokeswoman Katie Dougherty said “Our goal remains to negotiate a fair resolution to keep our employees at work for their sake and to continue supporting Atlantic City’s revitalization which has our full commitment”. Even if the union votes yes, it would not walk out immediately. “Service workers at the casinos are frustrated by billionaire private equity investors who swoop in to ostensibly “rescue” businesses, but focus instead on squeezing out profits at the expense of working people”, said the union’s

statement. The last strike in Atlantic City was in 2004 and lasted 34 days. Caesars’ spokesman Stephen Cohen said the casinos are intent on hammering out a deal that benefits both workers and the city’s comeback efforts. “A strike, no matter how long, would cost the industry far more than a new contract would”. “These five employers clearly are not in touch with what their employees are feeling”, McDevitt said. There are more than 6,000 workers at the five casinos. “They want to give themselves incentives and bonuses, but don’t want to give anything back to the union workers?” she asked. All eight remaining casino are expecting and hoping that July and August are the highest-grossing months for the city’s casino industry.

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JUNE 2016

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JUNE 2016

Eilat casino hopes fail to get Finance Minister support

he hope of Prime Minister Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have a casino in Eilat has taken a massive hit against with his Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon saying, “The State of Israel does not need casinos. It needs to provide education, values and jobs – not a casino,” he said at a recent press conference. This is the first time his Finance Minister has come out against the casino plan which Netanyahu appointed Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin to review the possibility of opening a casino in the holiday resort. Kahlon has avoided direct confrontation with his Prime Minister on the issue, saying to reporters: “Everyone knows there will not be a casino here.” It seems a battle is brewing on the casino issue and the question is will Netanyahu want to split his government on the issue.

Cyprus Casino Resort delay The Cyprus casino resort bidding process will be delayed again after two of the three bidders asked for an extension to the July 5 deadline for presentations. NagaCorp Ltd and Bloomberry Resorts Corp, which the report said, had asked separately, for more time to reach agreements for land acquisition and to deal with official paperwork.

Studio City could add VIP facilities Melco Crown Entertainment is considering adding VIP gaming facilities at its Studio City in Macau’s Cotai district following poor results at the mass market focused resort. The company’s chief operating officer, Ted Chan Ying Tat said to local reporters. “We’ll consider that,” Mr Chan told reporters in response to questions about Studio City’s business performance. “As Mr Ho has said, we internally are not very satisfied with the current condition of Studio City,” added Mr Chan. Referring to previous comments by Melco Crown’s chief executive Lawrence Ho, regarding the casino’s first quarter earnings in May. “But we have tried adding various elements here [in Studio City] hoping that when the supporting infrastructure is better, the [operating] environment will also get better,” Mr Chan said. He did say that occupancy at Studio City’s two hotels had currently reached 95%.

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JUNE 2016

Wimbledon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; More than just strawberries and cream By Paul Swaddle - CEO Pocket App

afoot and now there is another addition

he summer of sporting fun has begun

the quintessential British summer like the

to the list of things synonymous with

in earnest. Not only is the 2016 UEFA Eu-

Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships.

Wimbledon and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s online gambling.

underway, with our boys managing to

The oldest, and widely considered most

The mobile consumer

safely negotiate the tournaments opening

prestigious event on the tennis sport-

stanza without too much incident, but the

ing calendar, Wimbledon has historically

The increasing take up and use of mobile

Rio Olympic Games are now beginning to

been synonymous with rain delays, straw-

devices is transforming most industries

creep up on the horizon, and what a festi-

berries and cream, Henman Hill (later re-

and the gaming and betting industries are

val of fun that promises to be if our ath-

branded as Murray Mound) and the infa-

no different. In fact, they are maximising

letes can replicate the outstanding perfor-

mous snaking queues of patrons, eager to

on the opportunities presented by mobile

mances of London 2012. That being said,

see their heroes strut their stuff on the

to not only engage with existing players,

nothing quite heralds the beginning of

famous grass courts. However, change is

but also to reach new customers.

ropean Football Championship now well

Online gambling is on course to become the most popular form of gambling in the UK and mobile is set to claim a sizeable chunk of this expansion. Being constantly connected and able to instantly place bets, check odds and claim winnings without ever setting foot in a betting shop is transforming the industry unequivocally - a recent report by Smart Live Gaming not only suggests that mobile gambling will account for over 40% of the online gambling market by 2018, but states that the number of players gambling online will increase by approximately 100 million by 2018. Unbeknownst too many though, fuelled by a boom in online and inplay betting, the tennis gambling market has experienced exponential growth of late and is now second only to football in terms of the amount of business generated for British bookmakers.

JUNE 2016

Paul Swaddle is CEO of Pocket App a leading design company in the App Construction world

You only have to look at how well William Hill did on the opening day of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Australian Open, in which it experienced an 80 percent surge in betting turnover with an incredible 20,000 more bets placed on the first day of the competition than in 2015. William Hill also reported a sizeable increase in in-play bets which were up 297 percent on the previous year. In fact, the rise of online gambling and the recent proliferation of in-play betting options has seen

turnover from tennis betting rise to billions of pounds every year. I remember, in the not too distant past, that some industry observers believed that the move to mobile in this industry had been too slow. It was also felt that many operators had focused on adapting existing propositions to the mobile environment rather than designing products specifically for this channel. Although this has improved some-

what, some consumers still find many of the apps and mobile interfaces difficult to use, primarily because some developers fail to take into consideration the technical constraints mobile devices have in comparison to desktop and laptop computers. As a consequence, there are still plenty of opportunities for operators to disrupt the market by developing more innovative approaches.

JUNE 2016

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Wimbledon strawberries & cream

The future of online gambling As an industry insider I can speak with some certainty that mobile will continue to be the biggest growth area in remote betting and gaming. Betting and gaming have become culturally more accepted leisure activities and the mobile channel is providing the industry with opportunities to widen its customer base by allowing customers, who haven’t traditionally gone to a betting shop or bingo hall, to play in a way that fits their lifestyle. However, this new generation of betting and gaming consumers, whilst presenting potentially lucrative sources of income for recognised industry players, will also demand a seamless, satisfying experience. This may present a challenge for many established operators, as their mobile propositions are still not as user friendly as they could be. This does however offer opportunities for a few new innovative market entrants and I believe we could see some big media brands, that understand mobile consumers and who have developed effective proposi-

tions in other areas, entering the market and being well placed to capture market share. By partnering with leading product providers, such as PocketApp, such brands have the opportunity to enter the industry solely through the mobile channel and disrupt the market with new approaches to technology. As a developer of apps, my belief is that consumers will expect operators to offer them new and exciting products to keep them engaged, so offering the same as existing vendors is not going to win a new entrant market share. True product differentiation can be achieved by identifying new game formats or features that are specifically developed for mobile and that take into account the way in which consumers use and interact with their mobile devices. For example, this could include developing apps that use location specific data in tailoring content to players. Conclusion No doubt towards the back end of the tournament many of you will be stood in front of your television screens screaming out the annual

JUNE 2016

war cry of “come on Andy” while simultaneous reviewing your betting app to see just how much you are in line to win. This year, there will be increased interactivity between patron and betting app. Statistics now show that its once the game actually starts that the turnover really starts to ramp up due to in-play betting opportunities. No longer is it just a matter of betting on the final outcome of the match, punters can now bet on who will win the next set, or next game or even next point. It’s not only the betting patron that has increased opportunities this year, there are also massive opportunities for organisations keen to gate-crash this particularly lucrative party by developing customer friendly and intuitive betting apps and for anybody in that category Pocket App is only a call away. So even if ‘game, set and match’ is called on your overall pick for this year’s tournament, there are still plenty more opportunities for you to be a winner!

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GAMING NEWS

JUNE 2016

Russian Government to create criminal code for illegal gambling

fter some seven years since

Under the new bill, illegal gambling

up to 4 years.

making casinos illegal in Russia

operators would be punished with fines

except for a few far flung zones

of up to 500,000 rubles ($7,600) or the

The amendments are proposed to the

the Russian Government have now moved

offender’s salary or other income for

Criminal Code of Russia, when they will

to install an actual criminal code to ille-

a period of up to 3 years; compulsory

be made law is not clear.

gal casino and gambling dens in Moscow

community service for up to 240 hours;

and elsewhere outside the permitted

supervised release for a term of up to 4

At present only four specialized gambling

casinos zones.

years or imprisonment for up to 2 years.

zones exist: Kaliningrad Region, Primorsky Krai, Altai Krai and Krasnodar Krai. Ac-

Currently police and lawmakers were

Of those offering rented or leased

cording to Kommersant, Russia has only

able to raid illegal gambling dens and

properties for illegal gambling then the

four legal casinos: “Oracle” and “Nirvana”

seize the property of those involved and

punishment would be punishable by

in Krasnodar Krai, “Altai Palace” in Altai

hand out small administrative fines but

fines ranging from 500,000 to 1 million

Krai and Tigre de Crystal in Primorsky

should the new laws be introduced then

rubles ($15,200) or the offender’s salary

Krai.

that could change.

or other income for a period of up to 5 years or a prison sentence for a term of

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JUNE 2016

Kingston to decide on casinos again

esidents of Kingston in the south west of London will again be asked if they would like casinos within its borough following the authority there deciding to conduct a review of gambling including a consultation of whether casinos would be welcome. Following changes to the Gambling Act in 2005 local councils are able to decide on whether to license small casinos within their borders and Kingston have already asked residents in 2009 and 2012 about licensing casinos to which the answer was “no”.

Atlantic City to lose three more casinos if vote goes in favour of northern casinos

Councillor Mike Head, chairman of the licensing committee, said: “We have an absolute responsibility to ensure that the licenses we issue to allow premises to offer gambling are appropriate and don’t impact upon the local area. “The decision was taken during these reviews that casinos weren’t welcome. “As part of this review and consultation, we are asking whether it is still the case.” “We want to hear views on what considerations local people would expect license holders to be mindful of.” In 2005 the Gambling Act was introduced to regulate the building of casinos in the UK, placing tight restrictions on the number of casinos that could open and limiting them to specific towns and regions. The argument for is that the casinos would create jobs in the town but on the no side with there is already enough bookmakers and gambling machine arcades without casinos. No date has been set for the consultation.

Should voters agree to have two more casinos built in New Jersey’s northern territory close to New York City as many as 4 casinos in Atlantic City could close according to a recent prediction from Fitch Ratings. November residents will decide on allowing two casinos to be built outside Atlantic City close to New York City and that say Fitch Ratings could push casinos such as Trump Taj Mahal, Resorts, the Golden Nugget and even Bally’s into closing with visitor numbers declining. Fitch Ratings believes that a loss of 25% gambling revenue to the northern casinos would wipe out Golden Nugget’s profit and the same would happen if Trump Taj Mahal and Bally’s were to suffer the same fall. Currently voting polls have a even split of voters in favour and against the new casinos.

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JUNE 2016

Jacobs settles with Las Vegas Sands over 6 year court battle

as Vegas Sands and its owner Sheldon Adelson have finally ended their long running legal battle with its former head of its Chinese business, CEO Steven Jacobs. It was announced that Las Vegas Sands has “reached a comprehensive and confidential settlement” that had been going on since 2010 when Jacobs launched a wrongful termination from the company. He alleged that he was fired in order to cover up illegal activities committed by the company as it developed its business interests in Macau. The announcement filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange said Jacobs dismissed all claims in Nevada state and federal court against Las Vegas Sands,

Sands China and its subsidiary Venetian Macau, and Adelson. Jury selection for the Jacobs case had been set to begin June 27. It had been delayed by a dozen pre-trial issues, including the company’s unsuccessful attempt last month to remove the Nevada state court judge presiding from the case, with its lawyers arguing that there was a conflict of interest. Over the years there has been a tendency by Las Vegas Sands to outlast and out finance Jacobs hoping he would either give up with years of court room battles or run out of money to continue his very expensive legal fight, neither happened and in fact Jacobs won many of those battles inside the courtroom.

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JUNE 2016

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GAMING NEWS

JUNE 2016

Boyd Gaming sells Borgata Resort to MGM

oyd Gaming is selling its 50% share in the hugely successful Borgata Casino Resort in

Atlantic City to its partner for over a decade MGM Resorts for $900 million along with any property tax rebates that maybe due. “The consistent success of Borgata is a tribute to the entire Borgata team, as they have continued to outperform an evolving and challenging Atlantic City market,” Boyd president and CEO Keith Smith said in a company statement. “We thank them for their tremendous contributions to Borgata and Boyd Gaming, and we wish them continued success as they join the MGM team.” “Borgata is the premier resort in Atlantic City and a great addition to our growing presence in the Northeast,”

formed and differentiated itself as

will complement and strengthen our

MGM Resorts CEO and chairman Jim

the undisputed leader in the city. Our

more than 60,000-member world-

Murren said in a statement. “While

decade-long partnership with Boyd

wide MGM Resorts team.”

the market continues to experience

Gaming has been a great one, and

challenges, Borgata has outper

Borgata’s talented employee base

Grosvenor MD leaves company to join Goals

ark Jones the Managing

Jones departure but he has been with

governance, following the report of

Director of Grosvenor

the company since 2009 to 2014

the company’s first loss in twelve

Casinos in the UK both for

as MD of the bingo division before

years.

land based and online divisions has

moving over to become MD for both

left the company and will become the

online and land based Grosvenor

The company which operates 46 foot-

new CEO of UK football pitch opera-

Casinos brand.

ball centres in the UK ends its search

tor Goals Soccer Centres (Goals).

for a CEO which was first announced Goals confirmed that Jones would

this January as former incumbent

The Rank Group who is the parent

take over leadership on 1 July. The

Keith Rogers would relocate to the US

company of Grosvenor Casinos has

appointment of Jones follows a cor-

to oversee its North American busi-

not made any announcement on Mr

porate review undertaken by Goals

ness division.

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GAMING NEWS

JUNE 2016

Desmond loses latest battles against Ladbrokes/ Gala Coral merger His latest appeal hinged on the influence of Playtech in the merger as the igaming software giant has a 9.7% share in Ladbrokes and the deal being approved meant that Ladbrokes would pay Playtech £40m on completion of the merger in the form of Ladbrokes’ shares, and a further guaranteed £35m in cash – due on certain milestones, but at the very least within 42 months of the merger. That deal was announced on the last day prior to the merger being approved in the UK.

ermot Desmond the Irish billionaire and shareholder in Ladbrokes has lost his latest appeal against the Gala Coral & Ladbrokes merger.

The appeal board of the UK Takeover Panel has ruled against Dermot Desmond in his long running bitter feud against the two bookmakers merger.

“It is clear that Ladbrokes has failed to adequately disclose the basis for the extraordinary payment to Playtech. It was only in response to our requests that the Playtech amendment agreements were belatedly published on the company website,” Desmond told Ladbrokes’ shareholders at a general meeting called to vote on the merger. “The circular could have given more contextual information about the justification for the £75m payment, but… if there had been fuller disclosure, there is no rational basis for concluding that the outcome of the shareholders meeting could have been different,”

Tipico appoints Joachim Baca as Chief Executive Officer Tipico Group has appointed Joachim Baca (44) as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective 18 July, 2016. Mr Baca served as the longstanding Chief Operating Officer (COO) of bwin.party (now known as GVC Holdings), the listed betting company with annual revenues of approximately €800 million and circa 3,500 employees. Joachim Baca will replace Jan Bolz who, after five years at the helm of Tipico, leaves the company in mutual consent. From 2006 until 2016, Joachim Baca was a member of the management board of bwin.party. As COO, Mr Baca implemented a customer centric management approach, expanded the company’s sports betting offering, and pushed forward innovation. Commenting on his appointment, Joachim Baca said: “Tipico is a remarkable success story – it has

transformed itself to the German market leader within a decade of its foundation. I am greatly looking forward to working with the Tipico team and its owners to enhance the company’s existing successes and lead the company through its next chapter of growth.” Under the leadership of Joachim Baca, Tipico plans to expand its product offering and further strengthen its brand positioning. In April 2016, funds advised by CVC Capital Partners signed a binding agreement for the acquisition of a majority stake in Tipico Group. The founders will remain shareholders in the company. The transaction is subject to the approval of the relevant antitrust authorities and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016.

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JUNE 2016

Francesco Rodano joins Playtech

rancesco Rodano, the former Italian online gaming regulator, has joined Playtech’s executive management team as Chief Policy Officer. He will be based in London, and report to Mor Weizer, the group’s chief executive. Rodano will engage with policy-makers and advise company executives on governmental policies at local, state, national and EU levels as well as provide Playtech with further business opportunities, developing new relationships and fostering existing connections with institutional organisations and industry stakeholders on a global level with the exception of Italy. laytech’s new Chief Policy Officer has more than 18 years’ experience working across a number of online businesses with the last nine years at AAMS, the Italian gambling regulatory authority, where he was responsible for managing and leading the country’s online gaming regulation.

Maria Hedengren, CFO, to leave NetEnt

While at AAMS Rodano reformed the Italian regulatory framework and oversaw the introduction of a comprehensive range of regulated online products, including poker in 2008 and casino games in 2011, attracting more than 100 licensees to the market. During his tenure, Italian gross gambling revenue grew to more than €800 million, making it Europe’s second largest regulated market, with Italy becoming a successful case study for other regulators whose countries have or are soon to be regulated. He was also the recipient of the IMGL’s Regulator of the Year award in 2008. Since 2012 Rodano has been a member of the European Commission’s Group on Gambling Services, where he supported a draft of the formal initiatives recently adopted by the Commission. Mor Weizer, CEO, Playtech, said: “Thanks to his professional achievements and his personal stature, Francesco has become a highly influential figure in the international online gambling arena. We’re delighted he has chosen to join Playtech and I’m sure he will provide an invaluable contribution to the further growth of the company.” Francesco Rodano, said: “After many years spent as a regulator, I’m excited to move to the industry side and to join Playtech at a time when focus on regulated markets is a global priority. Playtech has a talented and respected management team and I am really looking forward to supporting them.”

NetEnt today announced that Maria Hedengren will leave the Company after five years as Chief Financial Officer. Hedengren will retain her responsibilities as CFO of NetEnt until she leaves the Company. A search for Maria’s successor is under way. Maria will leave NetEnt to become the CFO of another company, the information about which is not yet public. “Maria has made a significant contribution to the success of NetEnt over these past years. I will miss our interactions and wish her all the best in her new position”, says Per Eriksson, President and CEO of NetEnt.

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JUNE 2016

Russia wants to outlaw Bitcoin and make their own digital currency Gala Coral report 16% rise in H1 profits

aul Livadniy, deputy director of the Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s federal anti-money laundering agency, said that Russia was moving ahead with a plan to create a government-sponsored and monitored digital currency. In essence the government in Russia want to outlaw Bitcoin and make their own digital currency, which is not very popular with any of the digital companies and individuals that use Bitcoin. The main problem with the Russian Bitcoin would be that before you deal in them you would have to register with the government, so they can follow and see exactly what trades and deals you are doing, along with of course possibly using them for online gambling. Only a handful of countries, including Bangladesh and Bolivia, have banned its citizens from using bitcoin. Were it to pass such a law, Russia would create by far the largest population legally prohibited from the technology. It’s far from clear, however, how the Russian government could expect to enforce such a law.

Gala Coral announced their half yearly results with a 16% rise in profits to £124.6 million. Chief executive Carl Leaver said: “Margins benefited from improved football results in both the UK and Italy, and a good Grand National result helped offset losses from the worst Cheltenham for the industry since 2003.” Revenues were £604.9 million, a 13% increase from the same period last year. The Competition and Markets Authority said in May that Ladbrokes and Coral may have to sell off between 350 to 400 high street stores as a condition of their merger.

There have been other countries that have attempted to create their own digital currency but none have been successful and Bitcoin still rules the digital world.

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