The Swiss Lottery and Betting Board, previously known as Comlot, has rebranded as the Swiss Gambling Supervisory Authority, or Gespa.

Bern-based Gespa has inherited all of Comlot’s functions, rights, and responsibilities, including the oversight of large-scale gambling, sports betting, and lotteries. 

The six-member board of Gespa consists of a president, two members from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, two from the German-speaking part, and one from the Italian-speaking region. 

In addition to ensuring a safe and socially responsible gambling environment, Gespa is tasked with combating illegal gambling, including the maintenance of a blacklist of unlicensed operators targeting Swiss customers. 

Gespa will also be involved in maintaining sports integrity and preventing match manipulation. To this end, it will supply reports to national and international authorities, sports organisations, and gambling operators. 

The regulator will also compile annual statistics and information regarding all kinds of gambling. 

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London-based virtual sports supplier Highlight Games has secured a Romanian license. 

Following the receipt of a Class II license from the Romanian Gambling Authority, the company can offer its suite of virtual sports products, which includes SOCCERBET in English, Italian, and Turkish versions, and NBA Last 60, to licensed Romanian operators. 

Discussing the news Co-CEO of Highlight Games, Steven Holmes, said:

‘I’m delighted to confirm that our products are now available to our partners in Romania. Europe is a hugely important market for our business, and it’s fantastic to now include Romania in the list of countries in which our games are now available.  

“Highlight Games’ total online turnover in Italy has increased by 455% since the start of the first national lockdown in 2020, demonstrating the continuing growth in popularity of our video virtuals across all channels.  We look forward to recreating the successes we have seen in Italy within the Romanian virtual sports market.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Though many operators have been very quick to assume the worst of the COVID-19 crisis is over, and sports are back to near-normal, the truth is that the pandemic is far from over, and even the vaccines may not be the miracle solution many assume.

As the reality dawns on those operators, we expect to see another resurgence in interest in virtual sports, like those offered by Highlight Games, with brands racing to improve their real-life sports alternatives before the next major disruption.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2019-2021.

Reports suggest Riot Games and Bungie are joining forces to sue a cheating-software creator. 

Polygon says it has obtained a complaint, submitted to a US District Court in California, that shows lawyers for the publishers are accusing Cameron Santos of GatorCheats, and others, of trafficking in “a portfolio of malicious cheats and hacks” for video games including VALORANT and Destiny 2. 

Apparently, players can purchase products from GatorCheats through its website, email, Telegram, and Discord, with packages ranging from $90 per month to $500 for lifetime access to a cheat. The cheats include features like an “aimbot” to improve players’ aim, and various hacks that show details of the enemy. 

Although Bungie has already issued a cease and desist order to GatorCheats, and the company says it has stopped selling the cheats, Bungie says it has reason to believe cheats are still being sold covertly. 

Bungie and Riot Games are claiming the actions of GatorCheats have caused damage that possibly runs into the millions of dollars, and they want the operation shut down completely, plus punitive damages and court costs.  

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s not the first time developers and publishers have sued cheat creators, but this is an issue that is only going to get even more pressing as the legitimate ecosystem surrounding titles like VALORANT grows. Quite apart from the obvious esports implications, even when it comes to casual gaming, cheating undermines the trust and faith in communities, and can quickly create toxic atmospheres and push genuine players away. 

At the end of the day, the entire concept of cheats and hacks is fundamentally the antithesis of what gaming should be about, and anyone using them is really cheating themselves too.

Let’s hope the court takes this as seriously as it deserves to be.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2019-2021.

The US Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico is on the verge of introducing legal online and in-person sports and esports betting.

Outgoing Governor, Wanda Vázquez Garced, has signed Project 1534, which provides a regulatory framework for online and in-person betting on both traditional sports and esports. If the bill now passes a congressional vote it will become law, and new Governor Pedro Pierluisi, will be able to implement the new regulations. 

Although Puerto Rico, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States, officially legalised sports betting in 2019, the lack of an official regulatory framework has prevented any sportsbooks or esportsbooks from offering services there. 

As with some US states, the new Puerto Rican regulations will require bettors to register in-person at a land-based outlet before being able to legally bet online and via mobile. 

Commenting on the news, Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Gaming Commission, José Maymó Azize, said:

“Project 1534 amends the law in some aspects that needed to be changed. The most significant change is the fact that under the original law, players could register online and in person. Now, with this amendment, the first registration is required to be in person. It has been a very complicated process, full of obstacles. But some regulations are ready to be presented, they will define the sports betting and fantasy sports activities.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Puerto Rico has been walking something of a tightrope when it comes to its gambling industry ambitions. On the one hand, following devastating hurricanes, economic crisis, and now the COVID-19 pandemic, the territory desperately needs to create jobs and tax revenue, but on the other hand it’s unincorporated status and strained relationship with the Trump administration has made progress difficult. 

Will Puerto Rico now be able to pursue its ambitions of becoming a gambling hub? Considering the ongoing pandemic, we doubt it’s going to become the Las Vegas of the Caribbean anytime soon, and the requirement for initial registration in-person will ensure its online potential is very limited. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2019-2021.

The outgoing Trump administration is reportedly considering blacklisting Chinese conglomerates Tencent Holdings and Alibaba. 

According to Reuters, Defense Department officials are currently reviewing the proposals which, if enacted, could prevent Americans from investing in the companies and force existing shareholders to divest themselves within months. 

Although Alibaba has invested in gaming and esports, for example, leading the $12M USD funding round for Swedish esports tournament platform Challengermode, it’s not a particularly major player.

Tencent, on the other hand, is heavily invested in the US and global gaming and esports industries. In addition to owning Riot Games, the maker of League of Legends and Valorant, it’s also a major shareholder in Fortnite developer, Epic Games, and Rocket League developer, Psyonix. The Chinese giant also has minority shareholdings in Activision Blizzard, owner of Call of Duty League and Overwatch League, along with Rainbow Six Siege developer Ubisoft, and PUBG owner Krafton Inc.

The company also owns several smaller developers, including Funcom, Supercell, and Leyou (owner of Digital Extremes and Splash Damage) – which it acquired in December 2020 for $1.5B.  

Alibaba is currently listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK), which Tencent Holdings is listed on the SEHK, and traded as an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) on OTC Pink. 

The move follows last week’s executive order from President Trump banning business with eight Chinese digital payment platforms, including Alipay and Tencent’s QQ Wallet and WeChat Pay. The bans will take effect 45 days after the order was issued. 

In all, under a law originally enacted in 1999 under the Clinton administration, the Pentagon has now blacklisted 35 Chinese firms. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With Trump set to be replaced by Joe Biden within weeks, the question is, will the new administration continue on the same hardline course regarding China, or repeal the bans and try to normalise relations? 

Though many see the bans as one of Trump’s radical policies, there are genuine national security worries regarding the close relationship between Chinese tech companies and the Chinese government and military – with concerns also being expressed in Europe, especially the UK, and India (which notably banned PUBG Mobile last year, due to its links with Tencent). 

Given this, there’s every reason to believe that the hardline on China may be one of the few Trump era policies that continues well into Biden’s term. 

Needless to say, this could make life difficult for companies like Riot Games and Epic, and it’s easy to see how it might push them to refocus their operations away from the United States. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates.

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The Dutch Gaming Authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has dished out another €600K of fines, including to Curaçao-based Virtual Coin Gaming NV. 

According to the KSA, Virtual Coin Gaming NV offered illegal online games of chance to Dutch customers on its www.futgalaxy.nl and nl.futgamer.com sites, and has been fined €500K. Meanwhile, another, as yet unnamed individual has also been fined €100K. 

The KSA says it increased the fines because in addition to using the Dutch language to deliberately target customers in the Netherlands, the offenders also allowed young adults to play the games of chance. 

Until the new Remote Gambling Act comes into force later this year, the existing Games of Chance Act prohibits games of chance (technically it states games of chance may only be offered by licensed operators – but it has been impossible to apply for a license). 

AYO.NEWS says:

As previously reported, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has decimated the economy of Curaçao, with demand for oil refining plummeting and tourism all but disappearing. As a result, the tiny island nation is more reliant than ever on its online gambling industry. However, in return for financial assistance from the Netherlands (of which it is a constituent country), the island’s government has been forced to overhaul its gaming industry, introducing a new regulator and bringing standards up to EU level. 

Already, we’ve seen major operator Pinnacle drastically improve its KYC and AML compliance, teaming up with Sumsub to introduce things like biometric checks and source of funds verification.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2019-2021.