News In Brief: September 2-September 6, 2024

Foreign operators and staff in Shwe Kokko, one of Myanmar’s most notorious hubs for cyber-scamming, online gambling and human trafficking, have been ordered by the local militia to leave by September 20.

The Karen Border Guard Force (BGF)-controlled Shwe Kokko administration on August 13 said all foreign-operated and foreign-staffed businesses in the Shwe Kokko town area, including the ethnic Chinese-controlled Yatai New City, must shut down, Eleven Media Group reported on Thursday (September 5).

The removal of suspected cyber-scammers, and their often enslaved workers, follows years of complaints from Myanmar’s ruling junta, which does not control the area, and foreign governments and organisations concerned about human rights abuses and regional destabilisation.

The BGF has both profited from and cracked down on cyber-scamming operations in its territory, and it was not immediately clear why the militia issued the latest notice.

Departing operators and staff must register with the authorities, pay a fee of 40,000 baht ($1,200) and board buses for the city of Myawaddy, according to the announcement, while holdouts will be reported to local and foreign police as appropriate.

Myawaddy in May issued its own directive to online operations, ordering foreign employees out by October 31 this year. It was not clear what those removed from Shwe Kokko are required to do upon arrival in Myawaddy.

Pressure from Beijing has resulted in the removal of significant numbers of Chinese nationals working in the sector, but cyber-scamming operations have also been disrupted this year by rival militia incursions.

Several reports published early Wednesday (September 4) that claimed that Genius Sports Ltd. had approached Kambi with a buyout offer to expand its managed trading offering have been quickly denied by both companies. 

“While Kambi tends not to comment on rumor and speculation, I can confirm that Kambi is not engaged in any such discussions,” Anders Strom, Kambi’s chairman of the board, said in a statement. 

Genius Sports was also quick to address the speculation, with CEO Mark Locke stating: “To prevent any further speculation, we can confirm that we are not involved in any discussions of this nature with Kambi.”

Locke described the reports as “unfounded and ill-informed rumors”. 

The California Gaming Association (GGA), a state-wide trade association for cardrooms, expressed its disappointment Wednesday (September 4) with the passage of Senate Bill 549 granting legal standing to tribes to sue cardrooms over the games they offer. 

The Senate voted 32-2 on the last day of the session on Saturday (August 31) to pass the bill known as the Tribal National Nations Access to Justice Act, sending it to Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom for his signature or veto. 

“We urge the governor to veto SB 549, which bypasses state regulators and harms communities across the state," the CGA said in a statement emailed to Vixio GamblingCompliance.

If signed by Newsom, tribes will have an opportunity for one consolidated lawsuit against all California cardrooms and third-party proposition player services regarding how they offer traditionally house-banked games such as blackjack and baccarat.

"We are disappointed that this legislation was rushed through at the last minute, bypassing any Senate committee hearing or transparency,” the CGA said. “This unfair bill, strongly opposed by public employee unions, firefighters, cities, and cardrooms, is a disservice to our communities harming jobs and resident services.”

Boyd Gaming confirmed Wednesday (September 4) that it has partnered with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe to build the tribe’s casino project in Norfolk, Virginia. 

“The Pamunkey Indian Tribe has been working to develop a casino resort in Norfolk for the last several years,” the Las Vegas-based gaming company said in a statement.

“Boyd Gaming has started the process required to help the tribe bring its vision to fruition, in a way that will deliver meaningful benefits” for the tribe, the city and Virginia.

“We do not have any further comment at this time,” the company said.

According to public radio station WHRO, Boyd will own the majority interest in Golden Eagle Consulting, the company created to develop the casinos with the Pamunkey. The tribe will also take a 20 percent stake in Golden Eagle. 

Boyd is expected to step in and handle the financing, development and operators of the tribe’s planned $500m casino. WHRO reported the revised development agreement includes an updated timeline listing a construction completion date of September 2027. 

The tribe needs to open a temporary location at the Norfolk location by November 2025 or it will not be eligible for its state gaming license and the voter referendum authorizing the project will be invalid, forcing the city to request the General Assembly pass a bill to allow another voter referendum.

Greg Small, executive director of the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC), will step down on September 20, Republican Governor Eric Holcomb announced Wednesday (September 4).

Holcomb named IGC general counsel Dennis Mullen to lead the agency in an acting capacity. Mullen, who has been with the agency since 2015, will assume the role of acting executive director on September 23 and will continue as general counsel.

"Greg's knowledge and expertise has been invaluable in leading the Indiana Gaming Commission effectively and efficiently," Holcomb said in a statement.

Small was appointed as executive director of the IGC in September 2021 replacing Sara Gonso Tait, who spent a decade with the agency and six years as its executive director. 

Holcomb’s term ends in January. The governor’s office did not release a timeline for choosing a permanent executive director for the gaming commission.

Bet365 has agreed to a $33,000 penalty in New Jersey for accepting wagers on prohibited sporting events and events after the outcomes were known, the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has announced.

The two-page order found the problems occurred between February 3, 2022 and January 23, 2023, but the DGE did not offer any examples of the regulatory violations committed by bet365.

Bet365’s latest fine comes about a month after state gaming regulators ordered the company to pay out $519,323 to New Jersey residents after an audit found the sports-betting operator revised odds to already concluded bets that were placed with “obvious error,” without prior regulatory approval.

DGE regulations do not allow operators to revise or void any wager without prior permission.

A bill to legalize online casino games in Ohio was introduced Wednesday (September 4) in the state's Senate but has yet to be assigned to a committee for consideration. 

Senate Bill 312, a 146-page bill introduced by outgoing Republican state Senator Niraj Antani, amends 44 sections of state gaming laws and enacts eight new sections of regulations to legalize and regulate iGaming in the state. 

Antani’s bill would require the Ohio Casino Control Commission to license iGaming operators and determine which games could be legally played online. Each nonrefundable application fee would cost at least $100,000, and an iGaming permit would cost $300,000 and the fee be valid for a year. 

Antani’s bill would also require a $250,000 fee to be deposited in a problem gambling fund. The legislation allows the state’s 11 casinos and racinos each to offer one iGaming app. 

SB 312 proposes to tax iGaming at 15 percent. 

“As gaming has evolved in our state and we’ve seen massive success with sports betting, it’s now time to legalize iGaming in Ohio,” Antani said in a statement. 

It is unclear if the bill will receive much attention when the Ohio legislature returns for a session after the November election. Antani announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election to the state's Senate. 

Argentina’s National Communications Agency (ENACOM), the country’s communication and media regulator, says it has facilitated the blocking of more than 1,000 illegal online gambling websites in 2024.

Darío Genua, secretary of innovation, science and technology, stated on September 2 that “online gambling addiction in children and adolescents is a scourge that occurs under the protection of websites that promote illegal gambling”.

Juan Martín Ozores, president of ENACOM, said: “We understand the seriousness of the situation. For this reason, every time a court order arrives at the agency requesting the blocking of access to illegal betting sites, we immediately inform the country's internet service provider companies.”

Gibraltar’s Gambling Commissioner has continued a recent flurry of enforcement action, announcing a £25,000 regulatory settlement with an unnamed licence holder.

The regulatory settlement, which is instead of a financial penalty, was issued due to deficiencies in the operator’s anti-money laundering (AML) policies and procedures, according to a Gambling Division press release on August 28.

Additionally, the operator failed to fully document enhanced due diligence procedures for a specific cohort of customers and failed to report one technical suspicious activity report (SAR) to the Gibraltar Financial Intelligence Unit (GFIU). However, it did report it to the financial intelligence unit (FIU) where the customer was based. 

The Gibraltar Gambling Division said the “key learning points are that operators should fully acquaint themselves with the provisions of the Gibraltar Proceeds of Crime Act, the Gambling Commissioner's advice to the industry in connection with AML/CFT and, any learning points from previous public statements made in connection with regulatory settlements or other sanctions”.

The operator has been placed into enhanced monitoring and will receive another site visit within six months.

Gibraltar’s Gambling Division agreed to two other similar regulatory settlements in August 2024. Before the three agreements were announced last month, there had not been any regulatory settlements since August 2023.

DraftKings and White Hat Gaming were fined a total of $22,500 by the Gaming Division of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection for operating an online slot machine game that failed to pay winners on more than 20,600 spins over a week in August 2023. 

The game, Deal or No Deal Banker’s Bonanza, was supposed to pay out almost 95 cents for every dollar wagered on the online slot game. 

But from August 15 to August 23, 2023, a total of 522 people in Connecticut who wagered $23,909.50 over 20,599 spins received no wins, according to a report obtained Tuesday (September 3) by Vixio GamblingCompliance. 

The state Department of Consumer Protection noted that all patrons were eventually refunded on August 29, 2023, without any notification from DraftKings.

Regulators found that neither DraftKings nor the game’s manufacturer White Hat Gaming notified Consumer Protection of the software problem until the department requested information on August 31 last year. 

A file in the game’s software had not been loaded properly, according to Consumer Protection. The department acknowledged that White Hat Gaming and DraftKings completed measures to remediate the issue and mitigate further incidents.

Betsson will join the growing list of operators to exit the U.S. market after it announced its operations in Colorado, where it operates its Betsafe brand, will shut down by the end of the month. 

In a note to customers on X, Betsafe said its sportsbook mobile app will permanently close on September 30, while registrations and deposits will not be accepted after Friday (September 6) and new bets cannot be placed after September 16.

Betsafe warned customers that all funds must be withdrawn by September 27, and all accounts will be closed on September 30. 

Last week, BlueBet Holdings announced its exit from Colorado and the U.S. to focus on its core Australian market. Among the 15 sportsbooks to exit Colorado that launched sports betting in May 2020 are Barstool, Betfred, Betway, Fox Bet, MaximBet, PlayUp, Sports Illustrated, Tipico, WynnBet, Fubo Sportsbook and Superbook.

As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to kick off the 2024 National Football League (NFL) season on Thursday (September 5) against the Baltimore Ravens, the American Gaming Association (AGA) estimates American adults will bet $35bn with legal sportsbooks this season. 

AGA believes the increase in wagering on the NFL will be driven by the continued expansion and maturation of legal sports betting in the United States. Analysis conducted by the AGA conducted after the 2023 NFL season estimated that legal wagering reached $26.7bn.

Maine, North Carolina and Vermont have each launched legal sports-betting markets since the last NFL season kicked off.

“With the excitement of another NFL season upon us, Americans are placing their bets with confidence that the legal sports betting market is prioritizing consumer protection and responsibility,” AGA president and CEO Bill Miller said in a statement released Tuesday (September 3).

“As the season unfolds, the AGA and our members remain dedicated to working with leagues, regulators and other stakeholders to ensure fans have the knowledge and tools to keep sports betting a safe, fun part of the gameday experience,” Miller said.

According to AGA date, 90 percent of sports bettors in the past year said it is important to choose a legal and regulated sportsbook to wager with, while 75 percent of American adults support, legal regulated sports betting in their state, an increase from 73 percent in 2023.

The California Senate passed Senate Bill 549 before the legislature adjourned on Saturday (August 31) authorizing tribes to sue cardrooms in state court over the table games they operate such as blackjack and baccarat.

The bill, known as the Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act, grants tribes standing to seek a declaratory judgment on whether card games offered at cardrooms and banked by third-party proposition player service providers (TPPPS) violate the California constitution.

“The passage of SB 549 is fantastic news for California’s tribal nations,” said James Siva, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA). “For over a decade, California tribes have engaged in considerable efforts to defend our exclusive gaming rights guaranteed in the California Constitution.”

The bill was conceived by the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, who were the bill’s original sponsors. Tribes have until April 1, 2025 to file their lawsuit.

“This has never been a fight about gaming — it has always been a fight about civil rights and judicial access for tribes,” Viejas chairman John Christman said in a statement. “We are thankful that the vast majority of the legislature finally saw through the political noise and stood on the side of justice and access for our people.”

Despite lobbying in opposition by cardrooms, the Senate concurred with the changes made in the Assembly on SB 549 by a 32-2 votes with six senators not voting. SB 549 now goes to California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, for his signature or veto.