Gambling

Las Vegas Sands Misses 1st Quarter Earnings: 34 Percent Drop in Profit

LAS VEGAS — (Associated Press) Las Vegas Sands Corp. CEO Sheldon Adelson said he knew what question was coming: when would the steady and steep decline in the world's most lucrative gambling market hit bottom?

A corruption crackdown that has shaken up the up-until-recently skyrocketing gambling business in Macau, China has sped swift drops in revenue and activity there.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Apr/22/2015

English Sports Betting Head Dead

The long time CEO and Managing Director of one of the first offshore sports betting companies, English Sports Betting, has passed away.

Tom Lanford died from natural causes recently.  He ran the long established company while it was based out of Jamaica during much of the 1990’s.  Once a wealthy businessman, Lanford was living on the streets of Atlanta, homeless, at the time of his death at 53.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Apr/22/2015

Yahoo! to Enter Daily Fantasy Sports Sector

Long established in the world of season-long fantasy sports, Yahoo! CEO Melissa Mayer announced this week that the multinational Internet corporation and search engine powerhouse will be entering the real money daily fantasy sports market this summer.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/22/2015

First New England Mobster Sentenced to Life for ‘3 Strikes’ Rule Dies at 75

Notorious New England mobster Gerard "The Frenchman" Ouimette has died of lung cancer at the age of 75.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Apr/22/2015

New Credit Card Merchant Number May Boost State Online Gambling Acceptance

Since New Jersey legalized online gambling in the Garden State over a year ago, one of the biggest obstacles has been the low acceptance rate of credit cards.

Many of the major banks have blocked nearly all forms of Web gambling transactions in recent years, failing to discern between "legal" (the NJ sector, fantasy sports, horse racing and state lotteries) and the "illegal".  

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/22/2015

Evidence Ordered Thrown Out in Phua FBI Ruse Case

A federal judge has ordered most of the evidence against poker pro Paul Phua thrown out as part of an FBI probe that apparently went a little too far. 

Phua and other alleged co-conspirators were said to have been running a World Cup betting ring from their villa at the Caesar’s Palace.  FBI agents posed as cable repairmen to gain access.

Submitted by Ace King on, Apr/21/2015

Jon Stewart Blasts Christie for Pot Stance While Endorsing Online Gambling

“Daily Show” host Jon Stewart took New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to task over his anti-marijuana stance while simultaneously endorsing legalized online gambling in the state.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Apr/21/2015

Sportech Shares Rise on News of US Entry

Gambling group Sportech (SPO) gained 2.3% to 66.25p Tuesday on news its US racing subsidiary has been awarded a gaming licence in New Jersey.   

BetOnline

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/21/2015

Iowa Halfway Home in Legalizing Fantasy Sports, State Senator Tells G911

DES MOINES, Iowa -- In 2006, the U.S. Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), crippling online wagering by making it illegal to use financial instruments such as credit cards to fund Internet betting.

BetOnline

Submitted by Thomas Somach on, Apr/21/2015

Mobster Tried to Sell Art from 1990 Museum Heist

HARTFORD, Conn. (Associated Press) -- A reputed mobster told an undercover FBI agent that he had access to two of the long-sought paintings stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990 and could negotiate a sale of each for $500,000, a prosecutor said Monday.

Robert Gentile, a 79-year-old convict from the Hartford, Connecticut, suburbs with a criminal record dating to the 1950s, allegedly made the offer following his release from prison a year ago, prosecutor John Durham said.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Apr/20/2015

Adam Silver on Gambling and the NBA: ‘Good for Business’

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has doubled down on his initial stance that sports betting should be legalized in the U.S.

Silver stunned many after writing an op-ed piece in the New York Times last fall suggesting that sports gambling should be “brought out of the underground”.

On Monday, the NBA Commissioner took things one step forward.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/20/2015

100,000 Officials Reprimanded as Part of Chinese Corruption, Gambling Crackdown

BEIJING –  (Associated Press) - The top anti-graft body of China's Communist Party says more than 100,000 officials have been reprimanded since late 2012 for violating policies mandating more austere working practices.

The party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in its monthly report Monday that 5,340 officials were reprimanded in December 2014, the most recent month studied. That pushed the two-year total of reprimanded officials to 102,168.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Apr/20/2015

TopBet Slow Payouts Complaints Blamed on Processing Issues

A series of slow payouts complaints related to three-year-old Manila-based online sportsbook TopBet.eu have begun filing in to the industry monitoring site SportsBookReview.com, prompting concerns from sports bettors.  Update: April 25, 2015 - Some affected players report receipt of payments

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/18/2015

Harry Reid Vows to Help Adelson With Internet Gambling Prohibition Bill

Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has said he will assist in any way possible to push through legislation banning most forms of Internet gambling, including poker.

Restore America’s Wire Act or RAWA is the brainchild of casino magnate and GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson.  The legislation is co-authored by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Republican Representative Jason Chavitz of Utah.

Submitted by Gilbert Horowitz on, Apr/17/2015

NatWest Manager Jailed for Stealing £185,000 to Fund Online Gambling Habit

A former NetWest manager, Glenn Mason, 56, has been jailed for plundering the accounts of nine pensioners including an 83 year-old woman and a 92 year-old man, all to the tune of £185,000.

Mason stole the funds in order to help fuel his online gambling habit.  He now must pay back every last penny.

Mason will serve 15 months behind bars.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/17/2015

PokerStars Parent Company Rational Group Appoints Zynga Exec

The parent company of the world’s largest real money online poker room has hired an executive of the world’s largest free-to-play online poker site.

Submitted by Ace King on, Apr/17/2015

Trial of Legendz Sports Founder Bartice “Luke” King Gets Underway

The trial of Legendz Sports founder Bartice King (better known as “Luke” among his peers) got underway Thursday in an Oklahoma City courtroom following two days of jury selection.  The case number is CR-13-063-1-F, listed on the local courtroom docket as USA vs. Bartice A. "Luke" King.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Apr/16/2015

Global Sports Betting Worth $3 Trillion, Most of it Illegal

(AFP) - The global sports betting market is worth up to $3-trillion, the vast majority of that generated by illegal gambling, a United Nations conference on crime being held in Doha heard on Wednesday.

Patrick Jay, a British-based independent betting expert, said around 65 per cent of that global figure was spent on football betting, with the Asian market the centre of sports gambling.

Submitted by Guest on, Apr/16/2015

Magnus Hedman the New Man Behind the Curtain at Pinnacle Sports

SBC News has revealed that Touchbet ltd and Sporting Index owner Magnus Hedman is the new majority shareholder in Pinnacle Sports, once among the biggest online sportsbooks catering to North America.  The company pulled out of the US market in 2007, opting instead to focus on Europe and Asia.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/16/2015

Guilty Pleas Entered in Illegal Vegas Sports Betting Case: $4.3 Mil to be Forfeited

Four individuals have struck deals with the U.S. Government to plead guilty in a long running investigation into a multi-million dollar sports betting business. 

BetOnline

Submitted by Gilbert Horowitz on, Apr/16/2015

World Exclusive: Live In-Game Wagering Comes to Daily Fantasy Sports

The inventor of the world's first live in-game sports betting system for Las Vegas casinos has now invented the world's first live in-game system for sports fantasy, Gambling 911 can reveal in a world exclusive report.

Barry Mindes, an 83-year-old engineer from New York who now lives in South Florida, created the SportsXaction betting system in the mid-1990s.

SportsXacton, which debuted at the Excalibur casino in Las Vegas, allowed bettors to wager on every pitch of a baseball game while the game was in progress.

Submitted by Thomas Somach on, Apr/15/2015

Real Money English Premier League Fantasy Contests Debut With FantasyGol

Gauatemala City-based FantasyGol announced on Wednesday the launch of its new pay-to-play real money English Premier League fantasy contests platform they hope will take the industry by storm.

This past fall FantasyGol teamed up with Rochester, New York-based Flower City Gaming, the operators behind Star Fantasy Leagues, in an effort to provide the ultimate daily and weekly fantasy sports experience.

Submitted by Alistair Prescott on, Apr/15/2015

666Bet.com Back Peddling on Payout Promise: ‘We Can Only Pay When Back Online’

Beleaguered 666Bet.com issued a statement on Tuesday informing its customers they can only pay if back up and running online.  This comes after assurances the company would refund customers once its licensing authority gives the green light.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/15/2015

Bookie Forced Man to Rob Churches

Attorneys representing Joseph Grieco, 45, of Methuen, Massachusetts have notified a judge about the possible defense for their client, accused of scamming several area churches out of cash and gift cards.  His bookie made him do it!

From the Union Leader:

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Apr/14/2015

Motorcycle Shooting of Sportsbook Operator Outside CR Bakery Was Failed Hit

A man shot four times outside an Escazu, Costa Rica bakery last month was the target of a failed hit, Gambling911.com can now confirm. 

Sources close to G911 tell us that a sportsbook operator from California by the name of Jason was the target of this hit though the incident does not appear to have any ties to a bookmaking/Pay Per Head businesses had ties to. 

Submitted by C Costigan on, Apr/14/2015

Atlantic City Finally Sees Revenue Increase

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) -- Atlantic City's eight casinos saw their revenue increase by 2.3 percent in March, compared to a year ago.

But when the four casinos that shut down last year are included in the comparison, the city's gambling revenue was down 12.6 percent.

Figures released Tuesday by the state's Gaming Enforcement Division show the eight surviving casinos took in $203.8 million in March, compared to the $199.2 million they won in March 2014.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Apr/14/2015

Vulcan eSports Daily Fantasy Site Raises $12 Million

Daily fantasy sports for video games, also known as eSports, is increasing in popularity even more so than the traditional (if you can call it that) daily fantasy sports sector.  And a little known company just months ago, Vulcan, is leading the way.

The firm has secured investment funding to the tune of $12 million.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/13/2015

Suspected ‘Juice Bar Burglar’ Arrested in Underground Gambling Den

A man suspected in a San Fernando Valley, California crime spree was taken into custody over the weekend inside a local gambling den. 

Authorities were able to identify the so-called “Juice Bar Burglar” by a distinctive tattoo.

“His tattoo was his undoing,” LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon said in a statement. “We just needed to get the word and the picture out, and he was done as the Juice Bar Burglar.”

Per CBS LA’s report:

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Apr/13/2015

Bookmaker Ordered to Serve an Additional Four Month Sentence

FARGO, N.D. – (Associated Press) - A judge says a 69-year-old man convicted of running an illegal bookmaking operation in North Dakota must serve an additional four months in prison on top of a current sentence he is serving in Minnesota.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Apr/13/2015

Fears Mount as 666Bet.com Players Not Getting Paid

Officials at beleaguered online gambling firm 666Bet.com sought to calm customer fears Monday that they will not be getting paid.   The company shut down abruptly last night after its Director was arrested on money laundering charges.

Since that time, 666Bet.com customers have had little success accessing their funds.

The company issued this statement Monday:

Submitted by C Costigan on, Apr/13/2015

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