Gambling News Roundup – July 28-August 3

The online gambling world is not slowing down for summer vacation as New Jersey gears up for regulated online play and William Hill continues shoring up its online presence.
On land, the island of Macau continues running up astronomical revenue, while European investigators gave a little more information about that big European soccer-fixing ring.
Here’s all the big headlines from the last week in gambling.
New Jersey Talks Affiliates – New Jersey’s Gambling Enforcement Division is clarifying licensing standards for ancillary service providers, including affiliates. Though the Division is really focused on branded skins, the new licensing FAQ they posted this week specifically mentions, “marketing affiliates.”
etruvian/PokerStrategy.com Management Shakeup – etruvian Holdings, the parent company of PokerStrategy.com, celebrated its big deal with Playtech by swinging an axe through its corporate offices. The cost-cutting measures were aimed at high cost employees, some of whom were offered pay cuts in lieu of the boot.
 Macau Posts Mega-Revenue – The island of Macau is a gambling paradise that raked in a mind-boggling $3.96 billion (USD) in gross gaming revenue. For comparison, the Las Vegas Strip casinos did around $6.2 billion in all of 2012, while Atlantic City only did $3.2 billion.
William Hill Signs Microgaming Deal – William Hill is beefing up its mobile portfolio thanks to a new content deal with Micrograming. Under the terms of the arrangement, the company will have access to the Quickfire Mobile Gaming Platform. It’s just one of many big moves the company’s made since buying back the lion’s share of William Hill Online from Playtech.
Soccer Fixing Scandal Update – Euro investigators are digging into that big soccer fixing scandal and finding a lot of connections to Eastern European organized crime groups, particularly those based in the Balkans. Chief investigator Rob Wain warns that criminals could have the 2014 World Cup in their sites, though most observers think its too big a target for game fixing.
Expect to see plenty more action in the U.S. market in the weeks ahead as more Nevada sites go live and New Jersey operators get ready for their fall launch.
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