The defendants are believed to have been running an illegal gambling ring which operated in several verticals. The suspects are said to have facilitated various betting and gaming operations, including illegal poker games in Rochester and black market bets for sports betting events accepted through a website they had registered and worked with.

Multiple Suspects Helped Run the Illegal Business

The probe that led to their arrest was originally launched in October 2020 and culminated with the arrest of Louis P. Ferrari II and Dominic Sprague alongside co-conspirators Anthony Amato, Joseph Lomardo, Joseph Boscarino, James Cilvetti, and Tommaso Sessa.

Ferrari and Sprague are charged with running the illegal gambling ring whereas the other five defendants are said to have been charged with transmission of wagering information and other offences. Thomas Loewke, the state trooper involved, is accused of having tipped off the criminals about the ongoing probe against them.

Ferrari will also face charges of money laundering on top of the other charges brought against him. The culprits participated in the running of illegal gambling activities without a license, even though sports gambling has been licensed in person in various locations across the Empire State since 2019.

Ferrari and Sprague are named as the co-owners of the activity, whereas the other participants worked with the owners in various capacities. Sessa, for example, was charged with helping run the day-to-day operations at the location where the illegal ring operated from.

Ferrari was also involved in running the underhand bookmaking operation through an illegal online sportsbook called sport700.com. Lombardo and Boscarino are allegedly sub-agents for the website, whereas Amato is the alleged administrator. The investigators presented the infringement of each individual in detail, the result of the hard work put into locating and bringing a solid case against the entire operation.

Sinuous Network of Money Laundering and Illegal Gambling

To make sure that the losses of bettors were remitted back to the conspirators, Ferrari used his excavating business to launder the illegal proceedings. Before Ferrari would launder the proceedings, though, Sprague used his own pawn shop business to remit winnings to players and cash payments of gambling losses from bettors. Cilvetti was employed at the pawn shop.

The complaint brought against the defendants and Ferrari specifically highlights the discrepancies in the amounts registered by the business and the amounts paid out to people in cash, to the tune of $765,908 against cash revenue of only $97,232. The period of the payments and revenue covered April 2019 through January 2021.

The network was pretty impressive. Amato is believed to have operated 128 sub-agent accounts that were in charge of 1,789 individual bettors. More than $8,945,629 were placed in total wagers while the first account by Amato was set up in April 2016. The last wagers reported were placed in January 2021. The base of operation of the illegal gambling ring also hosted poker games without a license.

7777 gaming, an online B2B provider, which offers iGaming platform, games and tools, has unveiled a new strategic partnership with the renowned software provider EveryMatrix. Under the terms of the agreement, 7777 gaming’s entire portfolio will be made available to EveryMatrix’s aggregation partners.

As agreed by the two companies, EveryMatrix will add content from its new partner to its proprietary integration and productivity platform CasinoEngine. The company claims that the latter solution has the most extensive library in the industry and is excited to expand it with extra titles.

As a result of the agreement, CasinoEngine partners in Europe, Africa and LATAM will be able to access 7777 gaming’s titles, diversifying their offerings. 7777 gaming’s games will be added to a library that includes some 12,500+ games from over 250 content providers.

CasinoEngine is considered to be the go-to source for all gambling companies looking to provide fans with new iGaming experiences. The library is also helpful to operators that wish to enter new markets with content tailored to local needs.

7777 Gaming’s Titles Are Designed with Passion

7777 gaming’s chief commercial officer, Elena Shaterova, shared her sentiments on the new agreement. According to her, the 7777 team is thrilled to add its content to EveryMatrix. Shaterova noted that her company has put a lot of passion into these titles and is proud to add them to CasinoEngine.

Our years of experience, expertise, and passion for games development led to designing stand-alone products, and interactive and innovative titles that we will proudly bring to EveryMatrix partners around the world.

Elena Shaterova, CCO, 7777 gaming

EveryMatrix’s chief operating officer, Amund Stensland, also commented on the collaboration with 7777 gaming. He noted that he is looking forward to working with the supplier and adding its content to CasinoEngine. Stensland is certain that the integration will greatly benefit EveryMatrix.

We are pleased to collaborate with 7777 gaming. Their casino content will bring added value to our operators and lots of excitement to their players. Our mutual commitment to high-quality casino games content across all channels will provide players with a unique gaming experience.

Amund Stensland, COO, EveryMatrix

7777 gaming is the proud creator of more than 100 highly-engaging iGaming titles. The company recently revealed a new game package, showcasing it to ICE London visitors.

A few days prior to the current announcement, 7777 gaming also penned a similar content deal with Hub88 and agreed to provide the supplier with its games. It also struck a partnership with IGT, integrating content into PlayDigital.

Neccton, a one-stop shop analytical application for iGaming suppliers, will provide the gambling juggernaut Betsson with anti-money laundering (AML) and responsible gambling (RG) tools. The deal will provide the operator’s players in Ontario with a higher degree of safety while preventing financial fraud.

As agreed, Neccton will leverage its mentor monitoring solution. The cutting-edge software is designed to identify suspicious player behavior in real-time and communicate its findings to both the player and the operator. Thus, Betsson’s Betsafe brand will be able to identify early signs of problem gambling and intervene on time.

Mentor usually contacts players directly, sending them automated messages if their deposit frequency has significantly increased. A drastic change in betting behavior is usually associated with problem gambling and is often a sign that the player requires further care. The mentor solution is also capable to identify a variety of other red flags that tend to signpost gambling harm.

Under the agreement with Neccton, Betsson will also leverage mentor’s AML module, which is capable of identifying when financial fraud is taking place. The solution complies with all the necessary regulations in Europe, Ontario and a variety of other regulated markets. It is customized on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis and can be further configured to suit the needs of Neccton’s partnering operators.

Mentor’s Creator Is Happy to Work with Another High Profile Operator

Mentor is based on the research of Dr Michael Auer, Neccton’s head of development. The acclaimed solution leverages Auer’s 15+ years of experience and is a one-stop solution that covers operators’ AML, RG, CRM and Fraud needs. Because of that, mentor is now used by many of the biggest gambling companies in Europe.

Auer himself commented on the agreement with Betsson, lauding the opportunity to work with another world-class operator. According to him, this deal validates Neccton’s approach and Betsson’s dedication to protecting its customers from harm.

Auer concluded that he and the rest of the team are delighted to welcome a customer of Betsson’s caliber to the Neccton family.

Marina Bogard, Betsson Group’s managing director for North America, also shared her feelings about the agreement.

Betsson takes anti-money laundering and responsible gaming very seriously and we are committed to providing the safest and most efficient platform and experience for our players.

Marina Bogard, MD NA, Betsson Group

Bogard added that she is thrilled by the opportunity to incorporate Neccton’s best-in-class solution into Betsafe’s platform, providing players with extra confidence and security.

The leading lottery operator, Allwyn, announced Monday a new global partnership with the Wings for Life World Run. The Wings for Life World Run is an international annual running event that contributes to raising funds for research, as well as clinical studies that seek to develop a cure for injuries of the spinal cord. Thanks to the terms of the new collaboration, Allwyn was designated as an official global partner of the Wings for Life World Runs for the next three years.

Nearly a decade ago, back in 2014, the Wings of Life World Run was established. Since then, the annual event has contributed 100% of its donations and entry fees to clinical studies and scientific research into spinal cord injuries.

The event has seen more than 1 million people participate from 195 countries since it was established. This helped raise €38.3 million ($40.4 million), which helped spinal cord research. Last year’s edition of the Wings for Life World Run helped raise €4.7 million ($5 million) and saw 161,892 people from 192 different nationalities participate.

“I am delighted to welcome Allwyn to the Wings for Life World Run as a global partner.“

Anita Gerhardter, CEO of Wings for Life

Wings for Life’s CEO, Anita Gerhardter, said that the organization is excited to team up with Allwyn and see the company become a global partner of the event. According to her, the new partnership will have a positive impact and will help raise funds that can ultimately help many people around the world. Finally, Gerhardter said: “Personally, I like their slogan “where we all win,” because it expresses exactly what the Wings for Life World Run stands for.”

The Company Reaffirms Commitment to Supporting Good Causes

Allwyn’s chief global brand and CSR officer, Pavel Turek, said that the support of good causes is a part of the company’s top priorities. Moreover, he explained that Allwyn is excited to join forces with the Wings for Life World Run in the UK, Austria, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Greece. Turek deemed the event a “fantastic cause” and pointed out that everyone can participate, whether young or old, fit or wheelchaired.

“At Allwyn, supporting good causes is central to what we do.“

Pavel Turek, chief global brand and CSR officer at Allwyn

Teaming up with the Wings for Life World Run, employees of Allwyn and its subsidiaries will be encouraged to raise funds for the event. This new collaboration complements further the company’s commitment to good causes. In fact, back in 2021, Allwyn, along with its subsidiaries, helped with more than €32 million ($33.8 million) to good causes.

The Guardian reported that Australian gambling harm services have complained that their rehabilitation adverts are being wrongly blocked while there has been an increase in wagering advertising, especially following Sportsbet’s partnership with TikTok.

Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation Ads Blocked by Google

The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF) has had its adverts for Gambler’s Help, its treatment service, automatically blocked by Google. The foundation argues that its harm minimization programs are being unfairly conflated with gambling industry offers and promotions. The foundation is concerned that individuals at risk of gambling harm are being exposed to ads that encourage gambling while ads for help services are being blocked.

A VRGF spokesperson claimed that unblocking the ads was a lengthy and ineffective process. The spokesperson also stated that the issue has been ongoing for years and has become a significant problem with Google’s display and video advertising network. As a result, the foundation no longer buys this inventory.

A Google spokesperson disputed the VRGF’s claims and said that the measures were in place to keep ads safe and appropriate for everyone. The spokesperson acknowledged that the blocking of some ads was inadvertent and due to an over-cautious algorithm.

However, Google claimed that once it was made aware of the issue, it worked quickly to reinstate the blocked ads. The spokesperson apologized for any inconvenience caused to the VRGF.
Another example comes from the US. A gambling addiction treatment service complained about its adverts being blocked by TikTok. The organization received emails confirming that other similar services have also experienced issues.

Although gambling promotions are banned on TikTok, last year, the Chinese-owned social media company agreed to allow Sportsbet to target Australian users as part of a strictly controlled trial. However, TikTok claims that these ads were only shown to users aged 21 or older, and their frequency was restricted. Users could also opt out of seeing these ads.

Prof Sally Gainsbury, the director of the Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic at the University of Sydney, believes that social media is increasingly being used to deliver highly targeted ads to existing and potential gamblers.

While this is viewed as a legitimate commercial marketing strategy, research suggests that people who have difficulty controlling their betting are most likely to be impacted by these types of ads. Therefore, gambling harm services must find ways to counteract this form of advertising.

Gainsbury acknowledges that it can be challenging to control ads on social media, but she believes that customers should be able to opt out of marketing, just as individuals can self-exclude from accessing their gambling accounts.

This can be achieved by providing individuals with the option to opt out of receiving gambling-related ads on social media platforms. By doing so, it is hoped that this will reduce the negative impact of gambling advertising on vulnerable individuals.

The news was confirmed on Friday, with the man having brought in the gun by concealing it in his paints. The gun was not registered and Ronnie Delouth, the man who was injured, will most likely face charges at a new hearing scheduled for Tuesday, February 28 over the incident.

Delouth will most likely remain in medical care prior to his hearing, with no records of him being transferred into police custody just yet. He was rushed to a hospital last Tuesday and is in critical condition. Video footage showed Delouth alone and moseying along across the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas when he collapsed local outlets cited by The Associated Press confirmed.

Video recording also showed that Delouth was able to remove the gun from his person and hide it under a slot machine as security was arriving on the scene. His reaction is understandable as convicted felons are prohibited from carrying arms and the law treats such offences seriously.

Delouth served time in prison over burglary and attempted robbery in 2012 in Las Vegas. His case was not commented on by either an attorney or the property. MGM Resorts International spokesperson Brian Ahern said that the company prohibited firearms at all of its properties and expected such items to be handed over to security for safekeeping while patrons were on the premises.

More Gun Accidents and Violence Across Casino Properties

A similar case was registered in Massachusetts, taking place close to another MGM Resorts property, Springfield. The police took down an armed gunman on Saturday. The suspect was acting aggressively towards others and prompted concern that he may be about to carry out a gun attack inside the property. However, he decided to leave instead.

It was unclear whether he had the gun with him on the property before he left and was met by police outside. The suspect opened fire at the Massachusetts State Police Gaming Enforcement Unit and local police units from Springfield.

In the exchange, he was wounded and taken to Springfield’s Baystate Medical Center which is less than three miles away from the place of the shootout. The man passed away from his wounds, with no further information available to the public as to who he was.