Category Archives: Gambling

T

he column was written by Daniel Bilotta who describes the power dispute that is taking placewithin the Partido Justicialista (PJ) at the national level and ends with reference to the fact that the Institute of Lotteries and Casinos of the Province of Buenos Aires will grant seven on-line gambling licenses next January in spite of the opposition of (the current Governor) Axel Kicillof.

Based on the column, the licensing process, which has been suspended since the end of 2019 dueto the change of the national and provincial governments, would benefit several companies,among others, Pasteko S.A.

The law passed during the administration of (the ex-Governor Mara Eugenia) Vidal states thatcompanies are required to have an international partner with a proven background to be given alicense. Pasteko, which has partnered Hillside for that purpose, is the second pre-qualifiedcompany looking to obtain a license, describes Bilotta.

The first is Argenbingo S.A., with Will Hill Limited. Argenbingo belongs to Nazareno Lacquanti, theowner of Bingo Moreno. Bingo Pilar, which belongs to Ricardo Glassman and Alejandro Gravier,will not obtain a license in spite of being third. As a result of the merger of Counterparty ServiceLimited and Stars Interactive, they cannot have an international partner. The owners of Poker Stargave priority to the agreement with Atlntica de Juegos S.A., which is in the sixth position, headds.

The change favors the eighth candidate: the owner of Casino Victoria, Daniel Mautone. Moreover,simultaneously, Binbaires S.A. and Intralot International Limited would be in the seventh position.From an estimated annual gross turnover of 600 million dollars, the province will collect 90million in gross income and 60 million from a fee that shall be received by the Lottery, closes thejournalist. By now, the authorities of the Institute of Lotteries and Casinos of the province ofBuenos Aires have not given any official statement in that regard.

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Online gambling might be permitted in the Province of Buenos Aires in January 2021 - Yogonet International

2020 was already shaping up as a transitional year for Europes gambling sector before the pandemic hit, with major operators distracted by the need to plant flags in the exploding US sports betting market.

But the year was primarily notable for the tightening screws in European markets either regulated or in the process of regulating, with consumer protection the new go-to phrase, although operators ultimately concluded it was they who needed protection from a combination of governments, regulators and the usual media suspects.

The UK market closed out 2020 with news that the governments long-promised review of the Gambling Act 2005 was finally underway. That followed numerous consultations between the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) and its working groups on issues such as game design, advertising, bonus offers and VIP programs.

That latter subject featured one of the years most unfortunate episodes, as two Playtech B2C brands were found to have plied a 25-year-old high-roller with free-play offers right up until and for a few hours shortly after his suicide in 2017.

Public outrage only grew when it was revealed that Playtech withdrew the two brands from the UK to avoid paying the significant financial penalty the UKGC sought to impose. Playtech ultimately buckled under the weight of public shaming and made a 3.5m contribution to responsible gambling charities, but the incident only fueled criticism of the UKGC as a toothless body.

The UKGC sought to combat this view by pointing out that it had doled out a record sum in penalties while suspending and revoking a significant number of licenses. The regulator also began a monthly update on online gambling activity, in part to temper the media narrative that Britons were spending every waking hour of their pandemic lockdown playing online slots.

Those online slots will almost certainly see a reduction in stake limits to match the 2-per-spin limit imposed on their land-based counterparts in UK betting shops.Affordability checks to ensure customers have the readies to finance their online play also appear a given, a followup to the April ban on funding online gambling accounts with credit cards (or e-wallets).

As for the UKs listed giants, Flutter Entertainment doubled down on its plans for US market dominance by acquiring nearly all the bits of FanDuel that it didnt already own. But its US ambitions took a hit when Kentucky handed Flutter a $1.3b bill for PokerStars legacy transgressions.

Before that, Flutter had attempted to improve Stars compliance record by pulling the brand from Chinese-language markets, while GVC Holdings since rebranded as Entain plc pledged to exit all grey/black markets by 2023, a strategic shift that followed the abrupt exit of GVCs longtime CEO Kenny Alexander this summer.

The timing of Alexanders exit prompted much speculation, coming just days before the UK taxman announced a probe into GVCs former black-market Turkish operations, the scope of which remains murky. Alexanders exit also came just days after GVC boosted its investment in its US-facing Roar Digital joint venture with MGM Resorts.

William Hill didnt make many headlines in 2020, except as a takeover target. That battle was eventually won by Caesars Entertainment, which covets only Hills US-facing betting business, with Hills European ops likely to go on the block early in 2021.

SWEDENSwedens second year of its regulated online market showed increased friction between operators and their regulator, in part due to unclear guidelines regarding bonus offers and unacceptable sports markets.

The government further clipped operators wings by imposing new online casino deposit limits, supposedly a pandemic precaution, despite operators claims that the governments own data didnt support such a step. Operators outrage grew when the government extended these temporary limits through the middle of 2021.

Operators, whose sales had already fallen under tightened restrictions, warned that the limits would only encourage Swedes to seek out internationally licensed sites. This view was supported by surveys which found the average Swede already had difficulty identifying which sites held local licenses and werent sure what if any benefits were to be had by choosing a locally licensed option.

Interestingly, similar findings came from surveys in markets as disparate as Portugal and the United States, suggesting regulated markets everywhere have their work cut out for them in convincing rank-and-file gamblers to choose the locally approved option.

SPAINSpanish-licensed online operators spent most of the year trying and ultimately failing to dissuade their government from imposing strict new marketing limits, including restricting advertising to a four-hour window starting at 1am, with an outright ban on sponsorship of sports teams, leagues and venues.

Typically, the rules dont apply to the state-run lottery operations, which are responsible for the bulk of gambling advertising spending. And the government closed out the year by opening a consultation on new responsible gambling rules that will almost certainly prove a further drag on operators performance in 2021.

GERMANYGerman legislators finally reached consensus on plans for a new regulated online gambling market but operators joy turned to sorrow almost immediately as the fine print came into focus (including a last-minute plan to tax online slots turnover at 8%). But operators grudgingly filed their new license applications as Germanys 16 state legislatures continued to ratify the new federal treaty.

The financial markets were shocked this summer when German payment processor Wirecard on which many operators relied for their German-facing business imploded after the company was caught hiding billions in losses. The fallout would have been much worse had Germany accepted Wirecards offer to handle all regulated market gambling payments as a means of ensuring proper monitoring for illegality.

OTHER MARKETSWhile all markets suffered to some degree from COVID-19, Italy probably took the greatest hit as the scale of its initial wave forced the closure of its massive land-based gaming sector. Then Italy imposed a new 0.5% turnover tax on betting operators as a financial lifeline for sports bodies whose activity was halted by COVID-19.

The Netherlands continued to find new reasons to delay the launch of its new regulated market, while imposing a raft of fresh conditions on operators, including forcing them to purge their databases of customers acquired pre-regulation and extending the time outs imposed on operators who refused to play by the pre-regulation rules.

The Netherlands finally convinced Curacao to rein in its online gambling licensees, many of which had been spanked by the local gambling regulator for targeting Dutch punters without local permission. After years of ignoring such pleas, Curacao ultimately buckled when the Netherlands threatened to withhold pandemic financial aid.

Russia got tougher with its online betting operators, forcing them to disclose their ties to internationally licensed offshoots using the same brands. The crackdown got tougher as the year progressed, culminating in a vote for a top-to-bottom overhaul of the sector, including dramatically hiking contributions to sports bodies, establishing a new Unified Gambling Regulator and funnelling all online betting payments through a single processing hub.

Next door, Ukraine made up for its late-2019 stumbles by finally approving plans for land-based and online gambling liberalization, but while the government suggested in November that it would cut would-be licensees a break on license fees, questions regarding gambling taxation remain unanswered.

Bulgaria made headlines this year after the government laid corruption and bribery charges against Vasil Bozhkov, the countrys largest private gambling operator. Bozhkov was ultimately arrested in the United Arab Emirates and the government launched extradition proceedings while imposing a radical shakeup of gaming sector oversight.

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Gambling year in review 2020: Europe - CalvinAyre.com

Online sports betting outshone its casino rival in Portugals regulated market during the third quarter of 2020, with wagering revenue more than doubling from Q2.

Figures released Monday by the Servio Regulao e Inspeo de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ) regulatory body show that locally licensed online gambling operators generated revenue of 84.2m in the three months ending September 30, up 55.7% from the same period last year and 21.6% better than the market reported in Q2 2020.

The Q3 figure represents a new high-water mark for Portugals regulated online market, easily surpassing the 70.2m reported in the first quarter of this year. The number of newly registered customers improved 5.2% year-on-year to 156,800, while quarterly active customers gained more than one-third to 473,200.

Sports betting led the Q3 charge, driven by the resumption of major league activity following springs pandemic halt. Pent-up demand pushed betting revenue to a record 42.5m, more than double the Q2 total and nearly two-thirds higher year-on-year. Betting turnover was also in a record-setting mood, nearly doubling year-on-year to 222.8m.

Online casino revenue totaled 41.7m, up nearly 48% year-on-year but a major step down from its Q2 record of 47.9m. Online casino turnover was up nearly three-fifths year-on-year but fell 10% sequentially.

Slots captured over 70% of the overall online casino pie, with roulette (13.8%) and blackjack (6.1%) well back of the leader. Poker cash games claimed a 4.8% slice, while tournaments added another 1.9%.

Just under 45% of Portuguese online gamblers bet exclusively on sports in Q3, while one-third played only casino games and a hybrid core of 22% played both sides of the field.

The SRIJs war on internationally licensed online gambling sites continued unabated, with 83 domains forwarded to local internet service providers for blocking and another 29 official GTFO notices issued to unauthorized operators (14 of which were forwarded to the appropriate government ministry for further action).

The SRIJ issued one additional online sports betting license (to Solverde) during Q3, while Skill On Net Ltd received an online casino diploma for its Bacanaplay.pt site in late-October.There are currently 15 operators holding a total of 25 separate licenses issued by the SRIJ.

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Portugal online gambling revenue record as betting bounces back - CalvinAyre.com

As sports clubs and betting operators await a decision on the future of betting sponsorships, the implications of such relationships have been questioned by the UK government as it undertakes its review of the 2005 Gambling Act.

Speaking on the Unpicking the Terms of the UK Gambling Act Review webinar, hosted by SBC, a team of industry experts reviewed the governments stance on betting sponsorships and how the Gambling Act review could affect competitions and operators.

Brigid Simmonds, Chair of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), emphasised that there is a perception issue surrounding sports clubs agreements with gambling brands. Simmonds suggested that together, sports and betting operators can have a positive impact, however, companies that are not are not invested in the UK market should be re-assessed.

She said: If we look at the Premier League, there are eight clubs sponsored by betting companies and only two are members of the BGC. Six of the companies have no interest in the UK market and their licensing seems to come from various other places that are white listed.

As someone who is absolutely passionate about what sport can do for people through life, weve got to make sure money is available for grassroots sport. Weve got 350 million that goes into racing from the industry and 30-40 million that goes into other sports, whether it be rugby league, darts, boxing or obviously football. Its really important that money is used in local communities and its used in education.

When safer gambling is at the heart of all those agreements, its absolutely fine. What Im concerned about is that everybody has to play by the same rules. At the end of the day, Im not convinced that we should have sponsors that arent really interested in the UK market at all. Thats one of the things that both the gambling commission and the government should look at.

But personally, Im very keen for sports sponsorships to continue because its very important and particularly at the moment, sport needs that money.

Moreover, David Clifton, a licensing expert and Director of Clifton Davies, drew the panels attention to the governments response to the House of Lords committee report.

The policy paper indicated there was no causative connection to be found between exposure to operator logos and problem gambling in children or adults, insinuating that sports clubs which display betting marketing material cannot be held solely responsible.

There were some very interesting comments from the perspective of advertising, he explained. The bottom line, which appears to be the starting point for the government, is that they understand the concerns that exist in relation to gambling advertising, but are pointing to there being a lack of evidence between advertising and problem gambling when advertising is conducted in accordance with the existing rule. Theres no link between that specifically and problem gambling.

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Brigid Simmonds: Gambling sponsors must have a vested interest in the UK - Insider Sport

It's time to stop beating around the bush - gambling in video games is a problem.

In the 2010s, larger game companies started to bundle online passes in with their marquee releases. These passes were essentially DLC vouchers - codes that you plugged into PSN or Xbox Live to gain access to certain features of games.

While this sounds innocuous enough, it was anything but. Features like online multiplayer were often gated off behind online passes, and games like Batman: Arkham City locked single-player content if players didn't have one. If you were "unlucky" enough to get a second-hand copy of a game, you'd have to shell out anywhere from $10-$20 bucks just to play certain parts of a game - not to mention work around the wonky digital storefronts we were using back then.

So, what happened? Easy: enough people got mad about it. After a few years of consumer outrage, as well as iconoclasts like Jim Sterling speaking out against the practice, online passes went the way of the dodo from 2013-2014. Companies realized that it wasn't worth the effort to keep up the unpopular practice, and console manufacturers like Sony outright forbade the practice. It was a rare win in the ongoing battle between publishers and consumers - a moment where the industry actually started to feel less predatory.

Unfortunately, online passes were just an appetizer. The real threat to player wallets was already simmering in the pot, and within years, it would be dished out across the entire industry. That dish?

Gambling.

In 2004, popular MMORPG MapleStory introduced gachapon tickets. For 100 yen, players could get a ticket that let them participate in a lottery, where they could win cool prizes to show off to other players. Then, three years later, Chinese MMO Zhengtu attempted a bold new strategy - letting players get in for free, then recouping development costs through gambling. It was a rousing success - within a year of release, Zhengtu generated had $15 Million USD per month.

But why?

"[Players] weren't able to buy top-end PCs, they weren't able to afford all these $50 or $60 games, and that's why internet cafes were huge back then, and still are, in terms of just being able to sign on and play an online game," analyst Daniel Ahmad told Rolling Stone in 2017. "Piracy was also huge back in the day, and the way around that was just releasing games for free, and then putting in content that people want to buy."

A 2007 piece by Cao Yunwu painted a grimmer picture of Zhengtu during the height of its popularity.

"This is a game well-suited to the rich," the article states. "In this world, the authority to bully others and the legal right to harm them are both for sale."

Zhengtu's success was controversial, and the game made headlines for its transparently predatory practices. But criticism meant nothing in the face of cold, hard cash, and the game continued to reap massive dividends and has stayed online to this day. Its success also proved to be the proverbial spark in the powder keg, as gacha mechanics found their way into more and more games throughout East Asia.

In 2012, the Japanese mobile game Puzzles & Dragons became the first gacha title to make over $1 Billion USD in profits. That rousing success proved that this new model was not only here to stay, but would likely be one copied by more and more publishers in the coming years. However, despite some critics' eagerness to blame our current gacha landscape on Asian countries, the fault arguably doesn't lie there.

Instead, it lies with Facebook.

Related: Genshin Impact's Response To The Zhongli Issue Is Ignoring The Real Problem

A 2013 study showed that 54% of Facebook games contained gambling elements.

These games, almost universally casual in nature, gave players the chance to progress faster or get cool loot via gambling. Want to upgrade your farm? Gamble. Want to boost your mafia gang? Gamble. As long as a game had a catchy hook and a decent enough art style, publishers could run roughshod over their playerbase in exchange for cash. Companies like Zynga, whose profits sagged from 2011-2012, saw a revelation in the concept of hooking players with gambling and keeping them on as perpetual pay pigs.

But they weren't the only ones. Companies like Valve, Activision, and EA began to experiment with this model, often specifically citing Facebook's success as the reason for this new endeavor. Team Fortress 2 went free-to-play in 2010 and introduced gambling. 2012's Mass Effect 3 added in gambling to offset multiplayer development costs. 2014's Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare gated unique weapons and skins behind randomized "supply drops." 2016'sOverwatchsaw massive success in locking practically all of its marquee character skins behind gambling. And, most notoriously, 2017'sStar Wars Battlefront IIwas a controversial dumpster fire of randomized gambling mechanics.

As gaming went into its next generation, so too did the ways companies were willing to nickel and dime their customers into poverty.

The rest is history. Today, gacha games are the law of the land, and a more or less accepted practice among the community. Mobile games like Fate/Grand Order and Granblue Fantasy are fueled almost entirely by randomized character drops, and bigger titles like Genshin Impact have begun to gate progress in open world RPGs off behind gambling.

Not paywalls - gambling.

That's not okay.

It's become common practice for companies like Blizzard and EA to bring aboard neuroscientists and psychologists to help advise them in game development. While this wasn't unheard of in the past (for example, Bungie apparently utilized it to gauge kill output for Halo's multiplayer,) the contemporary use of these experts has largely become in service of one thing: addiction.

Premium currencies, cute anime girls that say nice things to you, loot boxes that glisten and explode when you open them... these are things designed to not make us think about how we're spending money in games. They're systems put in place to ensure that a company has perpetual customers, regardless of how ethically dubious that may be. We convert our hard-earned money into fake currency, which we're goaded into doing by banners that promise us the best bang for our buck. Once we have that currency, we then gamble it away for a chance at getting a fancy JPEG or a cool costume.

By that point, our money's already gone, so what else can we do with it but to gamble?

In 2010, the concept of gambling to progress in a video game would've set the world on fire. There would've been thousands and thousands of forum posts, angry petitions to companies, and mass boycotts. That was how the Chinese public saw Zhengtu, actually - as a threat. Some players described the game as something that made them angrier and more bitter.

"Why should a doctor want to kill a teacher? Why does someone who is a cop in real life want to harm others in a game?" a player told Cao Yunwu in 2007. "Why is there such enmity between strangers?"

Today, we're more forgiving to these games as an industry. The era of being outraged at gaming companies over terrible monetization practices feels quaint at this point. We shrug and go, "eh, at least this one isn't as bad as the others," and continue to treat these mechanics' existence like they're a worthwhile and valuable part of the industry.

Here's the thing, though: they shouldn't be. The very existence of gambling in a video game is an insult to the medium, and cheapens this entire industry into one of tawdry, predatory chicanery designed to get its hooks in customers and bleed them dry. Whether you're playing something for free or something that you spent seventy bucks on, it's a brazen and predatory act to insist that players gamble to get more content. Imagine going to a movie, then gambling for a chance to see an actor on the screen. Ridiculous, yeah? Well, that's what we're all doing, and acting like it's a normal thing all the while.

As a community, we need to stop getting incensed about trivial shit and focus on the things that actually affect our wellbeing. If we don't, things are going to get worse and companies are going to find new and exciting ways to screw us out of our money.

But hey - maybe that's a gamble that you're willing to make.

Next: 1 Out Of 10 Children Go Into Debt Over Loot Boxes, Says Study

Black Desert Mobile Players Want The "Useless" Login Rewards Changed In 2021

Bella Blondeau is a lovable miscreant with a heart of gold... or so she says.She likes long walks in dingy arcades, loves horror good and bad, and has a passion for anime girls of any and all varieties. Her favorite game is Nier: Automata, because she loves both robots and being sad.

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We Need To Stop Gambling On Video Games | TheGamer - TheGamer

Theres nothing like a suspenseful flick or those intense movie moments that put us over the edge. Were addicted to the thrill of sabotage whether our favorite character is a gambling savage or just a lethal nuisance to society.

Directors put in the work to make scene after scene cinematically hit and keep us gripping our seats. Plus nothing is better than watching your favorite actor/actress on screen absolutely go through it.

Constantly we enter the void of suspense, intense couch gripping, and teeth grinding movie moments. But can we really help it?

Heres our list of gambling flicks with the most intense movie moments, weve ever seen. All available online.

First on our list of gambling movies to watch, is Uncut Gems. If if its one thing weve learned, the Safdie Brothers have mastered the art of the thrill.

Here, for the NYT, they break down the intense movie moment for their flick Uncut Gems where the lead character Howard Ratner (played by Adam Sandler) goes through obstacles of stress in an attempt to get away from the demons that his gambling addiction has summoned.

Watch Uncut Gems now (click here).

Its alright you can exhale. In this remake of the 1974 version directed by Karel Reisz, Mark Wahlbergs character Jim Bennett goes through hell trying to get his life back on track.

His gambling debt and addiction to losing pushes him to borrow money from not only his mother but also a daunting loan shark, whos not playing any games.

For this role Mark actually dropped 61 lbs. Talk about dedication.

Watch The Gambler now (click here).

Based on the story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the worlds most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target, Mollys Game takes intense movie moments to the next level.

In an interview about the gambling flick with Seth Myers, he was asked Do you realize now the difficulties directors have had directing your scripts? Sorkin spoke on the challenges of directing his first film:

I dont understand why at least three of them havent punched me in the face

Watch Mollys Game now (click here).

If youre not talking Wall Street money then what are we talking about? This Oscar-winning flick zones in on the corruption of the US housing market during 2005 2007.

Taking more than a gamble in this scene Dr. Michael Burry, played by Christian Bale, finds an oddity after analyzing subprime MBSs pushing him to bet against bonds that seemed promising.

Serving as Adam McKays directorial debut The Big Short is jampacked with intense movie moments you surely wont forget.

Watch the The Big Short now (click here)

Another amazing performance by Christian Bale, American Hustle reminds us that life is surely one hell of a gamble. Stacked with star-power this fictional movie is filled with, FBI agents, fraudulent savagery, and frightful mafia gangsters.

Director David O. Russell killed this movie with creative intense must seen moments.

Watch American Hustle now (click here).

Yeah, yeah we know Kevin Spacey is canceled but 21 is still kind of gas. Another based on a true story gambling flick, 21s story is about six MIT students who get coerced into taking their talents to the dark side in counting cards.

And although it is directed by one of the hottest/trash directors of our generation, Robert Luketic, this movie still gets the job done when it comes to intense movie moments.

Watch 21 now (click here)

You gotta have two things to win. You gotta have brains and you gotta have balls. Now, you got too much of one and not enough of the other.

Tom Cruise x3! Throw in some Paul Newman and you have The Color of Money.

Directed by Martin Scorcese this flick is filled with suspenseful movie scenes centered around pool hall hustling. We couldnt leave this one off our intense gambling movie moments list.

Watch The Color of Money now (click here).

Baby Driver focuses on a certain kind of lifestyle. A lifestyle that calls for high-risk stunts, dirty money, and suspenseful hijinks thatll have you running from the law.

Directed by Edgar Wright this movie taps into the life of a young man named Baby, played by Ansel Elgort, who has a hearing impairment but a little secret Debt to a crime boss, who values his role in his well planned bank robberies.

This is a different type of gambling. One that calls for a plethora of mental manuevering and intelligent cunning.

Watch Baby Driver now (click here).

Matt Damon is one hell of an actor and in Rounders we see him under the pressure. A dash of John Malkovich and a sprinkle of Edward Norton and you have a killer movie.

This is big stakes poker, money owed to loan sharks, and a life balancing act all jam-packed into two hours of intense movie moments. In fact, via IMDB:

Matt Damon and Edward Norton played the $10,000 buy-in Texas Hold Em (No Limit) championship event at the 1998 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. During the first of four days, Matt Damon had pocket Kings and was knocked out by former world champion and poker legend Doyle Brunson who held pocket Aces.

Watch Rounders now (click here)

Remember that Always Sunny Wild Card episode Welp, this is not that. Starring the legendary action man himself, Jason Statham, Wild Card, takes us on an epic adventure through the life of a Las Vegas bodyguard who has a gambling addiction.

From the YouTube video cover alone you already know the vibes.

Watch WIld Card now (click here).

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Intense movie moments from 10 gambling flicks that put us on edge - Kulture Hub

Ken Herman|Austin American-Statesman

Hmm, state Rep. Joe Moody pondered. Many Texans enjoy adult beverages. And many Texans like to gamble. What would you get if you combine those two pastimes?

What you get, he figures, is state revenue of the best kind, the kind that people voluntarily fork over. That's so much more popular than those pesky taxes that many Texans seem to dislike.

Which brings us to Moody's House Bill 817, relating to the operation of a quick draw lottery game. Thats quick draw as in gambling, podnuh, not guns.

HB 817 envisions a lottery game in which a drawing occurs 12 to 15 times per hour between the hours of 7 a.m. and 2 a.m.Lets see. Looks like thats as many as 285 drawings in 19 hours. Yep, that's quick draw.

And what can be done to help lubricate the flow of cash from Texans wallets into state coffers? Alcohol!

From HB 817: The (Lottery) commission may license as sales agents to sell quick draw lottery game tickets only holders of one of the following permits or licenses issued by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for locations that provide on-premises consumption of alcohol.

The list: a winery permit, a wine and malt beverage retailers permit, a mixed beverage permit, a private club registration permit, a retail dealers on-premise license, a brewers license, or a distillers and rectifiers permit (and who knew you need a permit to rectify?).

Whats interesting is that current state law prohibits holders of certain on-premises alcoholic beverage permits from selling lottery tickets. Moodys bill would erase that prohibition for this new game.

Several states have quick draw lottery games. From the New York Lottery: "The Quick Draw game is played every four minutes throughout the day and night, with the exception of a short break between 3:25 am. and 4 a.m."

Looks like what's called "quick draw" in HB 817 bill is what's called Keno (pronounced keen-o and not named for me) in some of the 21 states that have it as part of their lottery repertoire. This interesting tidbit was in a news story back when New York began its game in 1995: "New York State has launched a new Keno-style lottery game that gives bettors results every five minutes and faces a legal challenge from casino magnate Donald Trump."

"He said he was filing the suit not because he feared competition for his casinos, but rather because he felt strongly that the game, which he termed 'video crack,' would damage the state's social and economic fabric by luring people to gamble," The New York Times reported back then.

Trump lost. (Has this guy ever won a lawsuit?) And on the game's opening day, the Times reported that "critics ... say that the game's pace makes it more akin to casino-style gambling and more prone to pocket-draining abuse."

Moody's HB817 will be among several gambling-related measures in the 2021 legislative hopper. Casino gambling will be back for another push and could get a boost in a Legislature that'll be looking for money in the proverbial sofa cushions.

Moody, D-El Paso and an influential lawmaker now serving as House speaker pro tem, sees his proposal as "kind of the next step" for the Texas Lottery. "You're essentially bringing a currently regulated game to a new location that is also a regulated location," he said.

In other states, these kinds of games have pumped up lottery revenue by as much as 30%, Moody said. The Texas Lottery sold $6.7 billion worth of tickets in fiscal 2020. That meant $1.66 billion to the Foundation School Fund and $22.2 million to the state's Fund for Veterans Assistance.

Moody also sees quick draw lottery as economic development for an economic segment sorely in need of development.

"We have a very, very debilitated restaurant and bar industry in Texas," Moody said, "and as we emerge from the pandemic we should try to figure out new and better ways to to enhance what they can offer."

Would this be a gambling step too far and one too close to consumption of alcohol?

"I'd argue that currently you could walk into a convenience store, buy all the alcohol you want and as many scratch tickets as you want," Moody said. "Philosophically, I don't know the difference between one and the other."

"I wouldn't characterize this as an expansion in any significant way," he said. "This is a game we already have and just allowing it to be played in a different way."

Others will see it in a different way.

Its going to be an interesting session for gambling, with lawmakers also working on a version that's been around for awhile. Back in 1986, the Legislature OK'd parimutuel wagering on horse and dog racing. Voters approved it in 1987 amid projections of big bucks for the state.

It's been disappointing. And the 2021 Legislature is going to look at phasing out the Texas Racing Commission and putting the remaining tracks (horse only, the last dog track closed this year in La Marque) under another agency. The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission staff has recommended the Texas Department of Agriculture, but the full commission, which will make a legislative recommendation, postponed action on the agency earlier this month.

Interesting. The last time Texas lawmakers met, they took Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's name off of the gas pumps. Now they might put parimutuel wagering under his purview. FYI, as ag commissioner, Miller now sits as an ex-officio member of the appointed Texas Racing Commission.

The Sunset Advisory Commission staff report notes that when parimutuel betting was OK'd in Texas "the Legislative Budget Board estimated racing would contribute about $110 million annually to the state coffers ...However, the Texas racing industry has never been the economic driver originally envisioned. As racetrack attendance, race days and wagers have declined, so have the commissions revenue and ability to most effectively regulate racing in Texas.

Lauren Ames, the Sunset Advisory Commission project manager for the Texas Racing Commission, told the Sunset Advisory Commission in September that the Racing Commission "struggles to serve as an effective regulator while also managing the administrative work of a regulatory agency."

Chuck Trout, the Racing Commission's executive director, acknowledged to the Sunset Advisory Commission a "dynamic that has given the industry too much influence over our operations."

COVID-19 has made a bad situation much worse. The Sunset Advisory Commission staff report said, "The lack of revenue during the pandemic almost forced the (racing) commission to close in July 2020, jeopardizing the continued operation and regulation of the Texas racing industry."

Miller told the Sunset Advisory Commission in September that he'd "just sent a letter off to the (Legislative Budget Board) and the governor alerting them that because of lack of racing and that's where their fees are generated the Racing Commission is in perilous times, and you know they might not be able to keep the lights on until the Legislature comes in."

Miller told the Sunset Advisory Commission, "If the will of the Legislature is to send it to the Texas Department of Agriculture we'll do our very best to run it as efficiently as possible."

All in all, an interesting legislative session coming up on the gambling front. You can bet on it.

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Herman: The plan to dip into Texans' pockets by combining gambling and alcohol - Austin American-Statesman

Week 16 is in the books, leaving only one more week left in the regular season before the playoffs begin. Seven of the NFLs 14 playoff spots have been clinched with the Kansas City Chiefs clinching a playoff bye after beating the Falcons 17-14, when Younghoe Koo missed a 39-yard field goal at the end of regulation.

While the Chiefs are riding a 10-game winning streak, they have failed to cover the spread in seven straight games, the longest streak in the NFL. While they sit atop the Super Bowl odds leaderboard at +180, they will need to find more consistency to bring home the Lombardi Trophy.

In the most lopsided game of the weekend, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers erased the Detroit Lions, winning 47-7 after leading 34-0 at halftime. The lead not only left Tom Brady relaxing on the bench the entire second half, the earliest a quarterback has been pulled all year, but it was both the Buccaneers' best first half in franchise history and the Lions worst.

With the victory, the Buccaneers clinched a wild-card spot and with a win in Week 17, they will play the NFC East champion, which might be the closest thing you can get to a bye in the playoffs. This marks Tom Brady's 17th consecutive season making the playoffs, extending his NFL record.

While the NFC playoff picture is nearly set, with the Chicago Bears needing a win or a Arizona Cardinals loss to make the playoffs, the AFC playoff picture was a wild ride in Week 16. The Miami Dolphins had a wild comeback against the Las Vegas Raiders 26-25, not just keeping their playoff hopes alive but giving over backers one of the craziest wins of the year. They are in a win-and-in playoff scenario, as are the Baltimore Ravens after their dominating performance.

The Ravens, who came into the year as the No. 2 Super Bowl favorite, have seen their Super Bowl odds go from 26-1 to 12-1 in the last three weeks, as they round into old form and control their destiny. The same cannot be said of the Indianapolis Colts, who need help to get into the playoffs after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game they led 21-0. The Colts went from controlling their own destiny to only the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys having longer odds to make the playoffs.

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Gambling: Betting the NFL's final week will be with an eye on playoff berths - Colorado Springs Gazette

In Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality News

December 29, 2020 Verizon Media, a global media and technology company, and Entain plc, an international sports-betting and gaming operator (formerly known as GVC Holdings), have recently announced a global innovation alliance to develop new opportunities across interactive sports and entertainment. Entain brands include Ladbrokes, bwin, partypoker, and BetMGM in the US, which is co-owned with MGM Resorts.

Verizon Media and Entain will collaborate to develop a highly immersive proof of concept virtual reality (VR) experience that will combine live sports viewing with interactive layers of sports data and gaming. Consumers will be able to participate in sports events, check data, socialize with friends, and place bets on Entain platforms.

Additionally, Entain will work closely with Verizon Media to develop concepts for new formats with emerging technologies including 5G, VR, and augmented reality (AR) to bring immersive content and gaming to sports betting and gambling. Along with betting on live streamed sports events via the Entain platform, the goal is to create realistic, immersive experiences for sports fans, such as being in the stadium, participating in play, competing and betting on outcomes, according to the company.

To win in the future we need to understand where consumers will be in five, ten years time and work with other global businesses also investing in that, said Shay Segev, CEO of Entain. We envisage consumers meeting at a game with friends, who could in fact be elsewhere, using virtual reality headsets to watch, interact and share the experience together and, potentially, compete between themselves at half time or feel like theyre on the pitch with the players.

This new alliance takes the collaboration between our two companies to a new level and will allow us both to maximize new opportunities across sports-betting, content and entertainment, said Guru Gowrappan, CEO, Verizon Media. Together, we are building the next-generation of content experiences for sports and gaming fans. Our world-first 5G-enabled production studios in LA and London, creative technology teams and Verizon Medias Immersive platform, that enables extended reality (XR) content to be created and distributed across digital channels at scale, allow partners like Entain to bring next-level immersive and interactive experiences to their customers.

Entain added that the collaboration builds on an existing successful relationship between Yahoo Sports, part of Verizon Media, and BetMGM, a joint venture with MGM Resorts through which Entain operates in the US. BetMGM is integrated throughout Yahoo Sports in the US, and in legal jurisdictions fans can place a bet with BetMGM without leaving the Yahoo Sports app.

Image credit: Entain / Twitter

About the author

Sam Sprigg

Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he covers news articles on both the AR and VR industries. He also has an interest in human augmentation technology as a whole, and does not just limit his learning specifically to the visual experience side of things.

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Sports gambling group Entain partners with Verizon Media to develop immersive VR and AR experiences for live sports viewing and betting - Auganix

The DGOJ and UNE signed an accord to create a new technical agency to harmonize Spains federal gambling regulations and standards.

The Direccin General de Ordenacin del Juego (DGOJ), Spains gambling regulator, has signed a new collaborative arrangement to create a new technical agency tasked with harmonizing the countrys federal gambling rules, standards, and market controls.

DGOJ will collaborate with UNE, the standardization body established by the Ministry of Economy, to meet EU competition requirements across the 17 autonomous regions of Spain.

Thealliancewillformanewgovernmentalentitythatwill carry out standardized actions regarding online gambling. These actions will be directed at changing how Spains regulated marketplace operates and how licenses companies are governed.

When set up, the new technical body will represent Spain at EU meetings to discuss how the Member State implements the new laws and guidelines for online gambling. UNE will oversee the regulators framework for the monitoring of unified norms, the collection of feedback from autonomous regions, and the accreditation of technical experts.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs priorities include the establishment of an online gambling player register a federal self-exclusion system, and unified regulations for land-based gambling facilities in all autonomous communities.

The Ministry reported that the DGOJ needed greater resources to ensure that technical norms necessary for gambling games and interfaces operating within the controlled marketplace in Spain were effectively monitored. Spanish gambling license holders expect the publishing of the governments second stage of federal gambling amendments, undertaken by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, in 2021.

In addition, the Department claimed that the standardization of its regulatory systems would support the countrys public administrations, healthcare, and consumers as stakeholders involved in composing the gambling laws of Spain.

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Spain to Create New Body to Harmonize Gambling Regulations - GamblingNews.com