Australian casino operator Crown Resorts is disassociating itself from its former junket partners as the endless stream of negative news emerging from a regulatory inquiry shows no sign of abating.

On Friday, Crown announced that it had “suspended all activity with junket operators until 30 June 2021 while it undertakes a comprehensive review of its processes related to junket operators.”

Trying to calm investors as to the effect this new junket stance will have on operations, Crown said junket-based VIP play at its Melbourne and Perth casinos accounted for around 7% of its earnings over the past five years. Crown added that it’s also searching for someone to fill “the newly created role of Head of Compliance and Financial Crimes.”

Crown’s new anti-junket/pro-compliance stance follows a disastrous appearance by CEO Ken Barton at the New South Wales Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) inquiry into Crown’s suitability to hold a state gaming license. Barton claimed ignorance of a ‘cash desk’ at a Crown Melbourne VIP gaming room run by the Suncity Group junket.  

That admission, alongside other sketchy financial policies, prompted ILGA Commissioner Patricia Bergin to call Crown’s regulatory compliance “just extraordinarily troubling” and to say things had “really reached debacle levels.”

Further damaging info came as Barton confirmed that he’d supplied internal financial data to Crown’s largest shareholder James Packer ahead of Packer’s May 30, 2019 agreement to sell 20% of Crown’s shares to Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MRE).

MRE is run by Packer’s former joint venture partner Lawrence Ho. That share sale eventually fell apart as the ILGA raised questions about Ho’s ties to his father Stanley, with whom Crown had been ordered not to have any association.

On May 3, 2019, despite having stepped down from Crown’s board and relinquished any executive role, Packer asked Barton to send him financial forecasts for the company through 2022.

On May 21, Crown director Michael Johnston – an executive at Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings, through which Packer owned his Crown stake – followed up on this request by asking Barton to increase Crown’s revenue projections. Specifically, Barton told the inquiry that Johnston asked him to boost Crown’s expected VIP gambling revenue.

Barton, who told the inquiry that he couldn’t recall whether he’d done as Johnston asked, previously claimed that Crown’s board were in the dark regarding Packer’s plan to sell 20% of the company to Ho.

Johnston told the inquiry that Barton’s revised figures were “not as much as I was suggesting, but some modification,” including a “slightly higher assumed growth rate in table game revenue.”

Johnston also revealed that he’d provided MRE with Crown financial data ahead of the share sale, but that this data wasn’t the same as the report supplied by Barton. Johnston said he gave MRE data for Crown’s FY19 and FY20 fiscal years “where management’s forecasts were relative to consensus.” Johnston claimed that the data was “guidance, it was not detailed financial information.”

CROWN SYDNEY OPENING DATE

The inquiry’s findings could have a profound impact on Crown’s new baby, the AU$2b Crown Sydney Hotel Resort in the Barangaroo district. Crown said Friday that the venue would “progressively open … on or around 14 December 2020.”

From the start, Crown Sydney was intended as a hub for Asian VIP gamblers – which is why the company agreed to forego the right to host video poker machines (pokies), which cater to a more local clientele – a strategy that now appears spectacularly ill-conceived.

Assuming its gaming license isn’t revoked, Crown says the Sydney casino, once fully operational, will boast 30 table games in 12 private gaming salons in the hotel tower, with two other ‘main floor’ gaming rooms featuring a total of 129 tables and 66 electronic table games, plus six additional gaming salons. 

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With three days full of Bitcoin content, CoinGeek Live is set to deliver loads of the latest information you could want to find about digital currency and blockchain technology. If you’re new to the industry, and you’re not sure what this information could mean to your business, we have a little primer to help ease you in.

On Day 1, make sure to catch the opening remarks from Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen, who always does a great job of spelling out the vision of Bitcoin SV (BSV), and how it can enhance your business. He kicks off the day at 9:05 am EDT.

Immediately following him at 9:25 am EDT is CTO and Technical Director of nChain Steve Shadders, to speak on the latest Technical Updates of Bitcoin SV. There’s a good chance he speaks about how Bitcoin SV has now moved from micro-payments to nano-payments with the Rails update, opening up a new world of possibilities and use cases.

How does BSV achieve nearly instant payments with almost no fees? Better Payments: Improving the Consumer Experience with Bitcoin at 10:25 am EDT will look at how BSV’s infrastructure has been built to massively scale, reduce network congestion, and enable frictionless peer to peer transactions.

For business wondering how BSV fits in to global regulations, the 12:25pm EDT panel on Regulation of Digital Assets & Digital Asset Businesses has got you covered. BSV was built to work within the financial regulations of the world, and this panel will show you why that’s a good decision.

Day 2 starts a little earlier at 7:00am EDT, so set your alarms! And after a couple of interesting panels on the new technology made possible by BSV, content creators and affiliates will want to check out Re-Invent the Internet: New Models for Digital Media & User Content at 7:55 am.

For operators interested in how they can put their promotional campaigns on the blockchain, at 8:55am EDT we’ll learn how BSV is creating the best use cases for tokens with Token Solutions on Bitcoin SV.

Day 3 kicks off with a topic that’s just as important as any. Making Bitcoin Easy to Use for Everyone will feature two members from the HandCash team, and how they’re making Bitcoin so easy to use, even your grandma could do it.

That’s just a small sampling of the 40+ talks scheduled for CoinGeek live, with over 50 speakers expected to attend. And we haven’t even mentioned anything from the gambling track, which will deliver content specific to the gambling industry’s needs, or the important keynote speakers like Bitcoin creator Dr. Craig Wright.

You don’t want to miss any of CoinGeek Live; and the good news is, you don’t have to. Register for free at CoinGeekConference.com

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A Scottish gambler is suing Ladbrokes seeking to recover £3.3 million he gambled away with the bookmaker and claiming that the company broke the law by accepting his phone bets that he placed while on a holiday in Spain.

According to court papers, Terry Allan, 57, splurged about £400,000 a week at a Ladbrokes betting shop in Aberdeen where he lives. He mostly placed his bets over the telephone.

Mr. Allan owns oil recruitment firms that supply staff to the North Sea oil and gas industries. Court papers claim he was a valued customer at Ladbrokes’ Rose Street shop in Aberdeen due to his frequent bets and the huge amounts he wagered at the shop.

RELATED: Ladbrokes Eludes Penalty over Problem Gambler’s Victims NDAs

It is understood that he was regularly invited out with Ladbrokes management and was treated to golf trips to Spain with the bookmaker’s top officials after placing “many thousands” in wagers.

At some point he was even provided with a dedicated telephone line to the shop to lay bets. According to court papers, Mr. Allan was “on friendly terms” with staff at the Ladbrokes shop. The claimant would discuss his trips to Spain, which means that shop staff were aware he was in Spain when he placed many of his bets with the shop over the telephone.

Punter Seeks to Recover Bets Plus Interest

In documents filed in the London High Court, Mr. Allan’s lawyer, Thomas Hulme, said that between 2011 and 2019, the claimant was a “prolific customer” at the Labrokes shop placing regular bets, primarily over the telephone.

Mr. Hulme went on that in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, his client bet “many thousands of individual wagers” with Ladbrokes, with average weekly stakes of £400,000.

Mr. Allan seeks to recover more than £1.1 million he spent with Ladbrokes in 2016, another £1.1 million he gambled away in 2017, and £1.087 million he splurged on gambling with the bookmaker in 2018.

He also seeks to reclaim his bets from 2014 and 2015 but is yet to determine the amounts he spent and wants back. The gambler additionally wants to be paid an interest of 8%. He argues that every bet he placed over the telephone from his holiday home in Spain was illegal as Ladbrokes does not have a license to operate in that country.

All of the amounts Mr. Allan seeks from the bookmaker are minus his winnings.

Commenting on the matter, Ladbrokes said that they believe Mr. Allan’s claim “to be without merit and intend to defend it vigorously.”

News about Ladbrokes’ legal trouble emerge shortly after the gambling operator, which is part of GVC Holdings, was slammed in media for facilitating a punter’s excessive gambling as he was gambling away a one-off compensation he received after a botched operation that had left him severely disabled.

In a complaint forwarded to the UK Gambling Commission, lawyers representing Liam McCarron said that Ladbrokes kept taking bets from their client over a three-year period, even though it should have been obvious to the gambling operator that its customer was a vulnerable person who could not have been gainfully employed due to his physical impairment.

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Online casino games supplier NetEnt has strengthened its Pennsylvania foothold with the recent launch of its content with Wind Creek Casino.

Late in July, Wind Creek Bethlehem opened its online casino, Wind Creek Casino, making it the 10th digital gambling venue to go live in the Keystone State.

Under a partnership between NetEnt and Wind Creek, the latter can now offer the Swedish supplier’s popular games to its Pennsylvania gaming customers. The online casino has added a selection of NetEnt’s popular table games as well as a number of its slots, including local top performer Divine Fortune.

The progressive jackpot slot has awarded multiple six-figure prizes to lucky Pennsylvania players since it first became available in the state last year.

It should also be noted that NetEnt’s partnership with Wind Creek and the recent roll-out of its content with the online casino operation has further increased the content provider’s market share in the Keystone State, where it has expanded significantly since first entering it last summer.

NetEnt obtained a conditional license from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board that enabled it to offer its products to locally licensed online casinos in the spring of 2019. The supplier’s games became available when the state’s first online casinos were launched in July last year.

Wind Creek Deal Underlines NetEnt Status as a Go-to Supplier

Commenting on their alliance with Wind Creek, Brian Kraft, NetEnt Vice President Commercial, Americas, said that they consider it a major achievement to “be supporting Wind Creek in its online journey.”

Mr. Kraft went on to say that their deal with Wind Creek “underlines our status as a go-to supplier in Pennsylvania both with established operators and emerging brands.” He added that given the strong performance of their games in the local market, “this partnership will no doubt see Wind Creek make a big impact in the online landscape.”

Wind Creek Hospitality CMO Ken Rohman said that with NetEnt’s portfolio of games they are in a “strong position to quickly gain market share.”

News about NetEnt expanding its presence in Pennsylvania emerge shortly after the Swedish online casino supplier announced that it would soon debut its content into West Virginia’s newly opened iGaming market.

NetEnt has received a temporary license from state gambling regulators and is now gearing up preparations to enter the local online casino space. BetMGM will be the first iGaming operation to go live with NetEnt’s content in West Virginia, it also became known last week.

BetMGM, the sports betting and online gaming brand of ROAR Digital, a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and GVC Holdings, already offers NetEnt games in New Jersey.

West Virginia will be the third state where content from the Swedish provider will be available, joining New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

NetEnt reported a triple-digit increase in gross gaming revenue for the second quarter of the year in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and noted that “thanks to the strong performance of our games locally, the US is now a major revenue driver for NetEnt.”

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A frankly incredible weekend of Premier League football saw some amazing goal-packed games, with three seven-goal thrillers consuming fans along with the great news that the Premier League has struck a new deal to share football on Chiense television.

To the action, and the highest average goals per game across eight games for a very long time in the Premier League

Southampton 2-5 Tottenham Hotspur

Southampton continued their poor start to the season as they were trounced at home to a Spurs side buoyed by the signings of Sergio Reguilon and former club legend Gareth Bale.

The Saints started fresher, no surprise given their opponents Europa League excursions on Thursday night, and took the lead through Danny Ings’ smart turn and neat finish. Spurs were soon level though, as Harry Kane’s through ball was pounced on by his teammate Son Heung-Min to draw the sides level.

After the break, Spurs simply ran riot, Son scoring three more times, each goal coming from a Harry Kane assist. Kane eventually got on the scoresheet himself, making it five and sealing Spurs’s biggest win under Mourinho since his arrival almost a year ago.

A late consolation penalty for Danny Ings meant little to The Saints, who need to arrest their propensity to push too far up the pitch when trailing, leaving themselves open to the counter-attack. For Mourinho’s Spurs, a boost ahead of an intensive period of activity that will see play a game virtually every three days for a fortnight.

Manchester United 1-3 Crystal Palace

Amid all the shocks of the weekend, perhaps the result at Old Trafford stood out. United, so impressive in the second half of last season, showed exactly why they needed a 16-game unbeaten run to salvage Champions League football, culminating in their final day victory over Leicester.

With just over a week to go in the transfer market, The Red Devils will want to plug gaps in defence that are affecting this side’s ability to progress. While a right-sided player such as Jadon Sancho would be great, United we’re constantly exposed down the left-hand side as Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford were keenly exposed by a vibrant Palace performance.

After Andros Townsend ghosted past a static Shaw for the opening goal after seven minutes, United weren’t urgent enough or energetic enough to put their less glamorous opponents in the shade. The second goal for The Eagles owed a huge amount of luck to a VAR decision to award a penalty for handball that virtually every pundit condemned as nonsense.

David De Gea saved the initial penalty from Jordan Ayew, but the spotkick was re-taken after the Spanish number one was adjudged to have moved off his line, an odd decision given TV replays were inconclusive in the extreme. The resultant retake was converted by Zaha instead and, after United had given themselves a glimmer of hope due to Donny van de Beek’s debut goal, Zaha lashed home a third after more defensive ineptitude, this time from Victor Lindelof.

United, then, have work to do, both on the pitch and in the boardroom. The next fortnight may shape United’s entire season and it’s only September.

Chelsea 0-2 Liverpool

The current champions were given another three points after their opponent imploded defensively on Sunday evening. After an opening day victory against Leeds United that owed a lot to the Yorkshire side’s inability to defend, Jurgen Klopp’s defending title-holders were being kept at arms length until near the end of the first half at Stanford Bridge.

First, Chelsea’s defence parted like a blue sea to allow Sadio Mané to run into Jordan Henderson’s through ball. But to add insult to injury, centre-back Andreas Christensen was all over Mané, hauling him to the ground as keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was about to reach the ball. A straight red for Christensen and Chelsea faced a second half with ten men instead of eleven, the gift of an extra man gladly accepted by a gleeful Liverpool.

Mané turned goalscorer in the second half, heading home to open the scoring before an inexplicable mistake from Kepa saw the Senegalese striker intercept his horrific pass out to gleefully gobble up a second. Game over, and just like that a brutal lesson for Frank Lampard to take, his Chelsea side already having conceded three league goals. Last season they shipped 54, and it prevented any kind of title challenge.

Liverpool, possibly laughing into their sleeves, made it out of West London will all three points after a smash and grab where the hosts broke open their own front door to help their home to be plundered. 

Gameweek #2 Results:

Everton 5-2 West Brom 

Leeds United 4-3 Fulham

Manchester United 1-3 Crystal Palace

Arsenal 2-1 West Ham United

Southampton 2-5 Spurs 

Newcastle United 0-3 Brighton 

Chelsea 0-2 Liverpool

Leicester City 4-2 Burnley 

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