Monthly Archives: December 2019

In case you missed it, 2019 was an absolutely enormous year for online gambling in the US.

While there may never be another single event as impactful for the industry as the 2018 Supreme Court decision striking down PASPA, its in 2019 that we really started to see the effects taking shape. The power of states to legalize and regulate sports betting has stimulated interest in online gambling more broadly.

Because of that, 2019 was all about the momentum.

Now as we prepare to celebrate the New Year, its time to look back on the one just past. Here are the seven biggest stories we covered over the past 12 months.

In June, Eldorado Resorts announced that it was purchasing Caesars Entertainment for $17.3 billion in cash and stock. The deal should become final early in 2020, and the resulting entity will be the largest gambling company in the US.

Although Eldorado is a brick-and-mortar brand, the merger has implications for Caesars online businesses including its WSOP online poker sites. Most states with online gambling laws require online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker sites to have land-based partners.

Through their combined operations, Eldorado and Caesars will own 60 properties in 16 states. That means plenty of options for partnerships, and equally many opportunities to cross-sell customers between its online and land-based products.

By and large, the news this year was positive for online gambling. There has, however, been one major impediment to the industrys momentum: Apple.

Early results in the US and observation of longer-standing markets make it clear that the mobile segment is an increasingly important one for online gambling. Yet Apple, whose iOS devices hold more than a 50% share of the mobile market in the US, seems generally opposed to gambling.

It has made this clear in various ways. Its new Apple Card, for instance, cannot be used for gambling deposits. However, the decision which has most adversely affected online gambling operators is to disallow the use of HTML5 for commercial applications including real-money gambling.

Almost all sportsbooks and many of the games used by online casinos are written in HTML5 because it is comparatively easy and portable. Apples insistence on native iOS development for gambling apps means extra development time and costs.

Fortunately, Google has taken a more friendly stance for applications using its platform. Its fair to expect that iOS apps will continue to lag several months behind desktop and Android products as new states go live.

West Virginia just barely managed to get the online gambling bill from Del. Jason Barrett across the finish line in March.

The House passedH 2934 in February, but the Senate made several small amendments in the proverbial 11th hour. The legislature was just adjourning as the House approved those changes and sent the bill along to Gov. Jim Justice.

Justice let his 15-day veto window expire without action, allowing the bill to become law. The governor took the same approach with the sports betting bill that hit his desk in 2018.

Since the new law contains provisions for both online casinos and poker, West Virginia was the fourth state (after New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania) to legalize a full slate of online gambling products. Nevada also regulates online poker and sports betting.

The earliest expected go-live timeframe for WV online gambling is Summer 2020.

After Kentucky failed to pull together the votes needed to pass its online gambling bill, it looked as if West Virginia would be the only legislative success story this year.

Instead just earlier this month, Michigan managed to become state number five to legalize all online gambling verticals. The industry had to agree to an increased tax rate in order to secure the governors approval.

Michigan is for the time being the second-largest state (behind Pennsylvania) with legalized online gambling. The size of the market alone should make it an important one. After all, even the exorbitant tax rates on PA online gambling havent put a damper on things there.

Given how suddenly and recently the bill passed, theres no firm timeline for the licensing process. Based on what weve seen elsewhere, though, its a stretch to imagine the first operators going live before 2021.

Its certainly one of the things well be watching most earnestly in 2020, though.

This summers Pennsylvania launch was the most hotly-anticipated event in US online gambling this year.

Unfortunately, those hoping for a New Jersey-style synchronized launch ended up disappointed. In the end, not everyone was ready to go when the starting gun sounded on July 15. In fact, only two operators went launched on day one: Hollywoodand Parx.

SugarHouse joined the market three days later, but each of the three had only a handful of games available at first. They were also plagued by the aforementioned issues with Apples prohibition on HTML5. That meant no iOS mobile gaming to start with.

Online poker players faced even greater frustration. Despite multiple rumors of impending launch, it wasnt until November that PokerStars PA got off the ground.

The wait was worth it, though. Even with just a single site in operation, PA online poker traffic has been greater than all sites in all other states put together. Players are happy, and PokerStars generated almost $2 million in revenue in its debut month.

Online gambling has been a success for the state as well. Tax revenue for casino and slots has already doubled from just under $1 million in August, the first full month of operation, to over $2 million in November. More operators, including additional poker sites, should join the party in 2020.

The deal between Eldorado and Caesars may create the largest US-focused gambling company, but an even bigger deal was announced just a few months later. Early in October, the British company Flutter announced it had reached an agreement with The Stars Group for an all-shares tie-up.

The resulting group will encompass Paddy Power, Betfair, FanDuel, PokerStars, and Sky Betting and Gaming, among other smaller brands. It will be by far the worlds largest online gambling company.

With the exception of FanDuel, most of the brands involved are predominantly focused on Europe for the time being. There has been much speculation, however, that US sports bettingis one of the major motivations behind the deal. Flutter has a great deal of experience in the sports betting arena, through Paddy Power and Betfair.

Meanwhile, The Stars Group enjoys strong brand recognition thanks to PokerStars and its partnership with Fox Sports to form Fox Bet.

The deal should go through sometime in Q2 or Q3 next year. Once it does, Stars shares will be exchanged for Flutter shares. The Stars Group will largely come under Flutter executive directorship at that point, save for current CEO Rafi Ashkenaziwho will become Flutters COO.

The best news of the year for online gambling in general and poker in particular was a June decision by US District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro. In a 60-page ruling, he rejected last years opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel regarding the federal Wire Act.

The Act was originally passed in 1961 to prevent the use of the the phone system to circumvent state-level prohibitions on sports betting. It now covers internet communications as well.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) had sought to extend its prohibitions to all forms of gambling, not only sports betting. Among other things, that could have put an end to the idea of interstate liquidity sharing for poker sites.

Fortunately for poker, the opinion also poses a potential problem for lotteries offering interstate jackpots. That spawned the lawsuit from the New Hampshire Lottery and Judge Barbadoros subsequent decision in its favor.

The ruling came just in time for summers World Series of Poker. Most of the online bracelet events fell after the enforcement deadline set by the DOJ. If not for the judge vacating the DOJ opinion, players from New Jersey might have been unable to participate.

More importantly, the decision means that states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Michigan have the option to enter into multi-state poker compacts with other states going forward.

Here is the original post:

A Year To Remember: Top US Online Gambling Stories of 2019 - OnlinePokerReport.com

With an $82 bet on the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl, Chris Sununu, the states 82nd governor, helped launch sports wagering in New Hampshire on a snowy Monday afternoon.

During an event at Shoppers Pub in Manchester, the governor, along with executives from Boston-based Draft Kings, former Patriots star Rob Ninkovich, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, celebrated the launch of online gambling.

Its that easy, said Sununu, holding up his phone to show his bet on the Patriots, which at current odds would return him close to $1,000.

The Legislature cleared the way for online betting and up to 10 in-person gambling parlors statewide, with local municipalities getting a say on whether they want to host a facility. Once those parlors are open, the New Hampshire Lottery Commission expects to generate $10 million in revenue in the first full year. Under its contract with the state, Draft Kings will share half of the revenue generated from sports gambling.

New Hampshire and Rhode Island are now the only two New England states to offer sports wagering, with Massachusetts lawmakers still debating if and how to bring betting to that state.

We are going to be setting the gold standard for this type of betting product, all across New England, and I think, frankly, the country, said Sununu. People are going to look at what we did, how we did it, and people are going to say, we want that.

To place a bet online, gamblers must be 18 or older and also must be physically located within the borders of the state. Betting on New Hampshires college teams is prohibited, while most other collegiate and professional sports will be offered through the Draft Kings sports book.

The legislation passed earlier this year also called for an increase in the size of the states gambling addiction services. (The problem gambling hotline is 603-724-1605.)

Link:

Sununu Lays His Money Down, As Sports Gambling Goes Live in N.H. - New Hampshire Public Radio

If we learned anything in the United States from prohibition, it was that making something illegal doesnt stop it from happening (and usually makes it worse). The history of gambling in the US is surely interesting and its something we still have to fight for til this day.

I think that when it comes to so-called vices in society, theres always going to be someone arguing against them from a moral standpoint. Thats exactly what we saw in the 1930s in the days of prohibition. Huge numbers of people who argued against the legal sale of alcohol were primarily church goers who argued almost solely from a position of morality.

The argument can make sense on the surface. Some people have problems with alcohol. Some people abuse it.

When they abuse it (or become full alcoholics), they can be violent and a drain on society.

So if we outlaw it, people will stop drinking! People who might have become alcoholics will be safe and protected from this evil scourge. Society as a whole will benefit.

This leaves out all the positive benefits of alcohol of course and assumes that the role of government is to protect people from themselves and restrict their freedoms, but honestly, thats a bit beside the point here.

Heres the real pointdid it work? And would it work for gambling?

If you know anything about prohibition, you know that it didnt.

First of all, we can thank prohibition for organized crime in this country. Sure, there was organized crime before to a degree, but they really struggled for funding. When alcohol, which was and is hugely profitable and popular, was suddenly made illegal, the demand didnt disappear. If anything, it got worse.

There was profit to be made, but all legal alcohol producers were out of business. Some entrepreneurial criminals (who were already committing crimes anyway) say Gee, we should sell this stuff! Beats the heck out of beating people up for money and robbing banks.

And they did. And they made an enormous amount of money.

Drinking didnt stop.

During prohibition, its estimated that upwards of 90% of all sitting U.S. senators continued to drink.

Were these men alcoholics? Certainly a handful may have been, but the vast majority were normal people like you and me.

They enjoyed their drinking, and they didnt like being told what to do. Thats pretty much how you could describe the entire country.

You can apply the same line of thinking to any type of problem you name thats been made illegal. Making gambling illegal will absolutely not stop gambling.

Instead, it will drive gambling underground.

And thats where we start to run into problems.

Just like people were going to drink during prohibition despite it being illegal, people are going to gamble no matter what.

I think where people get really tripped up on this issue is that, in their eyes (the prohibitionists), gambling is basically evil (obviously its not). But lets look through their eyes. They see gambling as a sin, and they often see it on the same level as murder or theft. Its wrong no matter how they look at it.

But for the average person, this is obviously flawed thinking. Murder and theft are crimes that have direct victims. It is impossible for me to steal something without there being a victim.

The same is not the case with gambling or drinking.

Now those who think it should be outlawed will argue that there are victims, that when someone gambles all their money away (which happens extremely rarely), that their families or friends are harmed. I certainly dont deny that.

The difference is that those victims are not happening in every case. In fact, people become victims so rarely that you have to wonder if its really the gambling or alcohol thats responsible at all. Something like 2.6% of people in the U.S. have a problem gambling. That means that over 97% of people who gamble do so just fine, without creating victims.

So these people think that because victims are marginally possible that the practice should be outlawed completely? Thats way different than theft or murder, which produces a victim in every case.

By that line of thinking, cars should be illegal. Most people dont know someone who has a problem gambling (because its so rare), but almost everyone knows someone who has had their life changed because of a car wreck.

?

Do we outlaw cars? No. That would be silly. Cars have benefits and drawbacks. So does gambling.

Then they might say, Well cars serve a purpose! Gambling doesnt. Its just a bunch of games. First of all, I would argue that games serve a hugely positive purpose in society, but lets lay that aside for a moment. By this line of thinking, all sports should be illegal. Soccer can be dangerous. People drink too much at games. Sometimes theres even stampedes.

Yet where are the advocates to shut down soccer entirely? Theyre hard to find.

Gambling is absolutely a victimless crime. The people who are committing crimes who happen to also gamble are the ones responsible for the problems, not the gambling. If you take away the gambling, theyll find some outlet for their problems.

So because gambling is a victimless act (just like drinking), people arent going to view it the same as theft or murder. Theyre going to partake anyway because they just dont feel bad about it (and they shouldnt!).

Almost all adults can drink alcohol just fine and act responsibly. The same is true for gambling. Alcohol and gambling are not directly responsible for issues that problem gamblers or problem drinkers causethe problem gamblers and problem drinkers are the problem.

When prohibition took place back in the 1930s, alcohol began being created and distributed by criminals. No business could get away with it, and any that tried would have to have a large operation that would almost certainly get found out.

So what happened is that most alcohol was being produced by small numbers of people who had deep levels of trust with each other (or who operated completely alone). Their goal was to make money, and they did.

They werent exactly worried about health standards.

This led to a number of problems. When alcohol was legal, there were standards and rules as to how it was made. If a business was selling alcohol that was low quality or actually poisoning people, theyd quickly go out of business, so that became rare. In fact, the best way to make money was to produce high quality alcohol, so suppliers employed people who had a great deal of experience.

When everything moved underground, two things happened. One was that alcohol became suddenly much more valuable (because it was in high demand with a low supply). The other was that all the people who knew how to create great alcohol werent doing so because it was illegal.

High demand, high potential profit, and nobody around to make it who knew what they were doing.

Every criminal with even an inkling of how to produce alcohol now had a huge incentive to start producing the stuff. Many people died or went blind during prohibition because they drank low-quality alcohol.

Thats what happens when something victimless is made illegalcriminals take over, and they reduce quality and cause harm.

The exact same thing would happen with gambling were it made completely illegal. It already does happen in states where gambling is illegal.

Every state that has made gambling illegal still has gambling taking place right now. The law has absolutely not eliminated gambling.

However, because its illegal, it essentially has to be run by criminals. Casino owners and operators across the world are incredibly intelligent, high-functioning individuals who know how to run a business and value customer service. Land based or real money online casinos, just like any other product or service in the world, legal gambling is run at a high level of quality because business owners know quality leads to more money.

Underground gambling doesnt have this same mindset. First of all, youre dealing with criminals, so theyre not worried about quality really at all. Second, they have a hard-to-find product. They dont need to have a high level of quality because theyre the only show in town.

Third, because theyre already criminals, they dont mind bringing other criminal elements along with them. Illegal gambling can be dangerous for precisely this reason. Many of the people willing to set up something illegal like this may be violent people or have other criminal intentions. They might just rob you and take your money.

And what could you do about it? Call the police? Hardly.

Making gambling illegal makes the activity so much more dangerous. Gambling today in states where its legal is absolutely safe, fun, and of a high quality. The legality of it protects everyone and keeps the criminals occupied somewhere else.

Ill admit that there could be a number of other reasons why gambling should be legal, but I think these are 2 of the best.

Overall, its time for lawmakers to dive into the reality that prohibiting gambling can do more bad than good.

See original here:

Why Gambling Should Be Legalized - Reasons to Allow Gambling - BestUSCasinos.org

The Netherlands gambling regulator imposed a record high total of fines in 2019 as the country prepares for the launch of its regulated online market.

Late last week, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) regulatory body announced that it had imposed a total of 3.5m in financial penalties on gambling operators in 2019, more than twice the 1.7m in total penalties that the regulator imposed during 2018.

Ten fines were imposed on internationally licensed online gambling operators who continued to serve Dutch punters without the KSAs approval. 1xBet, LeoVegas, the Kindred Groups Unibet brand, Casino.com and The Stars Groups PokerStars were among the more significant six-figure penalties issued by the KSA in 2019.

KSA chairman Ren Jansen noted several causes behind the surge in penalties, including a new emphasis on terrifying penalties in the hopes of deterring other regulatory recidivists, as well as the targeting of some larger operators rather than the usual roll call of sketchy Curacao-licensed online casinos.

Sweden followed a similarly harsh approach toward its online gambling operators in 2019, the first year of that countrys regulated online market. However, the Spelinspektionen regulatory body confessed in December that the overwhelming majority of penalized operators had yet to cut the regulator a check.

Jansen admitted that not all of the operators who made the KSAs bad books in 2019 had actually paid their fines (although Kindred Group decided to drop its legal appeal and pay up in December). But Jansen noted that operators who wish to participate in the Netherlands upcoming online gambling license application process had little choice but to pay their outstanding tabs or risk being labeled unreliable, a designation that means no license.

The KSA recently announced that the launch of its new regulated online market would be delayed by six months to July 1, 2021, and so license applications wont be officially accepted until January 1, 2021.

Land-based operators didnt escape the KSAs scrutiny in 2019, with 41 slot machine licenses withdrawn over the course of the year. While some of these licenses were surrendered voluntarily following businesses closing their doors, others were forcibly revoked due to non-payment of regulatory fees or other reliability failures.

Continued here:

Netherlands issued gambling penalties worth 3.5m in 2019 - CalvinAyre.com

THE UK2018 ended with UK gambling operators pledging new voluntary advertising restrictions and the industry never really got out of this defensive crouch throughout 2019.

The new 2 max stake on fixed-odds betting terminals took effect in April, creating havoc in the quarterly reports of operators with a large high street presence. A group of parliamentarians then suggested a similar 2 limit on online slots and the UK Gambling Commission launched a consultation on banning online credit card gambling.

The UKs online sector suffered its first ever revenue decline in the 12 months ending March 31, and while much of this decline was due to falling betting margins, the decline is expected to accelerate thanks to the April 1st hike in Remote Gaming Duty from 15% to 21%.

The tightened regulatory environment, including new know your customer requirements, caused several operators, including 188Bet, to shut down their UK-facing operations. Other operators had that decision forced on them, like 1xBet, which shut its UK site and lost its local football sponsorships amidst an investigation into FSB Techs white-label partners. EveryMatrixs UK partners were left scrambling when the UKGC suspended the platform providers license.

All told, the UKGC doled out nearly 14m in financial penalties against its licensees in 2019, with InTouch Games, Betit, Kindred Group, Gamesys and GVC Holdings Ladbrokes and Coral brands forced to dig deepest to atone for their various transgressions.

UK operators did their best to at least appear to care about their public image, forming a new industry association that pledged new safer gambling commitments and time-outs for FOBT gamblers who cant say when. The five largest firms also agreed to boost their responsible gambling contributions to between 60m-100m within five years, but these efforts mostly came off as a day late and a hundred million pounds short.

All political parties had promised to box the ears of gambling operators and the Tories, who won the General Election, vowed to review the 2005 Gambling Act with a focus on credit card misuse. But UK gambling operators shares soared in the wake of the Tory landslide, evidently proving once and for all that gambling truly fears socialism.

The rapid pace of consolidation that the UK/Europe we have to treat them separately now that Brexits a go online sector has undergone in recent years slowed in 2019, but only because of the sheer scale of the one big deal.

Flutter Entertainments proposed absorption of The Stars Group threatens to concentrate an unprecedented number of A-list gambling brands under a single corporate banner, at least, until the regulator-mandated sell-off of some of the lesser lights begins next year.

Oh, and Bet365s annual revenue hit 3b and UK media had their traditional freakout over the fact that co-CEO/co-owner Denise Coates collected the UKs highest annual pay packet. Again.

GERMANYGermany passed yet another gambling treaty that wont survive legal challenges but this time even the signatories didnt expect it to last longer than 18 months. The current plan is to kick the can down the road until a permanent treaty can be crafted by June 30, 2021, but theres still no consensus whether this will include online poker or casino products in addition to sports betting.

In the meantime, Germany ordered its would-be betting licensees to halt all online casino/poker operations as of January 1, 2020 and backed up this demand by tightening its scrutiny of online casino payment processors.

But interest in these new German licenses has been (literally) non-existent, in part due to operators misgivings over the temp treatys 5% tax on betting turnover, in-play betting ban and 1k monthly spending limit. Hey, remember that German stereotype about their efficiency and engineering prowess? No, neither do we.

Shortly before Christmas, Bet365 announced that it would shut its German-facing online casino by December 30, suggesting that at least someone is taking the Hessian henchmen at their word.

ITALYItaly started the year off with a stumble, issuing only half the number of new online gambling licenses it originally forecast, but those estimates were made long before the government decided that gambling was la causa di tutti i mali.

Italys government also decided that gambling was the piggy bank you could just keep smashing. The year started with new taxes for both online and land-based gaming and is ending with the government mulling even more taxes and restrictions on land-based operations. Bottom line, expect far more reports of mafia-linked illegal gambling busts in 2020 as punters seek out cheaper alternatives to government-approved operators.

RUSSIA2019 was the year that Russia finally got wise to the fact that its annual blocking of over 100k unauthorized online gambling domains was no serious deterrent to the black market so they decided to get serious about blocking online payments.

The effect was dramatic on certain sites with large Russian customer bases, such as PokerStars, whose parent company The Stars Group reported double-digit online poker revenue declines (after originally promising that the impact would be short-term and not meaningful).

Russias domestic operators caught a well-needed break in the summer when the government finally approved a simplified customer registration process. However, the shift appears to have come too late to save GVC Holdings struggling Russian joint venture Bwin.ru, which lost its CEO to rival Parimatch in May and by November its Russian money-man was reportedly talking about pulling the plug.

The second warning came the very next month, this time about bonus offer abuse. The first financial penalties came in March and they would most definitely not be the last, although only one of the 50-odd fines issued this year has actually been paid.

By the end of Q1, online licensees with a major Swedish presence were bemoaning the costs of compliance. By the end of Q2, some of those operators were turning in their sportsbook licences because they had no idea what was and wasnt against the rules anymore.

Undaunted, Spelinspektionen kept upping the ante, revoking the license of Ninja Casinos parent firm Global Gaming for a variety of regulatory shortcomings. The company made numerous appeals, all of which were rejected, leading to a 76% revenue decline and a halving of Global Gamings workforce by the end of Q3.

Swedish residents were already sour on gambling advertising and state-run Svenska Spel threw the rest of the industry under the bus in April by pledging to halt its online casino advertising (while abusing its state-owned privilege to stealth-pimp its products on TV). That same month, the government formed a commission to consider a partial or total ban on gambling ads (with a decision expected this spring).

In November, the Swedish ombudsman won a court case against (again) Ninja Casino, whose marketing efforts were deemed to violate Swedens requirement for moderate advertising campaigns, whatever those are.

In 2018, the KSA issued a then-record 1.7m in online gambling fines but the KSA doled out 3.5m in penalties in 2019 in an apparent attempt to set an appropriately punitive tone ahead of the regulated market license derby. The regulator even went after Dutch-facing online affiliates.

True to form, the ever-cautious Dutch government found it too difficult to approve the secondary online gambling legislation on schedule, pushing the regulated online markets target launch date back six months to July 1, 2021. Nonetheless, in mid-December the KSA warned applicants to ensure their customer age verification processes were up to code as of January 1, 2020 or their application would be shuffled to the bottom of a very large pile.

FINLANDFinlands state-run Veikkaus gambling monopoly set off a public relations land mine this summer with a truly tone-deaf radio promo urging listeners to stop suppressing their gambling urges and make a bet already. Within days, Veikkaus was trying to make amends by pledging to cut its number of land-based slots, then promising further cuts when the initial cuts didnt stop the publics calls to end the monopoly.

Veikkaus blunders were magnified by the actions of Paf, the monopoly in Finlands autonomous Swedish-speaking region. Paf began decreasing its reliance on high-rolling customers in 2018 and took further steps along this path in 2019, even as its revenue and profits took a hit.

Denmarks online operators also adopted a new advertising code but it didnt stop the government from announcing plans for a major online gambling tax hike in December. Online licensees will also face new deposit limit rules come January.

Norways government ratcheted up its fight against unauthorized online gambling sites and their payment processors, with fresh crackdowns set to take effect on January 1, 2020.

Switzerlands casinos finally began launching their new online gambling sites, while the government launched its ill-advised efforts to block the domains of international gambling operators who failed to stop serving local punters.

Nothing much happened in France, except the government finally got around to privatizing the Franaise des Jeux lottery and sports betting business. Oh, and the government hatched a plan to shift to a revenue-based gambling tax with some truly daffy double-digit rates.

And Greece made slightly more than its usual token effort to approve new online gambling rules, although not without some failed attempts to sneak in even higher taxes at the last minute.

LAND-BASED GAMBLINGEurope doesnt really have much of a land-based casino industry, as evidenced by the fact that the continents most notable casino story may have come in November when the Novomatic Group was forced to sell its stake in Casinos Austria as the public heat from Novomatics alleged role in a political patronage scandal grew hotter.

Greece tried its best to get off the casino schneid in 2019, finally moving on its plans to authorize the continents largest integrated resort, although only two operators actually bothered applying for the lone gaming license. Even that proved too much to handle, as a paperwork snafu involving Hard Rock International (HRI) threatened to derail the whole process in a flurry of lawsuits.

HRI also ran into headwinds in Spain, a veritable elephant graveyard of failed mega-casino projects, where plans to build a Barcelona-area integrated resort stalled due to land-rights issues.

The continents only tangible integrated resort project, Melco Resorts & Entertainments City of Dreams Mediterranean in Cyprus, finally got underway this year, although the resorts opening date got pushed back until the end of 2021.

AFRICAThere wasnt much earth-shaking news in Africas gambling markets in 2019. South Africas Phumelela suffered the worst results in its 22-year history while Uganda reportedly mulled whether to nationalize its gambling operations after deciding it wouldnt renew licenses held by international operators doing business in the country.

2019s turmoil kicked off when market-leader SportPesa was hit with a $103m bill later raised to $147m with penalties and interest for what the government claimed were uncollected withholding taxes on gamblers winnings. That kicked off a yearlong debate over whether the 20% winnings tax applied only to actual winnings or to the punters original betting stakes.

In July, the government suspended the gaming licenses of 27 betting operators it claimed collectively owed $586m in back tax, then suspended these operators digital payment processing channels. Despite support from some politicians, Kenyas president refused to relent, warning that he was open to a total ban on all gambling if the sector wouldnt play ball.

SportPesa and rival Betin were forced to shut their Kenyan operations and lay off hundreds of staff, and while they ultimately convinced the courts that their reading of the tax laws was correct, the government stubbornly refused to give up the fight.

In November, the government looked favorably on a report urging it to replace its open gambling market with a state-run monopoly. It remains to be seen whether this is a serious option under consideration or simply a new level of brinksmanship in the governments quest to compel its betting operators to remit the alleged arrears.

See the original post:

2019 Gambling Year in Review: Europe and Africa - CalvinAyre.com

Blackjack

This version of blackjack is unlike any other in the online gaming world. It features some unique advantages over virtual and traditional live blackjack. You can read about these benefits below.

If youve played live blackjack before, youre probably used to a single dealer who doesnt say much. They commonly work long shifts by themselves and arent always in the mood to chat with players.

The live version is still worth playing, because it offers some level of social element. However, you cant always get interesting discussions going with the dealer.

Blackjack Party, in contrast, usually features interesting table banter. The dealer and host talk almost nonstop with each other.

They also respond to your questions and comments. In summary, the host adds much to the Blackjack Party experience.

Again, live blackjack dealers dont always have much to say. You may find yourself bored when the croupier isnt talkative.

Blackjack Party solves this problem by featuring two casino employees at the tables. One of the employees entire job revolves around striking up entertaining discussions.

Assuming youre not getting much conversation from the dealer, you can always direct your comments towards the host.

Most live dealer studios feature modest backgrounds. Blackjack Party tables, on the other hand, offer animated backdrops.

For example, you might see moving graphics on the wall behind the host and dealer. Or, you may play at a table with a Caribbean Beach-style background.

This novelty effect may not seem like it makes much of a difference. But it does present something different from the average live blackjack table.

Live dealer studios werent the first ones to think of this type of blackjack. Party tables have existed in land-based casinos for a couple of decades.

The latter features blaring music, lightly clothed dealers, and even women dancing on nearby pools. Land-based party blackjack is as much about ogling women as it is the game.

If youre a red-blooded male, you may think that these party tables sound enticing. However, youll also pay for this experience in the form of terrible rules.

Land-based Party Blackjack features 6:5 natural payouts, dealers hitting on soft 17, double-down restrictions, and other unfavorable rules. All told, youll be facing well over a 2% house advantage.

Live Party Blackjack is toned down compared to its brick-and-mortar counterpart. However, it does easily outdo land-based party tables in terms of the house advantage.

Youre normally face around a 0. 5% house edge with live dealer Party Blackjack. This house advantage is competitive with virtual online blackjack and much better than what youll find at the average land-based table.

For the most part, Blackjack Party adds innocent fun your gaming experience. Before you play, though, you should consider the following drawbacks.

Assuming youre somebody who can think well amid distractions, you may have no problem with the vibrant atmosphere at Party Blackjack tables.

However, you should have second thoughts about playing this game in the midst of distractions. These tables feature a lot going on, from the background graphics to the host and dealer chatting.

You may lose concentration and begin making poor strategy decisions. If lowering the blackjack house edge is one of your main goals, you wont appreciate the times where you make blunders due to the distractions.

So far, you may feel like jumping onto the first party table you see. Unfortunately, most live dealer casinos still dont offer this game.

The party variation is only available via a limited number of studios. Therefore, it hasnt had much chance to spread throughout the gaming world.

You might still find Party Blackjack at one of your favorite casinos. But you shouldnt automatically assume that youll be able to play this game.

Not surprisingly, Party Blackjack has proven popular among gamblers. This popularity, combined with limited availability, makes it difficult to find a seat.

Party tables are typically full during primetime European gambling hours. Therefore, you may need to wait until the morning or late-night hours to enjoy this game.

Of course, you can always use the bet behind option. The drawback to bet behind, though, is that it doesnt let you actually play hands. Youre merely gambling on somebody elses action.

You can see that Party Blackjack features both highs and lows. I firmly believe that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks in this situation.

The main problems with this type of blackjackincluding limited availability and a distracting atmospheremay not bother you at all. Assuming youre okay with these minor downsides, then youll likely enjoy this game.

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Party Blackjack is the most-social casino game available through a smartphone or computer. It allows you to enjoy exciting blackjack action and some interesting conversations on the side.

This version takes what standard live blackjack hopes to be and magnifies the social elements. The host is critical in this enhanced experience.

They are key to starting discussions and making the games feel like a party. Meanwhile, you can interact with both them and the dealer through the chat box.

If youve ever felt that online blackjack is a lonely experience, then you should definitely try the party version. Its by far the next-best thing to visiting a brick-and-mortar casino.

For years, all online blackjack games featured software-generated tables and dealers. This situation changed when live dealer casinos launched in the mid-2000s. For the first time, players could enjoy brick-and-mortar blackjack action from home.

Party Blackjack isnt quite the revelation that live dealer gaming was. However, it does feel like its pushing the wheel further.

As explained before, regular live blackjack doesnt always present the liveliest atmosphere. Your experience suffers if the single dealer working the table isnt feeling sociable.

The party variation solves this dilemma by employing both a dealer and host. The latter facilitates many of the conversations and keeps the game interesting.

Assuming youve played at land-based tables, you may be expecting the live dealer version to feature bikini-clad women.

This scenario isnt the case with live Party Blackjack. However, the live party game does feature much-better rules and more chatting than the land-based version.

In summary, Party Blackjack brings something new to live dealer gaming and the online gambling world in general. You should consider trying this game if you already play at live casinos anyways.

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Blackjack Party Interactive Online Gambling Game Review - BestUSCasinos.org