Regulating Bitcoin: WEF2020 Announced A Global Consortium For Cryptocurrency Governance – CryptoPotato

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, ended yesterday with a significant mark on the cryptocurrency market. On the last day, WEF announced the first global consortium focused on designing a framework for the governance of digital currencies, including stablecoins.

The World Economic Forum for 2020 took place at Davos the past week, and cryptocurrencies received a lot of attention.Yesterday, during its last day, the Forum announced the creation of the first Global Consortium for Digital Currency Governance. It will consist of financial institutions, government representatives, academics, international organizations, leading companies, technical experts, NGOs, and members of the Forums communities on a global level.

The report indicates that if digital currencies are to receive proper financial inclusion, they need to be paired with good governance. Therefore, the Consortiums purpose will be to establish a framework of regulations by implementing innovative approaches. To achieve their goal, the participants will use efficiency, speed, inter-operability, inclusivity, and transparency.

The Consortium will work with both the public and the private sectors to explore the presented opportunities.

According to Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the WEF, digital currency, a cross-cutting topic that requires input across sectors, functions, and geographies, is a key area of interest for the Forum.

Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, also spoke on the matter:

Governance is the core pillar of any form of digital currency. It is critical that any framework on digital currencies ensures security, efficiency, and legitimacy of payments while ensuring fair and open competition. We welcome the WEFs platform to help develop a robust governance framework for inclusion through digital currencies.

As CryptoPotato recently reported, the efforts of establishing regulations on the cryptocurrency market are getting more and more serious. As of January 10th, the European Union introduced an updated version of its 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) with increased regulatory focus.

All cryptocurrency-related businesses operating from Europe have to follow the rules. They include a more in-depth Know-Your-Customer process, transaction monitoring, and filing suspicious activity reports (SARs) with law enforcement.

One of the aftermaths came shortly, as the popular exchange Deribit announced its upcoming relocation from the Netherlands to Panama.

With the creation of the Global Consortium, world watchdogs will try to establish a framework of regulations on cryptocurrencies. Its particularly interesting to see whether this will be beneficial for the space as a lot of the market participants remain unregulated.

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Regulating Bitcoin: WEF2020 Announced A Global Consortium For Cryptocurrency Governance - CryptoPotato

Q4 2019: Stellar gives away $16M, burns 50% of XLM price still drops – The Next Web

XLM is the native cryptocurrency of the Stellar network, a blockchain-powered solution pitched to make cross-border payments more efficient.

Stellars consensus architecture is relatively centralized when compared to Bitcoin. While this does allow it to process transactions with low fees and fast confirmation times, it does require users to place more trust in the validators on the network.

Regardless of this sacrifice, Stellar XLM is almost always listed in the top cryptocurrencies. XLMs market cap is currently $1.19 billion, and ranked 14th just behind Monero.

As with the rest of the cryptocurrency market, Stellar had a pretty tough third quarter. A floundering Bitcoin led altcoins to suffer alongside it, and XLM was no different.

XLM opened the quarter at just over $0.10, and aside from two short periods between mid-July and mid-September, price action was pretty much entirely in the red.

In fact, Septembers 40-percent run from $0.058 to $0.083 marked the biggest opportunity for speculators throughout the whole quarter.

XLM opened fourth-quarter trade at just above $0.061, where it hovered for the first two weeks of October.

Volatility increased in XLM markets leading up to the second half of the month, when Bitcoin jumped from $7,500 to clear $9,600.

It took around a fortnight for XLM to follow, but eventually its price broke out to increase 31 percent between October 31 and November 5 from $0.064 to $0.084.

That week would represent the last time traders would find opportunities to make relatively simple gains.

XLM bulls would retest those highs just once on November 11, before the markets began a slow decline that would last for the rest of the year. Stellar closed the fourth quarter of 2019 at $0.045.

The plight of the Stellar Foundation to airdrop two billion XLM tokens to Keybase users ruled related headlines for the quarter, no doubt.

Indeed, the planwas abandoned after only three out of the originally planned twenty months worth of giveaways.What resulted was an airdrop of 300 million XLM shared in $10 batches, estimated to be worth around $16 million.

The Stellar Foundation eventually blamed the canceled airdrops on spammers who had flooded Keybase to collect as much free cryptocurrency as possible.

November also saw Stellar Foundation devs announce it would burn 55 billion XLM, representing over half of its supply.

This permanently decreased the total amount of XLM on the market by 50 percent immediately, and its positive effect on the markets was felt with a 14-percent push in the first week of November.

Were almost one month into 2020, and things have been relatively strong for XLM likely the result of resilient Bitcoin trade.

So far, the price of XLM increased 33 percent from the start of the year, from $0.045 to just over $0.06.

It might however prove difficult to keep this up, as the effects of the coronavirus outbreak (supposedly) threaten market sentiment moving forward.

Published January 29, 2020 16:21 UTC

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Q4 2019: Stellar gives away $16M, burns 50% of XLM price still drops - The Next Web

Cryptocurrency Market Update: Bitcoin, Ripple and Ethereum dive into the rabbit holes – FXStreet

The bull rally that has been praised immensely this January appears have died and passed on the mantle to the bears who want nothing but to wreak havoc in the cryptocurrency market. The market generally painted and interestingly, the biggest gainers last week are recording the biggest losses of the day. For instance, Bitcoin Gold is correcting lower 4.85%, Dash is down 4.18% and Ethereum Classic is teetering 3.58% lower on the day.

Read more:Ethereum Classic Price Analysis: ETH/USD bears flip the bulls, target shifts to $5

Bitcoin is undergoing a pullback from the recent $9,200 high. The reversal is taking place after an incredible performance since the beginning of January. Bitcoin extended the gains from last Decembers recovery from $6,500. The bulls nurtured the gains above several resistance zones including $7,700, $8,000, $8,400, $8,800 and $9,000.

However, it is apparent that a reversal mission is underway and Bitcoin could soon touch $8,000 if the support at $8,300 fails to hold. The largest cryptocurrency has a market value of $8,300, although an intraday high of $8,399 has been traded on Friday.

Looking at the hourly chart, Bitcoin price is holding onto thelower trend line of a falling wedge pattern. If the shallow recovery above the trendline continues, a breakout seems imminent above the patterns resistance. For now, $8,400 is the stubborn zone ahead of the resistances at $8,500, $8,800 and $9,200.

Ethereum has finally forced its way through the support at $160. The failed attempt to break above $165 yesterday, paved the way for a bearish action that is becoming too strong to stop. At the time of writing, ETH is trading at $158, which is 2.30% lower compared to the opening value of $162.50. Thehigh volatility and increasing growing bearish trend signal that a dive to $150 is possible in the near term.

Also read:Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH/USD balances at the edge of the $160 cliff

The third-largest cryptocurrency on the market has not escaped the bearish wave. Its price is dancing at $0.2216 after shedding 1.6% of the tokens value on the day. On the brighter side, the bulls managed to retake the support at $0.2200 after dropping to an intraday low of $0.2174. To avert possible declines to $0.20, XRP must scale the levels above $0.23 and focus on the resistance at $0.24.

Also read:Ripple Price Analysis: XRP/USD struggles to save triangle support at its peak

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Cryptocurrency Market Update: Bitcoin, Ripple and Ethereum dive into the rabbit holes - FXStreet

Hype Over Bitcoin (BTC) Halving Accelerating, Reports Cryptocurrency Analysis Firm Arcane Research – The Daily Hodl

The crypto community is divided on whether or not the Bitcoin halving is already priced in. However, one thing is for sure: the topic is getting a lot of attention.

Norwegian cryptocurrency intelligence company Arcane Research says Google searches for the term Bitcoin halving have spiked in the last 12 months. While the exact number of queries is not documented, the firm says its research has revealed the level of interest over time for the phrase, using data from Google Trends.

In January of 2019, searches for the term flashed readings of below 20. A year later, the term registered an interest level of 100, indicating peak popularity. The conclusion from Arcane Research is that Bitcoins upcoming halving is gaining more traction among the crypto curious.

The last time the term spiked in popularity was back in 2016, when the king of cryptocurrency halved for the second time. In that year, Bitcoins price grew by nearly 125%.

In May 2020, Bitcoin rewards will be halved from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC per block. Past halving events have foreshadowed a bull market. Today, not all crypto enthusiasts are convinced that the next bull market will emerge after the third halving. Arcane Research notes,

Independent of the conclusion, there is now a clear indication that awareness of the concept has spread to new people.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/Alberto Andrei Rosu

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Hype Over Bitcoin (BTC) Halving Accelerating, Reports Cryptocurrency Analysis Firm Arcane Research - The Daily Hodl

Singapore tightens AML restrictions on cryptocurrency companies – The Next Web

Cryptocurrency businesses operating in Singapore will need to register and be licensed to continue serving customers in the country.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Tuesday that the Payment Services Act will now be enforced.

First passed in January last year, the act gives the regulator supervisory authority over all paymentbusinesses in the country.

[Read:Singapores financial regulator wants its banks and blockchains to be friends]

Companies now have a month to register with MAS. Once they do so, businesseswill have six months to apply for a payment institution license.

Services that MAS will now be regulating are domestic money transfers, merchant acquisition, and digital payment token services,said Mr Ong Ye Kung, minister for education, in a speech last year.

We will be among the first few financial services regulators in the world to introduce a regulatory framework for digital payment token services, or what is commonly understood as cryptocurrency dealing or exchange services, they added.

Back in October 2018, the regulator revealed that it would help local cryptocurrency companies get traditional bank accounts.

Singapore is known for its expanding fintech ecosystem with blockchain technology playing a significant part in that.

Earlier this year, a report found that blockchain development was the fastest-growing skill in Singapore.

In November 2018, the Singapore government said it would provide seed funding for companies todevelop a blockchain platform to connect all industry stakeholders.

Published January 28, 2020 09:30 UTC

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Singapore tightens AML restrictions on cryptocurrency companies - The Next Web

Another Japanese Finance Industry Player Joins the Cryptocurrency Fray – Cryptonews

Source: iStock/coffeekai

It seems that another big, non-crypto company just stepped onto Japans crypto scene.

Daiko Holdings has become the latest Japanese firm to operate a cryptocurrency platform. SNC, operator of the Bitgate cryptocurrency exchange has transferred a controlling stake of 58.1% of its 100% stake in the company to Daiko Holdings.

Per an official Bitgate announcement, SNC will retain a minority 41.9% stake in the exchange.

Bitgate has also become an official subsidiary of the Daiko Holdings Group, which operates a wide range of financial and brokerage services, as well as marketing, hardware and rental car businesses.

The move is more significant when viewed against the backdrop of the past few years. Some of the countrys biggest conventional finance and brokerage services providers are now building cryptocurrency arms. In some cases, such as the SBI Group, they are creating their own platforms from scratch.

But, as is the case with the likes of the Monex Group now the owner of the Coincheck exchange some are preferring to acquire smaller, license-holding exchanges, due largely to the fact that the process for obtaining an operating license from the regulatory Financial Services Agency (FSA) has proven so difficult.

Others have pursued a hybrid approach. Fisco, a company that monitors Japanese stocks and provides investment advisory, launched its own crypto trading platform several years ago, but recently acquired rival platform Zaif and is set to complete a merger in the coming weeks.

Bitgate was established in 2017, and was one of the first platforms to obtain a permit from the FSA. It exclusively handles bitcoin.

Watch the latest reports by Block TV.

The exchange, one of Japans smaller platforms, had a decidedly mixed year in 2019, with many services suspended following what appears to have been a failed attempt to revamp.

Two of Daikos senior executives have been added to the Bitgate board of directors, along with the CEO of SNC.

Per a Daiko Holdings announcement, the business group has recently set up a crowdfunding subsidiary, with an initial USD 92,000 in capital.

Daiko Holdings also operates the Platmall e-commerce platform, which last year announced it would begin accepting cryptocurrency pay.

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Another Japanese Finance Industry Player Joins the Cryptocurrency Fray - Cryptonews

Iran ramps up cryptocurrency mining operations – Express

Tehran officials have recently issued more than a thousand licences as Iranian financial leaders look to tackle an ever-diminishing economy by grabbing digital assets like bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Bitcoin Cash.

It is understood the Iranian government has given a direct order to invest heavily in crypto as it looks to skirt around Washingtons financial penalties.

Curiously, cryptocurrency trading in Iran is illegal. However, the government is keen to employ the services of companies and individuals capable of mining and storing vast amounts of digital funds.

According to Amir-Hossein Saeedi Naeeni - a member of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Guild Organisations blockchain commission the strict laws over trading had forced many miners to leave Iran.

The laws announced by government institutions for crypto mining are very strict in comparison to other industries in the country, causing many miners to stop operating or migrate to the regional countries for investment, he told PressTV.

The digital mining industry, beside bringing currency into the country, can facilitate trade where traders can use cryptocurrencies to import goods and bypass payment problems resulting from the banking sanctions.

Recently, it was reported that dozens of Chinese crypto miners based in Iran had fled the country following the escalation of tensions between Iran and the US. A swathe of Chinese mining farms relocated to Iran early last year to take advantage of cheap electricity prices.

Energy costs soared in the days following a drone strike which killed military leader Qassem Suleimani, and have not receded since. The price spike means many of the Chinese firms have sold their huge mining rigs to locals.

Iranian leaders have now seized upon the opportunity to put the mining rigs to work for the countrys own economic gain in addition to issuing hundreds of new mining licences.

Coin Rivetis a website bringingnews, information, analysis, opinion and insight from the fast-moving blockchain world.

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Super Bowl gambling behind bars | To the Point – KCRW

John J. Lennon is a confessed killer doing time at Sing Sing Prison. Hes also published in the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and recently, in Sports Illustrated. He tells Warren Olney about illicit gambling behind bars and escape into fantasy football, culminating in this weeks Super Bowl.

Lennon was 24 when he murdered a friend in a drug deal. Starting his sentence of 25 years to life, he attended a writers workshop at notorious Attica Prison. Now at Sing Sing, he has 10 years left, and hes building his career as a freelance writer.

His atonement will never end. I own what I did and who I used to be, he says.

But hes looking forward. Why not me? he says. Why not start this career now? Why do I have to wait til I get out?

His public career is well known in the cell blocks. This whole journalism thing in prison and the fame Ive got it attracts. Its the good and the bad. People can be envious and people can be inspired. And, you know, I love the latter, he says.

He concedes that those who are envious can also be dangerous, and that he feels anxiety when hes on the phone, whether hes on To the Point or hosting his own podcast, This Is A Collect Call From Sing Sing.

Were living in the upside down kingdom here. ... Violence gets you respect, your propensity for violence, Lennon says.

As to the Sports Illustrated article, he says, It was a little uncomfortable when that came out. A lot of uncomfortable.

But when it comes to the Super Bowl, he says, Weve all done bad things. But at the end of the day, certainly on some days, were just regular guys ... watching football.

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Super Bowl gambling behind bars | To the Point - KCRW

The hidden addiction: Problems and solutions regarding sports gambling – WKBN.com

About 26 million people are expected to place a bet on the Super Bowl, 90% of which will not be at risk for a gambling addiction

by: Dave Sess

(WKBN) The final game of the football season is always the most interesting. Its also the game that receives the most bets, like an office pool or a wager with a friend. We talked with a local expert about keeping that simple wager from becoming a problem.

Sports betting is more available and accessible than ever with daily fantasy sports, legal sports betting and those who do it illegally.

What we do know is 90,000 Ohioans do have a problem with gambling, said Stephanie Geer, a gambling addiction specialist.

Geer talks with people when they seek help for a gambling problem. She says all gamblers, young or old, begin the same way.

It always starts out as a form of entertainment. But, for some people based upon vulnerabilities, biology, all of that stuff, may develop an addiction to it, just like drugs or alcohol, she said.

There are warning signs for people who might have a sports gambling problem. They include exaggerating wins, minimizing losses, conflicts within relationships, even being secretive about gambling.

Its known as the hidden addiction because its so easy to hide and gamblers may live a fantasy life.

Even if Im destroying my life and I know am, but wait a minute, I know my next big win is gonna come. Im gonna win. Its all gonna be OK. That train of thought continues all the way to that bottom, Geer said.

About 26 million people are expected to place a bet on the Super Bowl. For 90% of them, theyre not at risk for a gambling addiction.

But a way to keep it fun is to budget it. Its a form of entertainment. If you want to participate in sports betting, set a limit with it, Geer said.

There are resources in place if you have a problem with sports gambling or maybe even buying too many lottery scratch-off tickets.

On http://www.BeforeYouBet.org, you can take a quiz to see if you have a problem with gambling. You can even have a live chat with someone and learn ways to gamble responsibly.

You can also call the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966.

Plus, you can receive consultations or assessments at Meridian HealthCare.

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The hidden addiction: Problems and solutions regarding sports gambling - WKBN.com

A tribe, a state and a mutual reliance on gambling – The CT Mirror

Frankie Graziano :: Connecticut Public Radio

Gov. Ned Lamont and Rodney Butler, the chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot tribal nation, last year as sports-betting talks broke down.

Mashantucket The gamblers cash came in a gusher, as if the tiny band of Mashantucket Pequots had struck oil in their Great Cedar Swamp. CBS 60 Minutes came to tell the rags-to-riches story of a tribe back from near-extinction, its growing ranks blessed with BMWs and luxury homes, byproducts of a new casino in the woods of eastern Connecticut.

The CBS story aired in 1994, two years after Foxwoods Resort Casino opened on a sleepy stretch of Route 2 fortuitously located between Boston and New York. Within a three-hour drive lay an exclusive gambling market of 22 million people, drawing the envy and enmity of an Atlantic City casino owner named Donald J. Trump.

But its been a long time since anyone has gossiped about Pequots, BMWs and luxury homes. The generous stipends once paid to every adult tribal member are long gone. And Rodney Butler, current chairman of the tribal council, drives a 15-year-old Acura. Its a matter of preference, though not without symbolism.

Rodney ButlerChairman, Mashantucket Pequots

A quarter-century after CBS introduced the Pequots to America, back when the idea of a casino resort in New England was novel, much is changed. A failure at casinos, Trump has found success elsewhere. The northeast is crowded with casinos, all but a handful of states make money off some form of legal gambling, and Connecticut lawmakers and the Pequots want to broaden the market.

Connecticut made $628.9 million off gambling last year, a reflection of a slow cultural change thats snuck up on a state that barred the sales of liquor on Good Friday until an adverse court ruling in 1981 and stubbornly clung to remnants of Sunday blue laws into the new millennium. Gambling is an itch that now can be scratched at every convenience store, as evidenced by the states annual lottery sales of$1.3 billion.

The state is a de facto partner in Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, the casino opened in 1996 by the Pequots neighboring tribe, the Mohegans. In a clever bargain struck by Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr., the state granted the two federally recognized tribes exclusive rights to casino gambling, a move that both boosted and constrained the casino market.

And the state gets a cut $8 billion since the casinos opened.

The partnership is being tested as Connecticuts governor and lawmakers face questions about the states tolerance for more gambling, what it owes those tribal partners and whether there is the political will to make hard choices. Gov. Ned Lamonts dream of a grand bargain, a consensus on the competing commercial and tribal interests, has proven naive.

mark pazniokas :: ctmirror.org

The owner of this OTB in Stamford would love to add sports betting.

Sportech PLC, the British company that owns the Connecticut rights to off-track betting on dogs, horses and jai alai, wants to take sports bets. MGM Resorts International wants to bid for rights. So does the Connecticut Lottery, the quasi-public agency that has turned instant scratch tickets into a steady revenue source. More than half its ticket sales come in instant scratch tickets, some costing $30 a play.

The lottery returned $370 million to the states general fund last year; the tribes direct payments another $255 million; and OTB, $3 million.

The state gets 25% of the hold on slots the money that doesnt flow back to players at the two casinos. With the states share steadily falling to $255 million from a high of $430 million in 2007, the tribes and state have common cause in drawing new gamblers, or creating them, through sports wagering, online betting and other games.

Max ReissSpokesman for Gov. Ned Lamont

What is unclear is how permissive the Land of Steady Habits will be in gamblings new digital age. Technology makes possible betting on sports, purchasing lottery tickets and playing simulated slots and casino games on a smart phone. The secondary question is how much of the action will be handled by the tribes.

Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, whose district is home to both tribes, is pushing for pretty much all of it a long shot.

Ive been meeting with the governors office on this, Osten said. Im not saying they agree, but this is the bill Im going to file.

Osten is framing her bill as a way to beef up the Mashantucket Pequot/Mohegan Fund, the name for the formula that distributes a portion of the states slots revenue to every one of the 169 cities and towns. In 2002, the payments peaked at $139 million, then fell as state kept more and more of the shrinking slots revenue to balance its budget. Fund payments will total $51 million this year.

Ryan Caron King :: CT Public Radio

Sen. Cathy Ostens district includes both tribes, and their respective casinos.

What Ive done is figure out what we need for revenue to bring us up to the level of where we were in 2002, Osten said.It is an approach designed to broaden political support, casting the expansion in dollars-and-cents terms of the additional state aid that could become available tomunicipalities.

That means allowing aggressive on-line gambling, something that House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, sees as unlikely to pass in the near future. An incremental step, most likely sports betting at the casinos and other locations, is overdue, he said.

I think every year that goes by is a shame. We lose market share, said Ritter, who is urging a minimalist approach. Thats my recommendation get it up and running.

The administration is signaling flexibility.

Connecticut has sat on the sidelines long enough on this issue, said Max Reiss, the governors communications director. We want to keep discussion going to make sure Connecticut can take advantage of this opportunity with all stakeholders at the table.

Sports gambling is projected to produce a relatively modest bump in revenue for the state. Ostens bill assumes $13 million a year, though she calls that number conservative. Legalizing other forms of on-line wagering, a more controversial expansion, could raise another $26 million annually in her estimation.

Her bill would permit the tribes, which already have the authorization to jointly build a casino in East Windsor, to also develop a small casino in Bridgeport. But that project would most likely draw many current tribal customers and is aimed primarily at winning political allies, not greatly expanding the market.

There is no going back to the boom years of the early 90s when the map of major casinos in the U.S. had just three dots: Las Vegas, Atlantic City and, improbably, Mashantucket, Conn. Aside from another dot for the Mohegan Sun, it pretty much stayed that way for 10 years.

After that, there was just this explosion, said Butler, the chairman of the Pequots tribal council. It correlated directly to the decline.

Butler, 42, the married father of two children, is what the tribe envisioned when the money started coming in: A young tribal member making a career on a reservation that had been all but abandoned in the 1960s, when the only inhabitants were two elderly women living in dire conditions.

He studied finance and played football as a walk-on at UConn, where Coach Skip Holtz Jr. converted him from a running back to a defensive back. With a trim muscular build, Butler still looks like an athlete. To shake his hand is to get pulled into a friendly shoulder bump.

Butler grew up in Montville, where the Mohegans built their casino in the village of Uncasville on an industrial site by the Thames River. He was turning 15 when the tribe opened Foxwoods in February 1992. With 2,000 gamblers still in the casino at the planned closing time, it stayed open and has never closed. After graduating college in 1999, Butler started at the casino as a financial analyst.

Foxwoods Resort Casino opened on tribal land in 1992. The resort has two hotel towers, with a total of 2,266 hotel rooms, and an arcade for children and teens. The original tower, the Grand Pequot Tower, opened in 1997, while the second opened in 2008.

Still in his 20s, he was elected to the tribal council in 2004, a go-go time of growth that would swell Foxwoods into a behemoth, one of the largest casinos in the world. Soon enough, it would become clear the Mashantucket Pequots had overextended and at the worst possible time. They were borrowing to expand in what turned out to be the run-up to the deepest economic downturn since the 1930s, the Great Recession of 2008.

Construction began in 2006 on the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, a hotel tower with 800 rooms, a theater and a gambling floor. The name reflected a since-abandoned partnership with MGM, the commercial giant that now bitterly fights Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun for market share with MGM Springfield and Empire City Casino in Yonkers, N.Y., the latter limited to slots and electronic table games.The Foxwoods tower opened in 2008, an event attended by Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

A year later, the tribe defaulted on $2.3 billion in debt.

And a year after that, Butler was elected as tribal chairman at the age of 32, a job that lies between being a corporate CEO and a small-town first selectman. He answers to just 600 tribal voters, the smallest political base in Connecticut. And yet, with 5,144 workers, the tribes casino is one of the regions major employers.

Were a billion-dollar entity, a city and a family trust, all at the same time. I cant imagine anything more complex than that, Butler said recently, sitting in the tribal council chambers by a stone fire place decorated with foxes painted in a primitive style. Its small-town politics, its statewide politics, and its national politics. We deal in all three arenas.

By taking the job, he became the fresh face and voice of a tribe everyone suddenly loved to mock for its hubris, its belief in unfettered growth.

Frankie Graziano :: Connecticut Public Radio

Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequots.

Every consultant, every analyst and every banker on the planet encouraged us to keep getting bigger, Butler told the New York Times in 2012. If it wasnt for that, Id say, Jeez, maybe were just idiots. But these were smart people. Then we opened the doors at the MGM Grand, and five months later, Lehman crashes and the world falls apart.

It took five years after the 2009 default to restructure the complicated debt, which now stands at $1.9 billion. But as the tribe noted in its recently released annual financial report, a requirement of borrowing in the bond markets, the risks are numerous. Competition is growing, and profits are shrinking.

Net revenues fell 5% to $788 million last year, though gamblers still pumped $5.4 billion into 3,500 slots machines at Foxwoods and waged another $1 billion at its 300 table games. It also has a 3,600-seat bingo hall, a high-tech race book and the largest poker room on the East Coast.

The Pequots were trying to diversify when the 2008 crash came. Their default cost them rights to a casino in Pennsylvania, which now has more casinos than any state except Nevada.

It got lost in the fray. We had the license in Philly. We were looking at a development in Southern California, another in Wichita, Kansas, Butler said.

Mohegans also have lost market share in Connecticut and carry significant debt, about $2 billion as of Sept. 30. (The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, the tribes gambling subsidiary, reported net profits of $992 million last year, down 7% over the previous year.) But they have diversified geographically by building, buying or managing casinos in Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington State, and Canada. They are in expansion mode, constructing a multi-billion dollar resort and casino at Incheon International Airport in South Korea and recently winning casino rights in Greece.

But that doesnt mean sports gambling in Connecticut isnt important to the Mohegans, as well as the Pequots. Chuck Bunnell, the chief of staff for the Mohegans, said sports betting increased traffic at casinos in New Jersey and Pennsylvania between 4.5% and 5%. At their Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, they saw a slightly higher bump in business.

We believe it is a casino game, and you should offer it to the two people that are in the business, Bunnell said, describing the Mohegans sports betting pitch to the state. Let us offer it. Well pay you for the exclusivity.

Ted Taylor ofSportech said his company is ready to compete for sports betting, both online and at its OTB parlors. Connecticut gamblers bet more than $100 million last year at OTB facilities or on its smartphone app. Two of the OTB operations reside in high-end sports bars, Bobby Vs, in downtown Stamford and near Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.

Weve got a perfect fit, said Taylor, a British expat who oversees Sportechs operations in the state. Weve got existing locations and existing betting sites in Connecticut, and its important to us.

Lamont took office a year ago thinking he could renegotiate Connecticuts gambling agreements with the tribes and finish the conversation opened by his predecessor, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, when it became evident that the U.S. Supreme Court was likely to lift the federal restrictions that limited sports wagering to Nevadas casinos.

The court acted in 2018, and 14 states now offer sports betting, most recently New Hampshire, a state that quickly created a regulatory structure, advertised requests for proposals and chose a vendor.

I mean, its amazing that New Hampshire is already up and running. Weve been talking about this for three years, Butler said. Michigan now has a comprehensive iGaming-sports betting bill that addresses the tribal facilities and commercial facilities in Michigan.

Lamont has learned, however, that nothing is simple about gambling in Connecticut, a consequence of the framework erected by Weicker in response to a federal Indian gaming law and a court decision.

The gaming law permitted federally recognized tribes to offer on their reservations any gambling allowed by the laws of the state in which they resided. In Connecticut, that meant a law permitting charitable Las Vegas nights would permitthe Pequots to open the first casino in the northeast outside Atlantic City.

In 1983, Congress designated the Mashantucket Pequots as the states first federally recognized tribe. The designation was part of a settlement of a claim the tribe filed in 1976 alleging that Connecticut had illegally auctioned off hundreds of acres of reservation land in the 1800s.

Weickers predecessor, William A. ONeill, refused to negotiate terms under which the Pequots could build a casino, but the tribe won a federal court decision that left the newly inaugurated Weicker with two choices in 1991: Negotiate or repeal the Las Vegas nights law.

He sought repeal, but the legislature defeated the measure. The Pequots were free to build a casino with table games, though not slots. Weicker then struck the deal allowing slots in return for a casino exclusivity provision that he saw as a way to effectively bar commercial casinos. (The tribess position is that sports betting is a casino game. The state disagrees.)

Rodney Butler

Lamont is Connecticuts fourth governor since Butler joined the tribal council. He is confident Lamont understands the economic impact of the two casinos, less sure about his understanding of the history behind his tribes decimation, recovery and current struggles.

There is a lot there. In fairness to the new governor and the new members of the legislature, our history is deep, and people are busy, Butler said. I get that. Its difficult to appreciate the full depth of that.

The history is complex, rife with twists and ironies. The Mohegans joined English colonists in attacking the Pequots in 1637, nearly wiping out the tribe. Once they won federal recognition, the Mohegans then became casino competitors.

The Mohegans are now allies in a lobbying push for rights to sports betting, as well as partners in a joint venture to develop a satellite casino on a hillside overlooking I-91 in East Windsor, halfway between Hartford and Springfield, Mass., where MGM opened a casino in August 2018.The Bay State has two other casinos: Encore Boston Harbor, which opened in Everett, Mass., in June 2019, and Plainridge Park Casino, which offers slots and electronic table games in Plainville, Mass., about an hours drive north of Foxwoods.

MGM, once a partner of the Pequots, now is the common enemy of the two tribes. It lobbied in Washington to have the Department of Interior stop the East Windsor project, but ultimately federal authorities reconsidered and permitted the tribes to amend their gaming agreements with Connecticut. MGM is suing to reverse the federal approval.

MGM continues to be interested in opportunities in Connecticut, and we strongly believe that the best path for Connecticut, whether in establishing sports betting or moving ahead with a third casino in the state, is an open, competitive process, said Bernard Kavaler, a spokesman for MGM in Connecticut.

The East Windsor casino is on hold after a Superior Court judge concluded three weeks ago that the local zoning approval process was flawed, most likely requiring a resubmission. Bunnell said the ruling is a delay, not a defeat. He and Butler said the tribes still believe the satellite makes economic sense, as does sports betting.

Were excited about working with Connecticut and doing in Connecticut what were doing in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Bunnell said. What we do depends on what Connecticut wants.

Now it just has to decide what that is.

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A tribe, a state and a mutual reliance on gambling - The CT Mirror

Son admits to attempting to operate Roseville gambling cafe while father goes to trial – The Macomb Daily

The general manager of an alleged Roseville gambling operation pleaded guilty to a reduced charge while his father will go to trial this week on the allegation he orchestrated illegal gambling.

Lucas Hoppe, 31, offered the confession,albeit with hesitation,Tuesday to attempted operation of a gambling facility in exchange for the dismissal of three other related charges in Macomb County Circuit Court in Macomb in a plea deal with the Michigan Attorney Generals Office.

He admitted to managing 777 Caf on Gratiot Avenue, north of Masonic Boulevard, which held several gaming machines, in 2018, although he hesitated when asked if the machines were considered gambling.

Im not, I guess , Hoppe replied, making a hand motion indicating he was not sure.

Assistant Attorney General Bob Hayes offered: Money goes in the machines, and money would be paid out in cash?

Hoppe didnt reply, but then agreed with his attorney, Eli Muawad, that he attempted an illegal gambling operation.

Muawad said he will ask for probation for his client at his March 12 sentencing.

Meanwhile, Hoppes father, David, 57, decided to reject a plea offer and will fight the charges in a trial that was slated to begin Tuesday afternoon with jury selection.

David Hoppe is charged with gambling operations,punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,000; using a computer to commit a crime, punishable by up to 10 years and/or a fine of up to $10,000; maintaining a gambling house for gain, a high-court misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison or fine of up to $1,000, and using computer to commit a crime, punishable by up to four years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000.

In the plea deal, he could have pleaded to the main gambling operation charge, the 10-year felony, in exchange for dismissal of the additional charges.

Hayes added at a prior court hearing that if David Hoppe didnt accept the plea deal, the state would charge him with a racketeering charge related to a gambling machine in Genesee County.

David Hoppe in 2013 pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of maintaining an illegal gambling or gaming facility in St. Clair Countys 72ndDistrict court. He was originally charged with a 10-year felony charge of conducting a gambling operation where wagering was used without a license.

The now-closed 777 Cafe in Roseville.

As part of the plea arrangement, he agreed he would not make available to the public any gaming machines not certified as non-gambling devices by either the Michigan Gaming Control Board or a laboratory the MGCB deemed eligible to test and certify such machines.

Hoppe claims experts in gaming machines determined the machines in the Roseville facility were not for the purpose of gambling. The state maintains otherwise.

David Hoppes aunt, Denise Hagen, who worked at the caf, also was charged. But visiting Judge James Biernat Sr. granted Hayes motion to dismiss the charges against her.

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Son admits to attempting to operate Roseville gambling cafe while father goes to trial - The Macomb Daily

Point spreads and politics: Could sports gambling become legal in Florida? – WTSP.com

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. As Florida gets ready for Super Bowl 54 in Miami this weekend -- and with Super Bowl 55 in Tampa next year -- its hard to ignore one big (and controversial) aspect surrounding the big game: gambling.

The American Gaming Association says Americans will bet more than about $6.8 billion on this years Super Bowl.

But point spreads arent just a hot topic of conversation around the stadium: The issue is also being talked about in Tallahassee this week.

HOW IT COULD HAPPEN?

Leaders in Floridas House and Senate have discussed the topic of legalized sports gambling in the state informally while other lawmakers have introduced legislation to try and address the issue.

And remember, Florida voters may need to be part of the conversation as well under Amendment 3, which was approved by voters in the 2018 election.

Amendment 3 definitely hampers the legislatures ability to enact anything proactively expanding gambling here in Florida, said Marc Dunbar, who teaches gambling law at Florida States Law School and represents the Seminole Tribe. There are a couple of limitations and loopholes that exist: one, for example, is a tribal compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida who has put more than a billion dollars in gambling revenue into the state treasury and has done a lot of very positive things for Floridas economy. "

The legislature could choose to work with them and put in place a new tribal compact, that would not have to be approved by Amendment 3.

Other than that, he added, Amendment 3 pretty much closed the door on the legislatures ability to unilaterally expand gambling to try and get some of the new offerings, such as sports wagering, or to try and expand the existing offerings like, for example, to put a casino in the Tampa Bay area.

Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes, of St. Petersburg, has filed legislation that would allow certain types of sports gambling under the Florida Lottery. Other bills have also been filed pertaining to different aspects of sports gambling in the state.

WHEN COULD IT HAPPEN?

The if is the biggest question surrounding legalized sports gambling in Florida. The when is the second-biggest question. While lawmakers have a number of options at their disposal, the prospect of legally placing bets on sporting events in the state anytime soon is unlikely.

Dunbar says hes not sure the soup is right for this legislative session as a realistic time frame for legalizing sports betting, but he says he expects leadership in Tallahassee to consider the issue more and more seriously moving forward. Ultimately, he says, the governor will be the biggest factor.

In reality, Gov. DeSantis has all the cards in this, said Dunbar. The statute is clear as it relates to a tribal compact, it must initiate with the governor. And, on the backside of it, any legislation has to be signed by the governor. So, while the legislature may have their opinions and they may have these informal discussions going on and the Senate president is an extremely powerful position, as it relates to this issue absent leadership from Gov. DeSantis on what he wants. I think its going to be difficult for the legislature to find a pathway to consensus.

I think Florida, like a lot of other states, would be a very attractive market, said Dr. David Schwartz, a Gaming Historian at UNLVs Center for Gaming Research. I think youve got a bunch of interested players, a bunch of groups who want to be involved. I think you also have a government that, at the end of the day, is going to want to do something to get more revenue coming in. So, I think an agreement, even though it may not look likely now, it is definitely possible.

HOW MUCH $$$ DOES FLORIDA STAND TO MAKE?

In terms of tax revenue, sports gambling doesnt present a huge windfall for states like Florida.

A lot of misinformation exists around the amount of money that the state can derive directly from sports wagering. Sports wagering does not generate a lot of direct tax revenue, said Dunbar. However, there is a lot of money for the state of Florida in sports wagering indirectly. Sports wagering is a destination activity, if you look at the hotel room nights in Las Vegas they spike significantly in the month of March, why? Because of March Madness. They spike significantly around the Super Bowl, why? For obvious reasons, people are going to wager in Vegas on the Super Bowl.

Florida is uniquely positioned because its a destination tourist state, he added. You could add this amenity and you would be able to capture not just the tourists that we have coming to the state now, but also that recreational gambler that likes to travel from time to time and travel for sports wagering. And, while theyre also here, the benefit is hotel rooms, meals at restaurants, golf courses, etcetera, and thats what the state of Florida should really focus on if theyre going to go down that road.

In Nevada, sports gambling is about two percent of the overall gambling picture so, its pretty small, Schwartz said in a phone call. Obviously youve got a tax on that small percent. The main idea, I think, isnt so much using it to generate revenue, even though thats a concern for a lot of lawmakers, its saying people and citizens want to do this, why not have them be able to do it legally which has a lot of public policy benefits where theyre not doing it with illegal bookmakers.

It would be a shame for Florida to miss the opportunity, Dunbar said. I believe nineteen states have jumped into the sports wagering industry, but nobody is a tourist mecca like Florida.

We could move the needle, not just nationally but internationally if we were able to jump into this space; and it would be a shame if we werent able to get through and really have a discussion just about that issue and what it could mean to Florida.

10News Cares: The National Council on Problem Gambling operates a helpline, which can be reached at 1-800-522-4700. If you have a gambling problem, the line will help connect you to call centers that offer resources and referrals. Help is confidential and available 24/7. Click herefor more information.

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Point spreads and politics: Could sports gambling become legal in Florida? - WTSP.com

Rice receives support of MP in battle against ‘horrible’ gambling addiction – FourFourTwo USA

MP Monica Lennon has written to the Scottish Football Association in support of Hamilton head coach Brian Rice, who faces a disciplinary hearing for breaching betting regulations.

Rice reported himself to the SFA earlier this month after admitting he had suffered a relapse in his battle against a horrible gambling addiction.

In her letter to SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell, Lennon describes gambling addiction as a major public health issue in our society that the football community is not immune from.

She adds: The stigma associated with problem gambling is a barrier to people and their families getting help. It must have been incredibly difficult for Brian Rice, head coach at Hamilton Accies, to come forward and disclose his gambling addiction.

In my capacity as a Central Scotland MSP and as health and sport spokesperson for my party, I have a close working relationship with Hamilton Accies and I know that their community outreach work supporting people affected by the harms of alcohol and drugs misuse and problem gambling is saving lives in Lanarkshire and beyond.

This is the positive difference that clubs can make in our community and I am keen to discuss with you the wider contribution the Scottish Football Association can make to this public health and well-being agenda.

I know that the club is taking Brian Rices welfare very seriously and I have been heartened by the overwhelmingly compassionate response from fans.

Addiction is always cloaked in secrecy and denial, but Brian has taken the courageous step of admitting he has a problem and it is vital that he gets the help he needs.

I urge you to be mindful of the nature of addiction and to recognise it is an illness. Punishment doesnt break the cycle of addiction; if only it were that easy.

I would strongly welcome any new measures by the SFA to encourage anyone affected by problem gambling to seek help. Proposals for an amnesty would send a strong message to players, coaching staff and fans who are living with the fear and shame of problem gambling.

The sanctions available to the SFA disciplinary panel range from a three-match to a 16-match ban to expulsion from the game in the most serious of cases, and a fine of up to 100,000.

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Rice receives support of MP in battle against 'horrible' gambling addiction - FourFourTwo USA

Gambling addictions in Ohio have doubled since 2012 – WKYC.com

OHIO, USA In the last seven years gambling in Ohio has skyrocketed.

"There's more gambling availability now in Ohio than there's ever been before," Bruce Jones said.

Jones, with the Maryhaven Gambling Intervention Program, says that's because of more accessibility like casinos, gaming and online betting.

"It's right there with alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, opioids, hypnotics," he said. "A behavioral addiction of gambling disorder."

In 2012, Jones says about 450,000 people in the state were showing signs of gambling addiction. In 2019, that number jumped to 900,000.

To put that into perspective, that's more than the entire population of the city of Columbus, two times the city of Cleveland's population and three times the population of Cincinnati.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - In the last seven years gambling in Ohio has skyrocketed. "There's more gambling availability now in Ohio than there's ever been before," Bruce Jones said. Jones, with the Maryhaven Gambling Intervention Program, says that's because of more accessibility like casinos, gaming and online betting.

"There's a lot of people that need help," Derek Longmeier said.

Longmeier is with the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio and says phones ring off the hook with Ohioans asking for help with gambling addiction.

"We receive 400-500 calls a month," he said.

The highest call volume comes during this time of year because of sports.

According to Forbes, 2019's Super Bowl brought in an estimated $6 billion in worldwide betting. March Madness, according to the American Gaming Association, brought in $8.5 billion.

For the last year, Ohio has been going back-and-forth with two bills that could make sports betting legal in the buckeye state.

"The more opportunities there are to gamble, the more people will do it," Longmeier said. "And, while most people don't have a problem, we know some people will and the more ability you have to play, the more problems that will come."

Longmeier and Jones applaud lawmakers for taking their time on the matter, as well as the possibility of having a portion of revenue going towards addiction treatment services.

Gov. Mike DeWine's office released a statement to 10TV, last week, regarding sports betting that says:

"The Governor believes sports gaming is coming to Ohio. His preference is that the general assembly establish regulations as opposed to a special interest ballot initiative. Our office remains engaged with the general assembly as they continue deliberations."

If you or someone you know is having trouble with gambling, you can call the Gambling Awareness and Prevention helpline at 1-800-589-9966.

You can also contact the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, here.

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Gambling addictions in Ohio have doubled since 2012 - WKYC.com

Iowa expected to score big with Super Bowl gambling – The Gazette

DES MOINES State-regulated casinos could be the big Super Bowl winner as Kansas City Chiefs fans and others living in neighboring states where sports gambling is illegal come to Iowa to legally wager on Americas most-popular betting athletic event.

I think the Super Bowl will likely result in the highest (wagering) handle for any game, day, or possibly weekend to date in Iowa, said Brian Ohorilko, administrator for the state Racing and Gaming Commission. The expected increase in traffic should help with overall casino numbers a bit.

With more than a dozen retail sportsbooks at Iowa casinos, Max Bichsel, vice president of U.S. business for the Gambling.com Group a marketing company in the sports betting industry expects to see gamblers within driving distance of an Iowa casino make the trek to set up accounts and place their legal wagers even making the 150-mile trip from Kansas City to the Lakeside Hotel & Casino in Osceola.

Iowa law, for now, requires sports bettors to go to a licensed casino to establish an account. The law allows online sports betting for account holders, but digital geo-fencing prohibits gamblers outside of Iowas borders from placing bets.

The Kansas City Chiefs face the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 2 in Super Bowl LIV.

Itll be the first big catalyst event that will help (Iowa casinos) hopefully drive some revenue, said Bichsel, who compared the potential influx of bettors coming to Iowa to residents of Los Angeles traveling to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl just on a different scale.

He said he expected sports fans from Missouri, Omaha, Neb., Sioux Falls, S.D., and parts of Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin who live fairly close to the border, and maybe even some Chiefs fans from Kansas City, to show up at Iowa casinos looking to place their bets.

It depends how big of a fan they are. Its definitely an interesting opportunity, especially for bigger bettors, he said. Its really up to the consumer. If somebody wants to place 5 or 10 bucks, its probably not worth the drive.

Wes Ehrecke of the Iowa Gaming Association an umbrella group for the 19 licensed casinos in Iowa said Iowa already has experienced some of that drawing power since the state legalized sports betting effective Aug. 15, 2019.

The state attracted gamblers from surrounding states wanting to legally wager on the collegiate Minnesota Gophers football team when they were doing well as well as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and NFL teams like the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Chiefs.

We do get a lot of people coming from all borders, said Ehrecke. The fact that were the only one in the Midwest, I would anticipate we dont know what to compare it to its going to be a record number the first year and then well have that to compare to for the future.

Adjusted gross revenue at state-regulated casinos for the first half of fiscal 2020 has seen a nearly 2 percent boost to $743.2 million, compared with $732.7 million from July through December one year ago, Ohorilko said. Revenue numbers were up at 13 casinos and admissions were up at 11.

I do think sports wagering definitely is a factor, especially in boosting admissions by more than 90,000 since July 1 since Iowans have to travel to a licensed casino to establish a sports wagering account and meet the qualifications to participate.

That requirement will end Jan. 1, 2021, under legislation approved last session and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds last May that legalized betting not only on pro and college athletics, but also on daily fantasy sports such as at DraftKings and FanDuel.

Bichsel said he expects Iowa to see an uptick in overall wagering handle some from out of state when February data for sports betting is released in March.

I think that it could be significant. I think it will be a substantial jump, which will be a boon for the land-based casino operators. I think it will drive traffic just from having a sportsbook, he said.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

Officials with the American Gaming Association are slated to release polling data Tuesday on Americans betting plans for Super Bowl LIV and projections for the sports betting landscape in 2020. Last year, the association projected about 22.7 million Americans wagered about $6 billion on the 2019 Super Bowl.

Theres no one event thats wagered on as much as the Super Bowl, said Bichsel. College basketballs March Madness first weekend and some European soccer matches are comparable, he said, but the Super Bowl is definitely king in terms of a singular event in the U.S.

Comments: (515) 243-7220; rod.boshart@thegazette.com

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Iowa expected to score big with Super Bowl gambling - The Gazette

Latest incarnation of CT gambling bill to be revealed Wednesday – CT Insider

HARTFORD The latest attempt to solve the stalemate in the states gambling landscape was unveiled Wednesday and includes a new Bridgeport casino and more state revenue from the tribal nations that operate the existing casinos.

The result: an extra $88 million for towns and cities to share.

Announced in a rare bipartisan news conference by state Sen. Cathy Osten, who will submit the legislation when the General Assembly convenes next week for its short session, the proposal hinges on Gov. Ned Lamonts ability to renegotiate the current compact with the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribal nations.

Under the proposal, in addition to the current revenue for the state from 25 percent of the amount now wagered on slot machines, 10 percent of all table game bets would be channeled to the states tourism programs. The total amount of that extra payment from the tribes was not clear Wednesday.

In exchange, the tribes would gain exclusive rights to future sports betting, both online and inside casinos. The tribes would also be allowed to serve alcohol two hours beyond the 2 a.m. curfew. And they would have a license to build a casino in Bridgeport, where MGM Resorts International proposed a casino in 2017 and has been lobbying for the state to seek open bids to operate a commercial casino.

Osten, D-Sprague, said the overall strategy is to lower property tax rates throughout the state and especially in high-tax cities such as Bridgeport, where she has worked with local leaders on the bill since June.

Today, towns and cities get about $51 million a year from casino revenue, which would increase to $139 million if the legislation is approved by the House and Senate and is signed into law.

Bridgeport would get an additional $5.5 million, while East Windsor, the planned location of a third casino jointly operated by the two tribes, would receive $9 million, as would the towns of the eastern Connecticut region around the existing resort casinos.

Would allow tribes to operate sports betting.

Would approve a new Bridgeport casino, upon which the city can levy property taxes for up to 10 years.

New tribal revenue from 10 percent of the total amount wagered.

Grants of $750,000 a year each to Bridgeport, New Haven, Norwalk, Waterbury, Hartford and other towns and cities.

The Connecticut Lottery Corp. could conduct online lotteries.

Additional funding would be required for problem-gambling programs.

Under the 41-page draft, Lamont would have until Oct. 1 to reach an agreement recrafting the nearly 30-year-old compact, which has generated $9 billion for the state. The tribal casinos are some of the states largest employers.

This is about jobs, Osten said. This is about revenue, and this is about protecting our municipalities.

The legislation would create entertainment zones in Hartford, New Haven and other locations.

Lamont has the power to re-negotiate the terms of the compact with the tribes. But talks have mostly stagnated over the last year amid legal tangles over a planned joint-tribal casino along the Interstate 91 corridor in East Windsor that was an attempt to compete with the $960 million MGM Springfield casino.

The tribes have been unwilling to share sports and online betting with other companies including Sportech, which runs the states off-track betting locations, and the Lottery Corp.

This issue in particular we know is a difficult one, said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, of New Haven. Its complex because it contains so many different components that have to be negotiated and reconciled in order to move this forward.

Sports betting, internet lottery games and other sources of revenue are being lost if the state cannot establish a path toward those opportunities, he said. A sense of urgency is absolutely necessary in that.

Lamonts office said Wednesday that the governor shares the goal of keeping the states gambling industry competitive with surrounding states.

The administration is reviewing the proposal and will discuss the issue during the regular session, said Max Reiss, Lamonts communications director, in a written statement. The 13-week session of the General Assembly starts on Wednesday, Feb 5.

MGM Resorts International, which has retained an option on property in Bridgeport and would likely fight any casino planned for non-tribal land, such as Bridgeport or a long-delayed joint tribal casino along I-91 in East Windsor, said in reaction to the legislation that it remains interested in operating in Connecticut.

As we have said consistently, if Connecticut is to maximize the economic impact of a commercial casino license, a transparent, competitive process is in the states best interest, MGM said in a written statement. That is equally true for sports betting, and the most direct path to bring the greatest results for Connecticut taxpayers, economic growth and state revenue. MGM will also continue to pursue all legal options, including litigation, to defend our right to compete in Connecticut.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT

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Latest incarnation of CT gambling bill to be revealed Wednesday - CT Insider

Dallas Police Department suspends 22 former vice officers for ‘policy violations’ related to gambling investigations – WFAA.com

DALLAS Former vice officers walked into Dallas Police Department headquarters on Wednesday and received punishments ranging from three to 20 days without pay, related to policy violations and misconduct within the vice unit that dates back to 2016.

In a statement, Chief U. Rene Hall said the nearly three-year investigation showed detectives failed to place evidentiary or seized gambling money into the property room and also didn't maintain proper documentation.

The poor documentation left Internal Affairs investigators without the ability to conclude how detectives accounted for monetary gambling winnings, according to a summary released by Dallas police.

An internal affairs investigation upheld 27 policy violations for 22 former vice officers.

Hall disbanded the vice unit in November 2017 amid concerns of improper policy, procedures and protocol.

The decision spread gambling, prostitution and human trafficking cases to other divisions within a department that was already struggling with the attrition of hundreds of officers.

"Though not popular, these actions were necessary to create a more efficient department and bring us closer to our goals as a world class department," Hall said in a statement.

On Wednesday, 19 of the 22 officers met with command staff to receive their discipline.

Leadership with the Dallas Police Association and the National Latino Law Enforcement Organization said Wednesday the punishment unfairly targeted former vice detectives, none of which were accused of doing anything illegal.

The DPA's Mike Mata called the discipline decision "an embarrassment."

"If 16 of them are doing the exact same thing, that means that was a training issue," Mata said.

Mata and NLLEO president George Aranda said the officers will appeal their discipline.

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Dallas Police Department suspends 22 former vice officers for 'policy violations' related to gambling investigations - WFAA.com

Whats a slaphouse? Police say theyre fighting new wave of illegal gambling – Long Beach Post

From the outside, they often look like vacant storefronts: The former business signs occasionally still hang on the buildings, but now the windows are obscured.

Anyone who wants to get in has to knock first. If you walk by at night, you might hear the slapping sound of people hitting buttons on an arcade game.

Except, they arent playing just any arcade game and the prizes arent childrens toys. Police say the people inside are gamblingand theyre big business for the operators.

Illegal gambling operations have been popping up more frequently in Long Beach over the last year. From a former dollar store in Zaferia to an old thrift shop in North Long Beach, experts say these black-market businesses tend to appear where retail has taken a downturn.

Theres no definitive count on how many illegal gambling businesses there are in Long Beach, but, since July, police have shut down at least eight different locations spread across the city and detained dozens of people suspected of illegally gambling.

With the help of attentive residents, Long Beach police are trying to get rid of these illicit gaming parlors, which they say attract more serious criminal activities like drug sales, robberies and sometimes deadly shootings.

If you look at the crime of gambling, its a low-level misdemeanor, but yet what were seeing around these locations are people carrying guns, Police Chief Robert Luna told a group of concerned residents at a recent Coolidge Triangle Neighborhood Association meeting.

Recently, he said, one illicit gambling house was the scene of a robbery. Why? Theres a lot of cash in there, he said.

Police call these contraband businesses slaphouses after the button-slapping sound created by people playing the games, according to Aaron Alu, an acting lieutenant with the LBPDs vice division.

A search warrant for a slaphouse on Pacific Avenue, which police raided in mid-October, said officials keep coming across fish games, a video arcade game where the player tries to catch various digital fish, whales and crabs that float in a screen laid into a table.

The games come from overseas, most often Japan, China or Korea, according to Timothy Fong, co-director of the Gambling Studies Program at UCLA.

These are not traditional casino games that people are used to, you know, blackjack and craps tables, Fong said. These are a combination of video games and games of chance that are not available in brick-and-mortar casinos, so thats why they have their own kind of flavor to them.

Legal versions of these games are sometimes available in arcades like Dave & Busters or Chuck-E-Cheese, where players use a joystick to put out a line to catch sea creatures, he said. Fong specializes in gambling addiction and says the allure of fish games is heightened because it combines a game of skill and a game of chance.

Theres something unique about thisand I dont think unique to the gameI think its just because of the very simple format and it works and theres a random element to it and theres also a belief of a control to that random element, like: Im really good at timing, Fong said. Its that gamification of gambling.

One of Fongs biggest concerns is that with no regulation in these underground casinos, people with gambling addictions arent presented with any way to battle their compulsions. Theres likely no helpline for gambling addiction posted.

Raids on illegal gambling spots have been making headlines in California in recent years. In February of 2018, law enforcement raided a Westminster restaurant used for underground betting. Sheriffs officials raided a Norwalk storefront and found computers used for illegal gambling in August 2018. And Oakland has been seeing its own rash of illegal gambling dens similar to Long Beachs.

Long Beach police said they started becoming aware of these slaphouses last year. Several years ago, police had seen illegal gambling businesses materialize in internet cafes where people would quietly gamble online at computer stations, but the fish games were new, Alu said.

While some residents are quick to assume gangs are running these locations, police officials were hesitant to draw a definitive line, noting that they can attract gang members but they are not necessarily run by gangs. Some gangs, however, have seen an opportunity, offering to work security in exchange for a cut of the operations profits, according to the LBPD.

These places, they can make a lot of money, Alu said. Talking to informants or people that actually have run these places, they can make somewhere between $3,000 and $6,000 a day. Its a lot of money. And thats why were seeing the crime occur, recently with the shooting.

Two people have died and two have been wounded in three different shootings at illegal gambling parlors in Long Beach over the last six months. In the most recent incident on Jan. 14, a man was trying to rob the business and the man running it tried to stop him, police said. They both ended up shooting and wounding each other.

Long Beach police have carried out at least five raids on illicit gaming operations in the last six months. While the raids yield dozens of arrests, most of them are for outstanding warrants or charges not related to gambling. Thats because when police arrive, they usually dont go busting down their doors. Instead, they take the precaution of having a SWAT team wait outside and call everyone out of the building, so they cant see who was actually participating in the gaming, Alu said.

Currently, police say they can only charge suspects for gambling-related offenses if they can prove they were running a particular location or working as a cashier accepting wagers, police spokeswoman Shaunna Dandoy said. The charge is still only a misdemeanor and carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a fine of $5,000, or both.

So far, authorities in Long Beach have only been able to build cases against five people on suspicion of accepting wagers, police said.

As for the owners of the buildings that become slaphouses, police have put them on notice, saying they would be found criminally liable if they let their buildings get involved in illegal gambling again, officials said. In the case of the Jan. 14 shooting, the building owners told police they thought they were leasing to a cabinet maker.

Police officials said they are looking into reviewing the municipal code that makes it illegal to participate in the activity of gambling. They hope to change it to make it illegal to even be inside an illegal gambling business.

Luna said one of their best defenses against these slaphouses is concerned residents bringing the locations to polices attention. However, police cannot always reveal when theyre closing in on a location for fear of ruining their chances of catching the criminals, Luna told residents at the recent community meeting.

When that happens, residents sometimes aim their concerns at other authority figures, like Councilman Rex Richardson, who represents North Long Beach and has worked with police and residents to root out some of the nuisance gambling houses.

The police department moves very quickly in conducting surveillance and operations and Im proud of how swift they responded to this, Richardson said.

Residents in North Long Beach arent shy about tipping off police. Those in the Longwood and Coolidge Triangle neighborhood associations said they worked with each other and with the LBPD to get a location on Long Beach Boulevard shut down.

Because we know our community so well, it was out of place, said Renee Rios, president of the Longwood Neighborhood Association. We saw a lot of people coming in and out of the building. It used to be a thrift store, so it wasnt a very high traffic store.

In the case of the shooting on Jan. 14, residents had already complained to police about the location, and detectives were in the process of writing a search warrant the morning the violence broke out, according to the LBPD.

At the neighborhood meeting, Luna encouraged residents to continue reporting suspicious activity and possible gambling houses.

The recent string of raids has made slaphouse operators nervous, according to police. They estimate there are now fewer operating in Long Beach than three or four months ago.

Weve shut down a lot and they havent come back, Alu said.

Link:

Whats a slaphouse? Police say theyre fighting new wave of illegal gambling - Long Beach Post

Auto insurance, internet gambling, criminal justice reform expected to drive State of the State – WNEM Saginaw

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Auto insurance, internet gambling, criminal justice reform expected to drive State of the State - WNEM Saginaw

Opinion | Prepare for more gambling debates in the 2020 Legislative Session – alreporter.com

More gambling arguments are on their way.

Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, the House budget chairman, told several media outlets on Monday that he planned to file legislation that would create an education lottery in Alabama.

Clouses bill would create a paper lottery with scratch-offs and PowerBall options, but would exclude video lottery terminals. Clouse said he expects it to generate around $167 million annually.

Were completely surrounded now by Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee that have lotteries, Clouse said. I think that could make a difference.

Alabama is one of just five states in the country without a lottery, and it is now the only state in the South without one. Mississippi began its lottery this year.

Unlike recent lottery proposals, Clouses bill would create a pure education lottery, with 50 percent of proceeds going to fund pre-K and 50 percent to select college scholarships. There would also be a small percentage around $400,000 annually set aside to fund gambling addiction programs.

It is unlikely to breeze through the Legislature.

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Multiple sources have told APR to expect as many as three lottery/gambling bills to land in the Legislature this session, and all will get significant play.

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That likely has something to do with recent polling of voters in the state, which found various types of gaming, particularly sports books and lotteries, were extremely popular. Even the approval of full-fledged casinos scored highly. The numbers remained well above 50 percent even when the respondents were limited to likely registered Republican voters.

The only aspect that scored low with voters was the idea of granting the Poarch Band of Creek Indians a monopoly. Exclusivity is part of the tribes recent $1 billion plan proposal for the state. The plan would generate $1 billion, according to PCI figures, in the initial year and then about $350 million per year thereafter. That plan would also give the tribe exclusive gaming rights and approve the opening of two additional full casinos.

Its unclear what level of support that plan has among lawmakers, but the tribe has put on a full-court media press. The state has been blanketed with radio and TV ads in every market, and mailers landed in mailboxes two weeks ago.

A simple paper lottery, such as the one Clouse has proposed, is also part of the PCI plan. Such a plan, which doesnt allow for video lottery terminals, would help secure the tribes monopoly.

Last session, a gaming/lottery plan introduced by Sen. Jim McClendon would have provided a full-blown lottery, with the VLT machines available to both PCI and the four dog tracks in the state. The projected revenue from that lottery plan was nearly three times the take from the Clouse proposal, and that was before the governor negotiated a compact with PCI.

There is speculation that similar legislation could return this session.

Leadership in both houses have expressed interest in making a move on gambling this session a willingness that hasnt been there in most previous sessions. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon has stated publicly that he wants to push for a grand gaming package that puts the issue to rest once and for all and also brings in a lot of money for the state. Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh has pushed gaming bills in recent sessions, and he doesnt seem less eager to do so this year.

See the article here:

Opinion | Prepare for more gambling debates in the 2020 Legislative Session - alreporter.com