iGaming Business – The Scottish National Party (SNP) has become the latest political party to speak out against fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) and has called for “sensible regulation” of such machines in the UK. Gamblers in Scotland staked a reported £4.4 billion (€5.3 billion/$7.4 billion) on the machines last year, an increase of more than £100 million on the amount spent in the previous year. SNP politician Stuart McMillan has joined a number of political figures in backing the Fairer Gambling Campaign’s call to reduce the current maximum stake on FOBTs from £100 to £2. UK chancellor George Osborne…

Forbes – The Philippines hopes to be the next big thing in Asian gaming, and its biggest step toward that goal just completed its first year of operation. Solaire Resort and Casino opened in March last year (see page 77; payment required), the first of four planned US$1 billion-plus integrated resorts (IRs) in Entertainment City on Manila Bay. Solaire’s parent company Bloomberry Resorts this month released its full year results for 2013, as did its current main rival, Resorts World Manila, where ownership also holds a license for an Entertainment City IR. But the results sow doubts about building more…

Calvin Ayre – Much has been made of the enormous potential of Japan’s casino market, including throwing out estimates on how much gross revenue the country’s (future) casinos can earn in a year. Telsey Advisory Group’s Senior Gaming & Lodging Analyst Chris Jones recently issued a 44-page analysis of Japan’s casino potential. Jones estimated that the country could stand to earn as much as $23.8 billion a year, which translates to 0.4 percent of the country’s GDP, roughly what US casinos earn relative to America’s GDP. A far more conservative, if not more likely estimate would be about $16.5 billion…

Online payment solutions provider Optimal Payments has further expanded its presence in the North American market after agreeing a five-year partnership with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). Under the agreement, Optimal Payments will provide its NETBANX payment service to OLG for its new online gambling service PlayOLG. The new service will offer regulated interactive lottery, casino and video poker games to Ontario residents. The NETBANX solution will support the new offering by providing payment options, as well as delivering real-time fraud and risk prevention and mitigation services. “PlayOLG will be the only regulated internet gaming option in Ontario,”…

Bloomberg – Dutch-themed amusement park along Japan’s southwestern coast is considering buying a deserted offshore island in an expansion to boost its appeal as a possible site for a casino resort. “We are planning to buy new land to offer more games at the Huis Ten Bosch theme park,” Hideo Sawada, chairman of the Tokyo-based travel agency and park operator, said in an interview April 18. “There are a lot of deserted islands nearby.” He said at least 100 billion yen ($974 million) is needed to fund a gambling resort at the park. Huis Ten Bosch and sites across Japan…

This Week in Gambling – Robert Smith, Treasurer of the CTBA Board and Chairman of the Pala Band of Luiseno Indians, will testify at the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization, during their informational hearing on Internet poker. The iPoker hearing is set for Wednesday, April 23 at 1:30 pm, in State Capitol, Room 4202. The hearing, was called by AGO Chair Isadore Hall, III, to promote a better understanding of the iPoker issue.  Two bills, AB 2291 (Jones-Sawyer) and SB 1366 (Correa), have been introduced this year that would legalize Internet poker in California.  CTBA member tribes are part of…

iGaming Business – Russian president Vladimir Putin has submitted a draft bill to parliament to designate the seceded Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea as a legal gambling zone. As reported by iGaming Business last month, Russian officials were reported to be considering a proposal to introduce a gambling zone with casinos and hotels to the region. According to the Wall Street Journal newspaper, Putin submitted the bill on Monday in the hope of pushing forward with these plans. Sergei Aksyonov, acting leader of Crimea, told the Itar-Tass news agency last week that if the bill does pass then the region plans…

Poker News – Right after the visit the European commissioner for competition and European Commission vice president Joakin Almunia paid to Athens, the Greek government decided to introduce significant amendments to its gaming law. This should finally put Greece’s legislation in line with European directives and calm fears of an upcoming monopoly. Greece’s reliance on the so-called “European trojka” — the unofficial group composed by the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund — pushed the country to change direction and remove from its gambling law some criticized bits that could have led to the creation of a…