The Illinois Gaming Board unanimously found “preliminary suitability” for Bally’s to open a temporary casino at Medinah Temple (l.) in late summer. The permanent $1.7 billion casino complex is expected to open by 2026.

Now that Nevada lawmakers have agreed to a $380 million financing package for the Oakland A’s proposed stadium in Las Vegas (l.), the team must shift its focus to completing the MLB relocation process and the demolition of the Tropicana Las Vegas, the future site of the ballpark.

The planned sale by Genting Malaysia of four Miami properties has fallen through. The would-be purchaser, while tabling its current bid of $1.225 billion, remains interested in the 15-5 acres of land.

The U.S. Department of State says human trafficking is increasingly prevalent in Asian casinos, particularly in Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle, as well as Macau and Cambodia.

It’s been a week of mixed emotions for Australia’s Star Entertainment—the operator rejoiced when an impending tax hike on its Star Sydney (l.) property was deferred, but that excitement was muted after the previously reported sale of its Treasury Casino and Hotel Brisbane collapsed abruptly.

The Guardian newspaper has announced it has stopped accepting gambling advertisements, except for lottery ads. As a result it will lose millions of dollars. The paper says that gambling ads contribute to the social ills associated with gambling, such as addiction.

To its credit, the NFL has said enough is enough—for now. The league has revamped its gambling policy to make it easier to police, or at least that’s the hope. The centerpiece is a list of six don’ts.

More than two years after sports betting was first approved in Nebraska, the first sportsbook opened June 22 and began accepting wagers on sporting events.

The new gaming compact agreed upon by New York state officials and the Seneca Nation remains in question after lawmakers refused to authorize the deal.

In gaming, two paths have formed: one with big names, glitzy locales and booms and busts, and the other with unsexy operations that perform consistently over time. When it comes to choosing one from an investment perspective , consider the one less traveled.

Ainsworth Game Technology has long cemented its place as a leading manufacturer, thanks to its arsenal of high-performing titles across multiple sectors. Our guest on this week’s GGB Podcast, Keith Kruczynski (l.), has played a pivotal role in that development, and currently serves as the company’s vice president of studios, North America.

Officials in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, remain hopeful that the central government will approve an integrated resort in the region. The development would be built adjacent to a theme park in Sasebo City.

The Macau government will ban gaming concessionaires from supporting any future candidate for chief executive. Secretary Cheong Weng Chon (l.) said the change will protect gaming, “the main economic pillar of Macau.”

A Japanese business consultancy says the integrated resort planned for Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay could increase and even double its revenues with more non-gaming amenities.

Finland’s new government has decided to break up the gambling monopoly Veikkaus and transition to a market-based gambling sector. The change to a licensing model will take place by 2026, says the government. The goal is to encourage more legal participation in gambling.

Videoslots has reached a settlement with the U.K. Gambling Commission where it will pay a fine of £2 million for alleged social responsibility and anti-money laundering violations. The violations took place from October 2019 and February 2022, the commission alleged.

A study by Ireland’s Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) warned that unregulated social casino games may act as a gateway to problem gambling and that it could affect more than 130,000 Irish people.

The U.K. Gambling Commission has unveiled a new website that is designed to help gambling operators understand their responsibilities when dealing with non-licensed third parties. It provides guidelines and expectations for such transactions.

The Great Canadian Casino Resort in Toronto (l.) made its debut this week and the $1 billion facility is billed as the largest such casino in Canada.

Canadian casino workers walked off the job during the Montreal Grand Prix in an effort to bring attention to their request for increased wages.

Victorian regulators have fined Crown Resorts $13.6 million for attempting to claim improper tax deductions at its Crown Melbourne casino (l.). For those keeping track, the operator has amassed over $600 million in penalties in the last two years.

The Ontario, Canada, iGaming industry has enjoyed a record first quarter of 2023 and a report showed that the market will continue to grow for the next decade.

Despite an upcoming ban on gambling companies advertising on the front of jerseys in the Premier League, Chelsea FC is in talks with Stake.com regarding a sponsorship deal.

Ohio set sports betting records when it launched in January. Governor Mike DeWine (l.) liked what he saw, so much he proposed to double the sports betting tax. Then reality set in and the numbers tumbled down. Still…

Those wanting to see exchange wagering in Colorado will have to wait, as the state’s Limited Gaming Control Commission voted to postpone approval for the unique type of sports wagering.

Single-event sports betting has proven successful one year after Ontario launched. Now is the time to discuss a rollout to other provinces. The Canadian Gaming Summit did that.

The Caesars Sportsbook app recently went dark for Nevada users in order to migrate them to the new platform that the company has already deployed in other states.

Two Pennsylvania lawmakers are asking state officials to investigate the Gaming Control Board, claiming regulators met privately with casino lobbyists battling unlicensed skill games.

The WSOP announced it is investigating professional poker player Martin Kabrhel (l.) after two players accused him of cheating at a recent WSOP event.

HeadWaters Resort & Casino officials submitted a development application to Norfolk, Virginia for phase one of the project, a partnership between the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Tennessee billionaire Jon Yarbrough (l.).

An Allegheny County lawmaker has introduced a bill to end the exemptions to the 2008 Clean Indoor Air Act, including the exemption allowing casinos to permit smoking.

The temporary Hard Rock Rockford (l.) in Illinois received permission from the state gaming board to remain open until November 2024 as construction proceeds on the permanent venue, set to open in August 2024.

Alabama state Senator David Sessions (l.) said he’d vote against a constitutional amendment lifting the state’s 1901 gambling ban if the legislature passes such a measure next year.

Former Timbisha Shoshone Tribal Chairman Jimmy-John Thompson recently filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against Reno’s Grand Sierra Resort and Casino (l.).

The largest casino resort in Northern California, Graton Resort & Casino (l.), has begun a $1 billion expansion. Graton Rancheria broke ground June 16 on the project, which will add a parking structure, five story hotel, and 3,500 seat theater among other improvements.

A resolution supporting a proposed Osage Nation casino was tabled by the Lake Ozark board of aldermen. Earlier, locals had expressed concern over a lack of details about the project. City staff continue to discuss casino plans with tribal officials.

Northern California’s Wilton Rancheria’s Sky River Casino (l.) is contributing $4 million more annually toward the town of Elk Grove. As a result, and the recent approval of a sales tax hike, the city will have $53 million more this year—and will be able to double the size of the police force.

Jonathan Michaels (l.), a veteran of payments solution provider Sightline Payments and the American Gaming Association, has launched the consultancy Michaels Strategies to focus on gaming growth opportunities.

Ambrose So (l.), vice chairman, executive director and CEO of SJM Holdings, has retired. So spent nearly 48 years with SJM and was a trusted confidante of its founder, Macau gaming king Stanley Ho.

Yang Zhihui (l.), chairman of Hong Kong-listed Shin Hwa World Ltd., has retired from the company’s board. Shin Hwa World, formerly Landing International, is the promoter of Jeju Shinhwa World in South Korea.

Suntrust Resort Holdings has appointed attorney Alvin C. Go as a director. The former banking executive was elected to the board during a stockholders’ meeting on June 16.

Eclipse Gaming’s Tim Minard (l.) was knighted by the Principality of Cappadocia as an honor to Minard’s philanthropy and entrepreneurship.

Kambi’s online sportsbook partnership with LeoVegas, which was first formed in 2016, has been renewed for a second time.

Gaming machine manufacturer FBM is awaiting certification of its new “Asian-inspired” slot machine, Jin Qián Link, which will make its debut at casinos in the Philippines.

Table Trac has expanded its partnership with the Blackfeet Nation to include the tribe’s latest venue, the Peak Restaurant, a satellite location to Glacier Peaks Hotel & Casino.

The International Gaming Standards Association has announced the formation of a new responsible gaming committee.