Author: OnlineGamblingDaily

Vietnamese online gaming unicorn firm VNG Corp. is allegedly considering raising funds ahead of a potential US listing. The proceeds would be used to bolster expansion plans. The company, backed by Singapore wealth fund GIC Pte, is seeking to raise $200 million to $300 million in fresh funds from both new and existing backers, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. Current investors include Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Raj Ganguly’s B Capital Group. VNG has been reported as exploring fundraising options, including going public in the US through a reverse merger with a blank-check company, for a while now. In…

A New Jersey bill to amend the casino payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) law and provide substantial tax relief to Atlantic City casinos passed the state Senate budget committee Monday without discussion of its fiscal estimate, and without the presence of any casino representative. Four Atlantic City casinos might close if the bill doesn’t succeed. Bill S4007 mainly removes sports and internet gaming revenues from the definition of gross gaming revenues. It also sets the 2022 basic PILOT payment at $110 million, far less than the $165 million the casinos would have to pay if the current PILOT bill had remained unchanged, according…

Maryland-based The Cordish Companies will sell its three casino properties, Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland, Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia, and Live! Casino Pittsburgh, to a Pennsylvania-based real estate investment trust that specializes in gaming sites, Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI), in a deal valued at $1.8 billion. Cordish will lease back the properties and “continue uninterrupted to own, control and manage all the gaming operations of the facilities,” according to GLPI’s release Monday. This sale-and-lease-back transaction could provide Cordish with cash to finance new projects or expand current ones, experts in the gaming and real estate industries said, as…

Penn National Gaming, which had previously said that Hollywood Casino Morgantown would open by the end of the year, has confirmed the property’s opening date. Located in Caernarvon Township, Berks County, the $111 million casino will open at noon, December 22, pending final regulatory approvals.  Prior to the grand opening, Penn National will host two invitation-only test days, with gaming proceeds donated to United Way of Berks County, Honey Brook Food Pantry and the Jarett Yoder Foundation. The 80,000 square-foot facility in Berks County will feature 750 slot machines and 30 table games, a climate-controlled outdoor gaming terrace, a Barstool…

The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) believes criminal gangs are using poker machines at small regional pubs and clubs to launder the proceeds of illegal drug dealing and prostitution in New South Wales, after its data monitoring system identified suspect transactions in the Cessnock, Maitland, Queanbeyan-Palerang, Coffs Harbour and Bland local government areas.   These are in addition…

Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City police have detained 59 people linked to the biggest illegal online gambling ring ever uncovered by Vietnamese authorities. The cryptocurrency gambling ring had transactions totaling more than US$3.8 billion, which includes the total gamblers put in the ring but excludes reciprocal money from the dealer. According to the report from state-owned broadcaster VTV, gamblers in the ring registered cryptocurrency wallets on a foreign platform called Remitano to buy cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum or USDT, also known as Tether, they would then use the crypto to gamble on websites Swiftonline.live and Nagaclubs.com. Subjects admitted to authorities…

Ontario’s Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk released a 12-page report Wednesday, titled “Internet Gaming in Ontario”, which questions whether online gambling and sports betting “may be open to legal challenge under Canada’s Criminal Code”. After examining the legality of Ontario’s proposed internet gaming model under the criminal code, the governance structure for internet gaming in the province, and the fairness and integrity of internet gaming in Ontario, Lysyk concluded all of these issues should be reviewed before the market is opened up to private operators.  Lysyk stated in this document that a provincial government must have significant oversight and management of…

The Malta Gaming Authority announced Friday that its General Counsel, Dr. Yanica Sant, has resigned and will be taking up a role in the private sector.  According to a statement released by the MGA, Sant will remain in office until February 2022, fulfilling functions that the Authority’s management considers to not give rise to any real or apparent conflict of interest. She will not be performing any regulatory, inspectorate or enforcement duties.  With immediate effect, she no longer forms part of any internal committees.  “The MGA would like to thank Yanica for her sterling work over the last seven and…

Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider said on Friday that the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation has no authority to pass a casino bill in the third senatorial district in Saipan and the Northern Islands, in Northern Mariana Islands. House Local Bill 22-26, which was pre-filed on October 26 and introduced on October 29, would authorize, establish and regulate casino gaming in the third senatorial district. It was referred to a SNILD -Saipan & Northern Islands Legislative Delegation- committee because it did not meet the required number of appearances on the House agenda, according to Marianas Variety. But the bill…

The Stillaguamish Tribe’s Angel of the Winds Casino and the Kalispel Tribe’s Northern Quest Casino in Washington are now live with sports betting, the Washington Indian Gaming Association (WIGA) said on Friday. The news follows the September launch of sports betting at the Snoqualmie Tribe’s casino. A total of 16 Washington tribes have now received approval to add sports betting while more announcements from other tribal casinos are expected “soon,” according to the WIGA, which issued a statement in response to the newly-announced developments. “The launch of sports betting this week at a second and third tribal casino in Washington State…

Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG) announced Friday the details of the 4th Annual EKG Slot Awards Show, to be held on February 24, 2022, when Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas will be both the host and the show’s Platinum Sponsor. There will be a cocktail hour prior to the main event, followed by the awards ceremony and then it will wrap up with an exclusive after party. Official nominees for all award categories will be announced in January 2022 along with inductees into The EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame Class of 2022.  Award winners will be announced at the show…

Inspired Entertainment, Inc has announced the launch of its latest Christmas-themed online and mobile slot games: Big Christmas Present, Merry Christmas Megaways, and Christmas Cash Spins.  Santa Claus is coming to town with Big Christmas Present, a 6×4 reel, 50-win line slot game. Combining the elements of a classic slot with an innovative bonus mechanic Big Christmas Present is a Christmas-themed version of Inspired’s Big Spin Bonus. The Big Christmas Present Bonus round awards the player between one and five Big Spins, which are spins of 20x or more, via the game’s Pick Me feature, ensuring guaranteed wins during the bonus round,…

Sports betting in Florida has now been suspended after a federal court of appeals denied the Seminole Tribe a request for an emergency motion of stay. The tribe halted its mobile Hard Rock Sportsbook operations on Saturday. Gary Bitner, tribal spokesman, told the Tallahassee Democrat the mobile app would “temporarily suspend operations” following the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia’s decision, taken on Friday. Users attempting to access the sportsbook see an error message when trying to place bets. The spokesman further said account balances for all current players “will be refunded as requested” and even…

Wynn Resorts has filed plans for a 1,800-seat events venue to be developed on 13 acres across from its Encore Boston Harbor casino in Everett, Massachusetts. The project would be the first phase of other plans across the street from the casino. The Vegas company had amassed parcels across Broadway from its casino property for a number of years now, according to the Boston Globe. But it is now that it has filed its first application with Everett’s planning department to build a project on the site: a 1,800-seat indoor events venue, along with a two-story restaurant and a 2,200-car…

The coalition of investors led by a Canadian private equity firm closed its acquisition of Delaware Park Casino and Racetrack on Wednesday in a sale totaling at least $90 million. The Rickman family, the former owner of Ocean Downs casino and track in Maryland who has owned the Delaware casino and racetrack for decades, announced in November that they had reached a sale agreement with the investment firm Clairvest Group and a newly formed subsidiary of Rubico Gaming LLC, run by investor Thomas Benninger, who is a licensed gaming operator in multiple states and territories and has served on numerous…

iGaming industry content provider Pragmatic Play has announced the launch of a new instalment in its seasonal Big Bass Bonanza series, with Christmas Big Bass Bonanza.  The festive slot title takes players on an icy adventure, with a joyful-looking Santa taking the place of the legendary angler. Landing three, four, or five Scatter symbols in the base game triggers the Free Game round, awarding players with 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. In the Free Game, Wild symbols collect all the values from Money symbols, and all Wild symbols that hit during the feature are collected until the round ends. Every fourth Wild symbol…