The Vietnam Ministry of Planning and Investment has filed a report with the prime minister about a proposed locals casino resort to be built in Van Don, Quang Ninh Province.

Union workers at MotorCity Casino and Hollywood Casino at Greektown voted to ratify a new 5-year contract, ending the strike that began October 17. Workers at MGM Grand Casino rejected the new contract and remain on strike.

A bill that would ban smoking inside Atlantic City casinos remained stalled in the state Senate Health Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee after Democrats delayed a scheduled vote.

Mohegan Gaming of Connecticut opened its new Inspire Entertainment Resort in South Korea last week. The soft opening featured non-gaming attractions as the operator awaits its casino license.

The Brazilian Senate’s Committee on Economic Affairs (CAE) has approved regulations and taxes for online gambling and sports betting with a 12 percent tax. The Chamber of Deputies has already approved the legislation.

The British-based gaming group Entain has agreed to pay $739.2 million (£585 million) to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). This arose from investigations into Turkish bribery uncovered illegal practices.

ESPN Bet flexed its name-begotten muscle by breaking a record for the number of downloads in a week. The 1 million downloads made the new record difficult to duplicate.

Online sports betting seems like a certainty for Mississippi, but online casinos don’t have much chance to be approved.

The death of investing giant Charlie Munger is cause for reflection and appreciation for some of the companies that demonstrate the beauty of buying good fundamentals at fair prices. Additionally, a number of recent developments have piqued our interest.

The Seneca Nation and New York Governor Kathy Hochul have agreed to a short-term extension of the tribe’s gaming compact with the state, just eight days before the original agreement was set to expire.

IGT has some of the most impressive games and platforms for iGaming, which are being directed by Gil Rotem (l.), who was named president of that division in 2021 and has led the company to be considered as one of top iGaming providers.

GGB Podcast sponsored by IGT.

After a protracted legal battle, Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada (l.) has been finally and decisively removed from the board of an entity that runs the Okada Manila casino in the Philippines.

Former Macau junket chief Ji Xiaobo (l.), who ran failed Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International, has been named the head of a “criminal syndicate” by a Chinese court. Ji has gone undercover to avoid arrest.

Lawmakers in Hokkaido, Japan, will convene a study group to explore the potential of a casino resort in the prefecture. So far, the central government has only approved one license, leaving two more available.

Marko Ducman, a Slovenian tennis umpire, admitted to involvement in a match-fixing and betting scandal and received a 10-year suspension.

The country of Kazakhstan has voted to implement new measures that will try to regulate and monitor gambling.

KSA, the Netherlands Gambling Authority, has approved six gambling addiction prevention projects that will help those suffering from gambling addiction.

Spelinspektionen, the gambling regulator of Sweden is being audited by the National Audit Office. The purpose is to see how effective it has been since the new regulated market was unveiled a year ago.

Mexico’s gambling industry isn’t going to take an attack on its existence lying down. It has decided to go to court to fight a ban on slot machines that will, within five years, force many casinos out of business.

Star Entertainment and Crown Resorts have finalized new tax casino increases in New South Wales that were first announced in principle over the summer.

Ontario’s online gambling market has been not only popular with residents, but those outside Canada. GeoComply reported a large uptick in blocked attempts.

The appointment terms for the so-called Special Managers who are tasked with overseeing the remediation efforts of Star Entertainment have been extended by six months in New South Wales and 12 months in Queensland.

With sports betting becoming big business in Peru, a member of Congress has presented a bill that would penalize manipulating sports results.

Bet365, one of the biggest operators in Hungary, announced it was leaving the country’s online market effective November 20.

Chile’s legislature is moving a framework to regulate online gaming in the South American country. The Economic Commission of the Chamber of Deputies recommended a “1 percent responsible gambling tax.”

EveryMatrix has agreed to a new partnership with Caesars Digital through which its casino content will be available on the Caesars Palace Online Casino and Caesars Sportsbook & Casino in North America.

ESPN Bet’s download numbers were impressive. But let’s not shortchange the record set by Wyoming in October just because the state is sparsely populated. And kudos for the other record setters as well.

It seems with every month, states set new sports betting records. So reaching a handle of $100 billion shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Still, the bettor who reached the magic number deserves a new car.

Sports betting, especially the online kind, is still in the toddler stage. You can forgive sportsbooks if some underage kids fell through the cracks. But the NCAA stats had to put the operators to shame for their testimony.

Missouri approved not one, not two, but eight different versions of a campaign to go before voters for sports betting approval. A coalition of pro teams have spearheaded efforts.

The new five-year collective bargaining agreements between the Culinary and Bartenders unions and MGM, Wynn and Caesars have been ratified by members. Wages will increase by a total of 32 percent by the end of the deals.

The New York City Planning Commission is working on a change in its zoning rules that would provide for casinos in certain commercial and manufacturing areas.

Since Richmond, Virginia voters rejected a casino for the second time, officials in other communities, including Fairfax County and Petersburg, are moving forward plans to host the state’s fifth authorized casino.

Indiana legislative leaders said no gaming bills will be considered in the 2024 session, following former state Rep. Sean Eberhart’s (l.) admission that he took a bribe in exchange for pushing 2019 legislation favoring Spectacle Gaming.

Penn Entertainment broke ground a $100 million, 180-room hotel at Hollywood Casino Columbus (l.), expected to open in 2025. The project will create 400 construction jobs and 100 permanent positions.

A Boston television station investigation found the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which receives $18 million annually from gambling revenue, spends four times as much on prevention as on treatment.

Alabama state Rep. Andy Whitt said regulating “rampant” illegal gambling could lead to legislation allowing casino gambling and a lottery. House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter said he expects gambling legislation to be introduced in the 2024 session.

In 2022, California tribes split allegiances to support one of two propositions for sports betting. Both failed big. A year later, still licking their wounds, tribes don’t seem in much of a mood for a new campaign.

The game isn’t over in Florida. West Flagler Associates and the Bonita-Fort Myers Corp. have at least one card to play with the U.S. Supreme Court in their suit against the Seminoles. And who knows how many others to play.

Finance veteran Mark Howell (l.) has been appointed chief financial officer of Tabcorp.

Koin has named former Wynn Resorts CIO Scott Carcillo (l.) as chief commercial officer.

Aruze Gaming Global announced that Betty Zhao (l.), former chief operating officer of LT Game, has been named as Aruze’s new senior vice president of international operations.

A class-action suit alleges that AviaGames, a developer of casino apps used by players of skill games, pitted users against bots instead of similarly skilled human players.

Aristocrat Gaming has released 11 new titles for the Europe, Middle East and Africa markers, consisting of for-sale linked and stand-alone progressives.

Zitro’s new Double Link game recently debuted at the recently relocated Casino Bilbao.

J Carcamo & Associates’ latest Casino Marketing Boot Camp is set to take place March 18-20, 2024 in New Orleans.