Josh Andrews

Thailand Ends Year with Push for Cryptocurrency Education

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The last week of 2017 has been abuzz with activity especially in the world of crypto. Amidst bitcoin’s crazy price fluctuations as well as the launch of several ICO’s, Thailand also made headlines when the country’s government announced that its major regulators would be teaming up in a bid to educate the people about bitcoin. While this is primarily motivated by their not so subtle worry and speculation of the possibility that bitcoin could be a Ponzi scheme, it is quite clear that the project will go a long way in helping people not to drown in the bitcoin frenzy. At the moment, bitcoin is not a legal tender in Thailand and its central bank issued reminders on the same – however, it should get better soon considering the tremendous efforts that Thailand has been putting into grappling with financial technology through various regulations.

Thailand is among the world’s top twenty economies, an achievement that was made possible by the outstanding GDP it quietly racked up over the years. The country is well on its way to becoming the fintech hub of its region – in fact, this is an official government policy. In the fall, its Securities and Exchange Commission sought out public guidance to assist their efforts to manage initial coin offerings. While this might seem like a move that seeks to choke out innovation, the true intention was to protect Thai citizens from the myriad of scams that have flooded the internet ever since the onset of the cryptocurrency hysteria.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha reportedly wants to “educate people about the risks of bitcoin investment after the recent sharp surge in bitcoin’s trading value prompted him to worry that Thais would fall victim to cryptocurrency speculation.” Somchai Sujjapongse, a representative of Thailand’s Finance Ministry will see to this by joining forces with other authorities to educate people about bitcoin. Thais are quite eager to participate in the booming Bitcoin business as indicated by exchange volumes in the country that are at par with global trends.

According to Thai media, “There are 37 bitcoin brokers in Thailand registered on LocalBitcoins, some with more than 1,000 bitcoins in assets. Prices for bitcoin are about 13% higher in Thailand than in the US, a sign of high demand for this cryptocurrency.”

Still, we will just have to wait and see how this goes in 2018. Happy new year!

2017’s Biggest Casino Mergers and Acquisitions

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This year was a memorable one for the casino industry with various parts of the industry being affected by one thing or the other. Mergers and acquisitions were some of the major highlights for the multi-billion-dollar industry. While we got to see some of the most notable conglomerates from Las Vegas sell off properties and restructure their portfolios, some other renowned gaming operators joined forces with manufacturers with one of the amalgamations falling short of the expectations when a key stockholder thwarted the union. Obviously, 2018 will begin on quite a different note from what we experienced at the beginning of 2017.

Caesars Entertainment’s Big Year

Nevada-based gaming corporation faired on very well this year thanks to the stakes it had in all the entities that were part of 2017’s biggest merger. In October, Caesars which owns and operates more than 50 casinos and hotels in the US and other parts of the globe announced that it was finally out the woods in regards to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection – this had been dubbed the ‘largest and most complex bankruptcy in a generation.’ The gaming power-house merged two of its operating entities and then it formed a real estate investment fund (REIT).

The agreement allows Caesars Entertainment to keep operating the gaming floors as well as maintaining ownership of most of the company’s resorts. The real estate investment fund (REIT) will, however, take ownership of 18 properties that including Caesars Palace Las Vegas. The REIT is expected to lease gaming the gaming floors back to Caesars and pay creditors who were not paid during Caesar’s bankruptcy.

Other Headliners

Another merger that made the headlines this year was between Connecticut’s Native American gaming operators, the Mohegan Sun and Mashantucket tribes who joined forces to build a satellite facility in a bid to outcompete MGM Springfield, a satellite casino expected to launch in 2018.

June saw yet another key transaction for the casino industry when Tavern, slot route, and renowned casino operator Golden Entertainment jointly acquired American Casino and Entertainment. The $850 million deal is widely praised for the great things that came after it including putting two Arizona Charlie’s casinos and the Stratosphere under the Golden banner.

Texas: Sports Betting Still a Long Shot Even If Ban Lifts

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There has been a lot of buzz pertaining to the legalization of sports betting in the United States but Texans are unlikely to reap any benefits from the much-awaited lift of the federal ban. So, if you are a resident of Texas and you were looking forward to plunking down some Super Bowl or Final Four wagers with legal bookies within your Texan locality in the near future, you might have to put your dreams on hold.

Even though the federal ban could be overturned by the United States Supreme Court as early as spring, observers are convinced that it will be very unlikely that Texas’ Governor Greg Abbott or the state’s legislature will take the opportunity to support the legalization of sports betting in the state – this is even after putting into consideration the huge economic impact that it would bring. To elaborate on this, financial experts estimate that a legal and regulated sports gambling market in Texas has the potential of boosting its economy by about $1.7 billion annually while at the same time creating over 9,300 jobs.

Critics of the bill argue that the legalization of sports gambling through the abolishment of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act will come with some inevitable negatives. These include the need for more social services such as counseling for people who will eventually develop gambling-related problems. Also, there will be the need for more government bureaucracy to oversee and regulate the gambling industry.

“The biggest base of opposition (to the expansion of legal gambling in Texas) is a moral one and comes from political conservatives — and they are a powerful constituency in the state right now,” said Jim Henson, the director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas. “So you have to look at the chances being pretty slim at this point.”

Currently, Texas has very strict anti-gambling laws that only allow for legal gambling in the state’s lottery. These laws further limit legal gambling in the state to some pari-mutuel wagering on horse and dog racing as well as social gambling such as charity bingo. Texas legislators have not been very welcoming to the idea of expanding these existing forms of gambling that they already have control of.

“I think a pretty good chunk of the (Texas) Senate and the House would be against legalized betting on sporting events,” said JoAnn Fleming, executive director of Grassroots America-We the People, a tea party-aligned organization that is usually perceived to be pulling the strings of conservative Texas lawmakers. “It would face an uphill battle.”

2017 Poker Wrap Up: Bitcoin, Hackers, and Ransoms

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As 2017 comes to an end we look back at some of the dark forces that afflicted the poker industry all through the year. When it comes to poker, it might still be too early to call it a year even if it is just a few more days to 2018 – it is one of the shakiest businesses in the world and anything can happen at any time. So, let us just delve into the events that shook the poker world most so far;

May’s Hack Jobs

The hackers targeted High-limit poker pros who they left defenseless by seizing control of their phones, Facebook and Twitter accounts. The poker pros who later publicly revealed that they had been the victims of hacking included Cate Hall, Dan Smith, Vanessa Selbst and Vanessa Russo. However, according to poker pro Doug Polk, the poker pros mentioned above were just a tiny fraction of the high-stakes community that had had their personal information stolen by hackers.

“The hackers have infiltrated bank accounts and tried to initiate wire transfers, used credit cards to rack up charges, gotten into Dropbox accounts containing copies of passports, credit cards, and tax returns, and extorted victims using incriminating information found in their email accounts,” Polk said in his popular YouTube channel.

Extortion

This was a result of hacking but this time it is not just individual players who were affected but a whole site – America’s Cardroom. The hacker demanded ransom forcing the site to cancel all ongoing tournaments and refund all player buy-ins in early September. The standoff which lasted for three days, however, played out in favor of Winning Poker Network CEO Phil Nagy who refused to pay the hacker saying:

“We had the attacker get on chat and say I am gonna attack you in one minute and he does the attack, but I will never pay an attacker I won’t pay a ransom, I won’t do it because once you let the bully get your lunch money, he’s taking your money all the time. Once they make you a bit*h, you are a bit*h, and I don’t like the idea of being a bit*h.”

Well Played!

Enter Crypto

Decentralized digital currencies have gained a lot of popularity in poker circles this year thanks to the buzz bitcoin has been creating. Cryptocurrencies have proven in a very short time that they are the key to turning an average poker bankroll into a massive pile of real money. In fact, a number of online poker sites are already supporting cryptocurrency transactions which come with the added advantages of reliability and unmatched processing speeds.

Still, we have to acknowledge the downsides of this particular arrangement by putting into consideration the unpredictable volatility of these cryptocurrencies – case in point, bitcoin. Crypto might be a savior thanks to the exceptional security associated with blockchain technology but a lot of this security is compromised when the decentralized currencies are hosted on centralized networks like poker sites. We wouldn’t that now, would we?

Jennifer Lopez, Stan Kroenke, and Gillette Get into Esports

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It is now quite clear that competitive gaming is on the verge of blowing up and taking over the mainstream market – with backing from celebrities and mainstream brands it is only a matter of time before it hits big time. The most recent entrants into the eSports industry are superstar singer Jennifer Lopez and Arsenal’s majority shareholder Stan Kroenke both of whom have invested in eSports teams ahead of highly anticipated gaming competitions that will play a huge role in increasing the mainstream appeal of the already booming industry.

Jennifer Lopez bought into a team franchise that will participate in the world-renowned Overwatch League which will draw competing teams from cities like San Francisco, London, and Seoul among others. LA Gladiators, which is run by Kroenke will join in on the action once the global Overwatch League is launched in January 2018.

Kroenke and J-Lo join a host of stars who have seen the potential in eSports – they include Formula One driver Fernando Alonso as well as former basketball pro, Magic Johnson. According to Newzoo, a firm that offers market intelligence for eSports, the global eSports economy grew 34 percent year-on-year to about $660 million and is expected to hit a whopping $1.5 billion by 2020. Further estimates reveal that the current eSports audience count stands at about 385 million with a majority relying on streaming services like Twitch to watch the eSports broadcasts – Twitch currently boasts of over 400 million monthly views.

Gillette is one of the mainstream brands that have actively endorsed eSports – the company has shown deep interest in participating and integrating their brand with eSports brands. Aside from just investing in League of Legends, Gillette has gone further to add one of the game’s top players, Enrique “xPeke” Cedeno Martinez to its directory of sports stars which also happens to include Brazilian soccer star Neymar.

“If you look at the growth trajectory, the revenue, the viewing numbers, everything is going north,” says Gillette marketing executive, Adam Paris. “eSports is growing at a very rapid rate. Yes, it’s finding its feet, but it feels to me that we as an industry have been talking about investing in it for two to three years at trade show panel events, but I feel it’s time to move on from talking about it and make the jump.”

Blockchain Technology Hits Land-Based Casinos

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Very many online casinos have warmed up to the idea of integrating cryptocurrencies to their payment systems with nearly all of them investing millions in the rapidly developing crypto market. While the fact that casinos are embracing bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies should come as no surprise, the rate of its growth has been somewhat overwhelmingly good. TheBitcoinStrip, an international analytic resource, estimates that currently about 60% of transactions in the Bitcoin network can be attributed to bets. It also estimates that the number of transactions made by gamblers every second is now well over the 337 mark. The escalation in the popularity of cryptocurrency in the gambling world is inevitable since gamblers will certainly prefer the security, absence of additional commissions and the unlimited withdrawals that bitcoin offers.

According to SmartPlay.tech the appearance of bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies, is enough to completely revolutionize the casino industry both in the online space and in brick-and-mortar casinos;

“In order to completely revolutionize the gambling industry, it is necessary to integrate new generation technologies such as Blockchain and Lightning Network, which will make casino activities more profitable for the operator and attractive to the player. We have a technical solution based on the ready-made software, which we can offer to big players in the offline market in the form of full-fledged equipment.”

SmartPlay.tech recently announced its intention to unveil to land-based casinos a full line of new SmartBox machines that will connect a variety of games such as bingo, online slots, poker, and blackjack.

Basically, a SmartBox configuration will consist of a touch screen gaming table, a QR scanner for connecting crypto wallets and a terminal that will allow users to deposit fiat money. The most significant highlight of the boxes is the gambling software that they use – it is based on the principles of blockchain technology and has been successfully tested on a wide range of SmartPlay.tech products. Casino operators are particularly very impressed with the model of operational efficiency that the SmartBox machines present, that is, it ensures that profits are always higher than the costs incurred by the casino by optimizing transaction commissions to minimum market prices of a few cents.

The first batch of test machines has already been deployed for closed testing in a land-based casino where the performance indicators of blockchain technology in a real-world gambling environment will be measured. The tests’ deliverables include actual data that will include average spending, game time, turnover, number of players as well as the conceptual portrait of the target customer. If the results are as promising as they seem to be, then full-fledged production of SmartBox machines will commence.

Molly’s Game: The Ultimate Christmas Treat for Poker Lovers

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Are you a poker enthusiast or an avid follower of the game? Well, Christmas is here and you can get in on a bit of poker fun while you enjoy the festivities. If you are into the idea of mixing fun and your poker hobbies, then an amazing poker movie might be in cards (pun intended). Molly’s Game, the latest attempt at a poker movie hit theatres for a limited release on December 22^nd and it is so good that there is already Oscar buzz going around. The buzz, of course, does not matter if you have a fondness for poker because you will certainly love it anyway.

Molly’s Game stars Jessica Chastain as the titular lead of the film and Idris Elba as her attorney with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin taking the helm with this being his first directorial venture. If you are not familiar with Molly’s Game then the first thing you need to do is to get acquainted with Molly Bloom, the poker celebrity who authored the book of the same name which the movie is based on. Just in case you are wondering, especially if you still have no idea who Molly Bloom is, it is not the regular ‘underdog-beats-odds-and-triumphs’ stories. We will try to break this down without giving you any spoilers in the process.

Molly’s Game, the book that the movie is based on, was Bloom’s expose of the time she spent operating and running the biggest underground cash games in the United States.

The book details Bloom’s hustle that saw her cash in a good deal of money from the tips that she got from the players who ranged from Hollywood actors and directors to New York’s politicians, stockbrokers, and hedge fund managers. You can also expect a bit of action as the business was not a bed of roses for Bloom – she abused drugs, had a few nasty run-ins with the Russian mob and eventually was arrested by federal agents and charged with illegal gambling. The poker community has already dubbed the movie the ‘next big poker film.’ It is that good!

Just like her book, the movie does not mention any names – if you were expecting to see some high profile celebrity names get dropped you are going to be very disappointed by the turn of events. No dirt is revealed, at least not in the cinematic version of the tale. The book does, however, name-drop Tobey Maguire who comes off as some sort of douchebag – read the book if you want to find out how. Merry Christmas!

Whales Cut Back as The Sharks Begin to Circle Bitcoin

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Bitcoin has yet again made the news as it always does with last Friday’s heartbreaking 30 percent price drop that saw it lose nearly a quarter of its price after reaching an all-time high last Monday. The 30 percent plunge that occurred in less than 24 hours does not leave a burning hole in anyone’s pocket especially if you have been stocking bitcoin for a long time – however, it is quite disappointing for bitcoin enthusiasts who have been rallying behind mainstream acceptance and real-world use of the decentralized digital currency.

As such, a number of high profile members of the cryptocurrency old guard have started to bail out of with some like Emil Oldenburg opting for spin-off bitcoin cryptocurrency Bitcoin Cash which is considered to be better for payment processing, unlike its rigid older counterpart. Other members like Litecoin founder Charlie Lee have been selling rival tokens as a means to supposedly steer away from conflicts of interest in the aggressively partisan crypto market.

Former Fortress Investment Group LLC and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. macro trader Michael Novogratz has shelved plans to launch a cryptocurrency hedge fund for fear of bitcoin extending its plunge to $8,000. Novogratz last week predicted that bitcoin would clock $40,000 in just a few months but his confidence has since diminished due to prevailing market conditions that have compelled him and company to re-evaluate their moves.

Bitcoin plunged to $10,776 before it recovered to $13,480 in New York – the last time it traded below $10,000 was in at the beginning of December after which it went on to double its price in preceding weeks up until the recent disastrous drop. The drop is a trying moment not just for bitcoin but also for the underlying blockchain technology that supports it. Even Coinbase which is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges halted operations temporarily due to a significant jump of over 30 percent in the volume bitcoin transactions. Consequently, there were tremendous delays in processing wire transfers and verification of new customers in the past week.

The sharks are beginning to circle here, and the futures markets may give them a venue to strike. Bitcoin’s been heavily driven by retail investors, but there’ll be some aggressive funds looking for the right opportunity to hammer this thing lower. – Ross Norman, Sharps Pixley Ltd. CEO.

Fedor Holz Invests in eSports Company Envy Gaming Inc.

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Legendary poker pro, Fedor Holz, becomes the most recent public figure to jump onto the eSports train. According to ESPN, the German poker player acquired a minority stake in popular gaming company Envy Gaming. Inc. in the second quarter of 2017’s fiscal year. Envy Gaming is the parent company of the Dallas Fuel and the renowned Team Envy both of which Holz will be a minority owner.

The venture into the eSports world is certainly a bold move for the poker Phenom who has won nearly $27 million in live tournaments with the most recent being in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $111,111 High Roller for One Drop where he cashed in nearly $5 million. During this event, Holz’s had left a few Easter eggs that hinted his intention to be an eSports entrepreneur – he donned a Team EnvyUS jersey at the final table which he won and then proceeded to announce that he would be spending less time playing poker so as to focus more on his entrepreneurial ventures.

Holz’s relationship with Envy was initially set off by his friendship with Nathan “NBK” Schmitt, a former Envy Gaming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player who introduced him to Envy Gaming’s CEO Mike “Hastr0” Rufail. Holz expressed that his interest in joining the company was motivated by a number of reasons.

“I like to invest in things that I’m emotionally connected to because I feel that I contribute the most but I also get the most out of it,” Holz said in an interview with an ESPN reporter. “I like Envy, I like to watch, I like the way they build their infrastructure and team, take care of their players. And it was just a corporation I wanted to be a part of in some way.”

Envy Gaming which was founded in 2007 as a competitive Call of Duty team has already proven its success in the eSports industry – Team Envy bagged the 2016 eSports Team of the Year award at the NowTV ESports Industry Awards. Holz is confident that his input will come in handy especially in regards to mindset issues that may disrupt the performance of young players at the higher and more competitive levels.

“Talking to these players and seeing them myself, a lot of them still struggle with their mindset because they’re really young and the pressure starts really early,” Holz added. “I feel that the mindset or the way you approach the game has very low importance so far compared to more seen sports. I think we can bring some of that into the game, and I’d love to tackle more of that in the next year.”

How the Sports Industry is Being Disrupted by eSports

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It has been quite clear for a while now that the sports industry has been plagued by a plethora of issues – these include the drastic decline in live viewership as well as the possibility of the legalization of sports betting in all states which the leagues are not yet prepared for. The drastically declining live viewership has its roots deeply entrenched in the distribution model that has by all means been outdated. The dominant companies are to blame for this since they are responsible for the slow rollout and implementation of technological innovation in the industry – for instance, the NFL is still not allowing teams to post replay content on social media and FIFA snailed its way to the implementation of goal-line technology.

The sports industry has quite a lot to put up with and with the entry of eSports, the atmosphere is about to get even more competitive. eSports has been on a roll for a while now and as is stands, even people who are not avid gamers acknowledge its popularity. With the tremendous annual increase in viewership over the past couple of years, the eSports industry has bloomed rapidly thanks to the constant experimentation as well as the innovative ways it allows viewers to engage with online content.

Now, platforms like Twitch and even YouTube are facilitating the streaming of hundreds of games including popular eSports titles like League of Legends and Dota 2 both of which generate over 60 million viewed hours monthly. These numbers are significantly large and thus it is impossible to downplay the importance of game streaming especially after putting into consideration the current media landscape. eSports is breaking new grounds for content delivery and interactivity through a number of outstanding service models and this can be partially attributed to the inherently digital nature of eSports which makes the integration of new technologies rather easy and natural. On the same note, this presents new ways to cash in on revenues from different aspects of the eSports business models that are apparently way more efficient than those of regular sports. But why is there such a huge divide between the two?

As it turns out, eSports is more open to innovation, is very engaging and has the potential to grow into something much bigger. This does not necessarily mean that traditional sports completely lacks similar qualities – there are just a number of issues that are holding the industry back. One of the most significant being the dependence of large sports corporations like UEFA and FIFA on revenue streams from cable companies who in most cases buy rights to be the sole broadcasters of matches. It is rather obvious that this leaves regular sports in the stone age in terms of delivery as viewers are now migrating to streaming services. This is where the changes need to be initiated and many of them have already acknowledged the huge market shift and are already taking necessary steps towards regaining the lost glory. Meanwhile, eSports has never shown as much promise as it has now.