CHRISTINA THAKOR-RANKIN

Why the industry needs to be ‘in’

Why should the betting and gambling industry be more inclusive?

By Christina Thakor-Rankin

The simple answer is ‘because it’s 2021’ - the start of the second decade of the 21st century and an era in which power, leadership and success is no longer definedby, or the preserve of, (mainly) white men from the right background or with the right connections.

Unfortunately, life is never that simple. As humans, we are the product of our past and decades (centuries even) of environmental, social, cultural and religious influenceswhich have contributed to shaping today’s definition of ‘normal’ or ‘acceptable’. To reverse engineer and undo generations of ingrained biases and prejudices is going to take more than a snappy statement or a couple of call outs on social media.

And whilst most people reading this will believe in the principles of equality of opportunity for all, forcing diversity on a sector whose core activity requires cultural, religious or moral approbation before it is considered socially acceptable is wrought with challenges, not least that those very barriers provide both a legitimate reason, and a convenient excuse for inertia and lack of change.

But this is exactly what this industry needs to do if it still wants to be around and alive and kicking in the future, and this is why.

The industry has spent a long time trying to change the public perception of gambling from a dirty deed done by a few behind locked doors and blacked out windows, to something which is a mainstream leisure activity enjoyed by many. It has been hugely successful in its effortsand allying itself with entertainment has certainly brought in the big bucks.But successful in the world of entertainment is based upon staying relevant by embracing and adapting to the winds of change and continuing to reflect the world around it.

The world around us is changing fast. What was considered ‘acceptable’ even a few years ago is no longer the case today, and these changes are being driven by consumers, employees and investors. But remaining relevant requires a deep understanding of the changing expectations of the audience you serve. It means being able to attract the right talent - the new generation of talent that understands the needs and expectations of the new generation of consumers and can help deliver. Just attracting talent is not enough you have to hold onto it long enough for it to make an impact. In fact, the long-term success and survival of any organization depends on how well it can attract and retain the right talent.

One of the entertainment sector’s biggest challenges right now is diversity and inclusion, or the lack thereof. Some of the biggest players in the entertainment industry (including Disney and the Oscars) have been faced with a hard choice - change with the times or cease to be relevant.

If betting and gambling wants to be seen as ‘entertainment’ then it needs to be ready to deal with the same king of scrutiny. Slot games with overtly sexualised female imagery, turbaned princes, nasal boned big game hunters, coolie hatted characters, or any of the other many stereotypes currently found in games providers back catalogues are fast losing their relevance. Continuing to offer them as entertainment runs the risk of the industry being labelled at besttone deaf and out of synch with current views, at worst sexist and racist.

This risk applies to all aspects of the industry, not just games and content. From imagery and language used in marketing and advertising, to the choice of ambassadors, advocates and influencers and advocates, the industry needs to learn from the mistakes of others such as Pepsi or H & M and be alert to tone deafness and cultural incompetence. And not just those things which are outward facing. In the age of information and the popularity of sites like Glassdoor mean there is no hiding place. Scrutiny in the world of entertainment has now moved from the problem to the cause of the problem itself - not enough diversity behind the scenes, or decision-making powers still being in the hands of (mainly) white guys with the right background or with the right connections.

The people at the top of an organization set the tone, the culture, the strategy. And behaviour breeds behaviour.Unfortunately, in this industry the measure of success is too often defined by speaker line ups and awards ceremonies where the definition of success continues to be epitomised by (mainly) white males. And the reasons for this varied from ‘prestige’ and ‘gravitas’ to simply didn’t notice that everyone considered ‘successful’, or an ‘expert’, was almost without exception, male and white.

In a sector like betting and gambling though where brand loyalty has effectively been replaced by USPs and points of differentiation in order to keep customers engaged, the ability to see, think, and do things differently from your competitors is essential. This requires a diverse set of behaviours - not conformity and homogeneity.

In his context the fact that conferences and awards ceremonies continue to perpetuate a false image of success could be a problem where it not for the face that some of the biggest and most influential players in the market have woken up to the fact that the world around them is changing. Not only are the CEOs of some of the world’s most successful operators not male or white, nor are those of some of the most interesting regulatory bodies and industry associations. Those in the know realise that the long-term success of this industry lies in its ability to remain relevant to the world around it.

The world is changing and thankfully is this industry. For those who want to continue to hang on to the old definitions of success the choice is simple - embrace the change or cease to be relevant.

BoyleSports, Betway & Betfair In Court Case Of Fraud

Another case of fraud and theft along with a lack of due diligence and proof of funds failure has been reported by a national newspaper by online operators including BoyleSports, Betway and Betfair.

Andy May was sentenced this week to 4 years for fraud after taking money from his employer to fund his gambling addiction.

The Guardian newspaper reported that senior Manager May who worked for outdoor clothing company Sealskinzde defrauded his company of £1.3 million and gambled large sums with amongst others BoyleSports, Betway and Betfair and although proof of funds were asked by the operators on several occasions he was never refused to gamble.

In documents that Andy May passed to the UK Gambling Commission showing that in a two year period from 2017 to 2019 May lost £600,000 with Betway with over £460,000 of that being stolen funds.

When Betway asked for proof of funds the newspaper says that he doctored false accounting papers and were accepted by the gambling firm.

May also lost some £435,000 with Betfair of which at least £268,000 was stolen from the clothing firm he worked for.

Boylsports never asked May for proof of funds and continued to stake large bets with the firm up until September 2020.

Judge, Anthony Bate said in sentencing May: “This case is a sad and salutary illustration of what can happen when an addiction to gambling runs in this way.” In response to the court case calls again come for a “single customer view” allowing operators to share details of problem gamblers and allow them to be barred from all licensed operators on a network.

In replying to those calls in fairness all three companies mentioned have agreed in principle to the “single customer view” and it is sure to come into force either by regulators or operators themselves if it can be agreed.

Betway said it had already returned funds to Sealskinz from the theft by May, Flutter, who own Betfair did not make any comment it is reported by the newspaper says that Flutter has a policy of returning stolen funds if proven by a court. BoyleSports said it had “invested significantly” in player protection, but would not comment on a single customer case.

À la recherche du temps perdu

By Tim Cullimore

Tim Cullimore looks at the common age for casino dealers and questions why some countries embrace older generations and some do not

Recently in one of the casino news mails I get each day I picked up on a job offer for experienced dealers for one of the U.K.’s major operators, for their casinos in London. I got me thinking about how rare it is to see in this country’s mature dealers, and next to impossible to see dealers of retirement age.

How this differs from mainland Europe and the United States. I remember a great conversation with an Uber driver in Vegas who was also a Blackjack dealer, and he was a good ten years older than me. He said he did a couple of nights a week driving the Uber and a few days dealing Blackjack at Caesars. And he was really happy about it. He loved dealing and he felt it kept him young. I’ve also seen many a senior citizen in Italy, France and Germany imperiously directing the movement of the shoe on a Baccarat table, looking like he had been doing it all his life, which of course he had.

I imagine that the more illuminated employers make special arrangements for more breaks for the older employees, but the experience and wisdom they bring to the job must be invaluable.

When I started out as a dealer the only concerns we had was to get from one week’s pay to the next, and yes we were paid in cash in a little brown envelope every Thursday. It was fantastic job, getting good pay to effectively go and have fun playing games, at least that’s how we saw it. But then there was the expectation to move onwards and upwards. From single game dealer to multi game, eventually landing on the Punto Banco or dice table. Then moving to an inspector/supervisor role, perhaps making it to Pit Boss and eventually Floor Manager. It never crossed our minds that we might like to stay as a dealer throughout our careers. Although my memories may be a little idealised after all these years I know I really loved that job. I have rarely had so much fun as being the palet man on a heaving Baccarat game or dealing at the roulette table where every single colour chip is on the layout, being in the zone unaware of anything going on around you. And what can compare with a night dealing Blackjack on a cruise ship with what was in all senses an audience of holiday makers who were intent on having a good time, and your job is making sure that will happen, and tomorrow you were

in the Virgin Islands with a day off on the beach!

So why do some countries continue to employ more mature staff on the tables and others don’t? Well, I think there is convention, after all in some of the most traditional markets there would be two or three generations of the same family working in the same casino, often in the same pit. This gave a great sense of loyalty and continuity to the operation. In France you would often hear stories of not when the person you are talking to were young, but when their fathers were young, working on the same table in the same place, and I am aware that this was mainly a male tradition, which is now hopefully only a part of history. Another reason why dealers in the U.K. rarely make a career of dealing is that to earn more money they have to strive for promotion, but in the places where tips are the main source of income that doesn’t apply. I have witnessed dealer colleagues who would earn more in the summer season than the general manager, and nobody complained about being left on table for too long when there was a generous player around.

Another factor is flexibility in the workplace. In Vegas, where it seems everyone has at least a couple of jobs, the fact that the volume of positions available mean Casinos can be more proactive in offering shift patterns that suit the individual. And of course, tipping is such an important part of the salary that who needs the stress of being a casino executive when you can drive home at the end of your shift without a care in the world.

Now, I’m not blind to the negative aspects of dealing. How many times have we had to swallow the frankly unacceptable behaviour of one, or worse, a group of players who think you are there to be a verbal punch bag when they are losing, but happily this seems to be becoming a thing of the past. And who hasn’t suffered at the hands of a bullying pit boss or inept supervisor, but that’s part of life and you move on, and again, these things are hopefully no longer prevalent.

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Casino Montreal

I have spoken before about how I enjoyed working for Lotto de Quebec in the early days of the Casino de Montreal. A fantastic working environment and true respect for all the employees. I was in charge of the dealer training school for quite some time and the equal opportunity employment practises meant that age was no barrier to joining the school. I was very sceptical about this at first, due to the rigid background I had come from. I found it hard at first to grasp why someone would want a second or third career as a dealer and join a training school where the other new recruits may be half their age. But I soon learned that it was my perspective that needed to change. Canada, Like the United States, is a land of opportunity, and people are not shy about grasping those opportunities when they can. The older trainees were generally the most enthusiastic and diligent, and soon showed the younger ones that they had to up their game. The company was very understanding about anyone who had individual needs, and although they may not have been the fastest B.J. dealers, they certainly made up for it in customer service and the attitude they brought to the table.

So, Montreal Casino, if you need me to step in and do a few shifts get in touch. You might need to put me on the ground floor as my knees don’t do steps so good anymore. And not too near the slots as my right ear doesn’t hear as well as it used to do, and can you have some peppermint tea in the staff room, oh, and can you recommend some comfortable shoes, and make sure I’m never too far from the bathroom, and don’t make the food too heavy in the evening as it makes me sleepy, but I’d very much appreciate a nice glass of wine with my dinner. And can you for heavens sake turn the music down, I can’t hear myself deal!

Scientific Games To Leave Lottery & Sports Betting Business

Scientific Games has announced that the Company including Executive Chair Jamie Odell and Executive Vice Chair Toni Korsanos, intends to divest its Lottery and Sports Betting businesses. Scientific Games is evaluating strategic alternatives to execute the divestitures for each business, respectively, including an initial public offering (“IPO”) or a combination with a special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”), or a sale or a strategic combination with another business.

Jamie Odell, Executive Chair of Scientific Games, said “When I joined the Board in September 2020, I told stakeholders that we were focused on rapidly de-leveraging the balance sheet, unlocking the value of the Company’s products and technologies and creating a flexible, nimble company positioned to deliver above-market returns to investors. Today, we have announced major initiatives aimed at achieving each of these key objectives, recognizing significant value in each of the businesses and positioning the Company for sustainable growth, all as a result of the dedicated work of our teams.” Barry Cottle, President and Chief Executive Officer of Scientific Games, said “Today’s announcement reflects key steps to optimize our portfolio and strengthen our balance sheet by significantly de-levering while also targeting investments in our largest growth opportunities. These steps will accelerate our path to become a content-led growth company focused on leading in both land-based and digital markets. Our company will be positioned to build great games that define the future of gaming, supported by platforms that power the best operators in the world. We believe these steps will enable us to capitalize on the high growth potential of each of our businesses, including their expanding digital content offerings and platforms, unlocking value for shareholders, customers, and employees. Each of our businesses will be better positioned to partner with their respective customers and to deliver long-term growth and profitability.”

Mr. Cottle continued, “At the conclusion of this process, the new company will consist of leading Gaming, iGaming and SciPlay businesses, all of which have great momentum and will collectively deliver great value. We will capitalize on the increasing convergence of these businesses, as players look to play their favorite games wherever and whenever they want to play. As the leading crossplatform global game company, we are uniquely positioned to take advantage of the incredible industry transition that is underway. Given this significant opportunity, we are targeting our digital businesses to be comparable in size to the landbased gaming business within three years. I’m confident that, with these steps, we are well positioned for future growth prospects.”

There can be no assurances that Scientific Games’ exploration of alternatives for its Lottery and Sports Betting businesses will result in any transactions or other actions by the Company. The Company does not intend to comment on or provide updates regarding these matters unless and until it determines that further disclosure is appropriate or required based on the then-current facts and circumstances.

Trinidad Passes Gambling Bill

Trinidad & Tobago passed the Gambling Control Bill in the House of Representatives with twenty one representatives voting in favour and the opposition party abstaining.

Speaking in the Parliament yesterday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said the legislation speaks to a rehabilitation fund to deal with the harmful effects of gambling.

He said the bill states a committee will be established to administer that fund and will formulate guidelines with respect to the use of the fund. The committee will within three months of the end of each financial year submit to the minister a report on the activities and management of the fund and the minister shall in turn cause the report to be laid in Parliament, he noted.

He criticised Opposition MP Dinesh Rambally for questioning how the fund would be operationalised.

Imbert accused the United National Congress (UNC) of ensuring that criminals are not removed from the gambling industry because of their approach to the bill.

What about problem gamblers? But Rambally said the bill paid lip service to vulnerable people most affected and afflicted by gambling.

“I am sure half the population will frown upon this financial restructuring of the gambling industry if only because they feel gambling is a vice and it breaks up families and causes degenerative behaviour,” he said.

Rambally said while he understood the need for compliance and accountability in an industry as huge as this one, proper attention should have been placed on victims of the industry.

Slot Management 101:

Initiating a Project

You developed a well-defined concept for your next big ‘award winning’project using the business case; you put together the project brief and used it as a firm foundation for project approval, so now what?

By Andy Cosgrove

Any project starts with your next great idea that will solve your currently most irritating near catastrophic ‘wrench in the works’ type problem. It willsave your company untold millions in revenues and it will earn you the respect of your boss and your colleagues while turning the competition green with envy. Equally challenging can be convincing the board of directors to approve the project and turn your concept into reality. You knew it wouldn’t be easy, so you expanded your business case and produced the project brief which defines the project in greater detail and helps push approval over the finishing line. Congratulations! You made it past approval, your project is ready to go, so now what? Welcome to the initiation stage!

The purpose of the initiating a project process is to enable the organization to understand the work that needs to be done to successfully deliver the projects product(s) before committing to any significant financial expenditure. Specifically, all those involved in the project must be clear on what the project intends to accomplish, how the outcomes will be achieved and what each stakeholders responsibilities are. Without this stage the project board risk commitmentwithout fully understanding how it’s objectives will fully be achieved. The main objectives of this stage, which is the first stage of any project, are as follows:

• The reasons for doing the project, the expected benefits and the associated risks. • The scope of what needs to be done and how the project’s products will be delivered and at what cost. • Who is to be involved in the project decision-making. • How baselines will be established and controlled. • Set up of management approaches for risk, quality, change, and communication. • How progress will be monitored and controlled. •How the project will be tailored to suit the customers’ needs.

The main activities of the Initiation stage are as follows:

Agree tailoring requirements – this is necessary in order to recognize internal and external factors that can affect the way the project is delivered. The definition of tailoring is, “adapting a method or process to suit the situation in which it will be used,” and can be applied to processes, themes, roles, management products and also terminology. An example of a tailoring requirement might mean adapting the project to comply to governmental regulations.

Prepare the risk management approach - every project, no matter how large or small involves risk and the risk management approach describes the goals of managing that risk, the proceduresthat will be adopted, the roles and responsibilities of those involved, the timing of when risk activities should take place, the risk tolerances, the reporting requirements and the tools and techniques that will be used to minimize risk and improve the ability of your project to succeed.

Prepare the change control approach – Change is inevitable in any project and the final product rarely ends up as an exact replicaof the one you imagined when the project was being initiated. That being said, if change isn’t managed effectively, it could cause unwanted delays and accrue unnecessary costs and thatvideo slot you imagined might end up as a stepper slot that doesn’t add value to you or your customers.The level of change control can vary from project to projectbased on the level of importance. The complexityand the maximum level of control can be determined by breaking down the projects products so that each one can be independently installed, replaced or modified. Change requires a baseline by which progress can be measured and it also needs configuration item records and product status account reports to help keep track of requests for change and change approvals. If the probability of change is high a change budget will need to be set up to pay for the necessary changes.

Prepare the Quality management approach – A key success factor of any project is that the project delivers the product that the user will find acceptable. This cannot happen unless the quality expectations are established and agreed upon at the beginning of the project. The quality management approach captures and ensures that these agreements are maintained. The definition of quality is,” the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics of a product, service, process, person, organization, system or resource fulfills requirements.” The customer quality expectations, standards and acceptance criteria must be defined along with the tools and techniques to be used to ensure quality compliance. The quality needs to be managed, recorded and reported in accordance with the quality approach and the roles and responsibilities for quality need to be specified during the project initiation stage.

Prepare the communications management approach – Without clear internal and external communications your projects risk of failure increases substantially. To minimize this risk the communications management approach contains details of how the project team will send information to, and receive it from, the wider organization(‘s) involved with, or affected by, the project. The communication management approach includes: the communication procedure, tools and techniques, records and reporting, timing of communications activities, the roles and responsibilities for communication, stakeholder analysis and the information needs for each interested party.

Setup of Project controls–The level of control required by the project board after project initiation needs to be agreed and the mechanisms for such controls need to be established as does the level of control required by the project manager and the team managers. Effective controls are a prerequisite for managing by exception and include: • The frequency and format of communications • Mechanisms to capture and analyze issues and change • The number of management stages • Mechanisms to monitor tolerances and escalate exceptions • How delegated authority will be monitored

Create the project plan – before committing to major expenditure the timescale and resource requirements must be established. This information is held in the project plan and is needed for the project board to control the project. Planning is not something that the project manager performs in isolation and should include input from both suppliers and end users.

Conclusion–Along with the refined business case and project management team structure, you now have all the documentation necessary to assemble the ‘Project Initiation Documentation’ (PID) which is a focal point at which all information relating to the what, why, who, how, where, when and how much, is gathered on the project. Now ask yourself, would you rather increase the risk of your project failing before it even starts? Or would you rather decrease that risk by taking the extra time to add clarity, direction and to produce a well-planned project that will make you and your company a legendary success?

MY MINI-BLOG - Andrew Cosgrove is a seasoned slot operations veteran and certified project manager with over 24 years of hands on experience in Latin America and the Caribbean. Andrew has worked on both the operator and supplier side of casino slots and continues to help clients succeed and exceed customer expectations. Andrew can be reached at andy.cosgrove@henimgwaycasinoconsulting. com or seehttps://hemingwaycasinoconsulting.com/

a new day

By Teresa Tunstall

There is no doubt that we have all had to endure this last year of “Lockdown” - a sense of incarceration with basically very little freedom, although for some distraction led them to play and gamble Online. However, not content with playing with just one website many will switch to a myriad gaming sites worldwide. For example India offering Goa and Sikkim or Sweden, France, Italy and Spain. The consequences sadly have led to many players facing financial disaster and ruin.

This shows there is no unified gambling law governing Europe leaving most countries to their own region. Hopefully the Gambling Commission’s restrictions to make Online gaming safer will necessitate that players think twice before chasing their losses.

Unfortunately many vulnerable and impressionable players are drawn by gambling adverts, particularly those that offer ‘free’ bets and spin speeds whereby players have a short, limited timeto bet.Inevitably losses soon mount up and financial problems follow in its wake. Prime examples of this include slot machines known as “losses” disguised as “wins”complete with enticing background music, all disguised to mislead and trick losing players into thinking they will achieve more on their next spin. Another specific of this is something called “Reverse withdrawals” which is a function that allows consumers to change their minds about withdrawing funds from their gambling account by cancelling a withdrawal of part or all of the funds before the transfer to their bank is completed.

Regulation had previously requested companies to remove potentially misleading features have proved to be of no avail. As a result all internet gambling rather than just slots will become mandatory.

Stuck in Lockdown also gave me the chance to go back in time to remember when Nick, 19 years old and in prison, wrote to tell me about how his gambling almost ended his life. It was a truly disturbing and depressing letter, but since then things have changed enormously with a better understanding of problem gambling. However, times have changed and the situation has altered for the better. Commendably the UK Gambling Commission have consistently continued to argue that Operations should take responsibility for problem gamblers.There are frequent examples of many “punters” opening twenty or more gaming accounts, each one separate from the last. This enables them to move from one account to another allowing them to continue their gambling. For your edification the usage of online gambling includes poker, bingo and casino games, and combined together they grew six times among regular gamblers. Research has discovered that during “Lockdown” men were found to be three times more likely than women to gamble regularly more than once a week. Additionally regular gamblers were more than six times more likely to gamble online compared to before COVID-19. Thus, those working from home may need some attention in case they fall into the online gambling trap. Just what and how remains to be seenbut a watchful eye should be on alert. Realistically, it would be impossible for the UK betting and gaming industry to create a national wide self-exclusion system for problem gamblers; it just wouldn’t work and perversely those in trouble could attempt to blame the industry for their losses. I found it of great interest when visiting Betting shops and Casinos watching those who self-excluded. Bizarrely many of them would literally stand outside these establishments and almost beg their friends to place a bet for them! On another occasion I visited a large betting shop in a small rural village where a regular player always entered and left by a side door in-case his wife turned up! However in today’s age most operators refuse entrance if they are aware of a problem gambler,

and managers share their knowledge with other betting shops and casinos.

There is little doubt that advertisements for betting companies have influenced players especially when big prize money is involved; it’s an exciting enticementespecially as gamblers are a captive audience.But as mere human beings those who may be struggling financially -especially at this time of Lockdown or loss of job– may be inclined and enticed to risk a gamble. Consequently big colourful adverts definitely make an impact!There is little doubt that these issues continue be they in the home, betting shops, casinos, slots Online or otherwise played in UK. The problems are here to stay but perhaps with a little more care they can be addressed and assessed.

I don’t know if you are aware but huge amounts of moneydisappear online and many people are “scammed” on Facebook, Twitter, Google and others social media sites. In fact this happened to me and now it is confirmed by the National Crime Agency (NCA) so be vigilant and on your guard. The NCA have seen a surge in issues including romance, investment scams and other frauds, and is looking for ways to circumvent and stop these ‘predators,’ from targeting the public. They state that victims were suffering catastrophic losses and vast amounts of money are being scammed from people into the hands of organised criminals because of the scale of fraud taking place.

All this comes despite the Government’s announcement of a new Online Safety Bill which will require the tech giants to stop ‘user-generated.’ Those who failto be included will face large fines in advance which would improve public protection against fraud including online advertising by scammers. The Online Safety Bill will be relevant to scams circulated on Facebook between friends until the messaging goes end-to-end encryption.It applies also to romance frauds when it moves from the main platforms onto conversation.

The new plea to the tech companies comes from growing concern about the extent of fraud being carried out in Britain. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics show there are now an estimated 4.4 million fraud offences being committed each year. Frequent types of offending are online shopping frauds which have risen during the coronavirus restrictions and also include investments frauds and the use of scam messages via text or email to steal people’s bank details.

The extent of crime recently led the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank to describe fraud as a national security threat and the need for major changes to safeguard the public. It is thought that Google could help, with adverts linked to investment fraud, while telecoms companies should be assisting by identifying numbers being used to send out bulk text message to cheat people.

Facebook said, “We’re dedicating significant resources to tackling this on and off our platforms”

Google said,” Protecting consumers and legitimate businesses operation in the financial sector is a priority for us”.

Japan Government Puts Anti-Casino Candidate In Yokohama

Mixed messages in Japan are causing confusion on whether the current government ruling party really do want to see the development of integrated resorts in the country.

Yoshihide Suga the Prime Minister of Japan and who succeeded pro-integrated resort Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has just placed a candidate for Yokohama who is firmly against casino resorts.

National Public Safety Commission Chairman Hachiro Okonogi who currently sits in the Suga cabinet is expected to resign his post to stand for Mayor in Yokohama. largely opposed to the development of a casino resort in their own backyard and could be a political move by the Prime Minister to back a candidate that sides with the majority of residents in winning the vote.

However what does that say for the current governments interest in ever getting Japan to open a resort for gambling?

Currently with many operators pulling out of Yokohama over recent months only Melco Resorts and Genting Singapore are in the race.

In May this year Galaxy Entertainment, the Macau based operator left the competition for Yokohama, indeed Yokohama has had its ups and downs in the integrated resort race itself, back in August last year it announced it was suspending the application to apply for an integrated resort, but now that process is back up and running but for how long.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has his home district in Yokohama and could be more a political move to ensure his man wins the mayor race, but certainly sends a message to casino operators still involved in the Japan process that this could all turn upside down very quickly and find the current government opposed to integrated resorts should the political mood increase more than it is already against casinos.

Illegal Gambling Ring Busted In Hong Kong

Hong Kong police say they have shutdown the biggest betting and gambling ring in over a decade with the raid on a suburb in the city.

According to reports the Triad controlled gang took as much as HK$3.4 billion (US$438 million) in the first four months of the year and some single bets reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Almost all the bets were focussed on horse racing and football the police said they arrested 16 men and two women. Police said that the operation to close down the illegal betting syndicate had taken several months and was made more difficult because all the bets were made in cash and all records were hand written.

Chief Inspector Hui Hong-kit of the organised crime bureau said: “Our investigation revealed that the syndicate had been in operation for about a year.”

Seventy plus bank accounts were also frozen following the raid as law enforcement officials believe they are connected to proceeds of crime.

One police officer was quoted as saying: “The amount of a single bet reached as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars and the gang took 0.5% of each bet laid as commission.” In what could be a landmark ruling the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority that owns the Mohegan Sun casino have filed a lawsuit against its insurer for millions of dollars of lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to reports the owners of the casino filed papers late last week against Rhode Islandbased insurer, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Claiming the insurer failed to repay the losses the casino suffered when it was forced to close March 17 till March 31 2020.

The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority say that the policy covers their losses which is stated at $76 million and in the lawsuit the casino owners say, “Factory Mutual is obligated to cover the authority’s ‘actual loss sustained’,”

However in a previous lawsuit brought by Mashantucket Pequot Tribe who operate the Foxwoods Casino against Factory Mutual, the insurer said in that court filing, “that the losses caused by viruses and contamination were specifically excluded from the policy.”

Should these lawsuits be found in favour of the claimant it could open the door to thousands of other claims in similar positions with their insurers.

Casino Owner Sues Insurer For COVID Losses

Aspire Global Signs Platform, Sports and Games Deal

Aspire Global has signed a deal with Stake.com, a fastgrowing innovative casino and betting site, for its upcoming launch of a new brand – stake.co.uk – in the UK. The agreement covers Aspire Global’s entire proprietary offering – platform, sportsbook, games, game aggregator and managed services.

Stake.com was established in 2017 and provides an innovative casino site and sportsbook with more than 30 billion bets every year. Following its international success, Stake. com is now preparing for the launch of its new casino and betting site stake.co.uk in the UK. In March 2021, UFC®, the world’s premier MMA organization, announced a new partnership with Stake.com, that became its firstever official betting partner in Latin America and Asia. World MMA champions Israel Adesanya and Francis Ngannou are Stake.com’s renowned brand ambassadors.

Mladen Vuckovic, CEO at Stake.com, said: “When we planned our expansion to the regulated UK market, we searched for a partner who can provide the entire iGaming offering and is renowned for its technology, expertise and products. Aspire Global met our high standards and will offer our players a unique experience across multiple verticals. We look forward to continue our expansion together with Aspire Global.”

Tsachi Maimon, CEO at Aspire Global, said: “We are thrilled to partner with such a strong, fast-growing brand as Stake.com which provides an innovative gaming experience. This partnership is yet another proof of the strength and attractiveness in our complete iGaming offering. We look forward to support Stake.com in further strengthening their position as a fast-growing, innovative iGaming company in the large UK market.”