If the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) didn’t think Australia was taking sports integrity seriously enough, the country is ready to prove it wrong. A new Sport Integrity Australia Advisory Council (SIAAC) has been formed by the government to oversee all facets of integrity in Australia’s sports scene and comes as part of the country’s updated Sports Integrity Act, revised last year.

Cheating in sports has been around as long as sports have been played – there are always those who will do anything to win, even if it means breaking the rules. The expansion of sports gambling has made the situation even worse, though, with plenty of cases of match-fixing being documented in order to skew the outcome and allow some gamblers to pick up huge paydays. However, there is a growing and concerted global effort to combat integrity issues in sports, and Australia, like many other countries, is dedicating resources to clean up the sports industry.

The SIAAC comes about as Australia put forth a solid plan to monitor the country’s sports activity for both match-fixing and athlete performances. The Sport Integrity Australia agency was launched by the government last year, bringing together the work of both the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and the National Integrity of Sport Unit to provide better oversight and management of the country’s sports industry. The newly-announced SIAAC will be led by nine counsellors, each with his or her own skills and experience to help counter “money laundering and complex integrity issues,” according to Australian Sports Minister Richard Colbeck. He adds, “I am pleased to announce the nine-member advisory council. Each member brings skills and knowledge to provide advice on all areas of sports integrity. It follows the Australian Government’s recent investment of $10.1 million [$7.8 million] to introduce an independent complaints handling process within Sport Integrity Australia.”

Leading the group will be Sarah Kenny, the VP of World Sailing, who will serve as its chair. She will work alongside Paralympics Australia CEO Lynne Anderson, Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland, former athlete Margo Foster, New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney, sports consultant Scott Draper, former National Children Commissioner Megan Mitchell and public policy adviser Jason Marocchi. Kenny says of her new responsibilities, “I am looking forward to working with the other highly respected Advisory Council members to bring together our combined experience and knowledge to advise on all aspects of sport integrity and to assist in safeguarding the integrity of Australian sport. By establishing Sport Integrity Australia and the National Sports Tribunal, increasing investment into independent compliant handling and forming the Sport Integrity Australia Advisory Council, Australians can be confident everything possible is being done to keep the sport they love clean, safe and fair.”

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Move over Jeff Bezos, there’s a new richest person in the world. On Thursday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is seeking to transform transportation in Las Vegas, officially took over that title.

Forbes tracks that in real-time on its web site. As of 10 pm ET Saturday, the magazine valued Musk’s net worth at $189.7 billion. That’s $4 billion more than Amazon founder Bezos.

On social media, Musk treated the occasion as a ho-hum affair.

How strange

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021

Well, back to work …

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021

Musk’s rise up to the top of the Forbes chart has simply been phenomenal. In March 2020, Musk was still very wealthy, but his net worth at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was only $24.6 billion. That means his net worth has shot up nearly seven-fold in 10 months.

While best known for his roles with car-maker Tesla and private aerospace transportation firm SpaceX, Musk also founded The Boring Company (TBC). That company is finishing work on an underground loop that will transport visitors across the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC).

The underground tunnel system uses high-speed, self-driving Tesla vehicles to take conventioneers from one end of the LVCC to another. What would take 15 minutes walking will take only a minute in the Loop.

According to 8 News Now, officials from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said the work on the $52 million project is “substantially complete.”

Vegas Wants More of Musk’s Business

The LVCVA Board of Directors is scheduled to meet Tuesday for its first meeting of 2021. On the docket are two agreements with TBC.

The first would allow CVA management to sign off on a deal allowing The Boring Coming to operate the Convention Center Loop for 16 months, starting on Feb. 1. The amount of that deal is not to exceed $6.25 million.

Last month, the Las Vegas City Council agreed to let the project move forward. Clark County officials are expected to review the 15-mile project next month.

While risky, especially as the COVID pandemic has hurt Vegas casinos. if the underground loops succeed, it could lead to Musk building similar projects elsewhere.

Musk Not Alone

Musk’s meteoric wealth accumulation is not an anomaly among the mega-rich during the pandemic.

While Musk has certainly been one of the biggest winners, even Bezos has seen his net worth jump from $113 billion last spring to $185.7 billion.

Even businessmen with ties to the gaming industry have seen their net worth rise.

At No. 30 on the Forbes list is financial entrepreneur Daniel Gilbert. Though most famous for owning the Cleveland Cavaliers and being the co-founder of Quicken Loans, Gilbert also serves as the chairman of JACK Entertainment. That company operates a casino in downtown Cleveland and a racino in nearby North Randall, Ohio.

Seven spots below Gilbert is Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. This past week, Adelson took a leave of absence to resume treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

While gaming across the globe has taken a substantial economic hit because of the pandemic, Adelson, according to Forbes, has made a nice recovery. His net worth went from $34.5 billion in October 2019 to $26.8 billion last April. However, his current net worth has rebounded to $35.6 billion.

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US-focused supplier of online gambling solutions GAN has completed the previously announced acquisition of digital gambling operator Coolbet.

GAN paid €149.1 million (approx. $175.9 million) in cash and stock for the fast-growing digital gaming and sports betting brand.

Coolbet was launched in 2016 and has expanded its presence across multiple markets over the past several years, with a particular focus on the Nordics, Canada, and Latin America. Its sports betting and casino operations are powered by in-house software. The brand is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority.

GAN announced plans to acquire Coolbet in November. The company said back then that the digital gambling operator would help it venture into the fast-growing US B2C online gaming and sports betting markets. GAN already boasts growing presence in the local B2B market as it delivers its technology solutions to a number of land-based casinos around the nation.

In a press release announcing the deal’s closure, GAN said Monday that integration of Coolbet’s proprietary betting technology into GAN’s own B2B technology stack has begun ahead of the transaction’s finalization.

GAN said that it expects the newly integrated offering to become broadly available in the US market by the third quarter of the year.

Transaction to Be Immediately Accretive

Coolbet’s founder, Jan Svendsen, will remain with the operator and will be tasked with overseeing its iGaming and sports betting operations in Northern Europe, Canada, and Latin America. In addition, he will also advise on trading services and technical integrations with GAN’s clients around the US.

GAN said that it expects the addition of Coolbet to their operations to be immediately accretive to the business.

Commenting on their combination with Coolbet, GAN’s CEO, Dermot Smurfit, said that the deal has brought together “two best-in-class offerings” in the online gambling space and has created a fully-integrated offering that is customizable for each of their clients’ needs.

Mr. Smurfit went on to say that he expects the integration process to be seamless and that GAN has already begun welcoming Coolbet’s team to the larger organization. The online gambling operator employed more than 175 people prior to its acquisition by GAN.

GAN’s tie-up with Coolbet was the latest of a series of big announcements made by the technology provider in recent months. As reported by Casino News Daily in early October, GAN sealed a multi-year deal with US casino and hospitality giant Wynn Resorts to power its online gaming and digital sports betting debut in Michigan.

Online betting is set to start in the state later this month. Wynn and GAN will be able to provide digital gambling services to Michigan residents through the latter’s existing partnership with Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which operates five casinos around the state under the Kewadin Casinos brand.

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A Florida lawmaker is trying to push the state and tribes to come to an agreement, and finally open up legal sports betting. State Senator Jeff Brandes proposed three bills in late December, all concerning sports betting.

Bill 392 would authorize the Department of the Lottery to operator sports wagering. In addition, Bill 394 would impose at 15% tax on “sums received from a sports pool,” and Bill 396 creates a $100,000 application and renewal fee for sports wagering licenses. Revenues from the bills would be dedicated to funding education for the state.

Although the bills have strong motivation to pass, considering Florida has an expected $3 billion shortfall in revenue for the next two years, the bills are perceived to be more of a message to the Tribes and state to fix their gaming pact. The legislature ended its 2020 session with no agreement reached.

The Seminole Tribe has objected to Florida’s push to legislate sports wagering without a referendum. A 2018 amendment legislated that any expansion of gambling be voted on by the people, and require 60% to pass. The Seminole Tribe then stopped making monthly payments to the state when their compact expired in 2019, and hasn’t reached a new deal since, citing “a mechanism to shut down the illegal banked card games.”

Senator Brandes’ attempt and brinksmanship could result in one of a few things. The state could get sports betting without the Tribe’s involvement, or the tribes might come back to the bargaining table, or it could force court battles to decide the future.

If the Seminole do come back, the legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis better get on the same page first. A tentative agreement was thrown out by DeSantis in the 2020 session.

Michigan plans for sports betting rollout

Sports betting has been legalized in Michigan, but now it’s a question of when it will be available. “I fully expect that sometime this month we’ll see a launch,” State Senator Curtis Hertel said on January 2. “What exact day it is I’m not sure at this point.”

“I expect every casino in Detroit and most of the tribes will have a partner and will be online,” Hertel added. “I think we’re talking about a dozen different offerings that will be available.”

Navajo Nation hurting

Still under a Covid-19 lockdown, the news keeps getting worse for Navajo Gaming. Four casinos owned by the group furloughed 1,100 employees, announcing the layoffs on New Year’s Eve.

“COVID-19 has had devastating costs and without Navajo leadership, it, no doubt, would have been worse,” said Navajo Gaming Board Chair Quincy Natay. “However, we are a resilient and adaptable Nation. We rise to the occasion, sacrifice, and find a balance.”

Connecticut legislature to consider sports betting

Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney is warning that Connecticut better adopt sports betting before it falls behind the rest of the nation, and hopes to see progress this year. If the Governor reaches a deal with Tribes and everything gets sorted out, DraftKings has a deal in place with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to get things started.

Eagle Mountain Casino is moving

The Tule River Tribe’s Eagle Mountain Casino is moving to Porterville, California! The move will allow the tribe to focus their water supply on local housing needs, and make the trip to the casino shorter for many of its patrons. “We are grateful to the Office of Indian Gaming, the BIA Regional Office and the Assistant Secretary’s office for their service to Indian Country and for helping us create much needed jobs and provide opportunities for the local community.,” noted Tribal Chairman Neil Peyron.

Spokane Tribe Casino to double in size

The Spokane Tribe of Washington have broken ground on an expansion project, looking to add 20,000 square feet to their casino in Airway Heights. The construction is expected to be completed in late 2021, with new expansion plans expected to be announced that that time.

Caesars and Cherokee make a deal

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have agreed to buy a southern Indian casino from Caesars Entertainment for $250 million. The 20-year-old casino will add to the Cherokee’s efforts to expand their holdings, and ward off threats from other growing tribal gaming operations.

Wind Creek offers online sports betting with Betfred

In a partnership with Betfred U.S.A. Sports, Wind Creek Bethlehem have launched their online sports betting platform for Pennsylvania. “Launching the online sportsbook provides a dynamic element to our online gaming experience that enables our guests to engage with us and play from anywhere they like while in Pa. without requiring any traveling,” said Ken Rohman, chief marketing officer of Wind Creek Hospitality. “We are proud to add online sports betting to the Wind Creek Casino online portfolio, and close out 2020 with yet another offering for our valued guests.”

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Despite most tribal casinos in the U.S. not having to close their doors, unlike their commercial counterparts, because of COVID-19, many still decided to take precautions to help control the global pandemic. Some tribal casino operators were able to maintain some level of normalcy during the chaos, but others suffered. The Navajo Nation, a native Indian tribe that operates casinos in Arizona and New Mexico, falls into the latter group and 2021 isn’t getting off to a good start for its casinos. Operated through Navajo Gaming, the four gambling venues have furloughed over 1,100 employees, and permanent closures may be on the way.

The layoffs were announced on New Year’s Eve, not a great way to celebrate having survived one of the most brutal economic years in recent history. The closure announcement impacts the Twin Arrows casino in Arizona and New Mexico’s Fire Rock, Flowing Water and Northern Edge. Navajo Gaming Interim CEO Brian Parrish said in making the announcement, “Due to the extended closure, since March 17, 2020, our business operations have been severely impacted, and as a result, we must make very difficult financial and personnel decisions.”

As a result of the closure, only 165 employees will still be working, but that could change quickly, too. The tribe is monitoring how quickly things turn around and, if COVID-19 can be brought under control, the properties may be reopened. If not, they will be permanently shut down and the remainder of the workforce will be let go, as well. 

Should that shutdown become reality, the four cities the casinos serve stand to lose around $500 million total in annual revenue and economic output. That would make an already tough situation more difficult, as states are already dealing with major budget shortfalls because of the coronavirus situation. 

However, the Navajo feel they should be seen as an example of how to overcome diversity, with Navajo Gaming Board Chair Quincy Natay explaining, “Our mission is to enhance the quality of life of the Navajo people by growing a successful gaming economy. The Nation’s vision took years to build, but the Nation has been successful. If it allows its gaming industry to fail, a permanent closure will cause a long-term setback for Navajo economic development, even if it eventually reopens. The Nation has faced and overcome world wars, the Long Walk, the burning of crops and killing of herds, the theft of our land and forced relocation, the 1918 flu, Tuberculosis, and the theft of children by boarding schools. COVID-19 has had devastating costs and without Navajo leadership, it, no doubt, would have been worse. However, we are a resilient and adaptable Nation. We rise to the occasion, sacrifice, and find a balance.”

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