On March 19, former New Mexico Rep. Debra Haaland (l.) was sworn in as secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior. Haaland made history, becoming the first Native American to join a White House Cabinet.

Connecticut’s gaming tribes, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes have announced a deal with Governor Ned Lamont (l.) that clears the way for sports betting and online gaming in the state.

Spurred by Nevada’s new, more relaxed occupancy rule for casinos, restaurants and other businesses, tourists are descending on the Las Vegas Strip in numbers not seen since the Covid crisis first hit last year.

The sale of William Hill to Caesars Entertainment was approved last week by Nevada regulators. The company says it plans to sell the international operations of Hill to concentrate in the U.S. business. Caesars CEO Tom Reeg (l.) says his company wanted to “take the wheel.”

The Crown Resorts debacle has put Australian authorities under scrutiny, along with the tarnished casino giant. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, for one, was seen as too “cozy” with Crown’s James Packer (the two together at left).

The Maryland House of Delegates (l.) has approved a sports betting implementation bill that would place retail sportsbooks at 22 locations and award 15 licenses for mobile betting.

Hachiro Okonogi (l.), head of Japan’s National Public Safety Commission, says the country has no plans to introduce online gaming along with casinos, despite the increasing shift to iGaming.

Fear of Beijing’s new crackdown on overseas gambling has induced at least three of Macau’s casino licensees to suspend or curtail the services they offer their customers in mainland China.

In a surprise announcement, last week the UK Gambling Commission announced that Neil McArthur (l.) had resigned his post as chief executive of the regulatory body.

With fourth-quarter 2020 and first-quarter 2021 behind us (along with a full year of Covid-19 chaos and closures), it’s an opportune time to evaluate trends in the gaming industry.

This week, the GGB Podcast is joined by Joe Hasson, general manager of the Mohegan Sun Casino at Virgin Hotel Las Vegas, to discuss what it means for the company to open its first casino in Las Vegas.

The arrangement could be in place by July, allowing Singaporeans and Australians to travel freely between the two nations without having to quarantine.

Vietnam developer VinGroup will open a multibillion-dollar, 10,000-room resort in Phu Quoc in late April. The complex will include the country’s largest theme park as well as a casino.

South Korean casino operator Grand Korea Leisure has reopened its casinos in Seoul. The Seven Luck-branded Gangnam COEX (l.) and Gangbuk Hilton were back in business as of Monday, March 15.

The Hendaye casino (l.) near France’s border with Spanish has been sold. TH Finance sold the elegant property to gaming industry veterans Benjamin Frischer and Patrick Delahaye.

Paul Gauselmann (l.), founder and CEO of the Gauselmann Group, has written a personal letter to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, entreating him to allow high street gaming shops to open.

Ross Alderson (l.), who first alerted British Columbia to the threat of money laundering in the province’s casinos run by BC Lottery Corp., has vanished. He didn’t show up to testify at a commission probe.

The Commercial Tourism Company of Argentina plans to restore an eight-story casino ship, the Nicolás Mihanovich (l.). The firm plans to invest $60 million in the overhaul.

In the U.K., a new study says a fraction of gamblers account for more than 70 percent of gaming revenues in the country. The study looked at 140,000 players from mid-July 2018 to June 2019.

The South American nation of Peru is considering legalizing online gaming. Supporters say it's a way to save a gaming industry that has been badly battered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic forced millions of Indians to stay indoors, causing the country’s online gaming industry to skyrocket. Revenues are expected to reach $3.1 billion by 2023.

Rush Street Interactive, in its first earnings call as a public company, reported revenue growth of 337 percent in revenues from its online casino operations. CEO Greg Carlin (l.) says the company is the second-largest U.S. operator.

Playtech has partnered with Kindred Group to offer its award-winning RNG online casino offering across Kindred sites, including the flagship Unibet brand.

North Dakota state Rep. James Kasper (l.), sponsor of two sports betting bills that passed in February, has added amendments banning the use of credit cards for betting and excluding all North Dakota college sports.

Deadwood and tribal casinos could launch sports betting in September, since South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (l.) recently signed sports wagering legislation.

In a 32-28 vote, the Wyoming House defeated an online sports betting bill, but the next day, in a reconsideration vote pushed by state Rep. Mike Yin (l.), lawmakers approved it with the same count.

Ohio lawmakers recently heard testimony from representatives of sports teams like Ted Tywang (l.), speaking for the Cleveland Browns, who said holding up legal sports betting is “delaying the inevitable.”

Golden Nugget Online is one of three more sportsbooks authorized for Virginia, announcing its intention to launch its online sports betting operation by summer.

Derek Stevens, who opened Circa Sports at his new Circa Las Vegas last year, is now bringing his successful sportsbook operation to the off-Strip Tuscany (l.) and the Pass in Henderson, Nevada.

Maverick Gaming CEO Eric Persson (l.) refuses to give up his pursuit of legalized commercial sports betting in Washington. Having failed with the legislature twice, he’s now considering a petition drive.

Massachusetts lawmakers are hard at work writing bills to legalize sports betting. Senate President Karen Spilka (l.), who doesn’t necessarily support such bills, says that if one is passed, it should be a “national model.”

Allied Sports Entertainment is canceling its prior deal to sell its World Poker Tour assets to Element Partners, opting to sell to Bally’s Corp. after a “superior proposal.”

Punters in the U.K. reportedly forfeited millions of pounds when the gambling website Football Index shut down. A coalition of MPs are demanding a public inquiry.

FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing (l.) at Fairmount Park in Collinsville, Illinois opened, just in time for March Madness. The new facility includes a 98-inch video screen, multiple video displays, live betting windows and kiosks.

A New York Senate budget bill would authorize the state Gaming Commission to request applications for the Big Apple’s three highly coveted licenses by July 1 and award them before the end of the year.

The Florida rumor mill is busy with speculation over expanded gaming in the state. Observers said if it happens, Trump National Doral golf resort (l.) in Miami could become a casino.

Dream Las Vegas (l.), a proposed $300 million casino hotel in the vicinity of McCarran International Airport, wants a waiver to build its hotel to a height of 237 feet. The TSA says it’s a recipe for disaster.

The city of Springfield, Massachusetts and the MGM Springfield Casino are working hand in hand on a city master plan that will help revive the downtown area along Main Street adjacent to the casino.

Rush Street Gaming officials said the $300 million casino venue (l.) in Portsmouth, Virginia could be the state’s first casino, opening in fall 2022. However, officials couldn’t say when a hotel would be built there.

The Nevada legislature failed to act on a proposal by the Clark County Education Association to raise the state’s gaming tax to boost funding for schools. The proposal now goes to the 2022 ballot.

The $300 million, land-based Hard Rock Northern Indiana (l.) in Gary is on track to open this spring, replacing the Majestic Star riverboats. Officials are hiring hundreds of new employees and lining up suppliers.

Illinois has more video gambling terminals than any other state and that makes gambling more convenient. As a result, experts said, gambling addiction is soaring.

A bill filed in Arkansas would raise the tax on winnings to 5.9 percent and require casinos to report gambling winnings to the state government and withhold state income tax on those winnings.

Residents of St. Tammany Parish were invited to two sessions on Peninsula Pacific’s proposed $250 million casino near Slidell, Louisiana. Attendees were concerned about traffic security and property values above all.

MGM Resorts International will receive around $1.2 billion after redeeming 37. 1 million partnership units of MGM Growth Properties, reducing the operator’s stake in the REIT to 42.1 percent.

So-called “slot influencers” are being utilized by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority as part of a campaign to lure slot players back to the market. The niche has made stars of slot experts like Brian Christopher (l.)

The Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort in D’Iberville, Mississippi is paying employees up to $300 to get vaccinated against Covid-19. On-site immunizations are available at the on-site casino clinic, according to CEO LuAnn Pappas (l.).

A travel advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., is suing MGM Resorts International over resort fees charged by the nearby MGM National Harbor resort (l.) in Maryland.

The former judge of Nevada’s Gambling Treatment Diversion Court continues her push to export the program to other states. Judge Cheryl Moss (l.) says alternative treatments are more important now, as gambling expands.

The Navajo Nation reopened two of its four casinos as Covid-19 cases declined. Capacity is limited to 25 percent and employees and customers must wear masks and have their temperature taken. At left is the Fire Rock casino outside of Gallup, New Mexico.

A group of Long Island residents and politicians are joining together to oppose a Hamptons casino proposed by the Shinnecock Indian Nation. The casino would offer bingo, video lottery, poker, dining and entertainment.

The Maine legislature’s Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs has begun hearings on a bill that would allow tribal casinos in the state. It would apply to the state’s four federally-recognized tribes.

A groundbreaking for the $500 million Sky River Casino (l.) in Elk Grove, California took place March 12. The resort casino is being built by the Wilton Rancheria in partnership with Boyd Gaming.

Thunder Valley Casino Resort (l.) in Lincoln, California has broken ground on a new entertainment center to called the Venue. The 4,500-seat facility will host music events, sporting events, conferences and banquets.

A Texas legislative committee has moved a lottery expansion bill to the floor. Critics say it’ll bring keno to establishments with liquor licenses and greatly expand the state’s gaming opportunities.

Despite the defeat of Alabama state Senator Del Marsh’s bill allowing casinos, a lottery and sports betting, lawmakers filed new lottery only gambling legislation.

Scientific Games has won a contract to provide instant scratch games to the Idaho Lottery under a two year contract beginning in March, including the Slingo product.

A Union Gaming analyst has predicted that the lottery business of International Game Technology, PLC could comprise as much as 75 percent of the supplier’s adjusted EBITDA by 2022.

Las Vegas-based GameCo, a pioneer of casino games designed to attract a new base of gaming customer, last week announced the appointment of Adam Rosenberg (l.) as its new chief executive officer.

Tribal member Jason Guyot (l.) has been appointed CEO and president of Foxwoods Resort Casino by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut. He is the first member of the tribe named to that job.

GeoComply announced last week that it’s promoted Lindsay Slader (l.) to the position of managing director of gaming and added Chad Kornett as vice president of global government relations.

Everi Holdings has named Kate Lowenhar-Fisher (l.), a prominent gaming attorney who has represented clients on the supplier and operator sides, as the company’s new general counsel.

Betfred founder, Chairman and CEO Fred Done has named Joanne Whitaker as the bookmaker’s new chief executive officer; Done will continue in his role as chairman.

Last week, BetMGM announced the signing of Michigan basketball great Jalen Rose (l.) as a celebrity brand ambassador for the sportsbook. Rose will be featured in marketing campaigns and participate in BetMGM fan events.

Aristocrat Gaming has launched RevMax Plus, a performance analytics and optimization tool designed to help operators maximize revenues through proactive monitoring. The company has also debuted Buffalo Link, the first game in the legendary Buffalo series (l.) to employ Aristocrat’s pioneering “hold-and-spin” game mechanic.

Guests at Resorts World Las Vegas will be able to make pool and nightclub reservations via a contactless booking app. The property has partnered with UrVenue to give customers an online entrée into the venues.

Aristocrat Gaming and Mesquite Gaming have opened two Lightning Link Lounges at the CasaBlanca Resort, Casino, Golf & Spa and the Virgin River Hotel & Casino in Mesquite, Nevada.

Paysafe payments technology will support sportsbook PointsBet’s in Michigan, its sixth U.S. state. PointsBet already uses Paysafe solutions in other states.

PlayStudios has grown its free-to-play game portfolio with the addition of myVegas Bingo. The game is described as “the first free-to-play bingo game to offer real-world rewards.”

Global sportsbook PointsBet has entered into an agreement to buy Banach Technology Ltd., putting the company in a prime position to take advantage of in-play wagering growth in the United States.

The Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association’s 2021 annual conference and trade show will move from late July to August 16 through August 18 and will be held at the new Oklahoma City Convention Center.