Last week, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (l.) signed a sports betting bill and expansion of tribal gaming that will be one of the most comprehensive in any state in decades.

Florida’s Seminole Tribe has rejected a gaming compact that would have allowed the tribe to control sports betting and build three new casinos in exchange for concessions, including allowing a Miami Beach casino. Governor Ron DeSantis (l.) says negotiations will continue.

Stepped-up plans outlined by Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak call for the state’s counties to take back control over capacity limits and other pandemic-related restrictions this spring. Mask mandates, however, will remain in place.

Development of an electronic version of China’s currency is proceeding with increasing speed and Macau will be one of the test locations. For Macau’s gaming industry the changes will be dramatic.

In its bid for Australia’s Crown Resorts, U.S.-based Blackstone has laid out some new conditions. For one thing, Blackstone says it will withdraw its offer if any of Crown’s licenses are put at risk.

The Alabama Senate has voted 23-9 for a constitutional amendment sponsored by Senator Jim McClendon (l.) that would allow voters to approve a statewide lottery and six casinos. The measure also includes sports betting.

Maryland’s Senate and House of Delegates passed a compromise version of enacting legislation for sports betting on the last day of the legislative session, with wagering possible by the fall. License are reserved for retail, online, sports bars/restaurants and professional sports teams like baseball’s Baltimore Orioles (l.).

April 12 marked the day betting shops can open their doors this year. The bookies have been sidelined since December as part of a national lockdown due to the pandemic. The reopening affects 6,000 shops.

The new UNLV School of Medicine building will bear the name of late gaming industry icon and MGM Resorts International founder Kirk Kerkorian (l.).

Evolution Gaming reports that it will acquire Australian online gaming content supplier Big Time Gaming, and its titles including Bonanza and Extra Chilli.

The real test of pent-up demand is right around the corner, as Nevada and other markets look to loosen Covid-19 restrictions. Meanwhile, what will cryptocurrency mean for the market in Macau?

This week, the GGB Podcast sits down the Jim Allen, the chairman of Hard Rock International and the CEO of Seminole Gaming, on the rapid recovery of his company since the pandemic.

Last week, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte lifted some of Manila’s Covid-19 countermeasures, putting the city in “modified enhanced quarantine” until April 30. But the city’s casinos remain closed for now.

Talks are under way between authorities on both sides of the Macau-China border that could lead to eliminating the requirement for mainland visitors to present negative Covid test results.

SkyCity Entertainment of New Zealand will no longer work with junket operators, opting to deal with patrons on a one-to-one basis. The move may have been inspired by Crown Resorts’ woes with Asian VIPs.

CEO Javier Martinez Seguí (l.) of Chilean casino firm Enjoy has resigned, along with four members of the board. Their exits are linked to conflict-of-interest investigations involving President Sebastián Piñera.

Bally’s Corp. and Gamesys Group PLC have agreed on the terms under which Bally’s will combine with Gamesys, adding a digital arm to the growing operator.

The Swedish government may extend restrictions on iGaming deposits until mid-November. The move is meant to curb problem gambling in the country, where people continue to be isolated as a result of Covid-19.

Analysts from J.P. Morgan Australia say social games from Aristocrat Digital have been turning in strong metrics for the first half of the 2021 fiscal year.

The Connecticut Lottery has issued a request for qualifications for sports betting partners. Lottery Chairman Rob Simmelkjaer (l.) says the state could be in the sports betting business by fall.

Texas Rep. Dan Huberty (l.) is working to persuade legislators on both side of the aisle to approve a vote on legal sports betting. Huberty says the state could tap into $5.6 billion in betting revenues.

A Nebraska Senate Committee and its chairman Tom Briese (l.) voted to not advance sports betting legislation, calling it an expansion of gambling. But another measure would allow sports wagering at racinos.

Ohio lawmakers hash out whether to limit sports betting to casinos or open it up to bowling alleys, bars and more. They must also decide who regulates the operations, the lottery or the gaming commission.

A Tennessee judge ruled that Action 24/7 can continue to take bets as its legal case against it for fraud winds through the courts. The decision reversed a suspension of the sportsbook license.

With the debut of its new sports betting app, Bally’s Corp. is partnering with Sinclair Broadcast Group to develop sports wager content. The productions will be broadcast on regional networks.

The PPG Paints Arena of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins will soon open the BetRivers Lounge, a sports lounge where fans will be able to place bets on mobile devices while watching the game.

A crowd of local South Philadelphia residents gathered to protest a proposal for the popular Chickie’s and Pete’s restaurant and sports bar to host a Parx Casino sportsbook.

Scientific Games and the Smarkets betting exchange reported a record-breaking 50 million bets during the U.K.’s Grand National Horse Racing Festival.

Juventus superstar Paulo Dybala (l.) has agreed to a two-year deal with Skrill to represent the digital payments brand among football fans worldwide.

The coronavirus pandemic meant lower revenues and fewer profits in Atlantic City in 2020. Still, seven of the nine casinos managed to turn a profit, and one, Ocean Casino Resort (l.), actually saw an increase in profits.

A 37-foot tall, 15-foot wide guitar has been lit at the $300 million Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana in Gary. The resort’s grand opening has been set for May 14.

Elite Casino Resorts will develop a $100 million casino resort at Fonner Park (l.) in Grand Island, Nebraska, including a 650-slot casino, sportsbook, restaurants, pools and spa and 116-room boutique hotel.

The New Hampshire legislature is move forward on bills that would make it legal for the state’s 16 licensed gaming operators to deploy historic horse racing machines. A portion of the money raised would go to charity.

Oregon poker clubs may be losers in an appeals court ruling that their business model violates the state’s gaming laws. The Oregon Court of Appeals ruling was against the games at Oregon Racing Inc.’s Portland Raceway.

Resorts World Las Vegas, the mammoth casino resort opening this summer on the northern end of the famous Strip, will span 70,000 square feet and include multiple high-end retail brands.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Comanche Nation new casino in Cache, Oklahoma. The 17,000-square-foot facility will offer 250 gaming machines, a restaurant and convenience store, and create 50 jobs.

Appeals are being heard in a suit filed by the city of Council Bluffs, Iowa and the states of Iowa and Nebraska against the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska’s casino in Iowa. A federal judge ruled against the plaintiffs in 2019.

Despite an ongoing legal battle with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Catawba Indian Nation will open a temporary facility on the site of its $273 million Two Kings Casino Resort (l.) in Kings Mountain, North Carolina.

The Ho-Chunk Nation hopes the Interior Department will approve its $400 million casino resort and water park (l.) in Beloit, Wisconsin in the next few months so construction can start early next year.

Two Alberta, Canada First Nations have sued the government of the province. They claim that it was a conflict of interest for the province to begin an online casino to compete against their tribal casinos.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (l.) has begun the first of many “listening” tours since being sworn in. She went to New Mexico and Utah to hear concerns from tribes about the environment and sacred sites.

California’s Tule River Tribe has broken ground for its new relocated Eagle Mountain Casino, on 40 acres in Porterville, Tulare County. Now it’s named HBG Design to its development team.

Seminole Hard Rock has become the first privately-owned gaming company to be recognized as a U.S. Best Managed Company, on a list compiled by Deloitte Private and the Wall Street Journal.

Terry Glebocki, who’s helped drive profitability at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, has been appointed president of the Casino Association of New Jersey. She is the first woman to lead the group.

For the first time, a member of the Coquille Indian Tribe of Oregon has been named CEO of the Mill Casino-Hotel & RV Park near Coos Bay. Margaret Simpson (l.) will succeed outgoing chief executive Terri Porcaro.

GLI has promoted multiple team members in its global offices, appointing several new senior vice presidents and adding other top posts. Among those promoted: Christine Gallo (l.), now senior VP of compliance and QA.

Industry veteran and former AGA executive Sara Slane (l.), founder of Slane Advisory, has been named a distinguished fellow at UNLV’s International Center for Gaming Regulation.

DraftKings Inc. has hired Brian Angiolet (l.) as the company’s first ever chief media officer. Most recently, Angiolet served as senior VP and chief business officer at Verizon.

HBG’s new Dallas-based office is staffed by former Wilson Associates architects and designers, all with rich backgrounds in hospitality commercial interior design. They are led by Lela Richardson (l.), NCIDQ.

In the next step of its rehabilitation, Australia’s Crown Resorts has named former SkyCity Entertainment Group Deputy Chairman Bruce Carter to its revamped board of directors.

Cache Creek Casino Resort in Northern California has promoted Mark Pirruccello (l.) from within to be chief financial officer, while bringing on Stephen Bailey as vice president of information technology.

GameCo has named three gaming industry veterans to its team. Michael Low and Gabriel Moraga (l.) join the company in executive roles, along with as Barry Iremonger.

Parimatch has created an advisory team to take it to the next level in sports betting and iGaming, and navigate the firm though a possible IPO. Maksym Liashko (l.) will serve as co-CEO with Roman Syrotian.

Last week, the Sahara Las Vegas announced the promotion of Lyle Kaku (l.) from executive sous chef to executive chef. Kaku will oversee all culinary operations for the resort.

Sportradar, provider of sports betting and entertainment products and services, has signed a multi-year sports betting partnership with TwinSpires, the online sports betting arm of Churchill Downs Inc.

A report from Allied Market Research predicts that the global gaming equipment market will reach $13.3 billion by 2027, compared with $11 billion in 2019.

RG24seven has with Gamban to produce a video training course on dealing with self-excluded gamblers in an effort to create awareness and understanding of self-exclusion programs.

Paradise Hotel Busan has revealed that it will trial an AI serving robot as part of an ongoing plan to reduce face-to-face contact between people due to the COVID-19 pandemic.