Seminole Tribe of Florida files Jacksonville lawsuit

In Florida, the federally-recognized Seminole Tribe of Florida has reportedly initiated a legal action against the operators of eleven local restaurants, cafes and coffee shops amid allegations that these firms are illegally offering electronic gambling machines.

According to a report from television broadcaster WTLV-TV, the lawsuit was filed with the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in Jacksonville on December 6 and alleges that the defendants are running ‘electronic gambling parlors’ and that this infringes upon its own monopoly on offering such ‘casino-style’ games.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida operates a number of casinos across the southern state including the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa and the larger Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood and reportedly inked a deal with Florida officials in 2010 that gave it the exclusive rights to offer Class III gaming such as electronic gambling machines and slots.

The Jacksonville-based broadcaster reported that the lawsuit alleges that the Duval County defendants are contravening this agreement by owning, maintaining or managing venues that permit customers to electronically ‘engage in various forms of casino-style gambling whereby the patrons pay money in return for which they receive a chance to win greater sums of money as prizes’.

Tribal attorney Barry Richard reportedly told WTLV-TV that the defendants, which include Wild Plum Arcade, Lucky’s Cyber Center and Big Chances Internet Café, are offering games that ‘you would play in a casino’.

“They are typical slot-type games, spinning games or so-called ‘fish games’ or card games,” Richard reportedly told the broadcaster. “The essential point is that the patron pays money for the chance to win more money.”

Alongside the operators, the lawsuit from the Seminole Tribe of Florida moreover reportedly names 15 landlords as defendants for allowing their tenants to ‘knowingly permit such unlawful gambling to take place’.

“These are very clear violations of Florida’s gambling laws and I have a high level of confidence that the [Seminole Tribe of Florida] is going to be successful,” Richard reportedly told WTLV-TV.

SG Interactive online games go live in Italy

Global gaming machines innovator Scientific Games Corp. (NASDAQ: SGMS), has announced that its titles went live in Italy on November 27. It is reportedly the first time that the regulated Italian market has had access to SG Interactive games.

According to the press release, currently, 11 SG interactive titles are certified for release in the country in Southern Europe, including titles such as Rainbow Riches Free Spins, Spartacus Gladiator of Rome and 88 Fortunes, all player-favorite brands. Also available are branded titles including Wonder Woman, Monopoly and Titanic, with other popular licensed brands available as well.

The Las Vegas-based Scientific Games reports that it will follow with proven games from its SG interactive game studios: Bally, WMS, Shuffle Master, Barcrest and the July 2017 acquired UK-based Red7Mobile.

Betsson Group’s StarCasino.it will have first access to the initial offering, with other clients including Sisal, Snai and Bwin to follow. The expectation by Scientific Games is that with continued market growth additional partners will come aboard.

Betsson Group Managing Director of LatAM and Southern Europe, Andrea Rossi, said, “We’re excited to be the first to launch the new SG Interactive titles in Italy. The Company’s library has proven to be popular and successful in our other jurisdictions, and we’re confident Italian players will be thrilled to have these themes available.”

Also commenting on the Italy launch, Leigh Nissim, SVP and Managing Director, B2B for SG Interactive, said, “It’s encouraging to see our games made available to new players in untapped markets. This launch is a fantastic milestone for SG Interactive and an indicator that we’re constantly looking to expand our online presence in Europe. We look forward to working with our partners in Italy to bring players best-in-class gaming content.”

Oneida Nation to host job fair in Bridgeport, NY; hiring more than 200 for new casino

The Oneida Nation will be holding a job fair on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017 for its new Point Palace Casino slated to open in spring 2018.

Located in Bridgeport, New York, the Oneida Nation’s new casino is looking to fill over 200 full-time and part-time openings on all shifts.

The job fair is being held from 10am to 6pm in Bridgeport at 7915 Route 298 in Madison County just beyond the Onondaga County-Madison County line near Cicero.

Positions are available in management, food and beverage, security, casino gaming guest services and facilities and maintenance. Within those areas, the casino is looking to hire food and beverage supervisors and guest service supervisors; cooks, bartenders, stewards, food and beverage attendants; table games dealers, slot service representatives and gaming and support technicians; cage cashiers, coat check and guest services representatives; security officers; maintenance technicians and a variety of EVS positions and more.

Interested applicants must be available to work weekends and holidays; enjoy working with people and have a dedication to guest service; have a happy and positive attitude; and a desire to work every day in a fast-paced, unique environment.

Walk-ins are welcome to apply or applications can be filled out online.

The 65,000 square foot Point Palace Casino will feature approximately 20 gaming tables and nearly 500 slot machines. Other amenities include two quick eats restaurants Burgers of Madison County and Wicked Good Pizza and an Opals Confectionary; Turning Stone’s popular bakery and chocolatier, and two bars.

The smoke-free casino will be located on Route 31, near the corner of Bridgeport-Kirkville Road.

Pennsylvania sets auction dates for new satellite casino licenses

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has announced that it will be holding a special event at its Harrisburg headquarters on the morning of January 10 in order to auction the first of ten new satellite casino licenses.

The state’s gambling regulator also revealed that the remaining nine ‘Category Four’ licenses are to be sold off via identical events to be held every two weeks until May 16 with the minimum bid amount for each site set at $7.5 million.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board explained that this minimum tender amount will entitle the winning bidder to operate up to 750 slots while they can pay an additional $2.5 million in order to augment this offering with a maximum of 30 gaming tables, which may be increased by ten units to 40 after one year.

The Pennsylvania regulator declared that every auction will moreover see it reveal the specific location for that particular satellite casino while the entire process is to be open to all of the state’s existing licensed racetrack and casino operators although each is set to be initially permitted to hold only one of the ten new licenses.

“A subsequent round will be held if all ten available licenses are not auctioned off,” read a statement from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. “Should this round of auctions occur, the two holders of ‘Category Three’ slot machine licenses could participate along with any ‘Category One’ or ‘Category Two’ license holders even if any of those holders have already won a ‘Category Four’ auction. This round of auctions must be completed by August 31, 2018.”

The new ‘Category Four’ licenses are a result of wide-ranging gaming legislation signed into law by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf in October. Although not universally popular, the expansion is part of an effort to raise additional funds in order to help fill the state’s bulging $2.2 billion annual budget deficit and is expected to bring in upwards of $230 million a year in new revenues via taxes and licensing fees.

Surprising results from Gambling Commission underage study

In the United Kingdom, the Gambling Commission regulator has reportedly published the results of a study it recently conducted into the prevalence of gambling among young people and offered some surprising results.

According to a report from PokerNews.com, the Young People and Gambling 2016 investigation found that some 450,000 adolescents aged between 11 and 15 in Wales and England gambled at least once a week. This purportedly equates to approximately 16% of that age group with fruit machines allegedly the most prevalent form of gambling.

The Gambling Commission study reportedly found that National Lottery scratchcards and playing cards with friends for money were also among the most prevalent forms of gambling for adolescents while only 1% of the 2,411 questioned regularly enjoyed games of online poker.

Most worryingly, the Gambling Commission study reportedly found that a full 8% of the 11 to 15-year-olds surveyed had gambled in a commercial premise such as a bingo hall, betting shop or arcade in the week before being questioned. The regulator noted that some 9,000 of the 450,000 were now likely to develop some form of gambling addiction in the future, as suggested by studies.

“We’re often reminded to discuss the risks of drinking, drugs and smoking with our children,” read a statement from Tim Miller, Executive Director for the Gambling Commission, cited by PokerNews.com. “However our research shows that children are twice as likely to gamble than do any of those things.”

Other key findings of the Gambling Commission investigation reportedly included that males were nearly twice as likely at 21% to have gambled than their female counterparts while 24% of the adolescents questioned purportedly explained that they had engaged in gambling for the first time in order to make money versus 23% who had played for fun or entertainment purposes.

PokerNews.com moreover reported that 40% of the adolescents questioned saw an advertisement for gambling on television more than once a week, which had purportedly prompted 1% to gamble for the first time.

“We recognize that there are some gambling activities in which young people are legally permitted to partake, such as using a crane machine to win a toy or betting between friends, but we would encourage parents to speak to their children about the risks associated with gambling so that if they choose to gamble in adulthood they will do so in a safe and responsible way,” reportedly read the statement from Miller.

Kiron Interactive now partnered with Pinnacle

After obtaining licensing in Romania in September, online casino games and systems provider Kiron Interactive has now announced they have partnered with Pinnacle, a leading online operator. With the new agreement, Betman Online, the platform for online bet management of Kiron will be made available via the Iforium platform of Pinnacle. Customers of Pinnacle will have access to the full gaming portfolio of Kiron, which will include virtual sports titles.

In a press release on the new partnership agreement, Kiron Interactive CEO Steven Spartinos, stated: “Pinnacle is one of the industry’s fastest-growing and most highly-regarded operators, making them the perfect partner with whom to integrate our growing portfolio of best-in-class gaming content. We are committed to building our global reach in line with our potential, and we hope to enjoy a rewarding relationship as we move forward.”

Pinnacle CEO Paris Smith, commented as well stating: “Providing our players with the most engaging and exciting selection of games is a priority, and partnering with innovative providers like Kiron Interactive is a big part of that. We are certain our players in regulated markets across Europe will enjoy Kiron’s diverse suite of virtual games.”

The new deal helps Kiron Interactive bring 2017 to a close, after a busy and successful year. The company has completed agreements with several operators and aggregators this year, having already launched services in various regions around the world.