An on-and-off Academy Award winning actor, frontman of 30 Seconds to Mars, the band holding the Guinness record for the longest concert tour with 309 concerts, and a tech investor, Jared Leto also seems to have familiarized himself with the bitcoin craze as he has recently joined the growing debate over the nature of cryptocurrency investing.
In an interview with Australian radio station Nova, Leto presented his opinion on the matter, slamming bitcoin investing as gambling. The multi-faceted artist warned future investors against putting their money into bitcoin. He called cryptocurrency investing gambling and speculation, and went on to say that the activity is not something a person who could not afford to lose their money should delve into.
Leto’s comments come at a time when bitcoin and those investing in it are having a bit of a hard time. The virtual currency’s price reached an all-time high of $19,343.04 in mid-December, but growing regulatory pressure from different parts of the world and other factors resulted in its price dropping significantly overnight, spurring fears that any investor’s worst nightmare of a bubble burst could come true. At the time of writing, bitcoin’s price stands at $10,083.85, up slightly from earlier today when it tumbled to $9,748.53.
While we cannot say whether Leto’s knowledge is extensive enough, it should be noted that his opinion about the gambling-like nature of cryptocurrency investing is shared by many financial experts and analysts.
Regulators’ Stance on Cryptocurrency Investing
Due to the volatility of bitcoin and altcoins’ prices, investing in these has often been referred to as gambling. The Bank of Canada has recently become the latest financial institution to join the debate over the proper definition of cryptocurrency investing.
In an interview with business news outlet CNBC, Canada’s central bank governor said that bitcoin investing is gambling and not actual investing. The official further pointed out that the Bank of Canada will be working with regulators from different parts of the world for crafting regulations aimed to put limitations on certain aspects of cryptocurrency investing and trading.
While digital currencies and investing in those are considered a form of gambling by many, actual gambling regulators have pointed out that they have no authority over the regulation of the activity. The Netherlands Gaming Authority was one such regulatory body to comment on the matter. The regulator said in a statement that under the country’s current gambling regulations, cryptocurrency investing cannot be defined as any form of gambling and it thus does not fall under its purview.
The Actual Link between Cryptocurrencies and Gambling
The potential of digital currencies has been spotted by the global gambling industry. A number of online gambling operators have added cryptocurrency transactions to their lists of available payment options, and many more are expected to follow suit. Generally speaking, cryptocurrencies allow a relative anonymity, cutting out banks and other third-party financial institutions.
The UK Gambling Commission has been among the regulators to acknowledge the use of bitcoin and altcoins for gambling-related transactions, as long as these are conducted between UK gambling customers and UK-licensed operators. However, the regulator has warned of the risks of transactions of this type.
The post Actor, Musician, and Entrepreneur Jared Leto Warns Against Gambling-Like Bitcoin Investing appeared first on Casino News Daily.
The Portuguese gambling regulator, Serviços de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), has initiated a review of the nation’s gambling industry almost two years after it issued the first online sports betting license under the country’s new gambling laws. The regulatory body also said in a Tuesday statement on its website that it was seeking input from industry stakeholders on the state of Portugal’s online gaming and betting market. 
SRIJ issued the first online poker license late in 2016. It has not granted another such license, thus leaving PokerStars the sole online poker operator in the nascent market. Here it is also important to note that Portugal’s market is ring-fenced, which means that local players cannot participate in international pools, or at least not for now. 
Major casino companies have registered interest in participating in a project for the construction of a A$1-billion integrated resort in the city of Cairns, the Queensland government said earlier today. 
While the Queensland government has decided against naming the operators that were interested in building a casino as part of the Global Tourism Hub, we believe that Las Vegas giant Caesars Entertainment Corp. may be one of these. Last spring, the company revealed plans for geographical expansion. It said that it would explore opportunities to enter new markets once its main operating unit emerged from bankruptcy. 
While PokerStars Team Pro seems to be thinning with each week passing, the case is exactly the opposite with its rival poker operator partypoker and its team of sponsored players. It was announced earlier today that German poker Philipp Gruissem has become the latter poker room’s newest brand ambassador. 
As mentioned earlier, the online poker room has expanded its Team partypoker significantly over the past two years, signing poker heavyweights such as Fedor Holz, Jason Koon, Dzmitry Urbanovich, and Kristen Bicknell, and now Gruissem.
Casino operator Hard Rock International is set to host first career events this week as part of its initiative for recruiting staff for its newest resort – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. The hotel and casino complex is set to open doors this May. 
Upon buying the shuttered complex, Hard Rock announced that it would invest $375 million into its renovation and reopening as a rock’n’roll themed resort. Later on, the major casino developer and operator, which is run by Florida’s Seminole Tribe, upped its investment to $500 million. 
Ben Lamb, a two-time WSOP Main Event finalist, triumphed in the Aussie Millions A$25,000 Challenge in the first hours of Sunday to scoop a payout of A$647,114 and an ANTON Jewellery ring after dominating action on the event’s second day. 
As mentioned above, Lamb and his German opponent were the last men standing in the field. Instead of engaging in what could have been a rather long heads-up duel, the two players agreed to split the remaining money and to flip blind for the title. 
Four UK-licensed gambling operators are currently having their advertising activities examined by the Advertising Standards Authority for promoting casino games that are likely to appeal to children, The Sunday Times reports. 
Earlier this month, Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, called for the implementation of new rules that would make it more difficult for minors to access gambling-related websites and free-to-play content. 
Prior to rising to fame in the poker world, Grospellier had made a name for himself as one of the world’s top eSports players. He then focused his attention to building a poker career. With live tournament earnings of more than $13.5 million, ElkY is his home’s country’s most profitable player of all time. 
The Aussie Millions Poker Championship is probably the biggest live festival to be taking place in the Southern Hemisphere on an annual basis. Over the years, the event has gained global popularity with the number and diversity of poker events it features and has attracted some of the world’s most popular and highly selective poker players. 
Phil Ivey previously made history at the Aussie Millions. He became the only player to ever win three A$250,000 Challenges, an event that dropped from the 2018 schedule of the festival due to lack of interest last year. 
Seidel, yet another of poker’s heavyweights, is too part of the biggest Aussie Millions winners club. The player won the inaugural A$250,000 Challenge in 2011. He collected a nice payout of A$2.5 million for his efforts. It is also important to note that he beat a field of 20 entries.
England’s most profitable poker player has too performed beautifully in several Aussie Millions tournaments over the years. He boasts a A$250,000 Challenge title as well as a A$100,000 Challenge one. Trickett captured his title from the A$100,000 event first. 
Australian players Stewart Scott, Tyron Krost, and David Gorr (pictured) were the ones to collect the largest payouts for winning the Championship event. They took it in that order in three consecutive years, and all three received A$2 million for their accomplishments. 
The President of the French online gambling regulator, ARJEL, told local media that Portugal is very close to joining the 
Portugal’s online poker market is still a nascent one, particularly when compared to the other three that participate in the shared liquidity project. The country regulated the provision of online gambling, poker included, in 2015, and it was not before May 2016 when the first online gambling licenses were issued. 
During his recent interview, Mr. Coppolani also commented on Italy’s participation in the project, expressing concerns over the country’s ability and willingness to enter it. The French gambling official said that he hoped his Italian colleagues were still committed to the project, despite the apparent delays in its implementation within Italy’s regulated gambling environment. 
The government of Brazil needs to authorize the construction of a certain number of casino resorts across the country in order to boost its tourism, Federal Deputy Paulo Azi said on Wednesday. Mr. Azi presides the Tourism Committee at Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies. 
With very few exceptions, gambling is generally illegal in South America’s largest country. For several years now, lawmakers have been considering a sweeping reform that would change Brazil’s gambling regulatory regime drastically and would expand the list of legal gaming and betting activities significantly. However, no gambling expansion proposal has been signed into law so far, despite the efforts. 
The official six-handed final table of this year’s WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship was set last night, and it will be Russian player Aleksandr Shevelev who will lead the pack of six into today’s final day of action. 
Aside from Shevelev, the official final table also includes former WPT Main Tour Main Event champion Andy Frankenberger, who will enter the final day of play as the short stack with 2.17 million, Alan Krockey (2.81 million), Brett Bader (3.16 million), Darryll Fish (5.92 million), and Ness Reilly (6.295 million). 
Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran refused to provide his own predictions on whether his home state would succeed in passing a sweeping gambling reform during this year’s legislative session, which convened on January 9 and ends on March 9, local news outlet Florida Politics reported. 
The State Senate introduced a sweeping gambling reform bill last week. As in previous years, the legislative piece includes provisions that would, among other things, allow local race tracks to “decouple”, or stop hosting racing events and operate card games only. That proposal has, too, been quite a sticking point in gambling expansion debates in recent years. 
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has agreed to collaborate with Las Vegas casino giants MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts on devising responsible gambling systems for patrons at the two companies’ casinos in the state. 
As mentioned above, Massachusetts’ gambling regulator together with the operators of the state’s commercial casinos will develop systems that will make it possible for casino frequenters to determine how much they want to spend at the venues. 
US businessman Steve Wynn expressed confidence that his casino company Wynn Resorts will continue conducting business in Macau after casino licenses begin to expire in 2020. Las Vegas-headquartered Wynn Resort, which is headed by Mr. Wynn, currently operates two casino in the Chinese administrative region – Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace. 
Wynn Resorts’ Las Vegas properties performed poorer than their Macau counterparts, particularly given the fact that the city was trying to get on its feet during the fourth quarter of 2017 after the deadly October 1 shooting. 
France has withdrawn its bid to host the 2025 World Expo, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire confirmed on Sunday in an interview with local news television channel BFM TV. With the country dropping its bid, there are now three candidates for a host of the 2025 edition of the large international exhibition, with one of those being the Japanese city of Osaka, which is also vying to host one of its homeland’s first casinos. 
France dropping from the bidding process means that Osaka now has just two competitors in the 2025 World Expo race, the Azerbaijani capital Baku and the Russian city of Ekaterinburg. The Japanese city has also expressed interest in hosting one of Japan’s first integrated resorts with a casino floor. 
A few more details about the nearing regulation of Sweden’s online gambling market emerged late last week. In a post on his 
The new law will put certain restrictions on the way bonuses are distributed to gambling Swedes. Under the draft legislation, there will only be one-off bonuses for players upon opening an account with a given licensed operator. Previous versions of the legislative piece included proposals that bonuses were kept but under certain circumstances. 
