iGaming News Weekly: August 25-31

The igaming business is slowly starting to stir from its summer slumber as operators rolled out new offerings; Facebook announced a new commitment to quality; and Google slammed down hard on gambling apps.
Here’s the igaming news you need to know from the last week of summer.
Legal
UK Sports Wagering Tax a Game Changer? – UK-based operators with offshore operations are bracing themselves for a new 15% point-of-consumption (POC) tax on online sports wagers. The new tax is a serious leap from the 1% tax levvied today.
Gordon Taylor’s Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Week – Professional Footballer’s Association Chief Gordon Taylor is having a worse week than you are after allegations of a pretty epic gambling habit emerged. Taylor is accused of spending more than £4 million on soccer wagers and owes more than £100,000 to bookies. He’s also a vocal proponent of a zero-tolerance policy towards footballers who bet on soccer.
Online & Land-Based Casinos
Paddy Power Beefs Up Tablet Offerings – Paddy Power is making a major run at the mobile market by beefing up its ability to cross-sell products withing mobile apps. This allows players to work off of one wallet and is pointed squarely at tablet users. Paddy Power has already seen its mobile revenue skyrocket over the past year.
Delaware Readies Online Gambling – No one talks much about Delaware’s online gambling offerings, but they’ve just unveiled three, free-play casinos in anticipation of an October real-money gambling launch. So take that New Jersey and Nevada.
Taj Mahal Adds Strip Club – How desperate is the situation in Atlantic City casinos? Last week the Taj Mahal Casino Resort opened a branch of the legendary New York Strip Club, Scores on its property. Las Vegas is Las Vegas, but it’s not likely you’d ever see a strip club open in Bally’s or the Bellagio. So hurry up and legalize sports betting already.
SEO & Marketing

Facebook to Reward Quality – Facebook announced that it will be featuring more in-depth, high quality articles articles in user news feeds. The new strategy is based on an algorithm that was gleaned from user surveys defining exactly what constitutes, “quality.”
Groupon Bring Affiliate Program In-House – Groupon (yes, Groupon is still around) is streamlining its affiliate program under the Groupon Partner Network (GPN) banner. This move eliminates third party affiliates and is a bid to recapture the social coupon company’s former glory.