iGaming Business – The World Lottery Association has revealed that global lottery sales increased by 4.6% in the first half of 2013 thanks to strong growth in the Latin American and Asia-Pacific regions. The association said that participating Latin American lotteries registered an aggregate increase in sales of 24.6% for the first six months of 2013 in comparison with the first half of 2012. Argentina’s Lotería Nacional Sociedad del Estado was a star performer, continuing its upward trajectory with a 31% sales increase for the six months until the end of June. Brazil’s Caixa Econômica Federal also enjoyed healthy growth…

Las Vegas Sun – A judge sentenced a business traveler from suburban Chicago to nine months in prison today for groping a passenger in flight while she slept in a seat next to him. The victim told reporters later she wished the punishment could have been harsher. The woman and her husband were returning to Chicago after celebrating their 34th anniversary in Las Vegas two years ago when Srinivasa Erramilli, now 46, sat between the couple and later began touching her, the woman testified at trial last year. As she imposed the Aurora man’s sentence, which included banning him from…

Las Vegas Review-Journal – Lottery systems provider Scientific Games received tentative approval Wednesday from the Gaming Control Board to purchase slot machine manufacturer WMS Industries for $1.5 billion. The Nevada Gaming Commission will have a final say on the matter on Sept. 26. Scientific Games is headquartered in New York. It’s largest shareholder is financier Ronald Perelman, who is ranked 26th on the Forbes 400 list of billionaires with a net worth of $12.2 billion. Perelman owns 38 percent of Scientific Games. Perelman, 70, attended the Gaming Control Board meeting but did not take part in the formal presentation. Gaming…

Macau Business Daily – SHFL entertainment Inc, a maker of casino equipment, announced its net profit tumbled in the last fiscal quarter, due to costs from the proposed merger with Bally Technologies Inc. The United States firm reported on Wednesday U.S. time that net profit fell by 38.5 percent year-on-year to US$6.4 million (51.1 million patacas) in the three months ended July 31. The estimated US$1.3-billion merger with Bally – another leading Nevada-based gaming equipment firm – cost the company US$3.6 million in the third quarter. In an earnings release, SHFL said that the merger announced in July remains pending…

iGaming Business – Rumours that Google could be preparing a takeover bid for bwin party were widely dismissed this morning by industry sources. A report on the Daily Mail website said that rumours of a 200p per share cash offer had been circulating lately, with “dealers hearing” that Google could submit its offer before bwin party’s “online poker and casino games are up and running in the state of New Jersey before the end of the year”. However, bwin party refused to comment on the speculation while City sources pointed out that any potential cash offer of 200p per share…

NY Daily News – A French betting company pokes fun of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in a shocking ad for its product. In a 30-second clip for PMU, a cheering crowd awaits a presidential motorcade, but their delight is turned to terror as shots ring out and a brunette passenger, dressed in the same pink pillbox hat First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy wore that fateful day in 1963, frantically tries to escape the open limousine. With a loose tie-in to the actual product, the plot revolves around one Dallas police officer who bets another that he could spin…