Daily Archives: September 2, 2021

Forbes reported earlier this year that the U.S. sports betting market generated $1 billion in revenue in 2020, and that number is projected to grow sixfold by 2023. | Paul Sancya/AP Photo

OAKLAND Major gambling players intend to ante up $100 million for an online sports betting initiative that would fund homelessness and mental health efforts, adding a new wrinkle to the 2022 battle over California's lucrative gaming future.

Proponents told POLITICO they will file the California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act" today with the state attorney general's office. Top backers include DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM, and they will establish a campaign committee today, according to campaign manager Dana Williamson, a veteran political strategist who advised former Gov. Jerry Brown.

Though 21 states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia now allow online sports betting after a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the California ballot measure would be the first in the nation to dedicate a permanent revenue stream for homelessness and mental health programs.

Permanent solutions require a permanent funding source. The California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act will raise hundreds of millions of dollars annually to fight homelessness and expand mental health support in California by allowing regulated entities to offer safe, responsible sports betting online," Williamson told POLITICO in a statement.

The potential windfall from such a measure could be huge. Forbes reported earlier this year that the U.S. sports betting market generated $1 billion in revenue in 2020, and that number is projected to grow sixfold by 2023.

Proponents insist the measure does not conflict with a sports-betting initiative backed by California gambling tribes that is already headed for the 2022 ballot. That initiative would allow for in-person sports betting at tribal casinos and racetracks. Backers of the new proposal called their measure "complimentary" to the tribal one.

Any online sports betting operator seeking to participate in the California marketplace must do so by partnering with a California tribe," Williamson said, noting that a portion of the measures revenue is dedicated to uplifting Tribal communities."

Still, the initiative could open a third front in the battle for control of a lucrative new gambling sector. Native American tribes have already donated roughly $12 million to qualify the measure that would give them control over sports wagering. Meanwhile, card rooms have spent $450,000 so far to pass a rival proposition giving them a slice. Tribes and card rooms have long battled over gambling revenue and turf.

Given how many of Newsom's consultants are tied to the new initiative, the effort also risks cleaving Newsom from Native American tribes, one of his most financially powerful supporters. Tribes have channeled more than $3.2 million so far to beating back the recall, accounting for some 5 percent of the roughly $60 million Newsom has raised.

Williamson, who served as Browns cabinet secretary, heads a powerhouse group of California political players hired to get the measure across the finish line. Also involved: Bearstar Strategies, the political consulting team behind Newsom, Kamala Harris, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and San Francisco Mayor London Breed, among others. So is Nathan Click, the former communications director for Newsom and current spokesperson for the anti-recall campaign and David Binder, the pollster for Newsom and the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama.

With three separate proposals potentially headed to the ballot, the issue could be resolved next summer in the state Capitol. Lawmakers could craft a compromise measure that would prompt tribes, card rooms, race tracks and the sports betting giants to withdraw their proposals before next fall. But the interest groups have tried for years to get their own versions of bills through the Legislature without success.

It was not immediately clear how the new proposal would divvy up revenues between mental health services, homelessness and tribes that affiliate with online gambling firms.

The initiative calls for 85 percent of total revenue to go to homelessness and mental health, with 15 percent going to tribal communities, proponents say.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said he welcomes the measure. As a Democratic assemblymember, Steinberg spearheaded the 2004 initiative that increased income tax rates on millionaires to pay for mental health services.

It is a rare occasion when any initiative seeks to dedicate hundreds of millions of dollars or more for the cause," he said in an interview. "Funding mental health programs and fighting homelessness is currently subject to the whims of the economy."

Backers could face opposition from those concerned about expanding gambling access in California, as well as gambling interests that get cut out of proceeds. Proponents say the new initiative strictly limits online betting to individuals 21 years of age or older, using the most advanced and proven technology to enforce restrictions, and it imposes fines of up to $100,000 for any operator who knowingly accepts bets from minors."

The initiative also gives the California Department of Justice "broad power to regulate online sports betting in California to ensure there is no corruption or illegal activity in the market," proponents say.

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Sports gambling giants back new online betting initiative in California - POLITICO Magazine

Chinese authorities are coming down hard on online gambling in China. Similar events are starting to happen in Cambodia, raising questions as to how all of this will end

It is 1:30pm, Sotheary (not her real name) is sitting on the wooden floor of her house, facing a mirror propped against the wall as she combed her hair, allowing it to fall on her shoulders.

She finishes her make-up with some blusher, slaps on a liberal amount of red lipstick, and checks herself in the mirror one last time.

The make-up has to be heavy, so we look good on camera, she quips, grabbing her handbag on her way out.

The 26-year-old is off on her motorcycle, manouvering through a warren of potholed dirt paths to the main road of Sihanoukvilles city centre, promptly arriving at her workplace, a beach hotel where she enters through the back door, evading attention.

Five floors above, a supervisor looks at her watch, keeping a hawk eye over the quiet operation before her. Spread across the dark carpet are casino tables with overhead video cameras pointed at female dealers or croupiers, as they are known, dressed in black corsettes, bosoms pushed up.

All the time smiling, the croupiers deftly deal cards in a game of baccarat, black jack or Texas holdem for players on the other end of the spectrum who convey instructions and place bets via functions on the site.

This was last year. Two months ago, Sotheary lost her job as her employer refused to renew her contract along with a few others because their customers were always winning.

I am still looking for another job but most of the casinos are closed. Being a croupier is the only job I know how to do best, said the mother of one, who remains unemployed.

Presently hit by Covid-19, casinos in Cambodia are shut in compliance with the lockdown. However, it has become common knowledge that online gambling, whose websites feature a myriad of live casino games as well as slot machines, roulette, sports betting, lottery and poker, persisted in the shadows despite the government ban on January 1 last year.

Recent news reports of crackdowns on the activity in non-descript premises in Phnom Penh including Daun Penh and a massive raid by the military police in a condominium tower in Boeung Keng Kang 1 with the arrests of over 100 foreign nationals, and grim details of alleged human trafficking and abuses, only confirmed suspicions of its veiled continuity all these years.

For Sotheary and many casino workers, who had lost their job on the heels of the ban, and later with the closure of casinos in the height of the pandemic, were thankful that online operators were still hiring.

But they only look for good-looking people, she said, adding that she was recruited by a Cambodian, acting as an agent for the operator, via a social messaging app on April last year.

At that time, Kheang Phearum, spokesman for Sihanoukville Provincial Hall, told The Post that online gambling operators were riding out the tenure on their licence.

In March this year, Macau-based Asian Gaming Brief (AGB) wrote an editorial quoting industry expert Ben Lee, managing director of iGamix Management & Consulting Ltd, who expressed shock over the sectors activity in Sihanoukville.

We just [completed] a site survey in Cambodia for a client [in February] the fact that online gambling is coming back is a surprise, Lee told AGB, pointing out there was significant video streaming going on and there is still an army of telemarketers.

In a text message to The Post, he alleged that the area around the Golden Lion Circle, an iconic roundabout in the centre of coastal city Sihanoukville, was especially prolific with this activity.

However, a site visit last December as well as news reports later confirmed that such activities were also present in China City, a mix development project in Otres Beach.

Learning about this during the survey, Lee noted that online gaming activities took place on the top floors of some of the shuttered casinos and hotels, away from the publics eyes.

It is a notion backed by Sharon Singleton, managing director of AGB, an online intelligence service that provides market information on gaming issues. She alleged that many of the casinos in Sihanoukville were a little more than a front for the online gambling industry, with operators live-streaming table games to clients elsewhere, predominantly in China.

In fact, a manager of WM Hotel and Casino who was interviewed last year said: On the exterior, the buildings might look empty, abandoned or locked up but inside these buildings including established casinos, online gambling is going on.

The persistence of online gambling in Cambodia has no correlation with the closure of the casinosdue to the pandemic, Lee asserted.

Its continued existence is down to the lucrative earnings that operators make from players. Even more so in the last 12 months which saw the market value grow to $64.13 billion in 2020.

According to ResearchandMarkets.com, the value is expected to expand to $72.02 billion this year while London-based tech research and advisory firm Technavio estimated the size of the market to balloon to $114.2 billion by 2024.

About 36 per cent of that growth will likely originate from Asia Pacific, Technavio said last year.

Back home, the market value of the segment has halved, indicating a smaller playing field since the ban, where gross gaming revenue (GGR) stood around $2 billion compared to some $5 billion three years ago, Lee said.

A snapshot of Nagacorp Ltds casino earnings for the first half of 2021.

What makes Cambodia an attractive location for such operators could be related to reasons both acrimonious and compelling. This, despite the legalisation of online gambling in the Philippines.

However, Lee offered that Philippines has a reputation for slaughtering the proverbial golden goose.

Their ambitious taxes but most importantly their hidden taxes, ranging between 20 and 50 per cent, have always been a deterrent to long term foreign investment, he commented.

Steve Vickers, CEO of Hong Kong-based Steve Vickers and Associates Ltd, shared that while the Cambodian authorities no doubt seek to curtail illegal gaming, their capacity is limited and capability of organised crime is large.

For its part, the Chinese government is seeking to limit offshore gaming, in the Philippines and in Cambodia, amongst other destinations, but will face a challenge in terms of enforcement, particularly in overseas locations.

It is that regulatory arbitrage which has allowed for the expansion of the gaming industry in Cambodia and the Philippines, said Vickers, who once headed Hong Kong police departments Criminal Intelligence Bureau. His firm is a specialist political and corporate risk consultancy.

The increase in police crackdowns to stem the activity within China has been palpable. The government has drawn up laws to curb capital outflows and issued warnings to blacklist countries that are a target for Chinese gamblers. Observers reportedly said that Cambodia could be one of them, though the list has not been made public yet.

According to Chinas Ministry of Public Security, some one trillion yuan ($155 billion) in gambling funds are funnelled out of the country every year, calling the event a threat to national security.

Following its prosecution of 3,500 cases of illegal cross-border gambling last year, the closure of nearly 2,000 illegal payment platforms, and cancellation of some 145 passports of individuals suspected of being involved in cross-border gambling, the ministry has vowed to further intensify efforts to end the activity.

In December 2020, China passed an amendment to the criminal code outlawing the organisation or solicitation of cross-border gambling, both land-based and online, punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, said Martin Purbrick, chairman of the Asian Racing Federation Council (AFRC) on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Financial Crime in Hong Kong.

Chinese customers are a key market for illegal betting operators. The illegal betting market in China is significant, and a concern for the authorities, said Purbrick, a former special branch officer with the Royal Hong Kong Police, involved in counter-terrorism intelligence.

Two years ago, 25,000 people were arrested in China for illegal gambling-related activity, a figure which increased to 110,000 people in 2020.

Illegal betting raids were noted in every province across China, as well as transnationally, disrupting online betting hubs in the Philippines and Cambodia, and driving illegal betting activity further afield, as well as further underground, Purbrick said.

Loss of gambling revenue

On the face of it, the casino sector in Cambodia has been under pressure as the number of junkets plunged on the back of diminished flights.

As at end-December 2019, there were 193 registered casinos but the pandemic cut out a chunk as only 101 operators applied to renew their licence up to mid-March this year.

In Sihanoukville, where nearly two-thirds of Cambodias casinos are housed, foreign direct investment (FDI) surged to some $1 billion in 2018, a majority of that being Chinese construction financing luxury hotels, residential towers and office structures.

It changed the landscape of a previously coastal backwater into a casino metropolis that lured investors and tourists, including high-rollers.

Just before the implementation of a sub-decree that outlawed online gambling, it was a norm in casinos, ringing in millions from a captive audience worldwide, mostly China.

Junkets or trips consisting of high rollers complemented this earnings where agents hired tables from casinos for a fee to host VIP games for physical players who were made up of gambling holidaymakers or career gamblers.

In addition, 50,000 to 60,000 young Chinese professional players living in Sihanoukville supported this gambling sub-segment, an article by beltandroad.news stated last year.

Up till then, Cambodia was raking a plump tax revenue from the sector, peaking at $85 million at the height of the industrys growth in 2019, with one third from online gambling.

Following the ban, where nearly 450,000 Chinese nationals left by the end of 2019, as well as the coronavirus blight, tax revenue fell more than half to $40 million in 2020.

Things got even worse in the first half of 2021, as the revenue nosedived by 90 per cent year-on-year, said Ros Phearun, deputy director for financial industry under the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).

The revenue this year is very limited because all the casinos are closed. It is less than one per cent of the budget, he told The Post.

This is indicative of the losses experienced by casinos in the region which had survived on junkets, like Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp Ltds NagaWorld in Phnom Penh.

In its first fiscal half ended June 30, 2021, it reported a net loss of $77.2 million versus $20.6 million net profit in the corresponding period last year due to the suspension of business operations since March 2 this year, which also caused GGR to fall 67.2 per cent to $129.3 million from last year.

According to its filing with Hong Kong Exchange, most of the revenue was locked in between January 1 and February 20, 2021, thanks to a reasonably-sized expatriate community in Cambodia and East Asian visitors from China, South Korea and Taiwan who were in search of entertainment.

Similarly, Australia-listed Donaco International Ltd, which owns Star Vegas Resort and Club in border town Poipet, Cambodia, and Aristo International Hotel in Vietnam, recorded dim casino operations but managed to return to the black with $25 million net profit in its financial year ended June 30, 2021, due to proceeds from a legal settlement. But, revenue took a beating, slumping 81 per cent to A$10.3 million from a year ago.

No VPN needed

While the focus of the online gambling sites is inherently overseas, social media apps within Cambodia have allegedly enabled locals to play online, although the law explicitly states that Cambodians cannot gamble, calling it a criminal offence.

Most of the websites, with Khmer language pages on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Telegram act as invitations to treat for new players, coaxing them to sign up while delighting customers with fancy promotions.

The domain address for these webpages change often though, as some sites open up as error after a few months of being active.

This likely indicates the use of mirror websites, AFRCs Purbrick said. Mirror websites are exact replicas of a betting website with different URLs [uniform resource locators], for example xyz123.com, xyz456.com and xyz789.com. Betting operators create tens or hundreds of such mirrors hosted on the same or multiple servers in order to migrate customers from one URL to another if a particular URL is blocked by authorities.

Such migration can be done in minutes. The existence of mirror websites therefore indicates that the operator is attempting to keep its activity away from regulatory attention, he explained.

Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications did not respond to questions.

Meanwhile, Purbrick noted that illegal betting operators could have a licence in a jurisdiction other than the location where the customer places a wager. What it means is that betting might not be legal in the country where the point of sale takes place.

Hence, if any online betting operators in Cambodia accept bets from customers in China they are clearly breaking the law in China, said Purbrick, who is also a consultant to the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

The illegal betting market, an offshoot of the online gaming industry which focusses on e-sports, is huge, reporting a global turnover of over $500 billion.

To stop this, governments of countries where online betting operators are located should recognise that a license in one country does not mean that the operator is legally taking bets in another country, and that appropriate action should be taken to prevent it.

He cited third party payment platforms such as Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, WeChat Pay and Alipay as being popular and a key means of payment for illegal online betting.

In Cambodia, the initiation of new online players is fairly easy and there is no need for the use virtual private network (VPN) to access the sites.

A check revealed that a new customer only needs to sign up and deposit some money into the bank account of a designated holder on the website or use e-wallet options in order to play. Some of the common choices provided by the websites are local commercial banks where players can also cash out their winnings.

When asked, the top heads of the financial institutions asserted their position against online gambling sites promoting their banking services to players.

Acleda has a strict policy that never ever services any customers engaged in gambling. [It] includes employees [who] are not allowed to gamble or even visit any gambling facility, its president and group managing director In Channy stressed.

We have a compliance centre monitoring daily to check suspicious transactions [and] if they breached the terms and conditions. The compliance team contacts the customers immediately to stop such transactions, like gambling. Otherwise the bank will close the accounts of the customers, he told The Post.

Similarly, the head of another commercial bank, which has one of the largest retail payment subscribers, said his unit terminated more than 30 billers or partners soon after the government banned the activity in 2019.

Asked if some accounts possess non-distinguishable characteristics with regular accounts or that they act as shell accounts for transactions, he said their bank accounts have a transaction limit that has been implemented to help the bank comply with Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism guidelines.

If the transaction is not abnormal and complies with all the rules and regulations of National Bank of Cambodia, and is coming from an individual account that has proper KYC [know-your-customer] documentation, it by default is a normal transaction, he said.

Adding that all abnormal transactions are monitored daily, he shared that each account has different customer risk profiling in monitoring.

We have customer profiling and transaction monitoring including World Check [intelligence] and other international prohibited lists ... in the past many accounts have been blocked and removed. Abnormal transactions are monitored and flagged, he reiterated.

`Not the end for gambling

Early this year, the Law on the Management of Integrated Resorts and Commercial Gambling was passed after sitting on the backburner for nearly 10 years.

The pace for its implementation picked up last year as Cambodia entered into EUs list of 12 high-risk countries which posed significant threats to the blocs financial systems for failures to tackle money laundering and terrorism financing.

Apart from that, Cambodia has also been cited in anti-money laundering reports by the Financial Action Task Force or UN Office on Drug and Crime.

For one thing, the law aims to bring order to the gambling industry which has seen a spate of criminal activities reportedly committed by Chinese nationals, ranging from the kidnapping of alleged gamblers for ransom or not settling their gambling debts, to shootings, gang fights and murder.

It is not known if the increased police crackdowns on online gambling is a push by China but more is expected to take place, National Police spokesman Chhay Kim Khouen indicated.

We are not subsiding our operation against illegal online gambling, but you have to understand that it is not an easy job. Even gambling in the village is not easy to crack down because we are not only working on gambling. We have a lot of work, he said via telephone.

However, it is part of their agenda to continue. [Online] games I cannot say whether it is increasing or decreasing but the anti-cybercrime department works on this everyday, Chhay added.

The Chinese Embassy in Cambodia failed to respond to numerous attempts for comments.

Meanwhile, observers are mixed on the new law invoking a deep cleansing of the industry to rid illegal operators and lure integrated casino resorts via a competitive tax regime.

AGBs Singleton feels it is highly unlikely that many of the casinos would survive long-term without the ability to gamble online. [They] would undoubtedly close if the government does not relax its restrictions.

The gambling legislation per se is a helpful step forward to improve the image of the industry in Cambodia and will be welcomed but it is unlikely that it will completely transform the industry.

Instead, some key changes international investors might like to see is possibly allowing Cambodians to gamble, similar to Vietnam, although the activity is closely monitored.

For foreign investors, it is often a red line when it comes to investment given the added risk of being solely reliant on one type of clientele, which is foreign tourists, Singleton said.

Equally sceptical, Vickers said, while the law would help Cambodia to grow the casino industry, it might rely heavily on Chinese gamers.

Limitations on travel related to Covid-19, and efforts by China to curtail capital outflows [could] limit the activities and [restrict] excessive gaming, thus [affecting] growth, he said. That said, the incentives to develop the industry are strong, and should overcome challenges such as capital controls.

However, the irony is not lost on MEFs Phearun, who conceded that the crackdown in China could more or less have an effect on Cambodias casino sector but hoped that investments in integrated resorts does not dampen.

Going forward, would the law rid Cambodia off online gambling operators? Perhaps force them to move to the Philippines?

Probably not, Singleton opined. The Philippines brings its own set of problems and many who are operating there are finding the business conditions difficult, primarily because of increasing costs and hostility towards Chinese working in the sector.

Some are already leaving for other jurisdictions and I believe Cambodia is one of the beneficiaries, she said.

Can the law raise the stakes in the casino industry? Is the casino sector a sunset industry in Cambodia?

I dont think this spells the end of gambling in Cambodia. Nagacorp, for example, is a highly respected operator and one of the most profitable in the world, showing that with the right conditions Cambodia can be a very strong market, Singleton said.

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Sleepless in sin city Will half-sized, outlawed online gambling sector persist below the surface in Cambodia? - The Phnom Penh Post

Top sports betting companies are now helping the effort to bring online betting to California. A new effort is being launched today that involves the help of BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings. Known as California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act, the campaign will push to legalize online sports betting in the state with revenues going towards helping the homeless and mental health needs.

Dana Williamson is the campaign manager of the new initiative, a first of its kind in the United States. A campaign committee is in the works to help further the effort. In speaking with POLITICO, Williamson discussed how the new gaming option would provide a permanent funding source for those in need.

Major Contribution

According to Williamson, permanent solutions need permanent funding. Online sports betting is a perfect solution as it would provide continual funding to assist in needs for mental health support as well as homelessness in the state. It is predicted that California would be able to bring in major revenues that would be beneficial in both areas of assistance.

Proponents of the initiative say that the measure is not conflicting with a current sports betting plan that state tribes are pushing. The tribal option is already heading for next years ballot. It would provide in-person betting at casinos operated by tribes as well as racetracks. This new option is considered a compliment to the tribal effort.

Will It Work?

California has long been a state that has seen its fair share of issues when it comes to passing online gambling legislation. In the past, efforts have been thwarted due to the tribes, card rooms, and racetracks unable to meet a compromise as to who should be involved and how gaming should function. Unfortunately, the issues have led to the gambling industry falling behind other states when it comes to iGaming.

The Native American tribes of California have donated over $10 million to push the measure for sports betting and card rooms have spent money as well to pass a rival plan that will allow them to be involved. This new initiative throws a third ball in the ring and could lead to even more problems.

Since there could be three proposals going to the ballot in the state, the issue may be taken care of in the state Capitol first. Lawmakers may decide to create legislation that will be a compromise for all potential stakeholders. This way, at least online sports betting has a chance to move forward. However, only time will tell if this will occur.

For now, it will be interesting to see how the new initiative moves forward and how much support it will find along the way.

Originally posted here:

Another online sports betting bill in the works for California - World Casino Directory

Today, the video gaming industry is the fastest-growing worldwide. It is estimated to be over $170 billion. This has resulted from various technology changes.

Perhaps, the greatest change in this industry is expanding geographical regions for gamers. More people are now playing games; thus, high demand for easier ways to access games and more immersive entertainment. Lets now explore the main causes of the tremendous growth in the gaming industry.

Gamers have agreed to adopt digital games. This has brought various changes to the world. The new online content distribution has led to low physical copy sales.

Moreover, it has led to an increase in the development of hardware capabilities and fast downloads speed such as 5G. The high-speed download means there is less reliance on gaming discs. These used to be time-consuming but no more; you can now easily access a game after its released.

Online gambling has contributed to the rise of the gaming world. People love gambling, and when it became possible for one to gamble in the comfort of their homes, it led to a higher number of gamblers.

In addition, there was the arrival of safer, secure, and anonymous payment methods such as cryptocurrencies. These payment methods enabled the growth of the online gambling industry.

The other reason is that women love to gamble. Studies have reported that more women have continued to register with online casinos to play their favorite games. It has been influenced by the opportunity of playing anywhere and at any time.

Nevertheless, online gambling has some downsides. You need a reliable and trustworthy provider; therefore, you can check on legit casino sites at BonusesOnline.com.

Since the development of virtual reality and AR, these technologies are driving the online gaming industry. Some of the games have become successful with the development of these technologies, such as Pokmon Go.

Virtual reality gives you the ability to get a real experience while playing games. Most people are expecting online gambling to go into virtual reality, such that you will feel like its a real traditional casino.

If you are playing any game online, it has a feature that enables you to communicate with other gamers. Some of the common social platforms include Twitter and Facebook. And the good thing, the feature is available when playing with Smartphones, tablets, or laptops.

These games will allow you to offer lives to friends playing the game, ask friends for bonuses, lives, among others. Therefore, the viral impact of social media has significantly contributed to the tremendous growth of the gaming industry.

Over the last decade, there has been a sharp increase in the creativity level of gaming designs. Some games have introduced a unique twist and military themes in the first-person shooter genre.

In addition, game developers have done more particularly looking for ways to attract women. Other unexpected benefactors for the explosion of the gaming industry are the arrival of computer peripherals these include gaming headsets and gaming mice.

Graphics card makers have made it possible for improvement of the gaming world including the giant NVIDIA. The current graphics allows you to have a cinematic and immersive experience. It, therefore, becomes interesting while watching or playing games.

Expansion of market demographic is another significant factor that has enabled tremendous growth in the gaming industry. People of all ages will now play games.

Top-level gamers can now compete in the eSports games, making them recognized. Therefore, video games are now popular, and you can stream online to make real money. So, gamers are taking the opportunity to generate revenue from what they like to do.

The online video game industry is always about innovations. New controls, new technologies, and new experiences are among the things gamers expect to see from time to time.

Technology has enabled people to spend more time on their phones; therefore, more mobile phone games and streaming services are expected to increase. Large companies will be willing to leverage their framework for them to be involved.

The interesting change you can see in the video game industry is an expansion of demographics for gamers. More people can now play games, look at the easiest ways to access these games and demands for immersive entertainment. That shows there is a bright future ahead of the video game industry.

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The Tremendous Growth of Video Gaming in the World - Californianewstimes.com

Gamblers in Connecticut could be betting on sports as early as next week as the state regulators approved the rules for the new industry Tuesday.

The Regulation Review Committee passed the 82-page document that laid out regulations for the sports betting and online gambling market by a 9-4 margin and with bipartisan support, according to a report from the Hartford Courant. They were passed as emergency regulations so that gamblers could begin placing bets by Sept. 9, which is the first day of the NFL season.

Last March, the states two federally recognized tribes agreed to a deal with Gov. Ned Lamont that would allow the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribe to offer sports betting and online gambling, including online poker. The Connecticut Lottery would also be allowed to offer sportsbooks.

Two months later, after the deal was in place, the state legislature passed a bill that would allow for the markets to emerge, creating the largest gambling expansion in state history. Afterwards, lawmakers went to work on amending the existing gaming compact.

Since the issue deals with federally recognized tribes, the compact still needs approval from the Department of the Interior, which is the federal agency that deals with tribal affairs. After that, there isnt anything legislatively standing in the way of the launch.

We expect action from the federal Department of Interior within the next two weeks on the compact amendments submitted in late July, and it is our understanding that that once that approval comes, the state Department of Consumer Protection will issue master wagering licenses, Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, told the Courant. With the NFL season kickoff fast approaching, we are working to launch online gaming and sports betting as soon as we are legally allowed to do so.

One of the more contentious issues in the regulations was the use of credit cards to fund online accounts. Regulators decided to let an individual register one credit card to his or her accounts, but payment processors like PayPal and Venmo would not be allowed.

Since the rules were passed as emergency measures, the state can still amend them over the next six months.

A launch date for online gambling and poker has not yet been announced.

The rest is here:

Connecticut Sports Betting Could Launch In Time For The NFL Season - CardPlayer.com

Girls just wanna have fun? A Great Britain study reveals differences, and a similarity, between male and female online gamblers. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

The global public opinion researcher YouGov has published a study that reveals marked differences in attitudes towards online gambling among women and men in Great Britain (GB).

motivation stems from gambling being a fun thing to do

In its study What draws British women to online betting and what deters them? published August 30, the UK-based YouGov found that, however, the sexes think alike on one subject. When betting for money online, an equal share of 36% of men and women in GB cite their motivation stems from gambling being a fun thing to do.

The research surveyed male and female gamblers in Great Britain, which includes England, Scotland, and Wales but excludes Northern Ireland. YouGov states that GB women rank among the worlds highest in terms of online gambling participation.

While playing for fun is a shared trait, women outscore men when it comes to using their imaginations. Females who have wagered online over the last year are more likely than males 28% as opposed to 21% to say they gamble online so they can fantasise about winning.

Commonly held stereotypes between the sexes emerge in certain areas. 72% of women surveyed over the past 12 months are more willing than men (58%) to buy lottery tickets. Equally, with regard to preferences for playing online bingo or keno, the divide skews higher towards women at 6% compared to mens 2%.

Men predictably top the charts in online sports wagering at 45% versus 23% of women. Additionally, 20% of males against just 7% of females say that online betting enhances the experience of what theyre betting on, such as when watching sports.

The YouGov study also discovered that for 49% of men and 46% of their female counterparts, theres no particular reason that deters them from gambling. The market research firm posits that a targeted marketing message here could increase market share.

The online betting data crunched by YouGov noted that men are also more prone to wagering to demonstrate skill (6% vs. 1% of women). It also found that men (7%) are more active than women (1%) when it comes to poker. Similarly, 4% of males like to wager on daily fantasy sports as opposed to virtually no women.

Attitudinal differences between males and females also reveal the potential for more pinpointed marketing opportunities.

Women are more prone to feeling more strongly than men (45% vs. 39%) that online wagering should not be permissible. This dovetails to data which finds that men are more likely to have conversations about gambling with those close to them (20% vs. 12% of women). YouGov strongly speculates that this word-of-mouth communication drives more gambling activity among men, and that getting women talking to their friends about gambling more could well have the same effect.

Interestingly, the survey also uncovered that more men than women feel they might get addicted to gambling (9% vs. 6%).

Wrapping up its recent online gambling research, YouGov said its findings illustrated a considerable online divide as 33% of men wagered online during the past year, whereas the figure for women was much lower at 24%.

In conclusion, YouGov surmised that a combination of data usage, better understanding of consumer habits and motivation, plus well-crafted marketing initiatives could be an opportunity for online operators in Great Britain to increase their market share gain of female gamblers.

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GB Study Reveals Women's Attitudes to Online Gambling - VegasSlotsOnline