Mike Takayama became the Philippines’ first WSOP gold bracelet winner after outlasting the massive field of this year’s $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty. Aside from the gold piece, which Takayama said he had always dreamt about, the player also collected $198,568 in prize money.

The $1,000 buy-in event was played on Friday at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. There were over 1,400 players to have registered when cards were thrown in the air and by the time registration closed, the field counted 2,065 persons to improve from last year’s 1,867-strong field.

A prize pool of $1,858,500 was generated and the top 310 runners left with a share of it. It is also important to note that being a bounty, the tournament awarded $300 to players for each fellow competitor they eliminated over the course of action.

The turbo format provided for quick action and great poker thrill. It took just a few hours for the 2,000-plus-person field to be reduced to the final nine who comprised the official final table. The final table itself was not a long ordeal. And it looked as if Takayama was very comfortable playing that final stage of the event.

Of all nine players left at the table, there were just two who had previously won gold bracelets from the series, with Jack Duong and Steve Jelinek being those two. Duong was eventually eliminated in eighth place, while Jelinek busted in fourth.

As for Takayama, the eventual winner was a fierce contender, playing aggressively and putting quite some pressure on his fellow final tablists. It really looked as if the player went all in more frequently than folding hands.

On two of these occasions, odds were all against him until the very last moment possible. Yet, despite all the dangerous situations Takayama put himself into, the player was the last man standing after the final hand of the day was dealt and after surviving his last all in confrontation against his Italian heads-up opponent, Lorenc Puka.

The final table lasted 49 hands, while Takayama took just ten hands to finish off Puka in their two-handed duel, despite the latter’s efforts. Puka manged to double through the eventual champion early in the match. However, he was offered no more chances to reduce the huge gap between him and his opponent.

Hand #49 of the final table turned out to be the tournament’s final one dealt, Takayama challenged Puka by moving all in and the Italian called. Takayama tabled [Kd][Jc] to Puka’s [Ad][4d]. The board ran out [5h][4h][Kh][10c][Jd] to deny the Italian player his first-ever title from the series. Puka collected $122,627 for his efforts that brought him that deep into the tournament. As for Takayama, he was ready to pose for a victory picture, celebrating his triumph and his homeland’s first WSOP gold bracelet.

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Chinese police busted an illegal online gambling ring in the city of Shenzhen, local news outlets report citing information provided by local authorities earlier today.

The Nanshan District police carried out on June 21 a raid that concluded with the arrest of seven individuals suspected to have conducted illegal sports betting services on the territory of China as the World Cup is in full swing in Russia.

Police seized computers and mobile phones believed to have been used by the illegal gambling ring to operate betting services. Local media reported that further probes will be carried out in relation to the latest detention of people suspected to be providing online betting services in a manner that breaches local regulations. It is believed that bettors serviced by the ring had managed to stake around CNY100 million (approximately $15.1 million) on World Cup matches.

This was not the first time raids were carried out in Shenzhen City in relation to the ongoing major sports event since it began on June 14 and even prior to that, as local police are stepping up efforts to prevent the illegal provision of gambling services across the nation.

Earlier this month, a joint operation of Hong Kong and Mainland China police saw multiple raids taking place in a number of cities across China, including Shenzhen, to uncover illegal sports betting operations ahead of this year’s edition of the World Cup.

More than 20 locations were raided and 45 individuals aged between 24 and 62 were detained as they were suspected of offering illegal betting and gaming services. Police confiscated betting records for football and horse racing with a total value of HK$32 million (approximately $4.1 million).

To prevent illegal gambling operations from taking place during the World Cup, Hong Kong police and other law enforcement agencies announced earlier this year that bars and games centers across the city would be raided constantly during the major sports event and that there would be enhanced inspection across various control points. Most of the city’s anti-gambling operations kicked off about two months ahead of the World Cup in Russia.

Unlike other major markets across Asia, including Thailand and Malaysia, where online sports betting is illegal, Hong Kong has a framework regulating activities of this type. However, regulated betting entities in the special administrative region have long been complaining that their unlicensed rivals have been stealing customers creating a behemoth unsupervised market.

According to recent information provided by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the amount of $68 billion could be staked illegally in the city during the World Cup. This is expected to cost Hong Kong more than $1.7 billion in betting revenue this year. The Jockey Club is among the entities to receive revenue contributions from licensed betting activities conducted on the city’s territory.

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GiG – Gaming Innovation Group gets New Jersey approval and is pleased to announce that it has been authorised by The State of New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) to provide a real-money online casino platform solution to operators in the state. GiG has, as part of the standard licence application process by the DGE, received what is called ...

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UK-based game studio Blueprint Gaming is turning excitement levels up to 11 with its latest release, This is Spinal Tap.

Nolimit City, the online platform and software provider, has developed yet another exciting game to add to their ever growing portfolio: Coins of Fortune slot game. The company are back to prove they are committed towards delivering premium slot games with international appeal. Coins of Fortune slot game borrows from a Neon-futuristic Asian theme, taking you to the high paced, ...

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Andorran company Jocs SA has been selected as the winning bidder for the construction of a €15-million casino in the nation, the local gaming regulator, Consell Regulador Andorrà del Joc (CRAJ), confirmed yesterday.

The company’s bid won over projects pitched by international gaming corporations, including Malaysian gaming and hospitality giant Genting Group. Genting had submitted the most expensive plan. The company had expressed interest to build a €140 million casino complex in the tiny Southwest European nation, snuggled between Spain and France.

Jocs’ project is far less ambitious in terms of total investment, but analysts pointed out that the fact the company is 100% Andorra-owned was among the factors that helped it win over its competitors.

CRAJ opened the bidding process for the construction of a land-based casino last July. It received as many as 13 bids, which it reviewed and evaluated in order to select the one that would best match the nation’s economic, tourism, and gaming landscape. The regulatory body announced the winning project at a special event on Wednesday.

Aside from the winning company and Genting, French groups Barrière, Partouche, Reinau, and PVG Casinos, Spain’s Cirsa, Russia’s Mercury SA, and Casinos Austria were the other bidders for the sole casino license.

Being selected as the winning bidder, Jocs will now have 15 days to submit its application for the gaming license. CRAJ is then expected to issue that license within two months.

As mentioned above, Jocs is planning to build a €15-million casino complex. The company has said that its project will create over 160 jobs. In its submission to the local gambling regulator, Jocs has said that the property would be able to annually attract 200,000 international visitors and to contribute over €90 million to Andorra’s economy.

As mentioned above, the winning bidder features 100% Andorran capital, which is believed to have helped it win over its competitors in the bidding process.

The casino will be built in the capital Andorra la Vella and will occupy a 6,400-square-meter site on Prat de la Creu Street. It will feature its own parking facility with space for up to 80 vehicles.

The casino will be part of a four-story building. The whole complex will also include two underground floors. Aside from the gaming floor, it will feature an event center as well as multiple food and beverage facilities.

Jocs has revealed that it has partnered with cocktail master Javier de las Muelas of Dry Martini to participate in the creation of attractive offering for its casino’s visitors. More such partnerships will be announced in the months to come.

Austrian gaming giant NOVOMATIC will provide the technology for the gaming floor, it has also become known.

The casino complex is expected to be completed and launched by the end of 2020.

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Malta is set to postpone the implementation of its new gambling law to August 1, 2018, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) said in a statement from earlier today.

The gambling regulator further pointed out that a recently issued Detailed Opinion by the European Commission (EC) as well as comments by the EC and by another EU Member State have necessitated the delay in the finalization of the new regulatory framework’s implementation process. It is understood that the Detailed Opinion has extended the standstill period during which the new law cannot take effect to July 16, 2018.

The MGA’s statement further reads that the Maltese government and the regulator itself will need time to review and address the comments and recommendations made by the EC and the Member State to ensure the smooth implementation of the nation’s new Gaming Act.

Malta’s new gaming regulatory framework was tabled in the country’s Parliament earlier this year and was sent for review by the EC on March 14. It was previously expected that the new regime would take effect on July 1, provided that it survives the three-month standstill period.

Generally speaking, the new Gaming Act aims to replace Malta’s current legislation and is particularly focused on the licensing and provision of gambling services. Once it takes effect, the new law would simplify the current gambling licensing system by introducing just two categories of licenses – a B2B one and a B2C one. Gambling companies are currently required to obtain different licenses for the different types of services and products they are providing.

Malta’s new Gaming Act represents the first revision of the nation’s gaming law in fourteen years. The amendments were initiated by former MGA Executive Chairman Joseph Cuschieri, who assumed the post of CEO of the Malta Financial Authority earlier this year. Mr. Cuschieri’s vacated spot at the gambling regulator was later on assumed by MGA Chief Operations Officer Heathcliff Farrugia.

Aside from the new licensing system, the new gambling law also aims to extend MGA’s powers over the regulation of the nation’s rapidly growing online gambling sector. The regulatory body will thus be able to roll out stricter regulations and tools for combating money laundering, terrorism financing, and other financial crimes often associated with the gaming and sports betting industry.

The newly set August 1 date for the implementation of Malta’s new Gaming Act will affect remote gambling operations. It was previously announced that the portion of the new law that concerns land-based businesses would take effect on January 1, 2019. It is yet to be seen whether that date would remain unchanged.

Another important provision in the new regulatory regime would exempt B2B gambling service providers from taxes. That particular language aims to further cement Malta’s already established reputation of a major tech hub and a nation that is open to new technologies and innovation.

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William Hill has once again come under criticism over its responsible gambling policies as it became known that the bookmaker has sent an email to betting shop staffers encouraging them to inform gamblers that the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals is yet to be reduced to £2 from £100.

The email, cited by The Times, reads that the operator has seen a “softening in [its] overall gaming machine performance” and that it is concerned this might be due to the UK government’s recent announcement that it would crack down on the highly controversial FOBTs.

William Hill has told its employees to make sure that players are aware they can still bet up to £100 every 20 seconds so they can “continue to enjoy playing gaming machines as they do currently.”

After completing their triennial review of the nation’s gambling industry last fall and an additional 12-week consultation, MPs announced last month that the maximum stake on FOBTs would be cut to £2 in hopes that the potential for large losses and damage the gaming machines might inflict on individual players and communities would be lowered.

However, reports emerged last week that the crackdown would not begin until April 2020 after a secret agreement between the Treasury and bookmakers.

Anti-gambling campaigners accused William Hill of trying to take all possible advantage of that backroom deal by encouraging its customers to wager the maximum bet allowed. Commenting on the latest revealings, Matt Zarb-Cousin of Campaign for Fairer Gambling, one of the organizations to have lobbyist the hardest for the FOBTs crackdown, told The Times that if gambling operators had had “any sense of social responsibility”, they would have adjusted the maximum stake to £2 right now.

FOBTs are the UK gambling industry’s most profitable sector with annual gross gambling yield of £1.8 billion. According to preliminary estimates, the crackdown on the gaming machines would cost bookmakers nearly £500 million per year.

On the other hand, industry stakeholders are expected to reap nearly £4 billion due to the delayed start of the planned clampdown on the controversial machines. In addition, the Treasury will collect £1 billion in taxes until 2020 when the new maximum stake is expected to be implemented. MPs were thus accused that the crackdown was postponed namely due to concern over the tax losses that the government would suffer.

With over 2,340 betting shops across the UK, William Hill is the nation’s second largest operator of such facilities. These feature around 10,000 FOBTs. In 2017, the operator’s retail revenue, totaling £913.1 million, accounted for more than a half of its whole group revenue of £1.7 billion.

It is believed that the pending crackdown would hit William Hill really bad, particularly given the fact that its online gambling platform is failing to catch up with those of its biggest rivals. On the other hand, the company has managed to gain quite some footing in the newly opened US sports betting market. This could help it offset at least some of the losses it would suffer in its domestic market.

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Italian gambling market will be in the focus at the European Gaming Congress 2018 with Quirino Mancini (Tonucci & Partners).   The Italian gambling market has been in the focus of the online gambling industry for quite a while, however the recent decisions which are now shaping the industry in peninsula are in the headlines of every gambling media outlet. ...

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Timur Margolin from Israel became the latest member of the WSOP’s club of gold bracelet winners. The player bested a pack of 1,248 tournament entries in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em or Event #43 on the schedule of this year’s edition of the series.

Margolin collected a hefty payout of $507,274 in addition to his first shiny WSOP gold bracelet. The player emerged as the victor after roller coaster four days and after clashing against some of poker’s big names, including six-time WSOP bracelet winner Chris Ferguson who has been making quite a comeback on the live tournament scene after a five-year hiatus.

The player disappeared from the felt after being indicted for his involvement with the Full Tilt Poker and for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme that saw nearly $450 million in customer money being paid out to directors and owners of the poker room. It took seven years before Ferguson finally addressed the issue and offered an apology to those affected.

In the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament, Ferguson finished fourth for $161,371. The player was denied a seventh WSOP gold piece namely by the event’s eventual winner. Margolin won a massive pot against Ferguson during four-handed play. It took the Israeli poker pro just a few more hands to send Ferguson to the rail.

Margolin’s road to victory was quite bumpy, particularly on the final day of play. Action was supposed to take place over three days, but was extended into an additional fourth one. That last day of play started with six remaining hopefuls. They were led by Ferguson who held 5.68 million in chips when cards were thrown in the air. Margolin was second in chips at the time with 3.52 million.

Ismael Bojang with 2.61 million, Michael Marder with 1.765 million, Dylan Linde with 1.33 million, and Ryan Laplante with 700,000 were the other four players still in contention.

Day 4 action saw the chip lead exchange hands on multiple occasions. The start-of-the-day field ultimately got whittled down to just two survivors, Margolin and Bojang. The duel began with the former holding a massive chip advantage over the latter. Margolin had accumulated a stack of nearly 12 million by that point to his last opponent’s 3.68 million.

Bojang did not waste time once the match began and quickly doubled up to reduce his disadvantage. He then emerged as the chip leader just as quickly and extended his lead methodically.

However, Margolin regained his momentum and retook the lead within the span of just a couple of hands. The player’s hardships were far from over, though, as Bojang scooped the lead once again a few hands later. It seemed that the mad race would never end.

The chip lead was swinging back and forth and then again, until Margolin reclaimed it one final time to never look back. Hand #158 was the final one to be played at the final table and the 23rd to be played within the heads-up match between Margolin and Bojang.

It saw Bojang shove for 4.41 million pre-flop with [Ac][2c] and Margolin snap-call with [Kc][Qs]. The board ran out [Ks][5s][4s][Qh][8d] to help Margolin claim the title and send his final opponent to the rail for a consolation prize of $313,444.

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Popular software provider, Yggdrasil Gaming released its newest game: Tut’s Twister slot. The new slot takes players on an exciting journey, during which the fabled King Tut has woken up in his tomb, wreaking havoc across the reels in the form of a swirling sandstorm. Players are transported to the ancient Egyptian setting by the mix of exciting animations and ...

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Three days ago, Nicholas Seiken, a real estate broker from Texas, entered his first-ever standalone 2-7 Triple Draw event to eventually take it down, battling and outlasting a pack of seasoned pros. Late last night, the player joined the club of WSOP gold bracelet winners as he remained the last man standing in this year’s $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship.

Seiken also collected $287,987 for outstanding performance in a game he did not have that much experience.

The tournament drew 109 entries, including a number of Triple Draw experts. Farzad Bonyadi, a three-time gold bracelet winner, was among the notables to enter the tournament. It is interesting to note that Bonyadi’s mother, Farhintaj, became the first female winner of this year’s edition of the series just a couple of days ago. She bested the field of the $1,000 Super Seniors.

Despite his effort, Bonyadi could not claim the Triple Draw Championship title last night and add another gold bracelet to his already impressive collection.

Aside from Seiken and Bonyadi, the final day of the tournament kicked off with 11 more survivors. Quite some of the remaining players struggled quite a bit throughout the day. But it looked as if Seiken, a player with significantly less experience than some of his remaining opponents, navigated through that final stage of the game very successfully.

By the time the official six-handed final table was set, Seiken had already built quite a stack. The player entered that final stage of the game as the chip leader with a significant lead over the next in line, who happened to be Bonyadi.

The eventual winner had 1.661 million in chips at that point to Bonyadi’s 943,000. Seiken seemingly had an easy run at the final table. In his post-victory interview, the player said that being the chip leader helped him a lot against the plethora of experienced players he was facing and he did not take much risk that would have cost him that advantage.

The only time the player lost the lead for a very short while was during three-handed play, when Randy Ohel replaced him at the top of the chip counts chart. Seiken himself admitted that he got a bit worried by Ohel’s short momentum.

Eventually, the player regained the lead, eliminated Kristijonas Andrulis in third place to cement his leading position and headed into heads-up against Ohel with a 3-2 advantage. The structure of the tournament allowed for a longer heads-up, but Seiken finished off his final opponent relatively quickly over the span of a 45-minute duel, which concluded with Ohel heading to the payout desk for a second-place prize of $177,992.

The 109-strong field of the championship tournament generated a prize pool of $1,024,600. The money was split into portions for the top 17 finishers, min-cashes starting from $14,864.

Following his latest triumph, Seiken told WSOP staff that while he is completely done with No-Limit Hold’em, we will be seeing more of him at the tables of mixed-game tournaments.

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Robert Nehorayan is known by many as Rec Rob, his nickname derived from him identifying himself as a recreational player. However, he outlasted last night a field that included seasoned poker pros like Daniel Negreanu, Chris Ferguson, and Ari Engel to win his first gold bracelet from the WSOP and his largest cash of $173,568.

The player topped the 596-strong field of Event #41: $1,500 Limit Hold’em. As mentioned above, some of poker’s top players entered the tournament to pursue another great accomplishment in the game. Of all fellow participants, Nehorayan had special praise for Terricita Gutierrez, a Limit Hold’em specialist whom the eventual champ considered his toughest opponent.

Terri, as Nehorayan called her, has been playing Limit Hold’em cash games every single day for years now to accumulate knowledge and experience that many other fellow players at the table lacked. She was ultimately eliminated in fourth place, good for $51,733.

The $1,500 event was played over three days through June 22. It saw 596 entries generate a prize pool of a little over $800,000. The top 90 places paid.

Day 3 of the tournament kicked off with 19 survivors in contention but seven of them quickly headed to the payout desk within the first 90 minutes of play. Action slowed up a bit afterward, as finalists became more aware of the event’s approaching end.

Chips swung back and forth throughout the day and the chip lead went from one player to another. Many of the remaining hopefuls had many ups and downs, but it can be said that Nehorayan managed to maintain a good stack and momentum throughout that final stage of the event. The brand new WSOP champion admitted that he had really good cards running his way, as well.

David Gee was the last player to be eliminated before the heads-up duel. That final duel took place between Nehorayan and one-time gold bracelet winner Kevin Song. Song won his piece 21 years ago for topping the field of a Limit Hold’em event. A second piece eluded him last night, unfortunately, although he fought really fiercely for it.

The match between the final two men standing began with Nehorayan holding a 3-1 advantage to Song. However, the latter quickly caught up and took the lead for a little while, putting great pressure on his opponent.

Nehorayan eventually regained his momentum and retook the chip lead to never look back. On Hand #286 of the final table, the player won a key pot that secured him with 3.9 million, while leaving Song with just 475,000.

The final hand of the tournament was dealt shortly after. On Hand #289, Nehorayan called from the button and Song raised. Nehorayan asked his opponent how much he had left and put him all in. Song tabled [8s][6s] to clash into Nehorayan’s [10s][7d]. The board landed [2c][Qh][9h][4h][Jh] to end Song’s participation in the tournament and seal the victory for Nehorayan.

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Bulgaria is one of the poorest countries in the European Union, but recent figures show that its gambling industry has been thriving, particularly over the past several years. And while that industry has been hopping from strength to strength, it is also understood that it has been contributing relatively small amounts of money in annual tax contributions and even smaller amounts of money for socially responsible causes.

According to multiple recent reports from local media outlets, citing official data, Bulgaria’s regulated gambling market was worth BGN3 billion (€1.5 billion) in terms of revenue generated in 2017. Scratchcards, known to be extremely popular among residents of the tiny Balkan nation, accounted for the greater portion of the revenue bulk last year.

In fact, saying that these products are extremely popular in Bulgaria is a mild representation of the nearly maniacal obsession with which hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians, mostly elderly people, are buying scratchcards, lured by the promise for a quick and easy win and a better life.

Several companies owned by Bulgarian businessman Vasil Bozhkov are known to be leaders of the local scratchcards sector. Mr. Bozhkov is one of Bulgaria’s richest people. His business interests spread across various industries and his alleged ties to the criminal underworld have long been part of media coverage focused on his curious persona.

The National Lottery and New Games are actually two of the leaders in the nation’s scratchcards sector and they are both owned by entities that are related to Mr. Bozhkov. Special attention needs to be paid to the choice of name of what has turned into the most popular seller of scratchcards in Bulgaria – the National Lottery.

In the most general case, National Lottery usually refers to a state-run entity that provides different lottery products and services and uses a portion of the money generated by the sales of those for good causes. In the case of Bulgaria’s National Lottery, we are speaking about a privately-run entity. And despite our team’s efforts, we could not find any information about how much of what it generates it has contributed to good causes.

Should a private company run an operation under the National Lottery brand? We believe that the answer to this question is quite clear and it is a bit too disturbing that this company has been allowed to conduct its activities for years, even though it has nothing to do with the state.

Gambling services in the UK, including ones provided under the National Lottery brand, are regulated by the country’s Gambling Act 2005 and a companion piece from 2014. Bulgaria’s market was, too, regulated several years ago. And while Ireland’s gambling regulations are in a state of an extreme mess at the moment, there still is clarity over how the country’s National Lottery should function.

UK’s National Lottery was established in 1994 as a state-franchized entity operated by the Camelot Group. According to information from the lottery operator’s official website, it has contributed over £38 billion for good causes since it was founded more than two decades ago.

In Ireland, the National Lottery operates as a state-run entity that has been functioning since 1987. It has raised and donated more than €5 billion to good causes since established over three decades ago.

In Bulgaria, the National Lottery, as already mentioned, is a privately-run company, owned by a businessman who many would say has a rather questionable reputation, and it is quite unclear what contributions it has made to good causes, even though its official website states that it contributes funds to various education-related causes.

In other words, the National Lottery brand usually carries a connotation of an entity run by the state that offers lottery/gambling services but also considers it an important task to benefit communities by raising and distributing funds for good causes, unless you are in Bulgaria where the National Lottery does not really belong to the nation.

An economically struggling nation with a blossoming gambling industry is not something unheard of. However, when a considerable portion of an extremely poor nation resorts to buying scratchcards to the point of maniacal absurdity in hopes for a quick win, that means that there is something fundamentally wrong in the way that nation’s gambling industry functions, or rather in the way it is allowed to function by those who have control and responsibilities over those matters.

As mentioned above, Bulgaria’s gambling industry was worth around BGN3 billion last year. However, it is understood that licensed gambling operators, including those providing various lottery products, contributed just BGN177 million in tax revenue to the nation’s coffers. In comparison, Bulgaria’s tobacco industry was worth around BGN3.5 billion in 2017 and contributed BGN3 billion in excise duties and VAT.

As for Mr. Bozhkov’s lottery businesses – New Games and National Lottery – these were reported to have generated turnover of €88.5 million and €15.3 million, respectively, in 2017. The businessman’s overall gambling businesses reported turnover of nearly €300 million and profits of €76 million. Local media outlets also report that National Lottery was actually Bulgaria’s largest advertiser in 2017 with ad spending of over €23 million.

Ads promoting the operator’s scratchcard products can be spotted practically everywhere in the country and across different media outlets. In addition, scratchcards can be purchased across post offices, supermarkets, special points-of-sale, and a number of other facilities.

Meanwhile, according to the most recent information released, Bulgaria’s gambling industry contributed just around BGN2.2 million in 2016 and just around BGN2.4 million during the first three quarters of 2017 to responsible gambling causes. Licensed gambling companies are required to make such contributions under a provision in the nation’s gambling law.

Bulgaria clearly has a gambling problem as well as a problem with the protection of its gamblers. The country’s Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov and his party, the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria, has recently introduced a bill calling for certain restrictions within the country’s gambling industry. Most of the provisions in the legislative piece are concerned namely with the operations of the National Lottery and its likes.

If the bill succeeds in Bulgaria’s National Assembly, it would roll out curbs to the promotion and sale of scratchcards and related lottery products. For instance, lottery operators would not be able to show winners on television, a popular marketing approach to which the success of these products could be greatly attributed. In addition, scratchcards would only be sold at special points of sale. As mentioned above, products of this type are currently available practically everywhere.

While Minister Simeonov’s recently proposed curbs seem as if they might be a step in the right direction, Bulgaria still needs to do much more. The country does not have a dedicated organization that works with problem gamblers. And as it can be seen, nobody really finds it odd that a private company has named itself the National Lottery, while it does not really work for the nation, unlike state-run National Lotteries around the world.

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BlockChain Innovations Corp. (“BCI” or the “Company”), an international blockchain technology supplier serving the regulated gaming industry is pleased to announce that it has signed a letter of intent with Capricorn Business Acquisition Inc. (NEX Board CAK.H), for its qualifying transaction to go-public in the Third Quarter of 2018. With the 6-3 United States Supreme Court decision two-weeks ago striking ...

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Farhintaj Bonyadi, mother of three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Farzad Bonyadi, outlasted a behemoth field of 2,191 to win the 2018 WSOP $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em for a gold piece of her own. The player also scooped a hefty payout of $311,451 for her efforts.

It is also interesting to note that Bonyadi actually became the first female winner of this year’s edition of the popular poker series.

The player survived through a massive field and a prolonged heads-up against Robert Beach to win her first title from the WSOP. Shortly after her victory, she said that she felt really great to have a bracelet of her own. Her son, Farzad, was on the rail to support and guide his mother. The mother and son duo told WSOP staff shortly after her victory that it was actually Farzad who taught his mother how to play poker. However, the three-time gold bracelet winner admitted that although he tried to help throughout the tournament, Bonyadi pretty much sealed the victory herself.

The tournament was expected to take place over three days but was extended into a fourth one during which Bonyadi and her heads-up opponent battled it out for the better part of three hours.

Day 3 kicked off with 43 players, but that field was eventually reduced to Bonyadi and Beach. The two players played the final level scheduled for the day and agreed to return for an additional fourth day of play.

It is important to note that Bonyadi was going really strong throughout Day 3. Yet, she entered the two-handed duel at a considerable chip disadvantage, but apparently, that did not discourage her from pursuing the title. She remained calm and composed, just as her son had taught her.

Day 4 saw Bonyadi drop to 1.85 million at some point to Beach’s 9.105 million. However, her patience paid well as the player managed to double, even the stacks, and take the lead. She never looked back from that point on. After an epic marathon of chips going back and forth for 175 hands, Bonyadi eventually eliminated her final opponent.

The final hand in play saw Bonyadi raise to 425,000 pre-flop and Beach call. The [6d][4d][7c] landed on the flop. Bonyadi checked and Beach bet 600,000. Bonyadi check-raised to 1.2 million, which her opponent called. The [3s] arrived on the turn to see Bonyadi bet 600,000 and Beach call. The [5h] rolled out on the river. Bonyadi moved all in with [8s][8d] and Beach called with [9s][7s]. The latter hit the rail for $192,397, as WSOP’s brand new champion raised her hands in the air in celebration.

As mentioned above, the Super Seniors tournament attracted 2,191 entries who created a prize pool of $1,971,900. The top 329 places paid with cashes starting from $1,500.

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Yggdrasil Gaming recently announced its mystical new slot, Tut’s Twister.

Proposed amendments to Bulgaria’s gambling law will have to be reviewed by the European Commission before coming into effect, members of the country legislature’s Committee on Budget and Finance announced Wednesday.

They said that the move was obligatory as the country’s gambling law was previously ratified by the EC which means that any proposed reforms and additions to its existing provisions will have to be given a formal consent by European commissioners. Bulgaria may face sanctions from the EU, if it fails to provide the newly introduced gambling-focused bill for an EC review.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Finance will now have to prepare the necessary documentation and notify the Commission about the proposed changes to its gambling law. EU commissioners will then have three months to review the legislative piece to determine whether it is in line with European regulations. If the bill survives the three-month standstill period and gains enough traction in the nation’s legislature, there would be no more hurdles before its enactment.

The legislative piece, authored and sponsored by Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov and his party, the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria, was introduced this spring. The bill aims to curb the aggressive promotion of scratchcards and other lottery and gambling products and services and to limit significantly the number of facilities where scracthcards can be purchased from.

Bulgaria’s regulated gambling market was worth BGN3 billion (approximately $1.9 billion) last year and represented around 3% of the country’s GDP. The local gambling industry has been going from strength to strength over the past several years, with its rapid growth being driven mainly by the rising scratchcards sales.

If approved in its current form, Minster Simenov’s bill would restrict the direct and indirect advertising of scratchcards and other lottery-style games across different media outlets. However, lottery and totalizator draws would still be broadcast on television and the names and of games would still be allowed to be mentioned across media.

Minister Simeonov has also clarified previously that while draws and the names of different lottery games would not be banned from television, winners in such games would no longer be shown under the new bill.

As mentioned above, the legislative piece also aims to restrict the sale of scratchcards and related products to just facilities that are certified by the State Commission on Gambling. At present, scratchcards can be purchased in supermarkets, post offices, and a number of other facilities.

In May, Minster Simeonov’s bill secured backing from the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party (GERB) and from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). The Deputy Prime Minister said yesterday that a lot of things could change during the three-month standstill period, and that he expects that his piece might even lose some of its momentum in the nation’s legislature.

While ministers reiterated their support for the bill yesterday, it should be noted that it has also seen quite some opposition since it was introduced earlier this year. According to opponents, the limited advertising opportunities and the other proposed changes would hurt tax revenue contributed by the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The Ministry currently receives BGN26 million in annual totalizator contributions.

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AGS recently announced it has acquired Gameiom Technologies Limited, a UK and Gibraltar licensed iGaming aggregator and content provider for real-money gaming and sports-betting partners.

Video game developer Valve Corporation announced yesterday that it has decided to disable item trading for Dutch players of its Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 games.

The announcement came shortly after the Netherlands Gaming Authority, Kansspelautoriteit, released a statement saying that it would begin conducting previously announced checks whether certain game developers have adjusted their games in a manner that does not break the country’s gambling laws.

The adjustments required were mainly related to the so-called loot boxes that have been making the headlines since last fall’s release of EA’s Star Wars Battlefront II video game. Generally speaking, loot boxes are in-game purchasable items which, in turn, contain different goods that can either be of great use to a player or of little value. The random selection of items in a loot boxes and the fact that these can be purchased and transferred have unleashed a massive debate, with opponents arguing that the boxes constituted a form of gambling.

Kansspelautoriteit carried out a probe into the matter from November 2017 through April 2018 and released a report to present its findings. The regulator reviewed ten games that were available to Dutch players and featured loot boxes, and stated that four of these were violating Dutch gambling regulations.

Publishers of the four games were not specifically named, but as it can be seen, Valve was one of them. The gambling regulator informed developers that they should make certain adjustments to their games to bring them in line with local regulations until today, June 20, or face punitive measures.

In a Tuesday message to its customers, Valve said that it has been sent two letters by Kansspelautoriteit in May in relation to its Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 games. Both letters stated that the loot boxes featured in those violated the Dutch Betting and Gaming Act.

The letters went on that if Valve did not make the necessary adjustments by June 20, it would face prosecution in the Netherlands. The game developer argued that it did not receive any additional information in relation to the adjustments that needed to be made and that the explanation provided in Kansspelautoriteit’s report on loot boxes that these breach the law if the goods in them were transferable and did not violate that same law if the goods were not transferable was a “rather simplistic statement”. It also pointed out that it disagreed with Kansspelautoriteit’s findings.

The game developer said in its message from yesterday that the only practical solution for now was to disable trading and transfers of items for Dutch players of its Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 games. Valve further noted that it would engage with the gambling regulator to gain more clarity on the matter and hopefully find a less inconvenient solution.

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History was in the making last night at Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino and poker pro Michael Mizrachi was playing the most important part in that process. Topping an 87-strong field comprised of poker’s finest talent, the player claimed his third Poker Players Championship title, a feat never accomplished before.

Mizrachi previously won the 2010 and 2012 editions of one of the most prestigious poker tournaments to be taking place throughout the year. Title number three came with a sweet payout of $1,239,126 that was added to Mizrachi’s already quite hefty bankroll. The player now has a record-breaking number of three Poker Players Championship titles, four WSOP gold bracelets, two WPT Main Event Main Tour titles, and nearly $17 million in live tournament earnings.

Mizrachi himself admitted that he had a poor start to this year’s Poker Players Championship, and that it was only late on Day 2 that he took the chip lead. However, it is important to note that the player almost did not relinquish his chip advantage over the elite field of the event until its very end last night.

“To win the first one was amazing. The second one was great. The third one is unheard of.”

He still had to overcome scary competition from a number of players who had previously tasted the sweet Poker Players Championship victory, including Brian Rast, who was the only other player to have taken down the tournament twice. The 2014 champion of that same event, John Hennigan, was, too, among the players to enter it this year. Hennigan was actually coming fresh off a victory in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship and was fierce to scoop one more prestigious title and a sixth bracelet from the series.

The event’s final day kicked off with six finalists. All of them but one were former WSOP gold bracelet winners looking to expand their trophy collections. Mizrachi led the pack of six with a massive chip advantage. The player very much retained his lead throughout the day.

Dan Smith, the only player who was aiming for his first gold piece from the series, was second in chips at the time when cards were thrown in the air to mark the beginning of the official final table and the final day of the tournament. While a bracelet eluded the poker professional, he made it to a third-place finish for a nice payout of $521,782.

The star-studded field of the tournament was eventually reduced to just Mizrachi and Hennigan. The duel began with the eventual champ holding 12.145 million in chips to his final opponent’s 9.605 million.

The players started off with Limit Hold’em. That stage saw Hennigan shorten the gap for a little while. They then switched to 2-7 Triple Draw that proved one of Mizrachi’s specialties. The player extended his lead to eventually finish off Hennigan. The final hand in play was a No-Limit Hold’em one that saw Hennigan shove after the [Qh][9s][5h] flop with [Jd][10c] to Mizrachi’s [9h][8h]. A [10h] turn and a [8d] river sealed it for Mizrachi to see the player’s rail burst into cheers. Hennigan went out in second place, good for $765,937.

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Games integration service APIgrator from Slotegrator is a tool to save your time and money. Thanks to this offer, the operator can add over 2 000 games into the online casino within a single session. Spinomenal as a known software developer in iGaming is now available for integration through the unified protocol called APIgrator. Thereby, the online casino vendors can ...

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Europe’s online gambling market has been jumping from strength to strength over the past several years and it is only poised to grow larger as technology servicing the sector becomes more sophisticated and the general demand for online services, including betting and gaming ones, keeps growing.

Although providing correct data about the actual size of the European (and the global) online gambling market could be a rather challenging task, it is believed that Europe’s online gaming and betting industry accounted for more than a half of the global Internet gambling sector in 2017. That sector was estimated to be between €38 billion and €40 billion last year, according to various sources.

Here it is also important to note that that figure represented regulated operations. However, the lack of proper regulations in an enormous number of jurisdictions not just in Europe but also in the rest of the world has pushed Internet betting and casino practices deeply underground, thus creating a behemoth black market the true size of which simply cannot be estimated.

Another important thing that needs to be taken into account is the fact that as European regulated operations accounted for half of the global market, the continent’s four biggest regulated markets in terms of population – UK, France, Italy, and Spain, might have represented around a half of Europe’s regulated gambling space with collective revenue of around €8.6 billion.

The first half of the year has been an eventful period for Europe’s online gambling scene, with regulatory developments in both already regulated markets, markets that seem to be averse to change, and markets that are on the cusp of regulation. It has been just days ago that it has become known the UK plans to increase online gambling taxes to offset losses that will be incurred by the launch of a massive crackdown within the country’s land-based gambling industry.

Earlier this year, Norway announced that it would stick to its monopoly system by rolling out a set of rules that would introduce clarifications about the illegality of unlicensed gambling services provided by international operators.

Meanwhile, Sweden has completed almost all the necessary steps toward the liberalization of its online gambling market, and the country’s new law that will officialize that liberalization is now set to come into force at the turn of 2019.

Last but not least, several jurisdictions have announced that they are planning to change their existing gambling advertising rules, thus aiming to curb the promotion of gambling products and services across media.

The latest events from Europe have thus shown that the online gambling space on the continent is dynamic and ever-changing, but it is yet to be seen how these events will affect its growth in individual countries and globally.

To provide additional viewpoints on the latest developments across Europe’s online gambling scene, Casino News Daily has reached out to legal specialists Tal Itzhak Ron and Stephanie Attias from Tel Aviv-based law firm Tal Ron, Drihem & Co., who have provided their brief comments on the current state of the industry.

According to Mr. Ron and Ms. Attias,

[t]he online gambling sector is growing like never before and will continue to prosper thanks to new technologies which continue to increase business opportunities. However, such innovation needs to be followed scrutinously by appropriate legal mechanisms and barriers to keep the gambling environment safe and responsible.

This year has been a year of change for Europe’s online gambling landscape. Regulation has become more and more frequent in numerous European countries.

While some EU countries, such as the Czech Republic and Poland, have decided to establish official regulated markets, Nordic countries seem to disagree on whether the monopoly model is suitable for the online gambling landscape. Indeed, while Norway confirmed that the monopoly model was best suited for its residents in terms of carrying out safe and socially responsible gambling activities, Sweden seems to want to end the iGaming monopoly model by acknowledging the importance of introducing a proper licensing system in relation to the provision of gambling services.

The re-regulation and liberalization of Sweden’s iGaming market is among the biggest online gambling stories of this year. The Swedish national legislator, Riksdag, approved earlier this month the nation’s new law, titled Re-Regulation of the Gambling Market (En omreglerad spelmarknad) to thus open the local market to international operators.

It can be said that the country’s gray market has been thriving over the past several years and it is believed that the new regulatory regime, set to take effect on January 1, 2019 would actually result in the creation of one of Europe’s largest regulated markets.

Sweden’s whole gambling market totaled SEK22.6 billion (approximately €2.2 billion) last year. Unregulated operations accounted for nearly a quarter of that market with reported gross gambling revenue of SEK5.5 billion (approximately €533 million).

Following the necessary approval by the Swedish government, the new law now needs to survive a three-month standstill period in the European Commission. As mentioned above, it is anticipated to take effect on January 1, 2019. It would allow foreign companies to apply for licenses for the operation of online gambling services.

Lotteriinspektionen, the country’s gambling regulator, will be responsible for reviewing and granting the licenses under the new regime and also for overseeing the liberalized market. The regulatory body has announced that it would begin accepting license applications from August 1, 2018.

Commenting on the upcoming changes in Sweden’s iGaming space, Mr. Ron and Ms. Attias pointed out that:

[the] new regulation will test how well operators can manage gambling activities in a safe and responsible way, which will increase players’ trust. Indeed, Swedish players will prefer to play on regulated gambling websites, instead of unregulated and often dangerous websites.

However, we are also seeing that such regulation could end the iGaming monopoly currently in place. This is no surprise, since the Swedish government already tried to attract foreign online gambling companies which operate in other European countries and have shown a growing share of revenue from online betting due to good regulations.

While Sweden is just several months away from scrapping Svenska Spel’s monopoly over the provision of most of the gambling services that are legal under the country’s regulations, another Scandinavian jurisdiction is determined to keep its gambling monopoly as the most socially responsible model.

Earlier this year, the country’s government announced and swiftly approved new rules that aim at preventing unlicensed online gambling companies from targeting Norwegian players. The new regulatory system will also look to block transfers of money related to online gambling. Under the new regulations, the country’s regulator Lotteri- og stiftelsestilsynet will be authorized to require reports from banks and other financial institutions if it suspects that gambling-related money is transferred by and to Norwegians.

The new rules were sent for review by the European Commission, which traditionally does not receive too tight online gambling frameworks promoting the monopoly model very well.

Based on developments from the past several months, it seems that new taxes, looming gambling advertising crackdowns in a couple of European jurisdictions, and the newly introduced GDPR regulation will have imminent unpleasant effects on the industry for various reasons.

The UK government confirmed earlier this month that it would roll out a higher tax on online gambling services provided in the country in a bid to offset the negative impact a looming crackdown on the highly controversial fixed-odds betting terminals would have on the Treasury.

The government has agreed to reduce the maximum stake on FOBTs to £2 from £100, a measure that anti-gambling groups and a number of British MPs have long been calling for as a necessary one, as the number of people affected by gambling addiction triggered by betting on the machines has increased tremendously over the years since their introduction across UK betting shops.

The crackdown on the gambling devices, while considered a needed move, will result in the Treasury losing several hundred million pounds in taxes, which the government will look to offset with higher levies on the country’s flourishing online betting and gaming sector.

In a different wave of stories from the past several months, it has become known that Italy, Bulgaria, Norway, and Belgium have been few of the European countries where local governments are planning to crack down on gambling advertising.

Italy and the recently announced a looming clampdown on the promotion of betting and casino services across local media outlets might have come as the biggest surprise among the above group of European countries. The online gambling sector in the country has been blossoming over the past several years and its heavy promotion has certainly boosted that growth.

However, Italy’s new coalition government has stated that it would look to curb the widespread provision of gambling services over social responsibility concerns and that it would start with advertising.

According to Mr. Ron and Ms. Attias, the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) regulation would prove a bit of a challenge for the online gambling industry. The 261-page legal document took effect late last month to address issues related to the use of personal data belonging to citizens of the European Union.

Commenting on the new regulation, the two legal specialists said that:

The newest regulatory challenges most companies are currently facing involve complying with increased Data Protection Laws, such as GDPR (EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679). Indeed, such laws are changing the way businesses operate, and Operators will need to obtain significant legal advice to make sure they are using their best efforts to comply with the requirements set by such Data Protection Laws. The changes involved, include: updating privacy Policies, Terms & Conditions, Cookies and many more legal obligations to make sure data is protected and processed in a secured way.

The European online gambling space certainly enjoys rapid growth in terms of revenue generated and interest from gambling customers. However, it can be seen that growth is accompanied by regulatory challenges and these, while aiming to prevent unregulated and illegal operations from being conducted, are oftentimes having the exact opposite effect of making the regulated sector less attractive and pushing players to alternative, black markets. The European and the global gambling markets are currently being shaped but the need for proper and balanced regulations is clear. It is now up to policy-makers, regulators, and industry stakeholders to achieve that balance.

About Tal Itzhak Ron and Financial Jurist Stephanie Attias

Advocate and Notary Tal Itzhak Ron – LLB, BSc, MSc, International Master of Gaming Law (IMGL), a Financial Entertainment, i-Gaming and Crypto veteran, working with the biggest names in online gaming and financial trading since 2003. Tal graduated from Haifa University School of Law and Faculty of Computer Science in 2001, and while working as a software developer at the publicly-traded software company Ness Technologies, has further obtained a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Bar Ilan University in 2006. Tal founded Tal Ron, Drihem & Co., Law Firm 15 years ago, focusing from its start on Online Gaming, Fin Tech, Hi Tech, and Ad Tech, quickly becoming one of the first international firms practicing solely on these areas and one of the best known names on the market. His firm today advises the world leading operations, affiliates, platforms and governing bodies in Europe and Asia, and is considered the first point of contact for entrepreneurs setting up and optimizing their operations in the online space.

Financial Jurist Stephanie Attias – Graduated from Fordham University School of Law (New York), with an LL.M in Banking, Corporate and Finance Law, and from the Faculty of Law in Nice (France) with a Master of Laws in Business Law and Economics, followed by a Master of Finance in Financial Engineering with Magna Cum Laude Honors.  After working at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in New York and in the prestigious law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel, both in London and Paris, Stephanie joined Tal Ron Drihem & Co., Law Firm in 2012 as Head of Financial Law and Regulation, where she advises the top tier of financial technologies and gaming companies.

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