NEWS & NOTES

Osaka, Japan officials have asked representatives of Osaka IR, a joint venture of MGM Resorts Japan and Orix Corp., to the next city council meeting to discuss site remediation costs for a proposed casino resort on Yumeshima Island. Officials and residents are reportedly concerned about costs, estimated at $683 million and expected to be covered by public funding. ● Wakayama Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka has called on the prefectural assembly to hold an extraordinary meeting next month to approve the local government’s integrated resort proposal. April 28 is the deadline for local-government submissions to the national government on the topic of casino resorts. ● Atlanta Falcons’ wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been suspended for one season for gambling on NFL games. He will be out the entire 2022 season. NFL Commission Roger Goodell wrote that his actions “put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football, and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL.” ● Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in Highland, Southern California, has partnered with Live Nation for its new entertainment venue, the Yaamava’ Theater, opening this spring. The partnership will bring national tours to the intimate, 3,000-seat venue. Live Nation is one of the top live entertainment companies in the world. ● The gaming website Polygon has added sportsbook DraftKings as a network validator. It is the first time a major NASDAQ-listed firm has taken a role in blockchain governance. Validators on the network are tasked with verifying the validity and authenticity of transactions and earn tokens as collateral. ● Italy’s Ministry of the Economy and Finance has approved a draft plan to strengthen the country’s gaming regulations. The goal is to “minimize problem gambling, terminate black market activities and optimize tax incomes from licensed businesses.” Once adopted, the regs will be implemented over a period of six months to a year. ● The Comanche War Pony Casino in Devol, Oklahoma will open March 19, the first new Comanche Nation Entertainment property in 14 years. The new casino has 350 slot machines. CNE CEO Mia Tahdooahnippah commented, “This marks the first of two new properties we will open this year. We welcome a new era of prosperity for our people, and are thrilled to be able to bring new and exciting gaming opportunities for our guests.” • The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has approved a joint petition of Ocean Casino Resort and Bookmakers Company US to operate sports betting at the Atlantic City property. A wholly owned subsidiary of Elys Game Technology, Bookmakers opened in a temporary lounge at the resort on March 1. Elys Chairwoman Michele Ciavarella called the launch at Ocean “a key inflection point for our expansion in North America and a key component of our growth strategy within other casinos and partnerships.” ● The online gambling company Mansion Group will shut its MansionBet brand on March 31 as it pivots to a casino-only focus. Mansion also operates the MansionCasino, Casino.com and SlotsHeaven sites, which focus on casino gaming rather than sports betting. ● Sporttrade will the first exchange betting site in New Jersey later this year. Its app has been compared to the Robinhood app that is popular among stock exchange day traders. Sporttrade founder and CEO Alex Kane said the company will be “stock marketifying” sports betting, and make it “more fun, more approachable, with no delays, no suspensions.” ● Southland Casino Racing’s $250 million expansion could result in big dividends for West Memphis, Arkansas. Mayor Marco McClendon said more businesses may open up in the area thanks to the expansion, which may add a Marriott-owned hotel. A study showed that the expansion could bring an additional 24,000 people to the city each week from Thursdays to Sundays.