Latest Gambling News Headlines June 29, 2023

Written by:
C Costigan
Published on:
Jun/25/2023

These are the latest gambling news headlines from mid to late June 2023, in case you missed them.

Magician Tasked With Catching Card Cheats Tells All

(June 24, 2023) - The Guardian this week profiled Magician Harry Milas, who they write, his sleight of hand skills are so good that he now helps to expose gambling rings. He explains the tricks of the trade – and why he hates casinos.

“The amount of times that I get asked by bankers or managers, ‘So, is this what you do?’ I can tell, they’re so desperate for me to say, ‘Oh no, I work at Westpac, this is just for fun’,” Milas says. “They hate when I say, ‘No, this is it. This is my job’.”

He's so good, casinos around the world, from Las Vegas to the Middle East, have enlisted him to catch people cheating.

Obviously we know what the odds are of Milas actually appearing in a casino where a particular card cheat might be honing his skills. 

Still, it's a most intriguing story.

From the Guardian:

He once had an entire gin rummy club book out the show, looking for tips – and he can always spot the young men who come along because they want to take on the casinos. “They usually dress up a little bit, they’ve fished out a collared shirt or a jacket – it’s the James Bond thing. But I tell them ‘there’s nothing in a casino that is built to work for you. The deck is stacked against you, in every sense of that phrase’.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Some Gambling Sites Offered Betting on Titanic Sub Fate

As shocking as it might sound, some folks were actually placing bets on what the end result of an ill-fated sub mission would be.

It's bad enough people on Facebook were reporting losing more friends since Donald Trump became President by posting sick memes about the sub leading up to Thursday's announcement that it had imploded and all on board lost their lives.

sub.png

Users of Polymarket, a crypto-based futures trading platform, wagered over $300,000 on whether the “missing submarine” would “be found by June 23.”

“[W]hat stage of capitalism is investing in someone’s death,” one Twitter user asked, posting a screenshot showing Polymarket’s evolving spread on the submarine. The sentiment hit a nerve, and the post went viral, accruing over 9,000 retweets and over 150,000 likes. “Actually insane. Imagine making money off of if someone is gonna die or not,” another user wrote in a reply that was liked over 1,000 times. Others started criticizing Polymarket directly for opening up the sub market.

Our take is that it borders on bad taste, perhaps, but just as long as there were no bets on whether those on board would be found dead.

The June 23 date pretty much ensured they would have been based on the estimated time for oxygen to run out.

With Thursday's announcement of the implosion, most experts had already agreed the oxygen would have run out prior to June 22.

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Zuck and Musk Agree to Cage Fight: Facebook Founder Huge Favorite

(June 22, 2023) - On Wednesday evening, our good friends at BetOnline were quick to launch odds on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg fighting Twitter's new owner Elon Musk in a cage match with Zuck the -500 favorite.

By Thursday, the two had agreed to the bout.

Mr Musk posted a message on his social media platform Twitter that he was "up for a cage fight" with Mr Zuckerberg.

Mr Musk, who turns 52 later this month, also tweeted: "I have this great move that I call 'The Walrus', where I just lie on top of myopponent & do nothing."

Mr Zuckerberg, the boss of Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta, then posted a screenshot of Mr Musk's tweet with the caption "send me location".

"The story speaks for itself," a Meta spokesperson told the BBC.

Curacao Minister of Finance Responds to Allegations About a Licensee in Curaçao

(June 22, 2023) - WILLEMSTAD - (Curacao Chronicle) - In light of recent publications concerning accusations by Brazilian authorities of alleged money laundering, customer fraud, and the funneling of funds to influencers promoting an online casino operated by a company based in Curaçao, Minister Silvania, responsible for Curaçao's online gambling sector, has responded promptly.

Brazilian media have claimed that the online gambling company Blaze has been accused by Brazilian authorities of money laundering, customer fraud, and channeling money to influencers promoting the online casino. Blaze is said to be owned by Prolific Trade N.V., a company based in Curaçao and managed by E-Moore B.V., a licensed trust company in Curaçao.

Minister Silvania has requested the Curaçao Gaming Control Board (GCB) to investigate the allegations and determine if any Curaçao licensee is involved in this matter. If it is found that a Curaçao licensee is involved in any capacity, he urged the GCB to take appropriate measures against the respective licensee within its current power and resources as soon as possible.

Furthermore, Minister Silvania has urged the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) to conduct its own investigation, as local trust service providers hold licenses and are supervised by the CBCS.

Based on the current supervision law, online gambling companies operating under a contract (known as a "sub-license") with a licensee in Curaçao are not directly regulated by the GCB, making it very difficult for Curaçao to regulate online gambling. This is the main reason why Minister Silvania has made it a priority since taking office to reform the Curaçao online gambling sector, including the introduction of a new law regulating gambling. The new law (LOK), which will be implemented later this year, will provide the new regulator, the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA), with the necessary tools to oversee online gaming in Curaçao based on internationally accepted standards.

Although the accusations have not yet been fully investigated and confirmed by local authorities, it is undeniable that Curaçao is once again being portrayed negatively in the international community. Having an LOK and a CGA is intended to prevent and reduce unwanted and illegal activities through Curaçao's structures.

Minister Silvania is pleased to announce that the draft LOK was submitted to the Advisory Council in the first week of June, which is the final step before the law is presented to Parliament. 

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NFL Tiptoeing Through Minefield of Inconsistency, Hypocrisy on Gambling

(June 21, 2023) - In light of Tuesday's announcement that the NFL will be reinforcing its gambling policy, Mike Florio of ProFootball Talk continues to call out the league for its inconsistencies. 

"Here’s the one question I would have asked, if invited to participate in Tuesday’s call," Florio writes.  "Why are players allowed to gamble on sports away from work when non-players are prohibited from ever doing so?

"If the perception is strong enough to create rules regarding betting on sports other than NFL football, why are players allowed to do it at all? And if the men who play the game itself are allowed to bet on other sports, why are non-players subject to a very broad, restrictive, and aggressively (and largely quietly) enforced prohibitions of any form or fashion of gambling?

"It makes no sense."

These are the six pillars of the policy:

Don't bet on the NFL;

Don't gamble at your team facility, while traveling for a road game or staying at a team hotel;

Don't have someone bet for you;

Don't share team "inside information";

Don't enter a sportsbook during the NFL playing season;

Don't play daily fantasy football.

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Massachusetts Gaming Commission Searches For New Director

(June 21, 2023) - The Mass. Gaming Commission is gearing up to search for a new executive director.  Karen Wells, who served as the commission's chief investigator for about seven years before ascending to the executive director post in January 2020 initially on an interim basis, will step down effective July 14,

"I've worked across the agency since its formation with commissioners and staff who are dedicated public servants, committed to making sure the regulation of the gaming industry in Massachusetts focuses on ensuring the public confidence in the integrity of our operations. Together this team created the infrastructure for a new state agency, opened three casinos, weathered a pandemic, and launched the new legal sports wagering industry," Wells said. "Today the agency's core responsibilities are operating smoothly, and I have every confidence our team will continue the great work we have done together over the years."

"Karen is the model of a leader, and her influence can be seen in everything the MGC does. The MGC's effectiveness as a regulator is a direct reflection of Karen's efforts and her ability to build, motivate and direct the MGC team," chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein said. "Her strategic abilities and steady presence enabled the MGC to stand up a sports wagering industry committed to consumer protections in a timely fashion. We wish her the very best in the future."

Sports betting produced $60.97 million in revenue for the operators in May, from about $455 million in wagers placed.

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NFL to Reinforce Gambling Policy

(June 20, 2023) - The NFL on Tuesday confirmed it intends to reinforce its gambling policy in the wake of a number of suspensions and ongoing probes.

The six "key rules" of the gambling policy that the league officials will emphasize are:

Don't bet on the NFL;

Don't gamble at your team facility, while traveling for a road game or staying at a team hotel;

Don't have someone bet for you;

Don't share team "inside information";

Don't enter a sportsbook during the NFL playing season;

Don't play daily fantasy football.

It is still unclear as to who might be exempt from these rules.  As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted over the weekend, fired coaches and free agents might be exempt.

"The world has changed over the last few years," Jeff Miller, NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, said in a media availability Tuesday. "... The availability of our phones and [with] a couple of touches, and all of a sudden, you can place a bet on many different things was not available a few years ago and is available now.

"So, sports gambling has a great deal more presence in people's lives than it did just a few short years ago, which means for us as [a] sports league -- where integrity of the game is the highest single principle -- that we have to be thoughtful and careful and scrutinize how we share information and educate people around the rules that govern it."

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Trump Trial Set for Mid-August: Latest Odds

(August 20, 2023) - It's called the "rocket docket" for a reason.  Judge Aileen Cannon has set a mid-August start date of August 14 for the criminal trial against former US President Donald Trump.

Trump is charged with holding classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida.

Most analysts believe that motions will be filed to further delay the start date.

Federal prosecutors and Trump’s defense lawyers are required to file motions in July and show up at her satellite courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Aug. 8.

Trump (-210) remains four points ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (+215) to receive the GOP nominee for President in 2024.

In other political news Tuesday morning, Hunter Biden, current President Joe Biden's son, has plead guilty to a misdemeanor tax offense of failing to file as well as illegally possessing a hand gun.

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MGM Now Welcomes Video to Casino Table Games

(June 19, 2023) - There has been a long standing rule that video and cameras cannot be used at the tables themselves when in a Las Vegas casino.  Whether that policy has been enforced depends mostly on the property.

But at least one casino on the Strip is throwing that rule away.

MGM has announced it will now allow gamblers to video those big wins.  The new policy appears to be in effect immediately.

"The Gaming Streaming/Video/Photo Policy is launching for the Nevada properties in May 2023,” a memo shared courtesy of Casino.org reads. “The new policy is aimed at allowing our guests to take photos and videos, and, when appropriate, to share that content in real or in near real-time via social media broadcasts (‘streams’ or ‘streaming’) while limiting the risks associated with allowing photography, filming, and streaming in MGM Resorts’ gaming establishments.”

And of course one's phone can be used for more than just taking videos.  It can be used to place calls and texts.  That activity will now be permitted as well just as long as it does not interrupt game play.

Current Hot Headlines

Chris Christie Compared to George Washington?

The New York Times over the weekend went there, calling the former New Jersey Governor and candidate on the GOP ticket for US President Chris Christie ""The George Washington of legalized gaming".

That had quite a few people scratching their heads.

Raymond Lesniak, the former New Jersey state senator who worked tirelessly to get sports gambling legalized, tells Gambling911.com "This hurt. Christie profiting from my work."

Lesniak added: "Three times he tried to stop me, his transition report recommended not wasting taxpayer dollars pursuing a legal challenge to legalize sports betting, he refused to substitute for Governor Corzine in my legal challenge which got me booted by Judge Shipp in my us district court challenge for lack of standing and he vetoed my legislation and his veto message was sited by Federal Ct. of Appeals Judge Barry in denying our appeal after Senator Kyrillos got Christie to sign my legislation by threatening an override.

"My biggest beef is I came up with the tenth amendment challenge to PASPA while legal gaming “experts” derided its chances and Christie despite denying me three times is getting credit for it."

Two Men Arrested in Shooting of Mob Boss Son

(June 19, 2023) - 2 men have been arrested in the March shooting of Leonardo Rizzuto in Laval, the youngest son of late Mafia boss Vito Rizzutto.

Rizzutto, 53, was hit in the leg on March 15 around 4:30 p.m. while driving a black Mercedes.  He has since recovered from his injury.

Police at the time sent out a bulletin that "the occupant of a black Porsche Macan allegedly fired several shots at the victim's car," the SQ said in a news release".

Mascouche resident Kevin Rochenbrun, 32, and Steve Emmanuel Barthelemy, 34, of Rivière-des-Prairies, were arrested at the end of April and picked up again on Monday.

The pair are facing attempted murder and conspiracy charges.

Current Hot Headlines

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Oregon Unanimous No. 1 Team Again; Georgia Back in Top 10

Oregon remained the unanimous No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll Sunday after its close call at Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Alabama each jumped up two spots and Georgia returned to the top 10. LSU is unranked for the first time in two years.

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