The American Gaming Association has renewed its commitment to eradicating unregulated, unlicensed gaming machines promoted as “skill games” in several states with a white paper outlining their dangers.

Bally Corp. is out of the running to develop a casino in Richmond, Virginia, leaving Cordish Companies and Urban One in the competition. Both have proposed building a $600 million casino resort.

Gaming halls in the Cambodian border town of Bavet have been ordered to close to contain a new outbreak of Covid-19 infections. Casinos in the city attract a large number of Vietnamese gamblers.

U.S.-based global asset management firm Oaktree Capital Management has offered up to AU$3 billion to buy the Crown Resorts shares currently owned by billionaire James Packer (l.).

On April 15, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (l.) signed a bill to authorize sports betting and also extend tribal-state gaming compacts in the state. The legislation will dramatically alter the gaming landscape in the state.

Sports betting in California was thought to be at least two years away. But with a recall election possible for Governor Gavin Newsom (l.), it just might happen this year.

Texas lawmakers are being targeted by a multimillion TV and radio campaign by Las Vegas Sands promoting a measure to authorize four casino resorts. The lure is billions of dollars in tourism currently being lost, according to LVS SVP Andy Abboud (l.).

A federal judge rejected the North Carolina-based Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ lawsuit challenging the South Carolina-based Catawba Nation’s casino (l.), now under construction in Kings Mountain.

With all challenges out of the way, Caesars Entertainment completed the purchase of sports betting operator William Hill last week. As a result of the closing, William Hill President Joe Asher will leave the company.

As earnings reports roll out, the industry will look to its oracles—CEOs and CFOs—for wisdom on the full recovery. Meanwhile, the battle for the digital mountain continues, with some surprising contenders.

This week, the GGB Podcast gets together with Soo Kim, the chairman of Bally’s Corp., the former Twin River Holdings, about the aggressive moves the company has been making in the past year.

In March, the end of the 2020-21 fiscal year, more than 100 of Japan’s famous pachinko parlors closed up shop. About 700 of the gambling venues have closed since fiscal 2019.

The closure of the Gongzi Jeju Casino (l.) in Jeju, South Korea leaves only two gaming halls operational on the island. Due to Covid-19, Gongzi Jeju is the sixth casino to close in the past year.

Wakayama Prefecture in Japan will soon name its integrated resort partner. The local government received bids from two candidates: Suncity Group Holdings Japan and Clairvest Neem Ventures of Tokyo.

GambleAware will seek agencies to conduct research into gambling problems within ethnic communities and women, two sections with scant study. The project comes as the U.K reviews the 2005 Gambling Act.

Arena Racing has added a greyhound stadium to its portfolio. Newcastle’s Central Park joins existing tracks in Nottingham, Sunderland and Birmingham. Entain will offer employees the opportunity to buy shares.

The Football Index, a unique form of gambling in which you purchase shares of football stars as a way to make money, collapsed. Shares plummeted. The U.K. Gambling Commission will investigate.

Once society normalizes as the Covid pandemic recedes, Manitoba, Canada casinos plan to introduce “stadium gaming.” The socially distanced games had been in the works before, but the pandemic accelerated them.

The Cullen Commission in Vancouver will interrogate politicians including Liberal Premier Christy Clark (l.) as part of its probe into money laundering in the casino industry.

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has begun to hear appeals of a proposed bill to create an economic zone on an artificially created island in the port city of Colombo. China plans to operate a casino and entertainment in the zone.

Two casinos in Tasmania remain closed after being hard-hit by a cyber-attack April 3. The Federal Group, which operates casinos in the Australian island, is investigating the attack which hit hotel book systems.

Sands China has issued a statement stating it has no relationship to an online gaming site based in Guangdong Province in South China that has lifted the name “Sands Macao.”

Online bets on Japanese horse racing have hit an all-time high. Wagers were propelled by the pandemic, but began to grow when iGaming eliminated the need to go to the track.

BetMGM has agreed to integrate the responsible gaming program GameSense developed by the British Columbia Lottery Corp. into its own sports betting and iGaming platforms.

The Dutch gaming regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has received 28 applications so far from operators wanting the enter the online gaming regulated market. The market will officially open in October.

The first agreement for a tribal sportsbook in Washington State has been reached between the Tulalip tribe and the Washington State Gambling Commission. This could lead to sports wagers before the NFL season.

Two bills sponsored by Attorney General David Lametti (l.) are moving forward in Canada’s parliament to amend the Criminal Code to allow single-game sports betting. The amendment is needed for states to begin offering sports betting.

A Louisiana House committee has unanimously approved a sports betting bill allowing up to 20 retail sportsbooks with two mobile operators each. If the bill passes and is signed into law, it could be enacted on July 1.

Ohio’s pro sports teams have laid down the gauntlet for the state legislature: approve sports betting or don’t adjourn for the summer. The delay revolves around which entity should regulate the industry.

Like last year, a contract dispute between Churchill Downs Inc. and the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association was resolved allowing bettors to place multi-race wagers on the Kentucky Derby, due to run May 1.

Ohio lawmakers have yet to OK sports betting legislation, but the Ohio Fair Gaming Coalition, comprised of small businesses that sell lottery tickets, want the Lottery Commission—not casinos—to regulate sports betting.

After striking a deal with the NFL to provide data, Genius Sports has acquired dMY Technology Group, a special purpose acquisition company. The transaction was worth $1.5 billion.

PointsBet, a global sportsbook operator, has signed a multiyear exclusive partnership deal with a PGA event, the Korn Ferry Tour’s TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes.

Legislation legalizing casino gambling, a state lottery and sports betting may not be voted upon by the Alabama House for several weeks, as lawmakers study the issue, said Speaker Mac McCutcheon (l.).

Nebraska state Senators passed a bill allowing casino gambling at horseracing tracks in Omaha, Grand Island, Columbus, South Sioux City and Hastings, and at a new $200 million casino hotel to be built in Lincoln.

Caesars committed $400 to revitalize its three properties in Atlantic City. The makeover begins now with $170 million room renovations at Caesars (l.) and Harrah’s. The commitment extends into 2023.

MGM National Harbor last week opened a new experience for gamblers, outdoors on what the property described as an al fresco “gaming terrace.” The terrace includes popular slot games and cocktail service.

The Las Vegas Strip will be welcoming its first wholly new destination-scale casino in more than a decade. It’s Resorts World Las Vegas, developed at a cost of $4.3 billion, and it promises to be something to see.

Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein (l.) plans to build a “family-friendly” entertainment center at the former Showboat casino in Atlantic City. He said it will include an esports arena and New Jersey’s largest arcade.

A Louisiana Senate committee passed a bill allowing Peninsula Pacific Entertainment to move its gaming license from Bossier City to Slidell. But the wife of the chairman, Gary Smith (l.). whose vote broke the tie, is a P2E lobbyist.

Gold Rush Gaming is claiming vindication after the Illinois Gaming Board dismissed a 2019 disciplinary complaint against the operator involving the purchase of video gaming establishments.

The National Labor Relations Board has charged Las Vegas locals giant Station Casinos with a slew of violations of federal labor laws. Station has blasted the complaint as “biased” and “unfair.”

Long Island’s Suffolk OTB wants to buy Delaware North out of its contract to manage the lucrative VLT casino, Jake’s 58 (l.). County officials believe the price may be too high.

April 21 marked the opening of the $100 million Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort (l.) after two years of construction. The project includes a hotel, restaurants, bars, a pool and spa, and an event center.

A compact between Indiana and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians has received final legislative approval. The tribe can now offer live table games, slots and sports betting at its South Bend Casino (l.).

The Wilton Rancheria of California has won a ruling in a U.S. appeals court that will allow it to move forward on its Sky River Casino (l.) in Elk Grove. The ruling dismissed charges that the casino wasn’t an indigenous tribe.

A $300 million, 250,000-square foot expansion project at the Gun Lake Tribe’s Gun Lake Casino near Wayland, Michigan will add a 250-room, 4-diamond hotel, spa, restaurant and a glass-domed swimming pool.

Former Quapaw Nation Chairman John Berrey (l.) faces criminal charges including attempted embezzlement, conspiracy, abuse of office and improper gifts. Still, he said he plans to run for vice chairman of the tribe.

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington have applied to put 194 acres in Pasco into trust for a casino. The Department of the Interior is expected to take up to five years to take this action.

Powerball lottery games will be offered in Idaho for another year, but politicians are looking to pull the plug. They say foreign governments joining the franchise may use revenues to fund causes Idahoans oppose.

EQL Games, formerly EquiLottery Games, will develop lottery contests tied to live sporting events. The company already has deals with Major League Baseball, the NBA and NASCAR.

Scientific Games has named Victor Blanco, current chief technology officer at Aristocrat, as the new chief technology officer for Scientific Games.

Rush Street Gaming has named Justin Moore, formerly general manager of Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady, as general manager of Rivers Casino Philadelphia.

Sightline Payments has used some of its recent $100 million capital influx to recruit top executives, naming John Gronen as CFO, Felecia Gassen (l.) as chief of staff, and Jennifer Carleton as chief legal officer, among others.

Brittnie Watkins follows in the pioneering footsteps of Sandra Douglass Morgan as the second African American woman appointed to the agency that regulates Nevada casinos.

Grant Chum will replace Rob Goldstein on the panel that oversees non-budgeted capital expenditures for the Macau casino operator. The shift will allow Goldstein to focus on his leadership of parent Las Vegas Sands.

Sportradar has named Deirdre Bigley chief marketing officer of Bloomberg and member of several corporate boards to the Sportradar board of directors.

Dante Desiderio has been named CEO of the National Congress of American Indians after a five-month search. He has been executive director of Native American Finance Officers Association.

Global soccer star Neymar Jr. has been named cultural ambassador by PokerStars.net. The Brazilian soccer superstar will work with PokerStars on creative projects, including design, art and music.

IGT has signed a seven-year contract with the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission to upgrade its video lottery central system with the Intelligen system.

CBS Sports has signed a multi-year rights agreement with the PokerGO streaming service to become the television partner for the World Series of Poker Main Event and select Bracelet Events.

Maverick Gaming is introducing cashless advances to its customers in partnership with Marker Trax and Scientific Games.