The U.S. Justice Department says state lotteries that offer online sales don’t have to worry that it will prosecute them for violating the Wire Act of 1961. Even so, the DOJ is fighting a court case that seeks to overturn an opinion that says prosecuting such cases is within its power.

By Monday, June 1, it’s expected that almost half of the almost 1,000 casino that closed during the Covid-19 pandemic will have reopened. But there’s still a long way to go as several states are nowhere near ready to get started again with their struggling casinos. Foxwoods (l.) and Mohegan Sun opened in Connecticut las weekend over the objections of the governor.

A privately conducted poll of more than 100 visitors, most of them deep-pocketed Chinese from the mainland, indicates high rollers are staying longer at casino resorts (Galaxy Macau VIP room at left), and gambling and spending at the hefty pace of old.

Brazilian Deputy Joao Carlos Bacelar (l.) says casinos alone aren’t enough to boost the country’s listing economy. Bacelar favors bringing in a host of gaming options, including jogo do bicho.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson (l.) has unveiled plans to reopen most of the retail gaming sector by June 15, bookmakers included. The industry was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, but with safety measures in place, shops can go back into business in time for major sporting events.

In a special session, Illinois legislators approved a measure allowing a casino in Chicago. The bill now awaits Governor J.B. Pritzker's signature. It's a victory for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (l.), who lobbied to lower the original tax structure—which a feasibility study called "onerous"—to attract developers.

Last week California Senator Bill Dodd (l.) and Assemblyman Adam Gray introduced their long-awaited sports betting bill that would permit sports betting at tribal casinos and racetracks, but not at cardrooms. But cardrooms would be allowed to continue the third-party table game banking that currently is being challenged by the tribes in court.

FanDuel will tie its fate to Fairmount Racetrack (l.), while DraftKings will work with an unidentified casino. In both cases, the moves offers quicker access to the Illinois sports betting market. In addition to avoiding a long waiting period to gain entry as a mobile-only sportsbook, the two giants get to cut in half the application fee.

Scientific Games is introducing a suite of “contactless gaming solutions” to aid in a safe return to business for casinos reopening after the Covid-19 shutdown. Matt Wilson (l.), gaming group chief executive, said the products provide a “fun, engaging” experience that is also safe.

The bull says buy. The bear says fold and bow out of the game. Has the time passed to invest in gaming stocks? What’s a quandary to do?

This week, the GGB Podcast sits down with Georg Washington, the president and CEO of game innovator Synergy Blue, on the survey the company took of casino customers asking them when and how they would be comfortable returning to casinos.

Imperial Pacific International, which operates the sole casino resort (l.) on the island of Saipan, says it may be forced to close it permanently if it doesn’t get more time to settle a lawsuit filed by its contractor.

The Hong Kong-listed operator of two Macau casinos has opened a new revolver good for HK$2.34 billion with an option to increase it to $3.9 billion. The funds are intended to bolster working capital needs while the Covid crisis continues to batter the market.

Kangwon Land, the only casino in South Korea where locals can play, has pushed back its reopening to June 4 due to a spike in Covid-19 cases in the region.

Singapore’s two casinos, Resorts World Sentosa (l.) and Marina Bay Sands, will remain closed beyond June 1, according to the local Casino Regulatory Authority. Most other businesses in the city-state can resume operations on June 2.

Hiromu Kurokawa (l.), head of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office, has resigned after admitting he ignored social distancing rules to play mahjong for cash with reporters.

The lender for Hong Kong-based gaming company Silver Heritage Group has appointed receivers to “ensure continuation of the underlying business while strategic options are being explored.” Silver Heritage runs the Tiger Palace Bhairahawa (l.) and Millionaire’s Club and Casino in Nepal.

Spain’s DGOJ has issued new guidelines for gaming halls about to reopen. According to one requirement, no Spanish gambling venue may resume business that does not have “direct access to public roads.”

Swedish gaming operators reported a slight decrease in revenues for the first quarter of 2020—SEK5.90bn (US$613.3 million), down 1.4 percent from 2019. Land-based properties like Casino Cosmopol in Stockholm (l.) were down more than 16 percent.

The pandemic-related lockdown of gaming venues in Australia has saved residents $1 billion a month, according to Tony Mohr (l.), of the country’s Alliance for Gambling Reform. Australians lose more money per capita to gambling than people in any other country.

The provincial government of Quebec has offered a loan of up to $200 million to the Cirque du Soleil troupe, the Las Vegas institution that’s been shut down with the casino industry.

West Virginia recently approved emergency rules for online gaming, meaning it could be available by July, according to Lottery Commission head John Myers (l.). The law allows each land-based venue to offer three platforms, or skins.

A proposal to limits gambling deposits in Sweden excluded horseracing and sports betting but not online gaming. Trade association leader Gustaf Hoffstedt says the move is more about protecting special interests than safeguarding consumers.

Microgaming has announced the revamp of one of its most popular slot titles, Immortal Romance, with performance and feature upgrades and a new HTML5 format.

An announcement by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (l.) that a plan was developed to resume play moved betting lines for teams in the playoff hunt.

President Jair Bolsonaro (l.) wants to resume sports activities in his country despite the rising number of coronavirus cases of late. Top soccer clubs plan to move training from Rio to Brasilia to avoid the opposition from Rio’s Mayor Marcelo Crivella. The teams see this as a way to continue playing without interference.

Sportsbook and casino platform provider Digitain has developed a system to stream table football for bettors using professional players and AI-generated odds.

In a unanimous vote, the city council in Bristol, Virginia endorsed Hard Rock International as the preferred casino operator. The sole developer to propose a casino, Hard Rock has proposed a casino resort at the former Bristol Mall location. The Portsmouth city council also endorsed Rush Street Gaming to develop a casino there.

New revenues from new acquisitions in the United States, including West Virginia’s Mountaineer Casino (l.), helped to almost double first-quarter revenues for Century Casinos, despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Boyd Gaming has sent out a letter to employees warning of impending layoffs and uncertainty about reopening. The letter was signed by human resources executive Chris Smith.

The Mashpee Wampanoags are fighting an attempt by the U.S. Interior Department to rescind the trust status protecting their tiny reservation in southeastern Massachusetts. The tribe has tried for years to develop a casino on the 321-acre site. The battle now is for its survival.

Attorneys for Governor Kevin Stitt (l.) and nine tribes suing him presented documents in federal court explaining why the judge should rule in their favor in the ongoing gaming-compacts battle. Stitt said the compacts expired January 1 and tribes claim they automatically renewed.

Several Minnesota tribes sued the state Gambling Control Board, claiming electronic pulltabs violated their gaming exclusivity rights. But Judge Barbara Case (l.) ruled that the games, offered by charitable groups in bars, lack spinning wheels, the key element of slot machines.

A federal judge denied the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the Interior Department from taking land into trust in Kings Mountain, North Carolina for a Catawba Indian Nation casino. Catawba Chief Bill Harris lamented the continued efforts by the Eastern Band, saying his tribe is doing it by the book.

Oregon’s Coquille Indian Tribe has announced plans for a 111-room Hotel of the Cedars to be adjacent to its previously announced Cedars at Bear Creek Casino in Medford, along the Pacific Highway. A request to put the land into trust is pending with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

U.S. District Court Judge Ellen S. Huvelle has upheld a previous ruling by the National Indian Gaming Commission that the Oklahoma-based Fort Sill Apache Tribe may not operate a casino on land it owns in New Mexico. The tribe had gone to court to try to overturn that ruling.

The Navajo Nation, one of the tribes hardest hit areas by the Covid-19 outbreak, has announced that it will not reopen its three casinos in New Mexico until June 7 at the latest. Most of the reservation remains under a stay-at-home order.

Indiana's Hoosier Lottery turns 30 this year and is celebrating with a variety of campaigns and tributes. Since it began, the lottery has paid out $13.9 billion in prizes, generated $6 billion for the state and established a network of more than 4,300 retailers.

EquiLottery Games has signed an agreement to develop a draw lottery game tied to NASCAR Cup Series races. “NASCAR Racing Riches” could be ready by 2021. But the game company will launch a similar lottery “Win Place Show” based on horse races in Kentucky in August.

Danish gaming operator Danske Spil has posted a slight increase in year-on-year revenues for the first quarter. The 0.8 percent gain saw iGaming down, DFS up, and lottery contributing its share.

BMM Testlabs has named Patricia Garcia (l.) as associate director of service delivery for BMM Spain, overseeing lab services for the country’s gaming industry.

Iryna Kurochinka (l), founder and CEO of Digital Chain, an award-winning marketing firm for the iGaming industry, has announced she will step down on July 1.

Bertrand Méheut (l.), president of French betting operator Pari-Mutuel Urbain, resigned his post on May 26. The firm has begun to search for his replacement.

Joseph Ortell Kingston, whose California card room license was challenged because of his ties to a polygamous sect, has died from Covid-19 at age 68.

Landing International Development Ltd. has announced that two non-executive directors will resign “to devote more time to personal commitments.” The departures of Bao Jinqiao and Li Mingfa will leave the board short of members.

The Universal Jumbo Edge from Incredible Technologies expands the space between gaming machines, enforcing social distancing without the need for Plexiglas shields or other physical barriers.

IGT has launched cashless gaming technology at Svenska Spel locations throughout Sweden. Its Intelligen systems with IGTPay will allow consumers to deposit funds from mobile devices.

Five installments from BetConstruct’s Gaming Suite have received Type 1 licenses from the Malta Gaming Authority. The new products include the popular dice game Farkle, the multiplier game Blast, and prediction games Striker and Big Hi-Lo.

Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. announced a net profit of AUD1.31 billion, up 277.2 percent from the same quarter last year, and reported a settlement of the ongoing Big Fish Gaming lawsuit.

The International Association of Gaming Regulators is postponing its “Disrupting the Regulator” conference from this September to September 2021, due to Covid-19 concerns.

The National Council on Problem Gambling has announced changes to its 2020 national conference, splitting the program into two groups to better safeguard against the Covid-19 virus.

SBC has unveiled the agenda, speakers and conference program for the SBC Digital Summit North America, which will take place online July 14-16.

SiGMA Group has announced that it will present a virtual version of SiGMA LatAm this fall. The two-day digital summit will be held September 22-23, with 70 speakers on the agenda.