Solaire Resort North, Bloomberry Resorts’ new $1 billion casino complex, has opened in Quezon City, Philippines. Bloomberry CEO Enrique Razon says the resort will “elevate the entertainment experience” in the city.

After influential New York state Senator Jessica Ramos (l.), who represents Queens, publicly announced her opposition to a bill critical to Mets owner Steve Cohen’s casino project, Cohen is searching for an alternative plan.

Gulfside Casino Partnership, one of two developers competing for the Pope County, Arkansas gaming license, presented details about its proposed $405 million casino resort (l.). The plan includes an upfront payment of $65 million to the county and local communities.

A longtime foe of Philippine offshore gaming operations has filed a bill that would ban the businesses outright. Legislation proposed by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian (l.) would repeal the law that legalized so-called POGOs.

More days are needed to assess license applications to participate in Brazil’s new gambling market, pushing back the market’s opening. Operators will have until Dec. 31 to comply.

Switzerland’s federal council has granted new 20-year licenses to the Confederation’s 21 land-based and 10 online casinos. The action is seen as a recognition of the industry’s safe and responsible operations.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to confer with West Flagler Associates, the plaintiff, in a suit to overturn the compact between Florida and the Seminole tribe. At issue is a monopoly the tribe holds on sports betting.

The Choctaw Nation officially opened the $238 million Choctaw Landing casino resort (l.) in Hochatown, Oklahoma. The property offers a casino with 600 slots and eight table games and a 100-room hotel with luxury amenities.

Caesars Entertainment announced the launch of WSOP Online, a new real-money poker platform combining player pools from Michigan, Nevada and New Jersey.

Every profession has its hazards—for gaming, one of the biggest is legislative risk. The online sports betting industry got a full taste of that reality as investors sold off in response to Illinois’ recent tax hike.

This week we sit down with Brett Abarbanel (l.), executive director of UNLV’s International Gaming Institute, to talk about her journey into the academic side of gaming, the vision of the IGI and her interest in the rise of esports and video games.

GGB Podcast sponsored by iGB Live.

A Japanese group called the Society Concerned about Gambling Addiction warns that young people are visiting illegal online gaming sites in record numbers. It says patronage grew during the pandemic.

More than 192,000 South Koreans have visited Macau so far this year, putting them at the top of the list of international visitors. That figure could grow this year, report tourism officials in the Chinese SAR.

Illegal money exchange operators who frequent Macau casinos are becoming more sophisticated and organized, and also moving into loan sharking, says Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak.

Irish lawmakers are under increasing lobbying pressure by the gambling industry to pull back some of the more onerous proposals in its revision of gambling law. Among them is a ban on daylight gambling advertising.

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) of the U.K. has achieved record compliance for age verification checks. The auditor Serve Legal reported the council’s members achieved pass rates in the high 90 percentile.

Bulgaria has revised rules for anti-money laundering (AML) to meet international standards. The Council of Europe’s oversight body Moneyval found that Bulgaria complies with many recommendations.

The Alberta, Canada provincial legislature approved a bill that ends the monopoly of Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) in offering gaming. Now third-party operators can be granted licenses.

A tug-of-war has taken shape in Delaware over expanding the number of sportsbook operators. The lone player is BetRivers, but some lawmakers want to expand the number to draw more bettors

Maine approved its sports betting legislation two years ago, yet Milt Champion, the head of the unit which oversees it, has yet to implement in-person gaming. State Senator Joe Baldacci is upset.

BetMGM has replaced FanDuel as the oddsmaker for the Associated Press. The move increases BetMGM’s visibility in the sportsbook world.

Nevada’s statewide gaming revenue was $1.24 billion for April, an all-time record for the month and an increase of nearly 7 percent from last year.

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, unanimously upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Torch Electronics, seeking to stop the Missouri State Highway Patrol from seizing its gambling machines and filing criminal charges.

The Petersburg, Virginia city council unanimously approved a resolution formalizing its partnership with the Cordish Companies to develop a $1.4 billion casino entertainment district. The agreement includes a temporary casino to operate while the permanent venue is built.

Queen Casino & Entertainment, owners of the Queen Baton Rouge, will speed up the move of the Belle of Baton Rouge riverboat (l.) to land, due to the success of its Queen’s move ashore last August. The Belle also will be rebranded, officials said.

The owner of the South Point (l.) in Las Vegas, Michael Gaughan, recently acquired a 4.3-acre plot near the off-Strip resort for $5.5 million. The land is expected to be used as an overflow parking lot for the time being.

In its first four months, Derby City Gaming Downtown (l.) in Louisville, Kentucky generated the least revenue of the state’s 12 historical horse racing venues. But Churchill Downs officials expect “consistent ramping” to continue at the $90 million venue.

Following a failed effort to bring casinos to three North Carolina counties, some state Republican leaders are less than eager to revisit the issue, especially since they believe Senate President Phil Berger (l.) made a backroom deal with Cordish Companies.

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts’ Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts project concluded that the state’s casino workforce is strong, and that hiring goals have been met.

The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation in Idaho are fighting the proposed fourth casino by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe. They are appealing to the governor of Idaho and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Playtech has announced several changes to its board of directors, including a merger that will form a new audit and risk committee and a new committee examining risk and compliance issues.

Gaming content supplier ODDSworks has named gaming supply veteran Kunal Mishra as chief operating officer and chief strategy officer, reporting to company President Larry DeMar.

Industry veteran Eugene Gibson (l.) has been appointed as the new general manager at Magnolia Bluffs Casino Hotel in Natchez, Miss.

Novomatic has unveiled the Novovision tournament module, which allows for streamlined live-table management that is part of the company’s casino management solution.

AGS will hold its seventh GameON customer conference this week at the Encore Boston Harbor resort, featuring keynotes by a neuroscientist and the head of an online news site, as well as several panel discussions.