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Brazil’s Ministry of Finance has declared that unlicensed gambling operators must cease operations in the country by October 1.

Brazil has long had gambling companies work in a largely unregulated gray market, but is underway with plans to launch a federal, regulated gambling market, which is set to launch on January 1, 2025.

just two weeks to shut down before facing legal consequences

That means that companies who have failed to apply for a license and are still operational have just two weeks to shut down before facing legal consequences.

Companies already operating will be able to continue to do so provided they have already applied for a license. Regis Dudena, General Secretary of the Secretariat for Betting and Prizes, said: “We will maintain the adaptation period until the end of December only for those who have already demonstrated that they want to act in accordance with the law, and in accordance with Brazilian rules.”

113 companies have applied for gambling licenses ahead of the 2025 launch, which require a payment of R$30m ($5.48m) to be submitted before the end of 2024. Brazil has already begun cracking down on payments received by operators that are not compliant.

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Illegal gambling arcade

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado (USAO-CO) has announced a guilty verdict for the owner of Player One Arcade in Denver who ran an illicit gambling enterprise.

A federal jury found Denver native Jonathan Arvay, 38, guilty on one count apiece of conspiracy to conduct an illegal gambling business, and conducting an illegal gambling business.

The USAO-DO took to X Tuesday with news of the two guilty charges Arvay will face at his scheduled December 12 sentencing:

According to the feds, Arvay’s Player One Arcade was one establishment in a gambling parlor chain spreading outwards from Denver to the cities of Greeley and Pueblo and taking in Colorado Springs, Lakewood, and Aurora.

These establishments housed multiple electronic gambling machines “made to resemble arcade games,” and virtual slot machines, stated the DOJ press release.

E-currency for cash

According to the USAO-CO release, whatever winnings players made on the games would be converted to cryptocurrency, which could then be exchanged for cash.

Arvay’s trial notes reveal customers in Player One Arcade, or the other parlors, would exchange any credits won for cryptocurrency known as Obsidian Digital Asset Coin.

looked like ATMs but were instead crypto teller machines

Housed within the arcades, or next door to them, were what looked like ATMs but were instead crypto teller machines. Customers would then use the machines to convert their e-currency winnings into cash, for which they would pay a transfer fee.

USAO-CO’s Acting US Attorney Matt Kirsch stated on Tuesday that Arvay and other unnamed defendants ran “a large, complex” illegal gambling operation via online and brick-and-mortar channels.

Kirsch said the gambling parlors “masqueraded as arcades with a veneer of legitimacy.” IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge, Tom Demeo, meanwhile, praised those involved in the investigation for helping unravel Arvay’s “complex financial scheme.”

Demeo added that IRS special agents will counter fraudsters devising “new ways to evade their tax liability and defraud the government,” by adding novel investigative methods to trace the illegal funds and “hold these criminals accountable.”

Community concerns

FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek said the money made by the illegal gambling parlors led to multiple violations besides money laundering and fraud. Michalek went on to thank all parties involved for successfully dismantling “the gambling dens that were negatively impacting surrounding communities.”

establishments were causing real harm in our communities.”

Attorney Kirsch was also grateful to officers of the law for “digging beneath the veneer and finding that these establishments were causing real harm in our communities.”

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Unlawful data sharing

The data protection arm of the UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has “reprimanded” Flutter-owned Sky Betting & Gaming for unlawfully sharing subscribers’ details with advertising firms.

complaint by pressure group

According to The Guardian on Tuesday, the telling off by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) came after the regulator investigated Flutter’s Sky Betting & Gaming holding brand Bonne Terre Ltd after a complaint by pressure group Clean Up Gambling.

The not-for-profit body alleged the Flutter iGaming subsidiary, whose brands include Sky Bet, Sky Vegas, Sky Bingo, Sky Casino and Sky Poker, was “misusing its customers’ personal data to target vulnerable gamblers.”

Upon investigation, the ICO said it found zero evidence Sky’s intention was to target at-risk gamblers.

Fortunate finding

A Sky Betting & Gaming spokesperson stated the iGaming firm “welcomed” the all-clear on the vulnerable gambling accusation after the ICO’s “exhaustive 18-month investigation.”

What the probe uncovered, however, was that the Flutter firm had, without customers’ consent, processed their data via advertising cookies over a seven-week period in early 2023. Sky then immediately passed customers’ data onto advertising tech firms before it gave customers the option to accept or decline cookies.

In a statement, ICO Deputy Commissioner Stephen Bonner said seemingly tailored ads, such as a commercial for sneakers popping up after joining a gym online, were commonplace. Bonner added, however, that while some people may be happy to consent to these ads, others might not appreciate them when they impinge on the more “sensitive aspects of our digital activity.”

personal information being shared with advertisers”

“For example, if you are visiting a gambling website or looking up concerning health symptoms, you may want to prevent this personal information being shared with advertisers.”

The spokesperson for Flutter’s UK iGaming brand blamed the breach on an “accidental technical error.” The exec added Sky “rectified this error within a day of becoming aware of it.”

Dealing with the past

Clean Up Gambling first leveled the claim against Sky Bet’s “invasive” online data retrieval processes that involved “widespread illegality” back in August 2022.

The probe may have brought back bad memories for Flutter of a Sky Vegas free spins promo sent to vulnerable customers in 2021, for which the UKGC fined it £1.17m ($2.24m).

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Not many vehicles get more attention than the Tesla Cybertrucks have received since their inception. People seem to either love or hate the space-like creations, which spawned from the mind of controversial billionaire Elon Musk.

a fleet of the futuristic trucks worth more than $1.6m combined

To show off the trucks, that hit the market in November last year, renowned Tesla light show creator Simon Pollock curated an experience in Las Vegas over the weekend. It featured a fleet of the futuristic trucks worth more than $1.6m combined, which put on a light show in front of the Treasure Island Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

The soundtrack was a remix of Kanye West’s hit song “Stronger,” and the trunks lifted up their trunks to add to the overall spectacle. Viewing discretion is advised if you struggle with flashing lights:

The Cybertruck’s official X page approved, responding to the video saying: “I think we could sell out a stadium with that show.” Comments from the general public were also overwhelmingly positive, and Simon Pollock let people know that he’s planning an even bigger spectacle for a Halloween special on October 26.

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Union leader defiant

A union leader who was imprisoned for striking against the biggest casino in Cambodia has said she will continue fighting after her release.

Chhim Sithar was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in May 2023 for incitement to commit a felony, relating to her part in the casino workers’ strike against Nagaworld in Phnom Penh.

more than 1,300 employees, mostly union members, were laid off

Sithar had been one of the leading figures of a strike which started in December 2021 after more than 1,300 employees, mostly union members, were laid off amid financial troubles during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She attended a demonstration before she was arrested and charged in January 2022. Several other union members were also charged, although all received suspended sentences.

Cambodia’s longest strike

Despite her imprisonment, Sithar remains undeterred and has vowed to continue the industrial action. Speaking to The Associated Press, she said: “We will continue holding strike action until we get a solution. That’s the position we have determined since the first strike.”

As long as there’s no justice, our struggle continues.”

“Unfortunately, as of today, after nearly three years, our workers have still not gotten justice. Therefore, as long as there’s no justice, our struggle continues.”

Nagaworld, which is owned by the estate of the late Malaysian billionaire Chen Lip Keong, is the largest casino in Cambodia and has been operating since receiving its license in 1994.

The strike, taking place in the capital of Phnom Penh, was far more high-profile and long-running than other industrial action in Cambodia’s history, which drew a harsh response from authorities. Seeking to avoid a demonstration at the prison, Sithar was released at dawn on Monday and escorted back to her home in Phnom Penh.

Union members attacked

Union members were subjected to police violence as well as other intimidation tactics, which Cambodian human rights campaign group LICADHO called “relentless efforts by authorities to suppress the strike — including sexual harassment, physical assaults, and judicial harassment.”

At the time of the strike, Amnesty International also condemned the response, saying union members were “prosecuted solely for exercising their basic rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.”

Protests continued after Sithar was detained. In December 2022, more than 200 protestors accepted an offer of compensation, but the remainder fought on, despite the risks.

“No one wants to be in prison and I can say that we were afraid,” said Sithar. “But I want to make a comparison … Which one is the scarier? For me, the scare of losing the rights to a union, the scare of losing the right to unionize, is more scary than putting me in jail.”

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The Islamic political party making huge federal and territorial gains in Malaysia has vowed to voters it will end gambling in Pahang, home of the integrated resort casino (IRC) Resorts World Genting, if it wins the state in general elections.

Gentings’ shares nosedived in 2022 when Mal Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) became the biggest party in federal parliament after crushing the GE15 national elections. With four of Malaysia’s 13 states already under its control, PAS now wants to take Pahang in GE15 and is upping the voter ante.

According to the South China Morning Times, the party is “tapping into concerns by the country’s Muslim majority over gambling.” The Koran forbids gambling.

Gambling is harmful, so we have to close it.”

The SCMT cited a deputy at a PAS annual gathering as telling voters in Pahang that, if they want an end to gambling in their state, they should vote for the rising political power. “Gambling is harmful, so we have to close it,” stated PAS’ Andansura Rabu.

Rabu, however, said the eradication of gambling wasn’t about religion, but rather a “social issue.” Genting’s Resorts World casino is believed to have contributed approximately 5 billion ringgit ($1.16bn) annually to government coffers pre-COVID-19.

While Genting shares have recovered since the 2022 slump, the rising tide of support for the party ahead of the GE15 elections, which must be held before 2028, poses a real threat to Kuala Lumpur-based Genting’s Resorts World interests in Pehang.

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