This Week in Gambling

Gaming Intelligence – Belgium’s Loterie Nationale has been granted a new sports betting licence by the Belgian Gambling Commission which allows the national lottery to offer its SCOOORE! product through its e-lotto.be online platform. The new licence follows the decision last month by Belgium’s Council of State to cancel a royal decree concerning the provision of sports betting services by the state-owned Loterie Nationale.  This was a result of a legal challenge by private licensed operators. FULL ARTICLE (SUBSCRIPTION)

iGaming Business – The UK Gambling Commission has confirmed it has revoked the remote operating licence of social betting company Bodugi following a review of the firm. As reported by iGaming Business, the regulator had originally suspended the company’s licence after it had been made aware of a number of concerns. The Gambling Commission said it had taken the decision to revoke the licence under sections 117(2)(f) and 119(1) of the Gambling Act 2005. The regulator said the reasons for revocation were that Bodugi is “unsuitable to carry out its licensed activities in a manner which is consistent with the…

Poker News – As the Greek Organization of Football Prognostics (OPAP) announced its decision to focus on the creation of a new online sports betting platform in cooperation with GTECH, the risk of Greece running the next online poker monopoly in Europe is now considerably thinner. Although many thought Greece’s government could opt to close its market to international operators in 2014 and put a brand new monopoly in OPAP’s hands, the decision to focus on sports betting and not on poker is a game changer that is going to keep the country’s market open for a while longer. Even…

Calvin Ayre – James Packer, boss of Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd., has asked his country’s government to revise their tourist visa policies to make it easier for Chinese high rollers to visit his casinos. Packer told the Herald Sun that it was “hypocritical” for the government to maintain visa requirements that make it harder for wealthy Chinese to enter the country than wealthy Americans. Packer, who believes the rising clout of Chinese consumers will “profoundly aspect every aspect of our economy,” said it was “stupid” that “visa applications are done in English, not Mandarin.” Packer also complained that…

iGaming Business – The New Zealand Racing Board (NZRB) experienced growth in betting and gaming turnover during the six months to January 31, 2014, despite having described the first half of the year as “challenging” The national bookmaker recorded turnover of NZ$1.1 billion (€654.2 million/$896.8 million) for the first-half of the year, an increase of 2% on the NZ$1 billion achieved in corresponding period last year. Total income also increased from NZ$157.8 million in the previous year to NZ$159.9 million in the latest period. However, the board did suffer a slight drop in net profit before distributions, which fell from…

Sun Herald – House Gaming Committee Chairman Richard Bennett, R-Long Beach, has commissioned a task force of experts to look at the pros and cons of Internet gambling and sports betting in Mississippi. The group’s first meeting will be in May during the Southern Gaming Summit in Biloxi. It will present its findings by the end of the year. Bennett said this in no way endorses either form of gambling. “I’m looking for an unbiased study,” he said. It will be more comprehensive than anything he’s seen on the subjects, he said, and he envisions other states using the information…