ShareThe World Poker Tour (WPT) has finalised its North American schedule for the remainder of 2021. Seven tour events are planned for what is hoped will be a final reopening of the live major tournament scene that has been on ice for almost 18 months.
Adam Pliska, CEO of the World Poker Tour, said: “As we emerge from restrictions throughout North America we have bolstered the momentum from last season’s historic numbers and are eager to meet the great demand for WPT events leading up to our twenty-year anniversary in 2022.”
Angelica Hael, VP of Global Tour Management for the World Poker Tour followed up with: “Live poker is back at full strength on the World Poker Tour and we are ecstatic to once again be able to provide a full and exciting schedule of events for our players. We want to sincerely thank the players and global casino partners for their unwavering support during a challenging year and look forward to showcasing some of the best casino properties in North America.”
The WPT Heads Up Championship is also back on the calendar, even though it’s not an official main tour event where the winner gets their name etched onto the famous Mike Sexton trophy.
It’s great to have the live scene picking up again in the US. Hopefully, if this continues then we will definitely get the live WSOP as promised a couple of months ago.
Check the schedule here.
Crown Resorts Under Fire
Last week a Royal Commission in Victoria, Australia, conducted an enquiry into alleged irresponsible gaming practices at the Crown Resorts casino in Melbourne. Allegations of problem gamblers being allowed to play for ridiculously long periods of time has left the casino management under fire from regulators.Only last year, the business actually reduced from 24 to 18 hours the number of hours a patron could gamble before an employee would step in to assess any welfare concerns. It was said that two years ago one customer gambled for an incredible 34 hours straight, and then they were only asked to take a break for 8 hours instead of the usual policy of 24.
This most recent hauling in front of a regulatory committee is already the second of 2021. Back in February Crown Resorts was prevented from reopening a casino in Sydney after a New South Wales committee enquiry concluded that the business was unfit to hold a gaming license.
Grovelling to save its business, Crown Resorts changed its policy to only allow patrons to gamble for 12 hours in any 24 hour period.
Macau Back in Business
Macau casinos have brought in more than $1 billion for the third month in a row, indicating that the Asian gambling paradise has finally recovered from the pandemic. Gamblers lost a total of $1.3bn during May 2021, a period when visitors from mainland China are now finding it easier to travel abroad as restrictions ease..A total of 167,000 tourists entered the former Portuguese colony during May, with 93% of those coming from the mainland. Now, though, the future isn’t looking as good as it was a few weeks ago with the number of positive tests for COVID-19 rising on a daily basis throughout the region. Hopefully, this will only turn out to be a small blip.
European Gaming and Betting Association Complain Over German Tax
The recent redrawing of the tax map for German online poker providers has led to a grievance by the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA). The group that represents giants such as partypoker, William Hill, and Bet365 filed a complaint with the European Commision claiming that brick-and-mortar poker rooms now have an unfair advantage.The detail is in how Germany’s new tax laws break EU competition rules over state aid to market segments. A 5.3% rollover tax only applies to online games and not live. From July 1st the new rules kick in in all 16 German states, which has already led to a few well-known faces withdrawing from the market.
The EGBA’s Secretary General, Martin Haijer, accepted that a change was needed to bring the legislation up-to-date but said that the current solution is nothing more than punitive and will lead to market distortion.
UK Gambling Commision Report Shows Poor State of Industry
The UK Gambling Commision (UKGC) has published a report detailing how badly the gambling industry has been affected by the COVID-19 restrictions. Between April 2020 to September 2020 gross gambling yield (GGY) fell by 58% compared to pre-COVID-19 levels.The one upside was online gaming seeing figures that were five-year highs although this is expected to fall again once the world returns to normal.
One area of concern is the traditional high street bookies. After already seeing falling numbers for the last decade, the pandemic might end up being the impetus to see a further shift in betting attitudes with many more happy to gamble online.
