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Duterte declared “war on gambling”

Philippine gaming services provider PhilWeb, forced to shut down last August by newly elected President Rodrigo Duterte, will have its license reinstated.

PhilWeb once provided gambling services to some 300 electronic gambling cafes in the Philippines, and had units in Cambodia, Guam and East Timor. Shortly after he took office, Duterte went to war with online gaming and made a special target of PhilWeb founder and majority shareholder Roberto Ongpin. Duterte called Ongpin an “oligarch” who needed to be “destroyed.”

In an effort to save the company and thousands of employees, Ongpin sold his 53.75 percent stake in the company to businessman Gregorio Araneta III. According to PhilStar, the state-run regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., voted to reinstate PhilWeb’s license at a recent board meeting. PAGCOR has issued a provisional certificate of accreditation to the firm as an electronic gaming system service provider. PhilWeb will be free to offer its services again following an upcoming inspection of its servers and gaming facilities, reported the Asia Gaming Brief.

“This allows for a level playing field for any qualified provider,” said PAGCOR Chairwoman Andrea Domingo.

GGRAsia reports that PAGCOR will soon conduct an inspection of PhilWeb’s servers and internet cafes, then may issue a notice for the company to resume operations.

Maine has approved a daily fantasy sports bill that classifies daily fantasy sports as a game of skill and sets a 10 percent tax on gross revenue.

DFS operators will need to have revenue of more than $100,000 and pay a licensing fee of $2,500. DFS games on collegiate or amateur sports are not allowed in the state.

“Maine is now the 15th state to adopt a regulatory framework to protect the right to play fantasy sports, protect consumers and help a booming piece of the tech economy continue to grow,” said Marc La Vorgna, a spokesperson for both of the two largest DFS operators, DraftKings and FanDuel in a press statement. “Thanks to action by the legislature up to 200,000 Mainers will continue to enjoy our new national pastime, fantasy sports, under a framework of sensible, light-touch consumer protections.”

In New York, that state is currently considering amendments to its DFS law to block “proposition” betting at DFS sites. The amendments were proposed by the state’s gambling commission.

According to a report at legalsportsreport.com, the amendments would block games that resemble proposition bets, such as whether an individual athlete or a single team will surpass an identified statistical achievement.

The traditional games offered by FanDuel and DraftKings do not resemble proposition bets, but other schemes such as FastPick—in which players pick head-to-head matchups of players—could meet the criteria. New York based Boom Fantasy offers FastPick, which just went live through New Jersey’s Resorts online casino site.

The proposed amendments are opposed by the original author of the state’s DSF law, State Senator John Bonacic, who wrote a letter to the commission cited in the report.

“When I drafted S.8153, 1 intended to ensure enough flexibility to cater to many different styles of interactive fantasy sports gameplay,” Bonacic’s letter reads. “Competition generated between established incumbents like DraftKings and FanDuel, and innovative startups like Boom Fantasy, will lead the way to a robust industry for all.”

However, the commission argues that proposition betting could be considered more like traditional sports betting, which is still illegal under state law.

In another story, DraftKings announced a new game designed to attract casual players to its site.

The game is called “Pick’em,” and changes the usual player salary cap system to a tiered system.

“This is our most significant release we’ve made … in a really long time,” co-founder Matt Kalish said at a press conference. “It’s the thing we’ve had in mind the most as we were building up the platform.”

Instead of assigning salaries to Players—which has been the approach of contests by both DraftKings and FanDuel—the Pick’em system allows DFS players to choose lineups from “tiers” of available real-life players. Players select one player from each of several tiers.

Pick’em is available initially for the NFL, Major League Baseball and soccer contests, but the company expects to expand into other sports as well.

Finally,in an international development, India’s High Court has ruled that daily fantasy sports games are games of skill and not gambling.

The court ruled in the case of a resident of Chandigarh state who filed a suit against fantasycricket.dream11.com under the country’s Public Gaming Act for illegal gambling after losing money in two DFS contests.

However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in India ruled that DFS play requires a substantial degree of skill, judgment and discretion, and cannot be considered gambling.

The court rejected the petition on grounds that the player himself “created a virtual team,” by choosing players, showing that fantasy sports games require substantial skill, efforts and statistics, according to a report in the India Times.

In the 29-page order, the high court also ruled that fantasy sports is not gambling, meaning it is a business activity that is protected by the right to free trade and commerce guaranteed under the country’s Constitution.

In Michigan, while the legislature is in recess most of August, state Senator Mike Kowall is working on a new draft of the online gambling bill, SB.203. He first presented the Lawful Internet Gaming Act, SB.889, in 2016. It passed the Senate Regulatory Reform Committee and moved to the Senate floor, but died there. This year, Kowall’s bill includes input from Native American tribes, land-based casino representatives and other interested parties. The bill gained numerous co-sponsors and also passed the Senate Regulatory Reform Committee and moved to the Senate. Instead of fizzling out, Kowall is revising it. Kowall’s Legislative Director Dave Biswas said significant progress has been made on SB.203 and the latest feedback has been very positive.

Certain elements have remained the same, including having the Michigan Gaming Control Board create a framework for the industry, allowing the state’s land-based casinos to apply for online poker and casino game licenses and permitting eventual interstate compacts with other states.

One change would give tribes sovereignty to amend their state compacts to regulate their own online gambling sites. They still would be required to follow the Michigan Gaming Control Boards’ age requirements, geolocation technology and responsible gambling protections. In addition, , brick-and-mortar casinos would be required to wait 12 months before launching their online gambling sites, so tribes would have time to make the appropriate changes to their state compacts and prepare to launch their sites.

Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas noted, “Michigan is progressing but rather slowly. The bill was updated a few weeks ago, but not all gaming stakeholders are satisfied with the changes. I don’t think we’ll see any more movement until the end of summer or early fall.”

In September, when legislators return to Lansing, Kowall’s office plans to meet with tribal leaders, casino representatives, gaming board members, lawmakers and other interested parties to resolve details before the draft is finalized and released to the public. That could occur for the 2017 session or, if it takes longer to smooth out differences, online gambling approval may have to wait until 2018.

The Disney Corporation could get into the eSports business utilizing a major venue at its Orlando leisure complex, Forbes magazine reports.

The contests would be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which spans 220 acres and has facilities for hosting over 70 types of sports. The 20-year-old facility is used to host youth events.

Disney officials said they often look for new events and have seriously been considering eSports contests, which are based on competitive video game playing.

“We are trying to keep up with what sports are breaking and how we can be involved in them,” Faron Kelley, vice president of sports at Disney World told the magazine. “eSports is a big one we are looking at and are very excited about it.” It has an ideal home.

The Orlando facility is scheduled to open a new 8,000-seat, multi-purpose indoor stadium. The stadium was designed to accommodate cheerleading and dance events, but could handle many other types of events as well.

“It is exciting because it isn’t just cheer, it’s basketball, it’s volleyball, it’s eSports with gaming. We are absolutely looking at eSports and it’s a wonderful venue for that,” Kelley told Forbes.

Microsoft continues to build its presence in the eSports world. On August 26, the tech giant began hosting weekly League of Legends events at its brick-and-mortar stores across the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Australia. Partnering with ASUS Republic of Gamers and HyperX, the “ROG Arena at Microsoft Store” competitions invite up to eight teams of local players to sign up for 5-on-5 battles. The only requirement to compete is an active League of Legends account; Microsoft will provide Windows 10 ROG G752VS gaming laptops, mice, mouse pads and headsets.

Microsoft already hosts similar eSports events at its stores, including games ranging from Counter Strike to FIFA. The company also offers the Mixer NYC Studio, a dedicated digital production shop at its Manhattan flagship store where gaming tournaments are held before a live audience. It also hosts the Halo World Championship.

In 2016, Microsoft created a new way for Xbox Live users to hold eSports tournaments. It also acquired Beam and renamed its game streaming platform to Mixer, which competes with Amazon’s streaming platform Twitch that it acquired for $970 million in 2014.

PokerStars says it will finally exit the Australian market by mid-September in the face of new gaming regulations in the country that did not legalize online poker.

The new gambling laws—called the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill and passed by the country’s Senate earlier this month—essentially ban online poker as well as in-play sports betting. Legislators say the new laws essentially closes a “grey” market in the country for both types of betting.

While the law allows online sportsbooks to be licensed, by not recognizing online poker and casino games as legal, it essentially bans both types of online play as those operators cannot secure licenses. Unlicensed sites accepting Australian players would face steep fines.

The law also includes a number of consumer protections such as regulations against operators offering lines of credit to gamblers.

PokerStars has said repeatedly that it would probably leave the market if the rules went into effect. The company, part of the now-called Stars Group, did not name an exit date, but said in an e-mail to Australian players it would likely leave the market by the middle of September as the new rules go into effect.

“We’ve been aware of this day coming. We’re proud to have seen the Australian poker community grow so strong over the last decade,” the email said.

The Australian Online Poker Alliance has been fighting the new laws, saying that by not licensing reputable online poker and casino games operators, Australian players will move to less secure unlicensed offshore sites.

“The overwhelming majority of online poker websites used by Australians are run by legitimate companies that are licensed elsewhere in the world,” the alliance said in a press statement. “There are no poker operators licensed domestically in Australia and current legislation does not provide any way for these overseas operators to be licensed and provide secure services to Australian players. The risk therefore is that these major players will withdraw leaving smaller offshore, unlicensed operators, creating an “unsafe poker environment.”

In another matter, PokerStars has announced it is releasing a new social gaming app designed to help it retain a brand presence in regulated international markets such as Australia.

The app, titled Play, is scheduled to be released in Australia and the U.S. PokerStars does have an online presence in New Jersey, but nowhere else in the U.S. The company says the app will eventually be rolled out worldwide.

Players will be able to enjoy a range of free-play poker games, including Hold ‘em and Omaha ring games as well as Spin & Go tournaments. Additionally, players will also be able to access a range of slots, similar to those currently found inside PokerStars’ real money platform, the company said in a press release.

Tony Estanguet, co-president of the Paris bid committee for the 2024’s Olympics, has told the Associated Press he intends to with the International Olympic Committee to discuss including eSports competitions as official medal sports in the Paris game in 2024.

“We have to look at it because we can’t say, ‘It’s not us. It’s not about Olympics,’” Estanguet told the wire service. “The youth, yes they are interested in eSport and this kind of thing. Let’s look at it. Let’s meet them. Let’s try if we can find some bridges. I don’t want to say ‘no’ from the beginning. I think it’s interesting to interact with the IOC, with them, the eSports family, to better understand what the process is and why it is such a success.”

The move is part of a growing trend by the Olympic Committee to recognize eSports. The IOC recognizes the eSports Asian Games. Forty-five national delegations and about 10,000 players took part in the most recent Asian games three years ago in Incheon, South Korea.

The Olympic Council of Asia has also announced that eSports will be a medal sport at the 2022 Asian Games in China.

However, IOC president Thomas Bach, has not fully backed eSports at the games.

“We are not yet 100 percent clear whether eSports is really sport, with regard to physical activity and what it needs to be considered sport,” Bach told Inside the Games in a recent interview.

In another matter, Nielsen Entertainment has debuted an analytics platform that will track eSports data to help sponsors and advertisers have a better understanding of the industry’s growth and engagement.

“There’s a high demand for reliable, independent measurement of value in eSports,” Howard Appelbaum, the president of Nielsen Entertainment, said in a press release. “We’re excited to enhance our client offerings and provide the industry with solutions that will help guide and optimize investment decisions in this exciting, growing space.”

Nielsen has developed Esport24, a syndicated sponsorship tracking service for eSports tournaments. The service measures brand exposure in eSports tournaments representing a variety of titles, event formats and geographic locations based on the same methodology that allows traditional sports rights holders and brands to quantify value and benchmark performance, the release said.

Nielsen has also created an eSports advisory board of industry stakeholders who will provide insight to help shape the future of eSports audience measurement and valuation. Members include representatives from ESL, ESPN, Facebook, FIFA, Major League Gaming/Activision Blizzard, NBA 2K League, The Next Level, Sony PlayStation, Turner, Twitch, Twitter, Unilever and Google YouTube.