New York state Sen. Joseph Addabbo, Jr. (D-Queens), the lawmaker spearheading the push for the Empire State to embrace mobile sports betting, doesn’t just believe the state legislature will pass a bill soon to expand sports betting in the state.

He also believes the first bets could take place later this year.

“I remain optimistic that should it be in the budget April 1st, with a little initiative, our state government can get it up and running by Sept. 9th, which is the first day of the NFL football season,” Addabbo told Casino.org in an interview.

It’s been nearly three years since the US Supreme Court opened the door for sports betting nationwide. New York did take advantage and approve retail licenses for its four upstate casino resorts. In addition, Class III tribal casinos are also allowed to offer sportsbooks on their properties.

However, analysts and observers point out that New York misses out on a significant revenue stream since it does not allow mobile applications.

The senator said New York usually leads the way when it comes to state policy.

“We’re that car in the right lane with four wobbly wheels, and we’re limping along,” Addabbo said. “And these other fast cars like (New) Jersey and Pennsylvania are whizzing by us. That’s an odd spot for New York to be in.”

Sports Betting Part of NY Budget Talks

A recent study by Spectrum Gaming estimated that mobile sports betting could generate more than $1 billion in gross revenue for New York operators. If the state sets the tax rate at 10 percent, that would mean more than $100 million in annual revenue.

Addabbo’s bill, Senate Bill S1183, as well as legislation sponsored by state Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-Mount Vernon), sets the rate an 8.5 percent. However, that rate, like other portions of the bill are open to negotiation, the senator said.

The senator also noted that the original sports betting bill he filed a couple of years ago gave each casino one skin. Now, the bill offers them two, which means a potential of 14 skins, or mobile operators, for the state once the three downstate casinos are awarded.

I think that’s all part of the budget negotiations,” Addabbo told Casino.org. “How many skins and the license fee and the tax rate that is all part and parcel of the budget negotiations. It’s all part of the discussions that we’re going to have, and that’s where we’ll have to come to some agreement.”

Still, time is of the essence.

April 1, the start of New York’s budget year, is just 45 days away as of Monday. While that’s six and a half weeks, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters Monday, “in government, 45 days is a blink of an eye.”

Addabbo Concerned State-Run System Can’t Meet Demand

The good news is that Cuomo is on board with expanding sports betting in the state to include online applications. The bad news is, his vision for sports betting varies significantly from that of Addabbo and Pretlow. Those lawmakers chair the gaming committees in the respective chambers.

Both lawmakers’ bills call for New York to operate sports betting like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Each of the state’s casinos currently would get the chance to partner with two mobile operators.

Cuomo, though, wants the state to be in more control. He wants a system more like the lottery allowing the state to derive more of the revenue. That approach resembles what Rhode Island, Montana, New Hampshire, Delaware, and Oregon have implemented.

As Addabbo indicated, though, those states combined have a smaller population than New York.

“I’m concerned about New York having a product that can handle the volume and the growing, expanding the market,” Addabbo told Casino.org.

He also noted that Oregon leaders are already having second thoughts about their lottery-managed sports betting product.

Just last month, Gov. Kate Brown requested that the state’s legislature take up a bill allowing the Oregon Racing Commission to regulate sports betting and grant licenses.

“So, if it’s not good enough for Oregon, I don’t think it should be good enough for New York,” Addabbo said.

The post Addabbo Confident New York Mobile Sports Betting Can Launch This Year appeared first on Casino.org.

A debarred investment broker is out on bail after federal authorities charged him with stealing more than $400,000 from clients to pay personal debts, including money he owed casinos.

Apostolos Pitsironis, 52, faces up to 20 years in prison, according to a release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. FBI agents arrested him Wednesday in Dix Hills on Long Island. He made his initial court appearance that same day.

According to a complaint filed Tuesday by FBI Special Agent Rachel Cartwright, Pitsironis served as an advisor to an unnamed married couple for 10 years beginning in 2009. After he switched firms late in 2018, the couple moved their accounts to his new firm so he could continue to manage them.

A January 2019 announcement in Newsday showed Janney Montgomery Scott LLC hired Pitsironis to be its first vice president located at its Melville office. Previously, he worked as a branch manager for Wells Fargo.

Around that same time, authorities claim Pitsironis asked his clients for a $200,000 loan. They turned down his request.

Nearly six months later, between May 2, 2019, and June 11, 2019, they allege he made 22 wire transfers from the victims’ accounts to one he and his wife controlled. In making the transfers, Pitsironis falsely said he received verbal approval to make the transfers.

Financial advisors have a significant responsibility to appropriately manage the life savings of those who put their faith in them. Anyone who falls short on this front by engaging in illegal practices should, and will, be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr. in a statement.

Court records show Pitsironis posted the $200,000 bond on Wednesday.

More Than $60,000 Went to Casinos

Cartwright claimed Pitsironis spent at least $62,402 at three casinos. He sent $40,502 to an unnamed Atlantic City casino, and then another $15,000 to a second casino in the New Jersey town.

He also sent $2,000 to an unnamed casino in south Florida. Records indicate he also made more than $2,000 in payments toward a car and more than $1,700 to a landscaper.

Pitsironis also allegedly made withdrawals totaling $18,600. That included a $4,900 disbursement at an ATM at the first unnamed Atlantic City casino.

The funds became frozen about a week after the last transfers.

“As alleged, the defendant stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from investors to pay his personal debts, violating the trust they had placed in him to manage their money safely and honestly,” Acting US Attorney Seth D. DuCharme said in a statement. “This Office is committed to protecting the investing public from corrupt financial advisors like the defendant who put greed before their clients’ best interests.”

Bilking investors to pay off gambling debts or support a habit is not a new trend. Authorities have prosecuted several for operating Ponzi schemes to bankroll gaming sprees.

Sports radio personality Craig Carton received a 42-month federal sentence after using $5.6 million of investors’ money meant for a ticket-reselling business to fuel a gambling habit. After serving about a year in prison, he is currently on home incarceration.

Authority Banned Broker After Compliant

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) serves as a private regulatory authority over securities businesses. Its origins date back more than 80 years.

FINRA’s BrokerCheck indicated a client filed a complaint on June 17, 2019, that Pitsironis transferred $411,000 out of their account without permission. The record indicates Janney Montgomery Scott settled the case in full.

On June 19, records show that the firm terminated him after conducting its own review.

From Sept. 6, 2019, to Feb. 26, 2020, six more clients filed disputes. All indicate the client loaned Pitsironis money, but he either was slow in repaying or did not pay at all. In some cases, funds came from clients’ individual retirement accounts and faced tax penalties without a timely repayment.

Those six cases claimed damages totaling nearly $434,000. BrokerCheck says all parties settled the cases for nearly $370,000 combined.

The post Ex-Broker Arrested for Taking $411K from Clients, Some Money Went to Casinos appeared first on Casino.org.

Osaka, one of the leading candidate cities for one of Japan’s three casinos, says there is no set time line for the development and opening of the integrated resort (IR).

When Japan’s National Diet passed its Basic Policy on commercial gambling in 2019, officials in Osaka hoped to have a casino resort up and running in time for the city’s hosting of the 2025 World Expo. 2020 and the COVID-19 global pandemic impeded those ambitions.

In the prefecture and city’s latest implementation policy, there is no set target date for an IR opening.

COVID Delaying Japan IRs

Osaka is one of four cities that has publicly announced its IR candidacy. The others are Yokohama, Wakayama, and Nagasaki. Tokyo remains on the sidelines, but is considering an entry.

MGM Resorts is the front-runner to be selected by Osaka as its preferred partner. The Las Vegas-headquartered casino operator has formed a local consortium with ORIX, a financial services firm based in Japan.

During MGM’s 2020 full-year earnings call with investors and analysts this week, MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle confirmed that COVID-19 has greatly interrupted the company’s development plans in Japan.

“We’re a believer in Japan. We’ve spent a lot of time and energy becoming the sole one standing at the gate, if you will, in Osaka,” Hornbuckle said in answering a question regarding the company’s ongoing interest in the Asian country.

We haven’t had our people on the ground there for a better part of nine months. So, it’s going to take some time to rebound. But we have the intent, and I believe that the government still has the same intent of moving forward,” he added.

Hornbuckle expected Osaka’s announcement that there is no longer a concrete time line for the IR. He explained that Osaka has yet to inform MGM regarding the minimum standards and mandatory requirements of IR submissions.

“I think that will be coming out within the next several weeks,” Hornbuckle concluded.

Entain Fold Improves Osaka Odds

MGM Resorts kicked off the new year by going after Entain, the British sports betting and gaming behemoth formerly known as GVC Holdings. MGM offered 0.6 shares of its company for each share of Entain. But the all-equity bid, valued at more than $11 billion, was rejected.

MGM decided not to submit a higher offer. That was welcomed news among Osaka officials, as it allows MGM to be better suited to stay committed to its plans in Japan.

Gaming analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein said acquiring Entain would have likely reduced “MGM’s appetite for a large-scale Japan development.”

The post Osaka Concedes Integrated Resort Time Line a Mystery, No Target Date for Casino Opening appeared first on Casino.org.

Nevada’s gaming properties got some welcome coronavirus-related news from Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) on Thursday. He plans to gradually return gaming floor occupancy to 50 percent of capacity given the improvement seen in the number of COVID-19 cases.

Under his tentative schedule, casino gaming floors as of Monday (Feb. 15) will be able to have up to 35 percent capacity. That happens to be Presidents’ Day, a federal holiday when many workers have the day off.

On March 15, that number jumps to 50 percent. That is the limit that was in place before Sisolak announced his statewide “pause” in November.

For a couple of months, casino floors have been capped at 25 percent. Showrooms were limited to 50 people in the audience or 25 percent of capacity, whichever number was lower.

During his announcement on Thursday, Sisolak did not specifically mention changing limits for casino showrooms.

But he did say limits on public gatherings starting Monday will be upped to 100 people or 35 percent capacity, whichever is less. Then, as of March 15, the number jumps to 250 people or 50 percent capacity, whichever number is lower.

MGM Resorts Welcomes Sisolak’s Announcement

The governor’s plan initially appears to be welcome news for casino operators, though they still have to read the fine print.

We welcome today’s announcement and couldn’t be more excited about resuming entertainment, increasing occupancy, and working closely with state and local officials to bring back large-scale conventions,” MGM Resorts International spokesman Brian Ahern told Casino.org.

“World-class entertainment and conventions are key to Las Vegas’ recovery, and we will continue prioritizing the health and safety of guests and employees as restrictions are loosened, amenities are expanded, and Las Vegas and the economy bounce back,” he said. Ahern added that MGM will “carefully review the new regulations.”

As far as restaurants, indoor dining will be at 35 percent capacity as of Monday, under Sisolak’s plan. Guests will not be required to make reservations under the COVID-19 policy. The maximum number of people per table will go from four to six.

As of May 1, decisions about COVID-19 restrictions mostly will be left to local communities, under the governor’s current scenario. In the case of gaming properties, local leaders will work with the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission to set guidelines.

Relaxing of Casino Restrictions Is Necessary

When asked about the governor’s announcement, the Rev. Richard McGowan, a Boston College finance professor who closely follows gambling trends, said it seems “like a wise step. The infection rates seem to be going down … especially in California, so it is time to start to let go.”

Especially, for the brick-and-mortar casinos, “it is the only way they will survive,” McGowan said. For example, “the debt that MGM is carrying will sink that firm if they cannot start to fill the casinos.”

Looking ahead, there could be some mergers among casinos and casino companies “in order to stay solvent,” McGowan added.

Anthony Cabot, Distinguished Fellow of Gaming Law at UNLV’s Boyd School of Law, further predicted that the “relaxing of state restrictions is inevitable as the economic impact on the state’s major industry has been horrific.

“The new standards, however, need to be balanced with the efforts to increase the vaccine availability to frontline hospitality and casino workers,” Cabot added. “The state of Nevada cannot control the positivity rate of … casino patrons, but can contribute to the health and welfare of those who serve them.”

On Thursday, Sisolak did reaffirm that frontline hospitality workers will be prioritized for getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

So far, Nevada has administered about 390,000 doses of the vaccine. These include both first and second doses.

The governor also noted how the COVID-19 positivity rate was 21.7 percent at one point last month. Recently, it has been at about 14.3 percent.

The average number of new cases per day over the last 14 days is under 700, he added. In December, the number of daily cases was as high as over 2,700.

But Sisolak also recognizes that unemployment levels are “too high” and some businesses are “hanging on by a thread.” Las Vegas Strip casinos reported gross gaming revenue of $3.73 billion in 2020, their lowest haul since 1999.

He also wants business travel to Nevada to make a “comeback” and he wants the state to “relaunch our convention business.”

There has been a “balancing act” in developing health policies during the pandemic, Sisolak said. For example, some people want no capacity limits. Others, want strict capacity limits.

The post Nevada Gov. Sisolak Starts To Ease COVID-19 Limits on Casino Floors appeared first on Casino.org.

As the Bitcoin SV blockchain expands so does the need for easy accessibility and as a result you can now buy Bitcoin SV (BSV) on BuyBSV.com with VISA or MasterCard in: Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Greenland, Kenya, Peru & Taiwan.

This global expansion is additional to the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and European countries, namely, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania and United Kingdom.

Furthermore, websites, portals, blogs and vlogs can now embed our specially designed widget to their content allowing visitors easily purchase BSV and tip, pay for content, products or experiences with BSV. Just fill out the form at the bottom of the buyBSV.com website.

Editors’ Notes:

This is a joint effort between virtual currency trading platform Coinify and CoinGeek, this is a new super-simple way to buy BSV (.com); the only coin with a blockchain that scales (now), has utility (now) and is committed to a set-in-stone protocol for developers to build on (now).

For more on BSV, visit BitcoinSV.com and ‘come’ to the next major BSV event – CoinGeek Conference VII, in Zurich this April.

The post BuyBSV.com expands to seven new countries appeared first on CalvinAyre.com.