“This is another proposal from the government that plays straight into the hands of unlicensed gaming companies in Sweden. The trump card of licensed gaming companies has been the opportunity to market themselves and thus channel gaming consumers into the safe, Swedish-licensed system.”
—Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary general, Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling, criticizing a proposal that would further cut online gaming ads
“It wasn’t one of my big priorities to tell you the truth. But again, the time was right, the world was going virtual, I want the casinos here to thrive and it means real revenues for the state, so we put it on the front burner.”
—Ned Lamont, governor of Connecticut, on why sports betting became a priority in the state after languishing for years
“You can already feel a buzz around here. There’s so many people eager to play, eager to come back after a pandemic, and just ready to sit down with other poker players and just have fun playing in a giant tournament.”
—Jonny Lin, first-time World Series of Poker player, on the return of the live event in Las Vegas
“People have been gambling on games of chance for 5,000 years, and I think it’s a little bit arrogant to think we’re the generation that stops.”
—Zachary Levine, vice president of table games strategy, MGM Resorts. Levine, on the surprising emergence of younger roulette players at casinos
“I’m just proud that we’re all able to be together again today, and for the next 54 days to be able to do what we all love.”
—Jack Effel, vice president, World Series of Poker, welcoming players to the opening of the WSOP in Las Vegas on September 30
“I’ve seen this movie many times. If you don’t act to regulate yourself as an industry, regulation will be imposed on you and it will not be pretty.”
—Howard Glaser, head of government affairs, Scientific Games, warning iGaming operators to get it right in terms of responsible gaming
“I think we’re going to move in a different direction.”
—Jim Brown, NCAA administrator, on the college sports league’s longtime slogan, “Don’t Bet On it”
