White Hat Studios continues to expand the reach of its impressive content to new jurisdictions. On Wednesday, the company revealed that it boosted its partnership with the leading US iGaming operator, Rush Street Interactive (RSI). As a result, White Hat Studios delivered its content for RSI’s brands in two strategic US markets, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Thanks to the partnership extension between the duo, RSI’s brands PlaySugarHouse and BetRivers in the two states will deliver innovative content from the leading studio to its clients. This will help by expanding the offering of the two brands and seeing their customers engage with new and innovative titles from White Hat Studios.

At the same time, the collaboration further boosts the reach of the studio’s content, allowing it to engage with new audiences. The newly announced dual-state collaboration with RSI builds upon the positive momentum gained by the two companies.

Previously, White Hat Studios agreed to supply its content portfolio for RSI in Michigan, another important regulated gambling market in the US. Following an impressive debut in the state, the company’s games quickly gained popularity and became fan favorites.

The Deal Is Expected Benefit the Duo

Richard Schwartz, RSI’s CEO, shared his excitement about the deal acknowledging that it enables the company’s brands to provide new content. Moreover, he outlined that the rollout in Pennsylvania and New Jersey complements RSI’s growth strategy. Finally, Schwartz noted: “This follows the integration of White Hat Studios content in Michigan, which has since provided players in that state with amazing entertainment experiences.”

“Offering a wide selection of leading games is a key component of our growth strategy and partnering with White Hat Studios in New Jersey and Pennsylvania will deliver some of the country’s most popular slot titles to our players.“

Richard Schwartz , CEO at Rush Street Interactive

The new deal with White Hat comes after recently, RSI confirmed the launch of the BetRivers Slots Tournament in Michigan. The event, advertised as the “most exciting online slot tournament in Michigan history” grants online players a chance to win a share of $1 million in bonus money.

“We are pleased to be once again working with Rush Street Interactive in this latest capacity, having already collaborated to great success in Michigan.“

Andy Whitworth, CEO of White Hat Studios

Andy Whitworth, White Hat Studios’ CEO, was also excited about the collaboration with RSI. He said that the company is delighted to team up with Rush Street and at the same time acknowledged that their previous collaboration in Michigan brought success. Finally, Whitworth predicted that the deal in Pennsylvania and New Jersey will benefit the two companies.

Kirsty Gilmour, Scotland’s best badminton player, says she has received a number of obscene messages threatening her with physical violence, rape, and even death. The messages have been too much, Gilmour said, arguing that she felt “violated” by the senders.

Gilmour Wants to Address the Problem of Abusive Sports Fans

Some of the people who texted her accused her of fixing her match against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung. Gilmour has since reported the case to the police but sought to bring more awareness to the incident as she thinks more has to be done to stop similar abuse from taking place in the first place.

Scottish players are abused by fans frequently, Gilmour commented for the BBC. She acknowledges why this happens – people bet on the outcome of games, lose, and then decide to blame the athletes. Gilmour also offered an insight into the mentality of such people:

It is never someone that’s watched the match and knows about badminton the sport. I am basically a random horserace to them, and it’s not gone their way, so they get personal.

Kirsty Gilmour, Scotland’s best badminton player

The athlete also told the media that such messages really can affect their intended target’s mental health. As Gilmour said, she was in an “OK” state of mind at the time when she was reading those messages, but athletes too have bad days and such assault on their personality could have more pernicious effects on their confidence and self-esteem, thus affecting their game down the road.

Attacking Her Personality, Attacking Her Game

Even then Gilmour seems to be upset about how these people tend to send her horrific messages, she is equally upset with the fact that they target her personality and her play – not just that they spout obscenities her way. But things are going to get better.

The Badminton World Federation and sports data firm Stats Perform have teamed up to offer further protection of the sport and work together to investigate cases that may be linked to match-fixing. It’s these cases that fans can be sort of miffed about, believes Gilmour as well.

She also argues, though, that because of fans’ behavior players may have a panic attack during a game and doubt their game and the backlash that they might experience as a result. This could happen in mid-game, she explains, leaving athletes lacking concentration in a game, and indeed appearing as if they were throwing their game.

Different Ponzi schemes have been around for decades, if not longer, yet thousands of people are affected and lose their money to such illicit activities every year. Ponzi schemes, also infamous as investment fraud schemes, involve a fake investor luring people into investing in a business such as stock markets, real estate or other lucrative investments that usually have “guaranteed” high returns with little or no risk.

A businessman from Canada, who was reportedly impacted by such illegal activity is now seeking to recover his investment. Stephen Shefsky, the CEO and president of James Bay Resources, a Toronto-based company, is trying to recover some $3.5 million that he invested with a person that was sentenced to prison for fraud, a report released by the Las Vegas Review-Journal reveals.

The money, Shefsky reportedly loaned to David Bunevacz to finance companies marketing cannabis vape pens, as an investment. But little did the Canadian businessman know that Bunevacz was involved in a large-scale fraud that involved tens of millions of dollars. Shefsky’s investment of $3.5 million is believed to be lost to gambling at Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas.

Accusations against the gambling operator reportedly claim it failed to report significant gambling losses to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Ultimately, Shefsky seeks through legal means to subpoena the casino operator to disclose information regarding Bunevacz’s losses to gambling. Whether or not this will happen remains to be confirmed as Shefsky is trying to recover the money lost to the fake investment.

The Fake Investor Is Already Sentenced

It was back in November when the fake investor, Bunevacz, of Calabasas, was sentenced. Court documents reveal that he fraudulently raised more than $45 million from investors. Although he offered financing companies marketing cannabis vape pens, in reality, he defrauded the investors and “misappropriated the vast majority of the funds to pay for his own opulent lifestyle, including a luxurious house in Calabasas, Las Vegas trips, jewelry, designer handbags, a lavish birthday party for his daughter, and horses,” a statement from the Department of Justice reveals.

As with other similar schemes, the fake investor issued misleading financial documents to the people that loaned him their money. It was last April when Bunevacz was arrested and in July, he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. Consequently, in November, he was sentenced to 210 months or 17.5 years in federal prison. Besides the prison sentence, Bunevacz was ordered to repay $35.3 million in restitution.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that several hotel-casino operators on the Las Vegas Strip have filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses them of price-fixing hotel room rates through a revenue management platform, Rainmaker. 

Tourists Sue Las Vegas Hotels for Alleged Antitrust Violations

In January, two tourists filed a lawsuit that accused hotel operators of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act and demanded that the defendants repay guests who overpaid. The lawsuit also alleged that Rainmaker unlawfully maximizes profits for its hotel operator users by designing rate recommendations through real-time pricing and supplying information from competitors on the platform. 

The hotels have dismissed these allegations, stating that there is no direct or circumstantial evidence that backs their allegations of conspiracy. The initial complaint did not identify who entered the conspiracy nor when it began. The hotels claimed that the complaint fails to articulate what the defendants agreed to and how the alleged conspiracy operates and instead speaks generally to algorithmic pricing. 

The plaintiffs’ law firm, Hagens Berman, released a statement that the motion to dismiss was expected, and they looked forward to continuing the case on behalf of the sizable class of those harmed by illegal pricing measures. Rainmaker, which is used by 90% of the hotels on the Strip, is accused in the lawsuit of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.

The plaintiffs claim that Rainmaker’s proprietary software, Guestrev, analyzes real-time pricing and room supply information, then artificially suppresses supply, maximizing resort profits. According to the lawsuit, this artificially inflates hotel room prices, displacing normal competitive pricing and leading to increased room prices.

UNLV Professor Refutes Allegations of Las Vegas Price Fixing

In January, FOX5 reported that the plaintiffs claimed that if someone has rented a hotel room on the Strip on or after January 25, 2019, they may have overpaid due to this alleged illegal price-fixing scheme.

However, according to Amanda Belarmino, an assistant professor at the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at UNLV, the current record high room revenue in Las Vegas is not because of price fixing. Belarmino stated that the biggest factor contributing to the high demand was the lifting of pandemic restrictions.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs accused MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Treasure Island, and Wynn Resorts of using the Rainmaker software to unlawfully increase hotel room prices by collecting real-time pricing and supply information from competitors. However, Belarmino disagrees and argues that the sharing of pricing and capacity information through Rainmaker is not collusion, but rather competitive research. She believes that unless proprietary information was shared, the plaintiffs will have a hard time winning their case.

Reno Gazette-Journal reported that the Reno woman who wished to remain anonymous hit the $14 million jackpot while playing a Megabucks slot machine at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa on Sunday, April 2, 2023. The anonymous gambler had extended her stay at the casino after her planned cruise was canceled. 

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa Celebrates Biggest Jackpot Win Ever in Reno

The $14 million jackpot is the largest Megabucks prize ever won in Reno, and it is the first Megabucks jackpot won in Nevada since April 2021. IGT, the gaming manufacturer of the Megabucks slot machine, confirmed the life-changing win, which is far from the top jackpot ever won in Nevada. That honor belongs to a man who wished to remain anonymous after winning a $39.7 million progressive jackpot at the Excalibur on the Las Vegas Strip in March 2003. The lucky player also won the historic sum on a Megabucks machine after gambling about $100.

The woman’s $10 bet hit the jackpot, making her richer by over $14 million. The Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, which is south of downtown Reno, is owned and operated by Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. The lucky winner is a regular at the casino, according to casino officials. 

Atlantis General Manager Cheraz Ecker expressed her excitement for the winner and her incredible jackpot win, saying that it was another amazing milestone to celebrate in the company’s history.

IGT’s Megabucks Have Been Making Millionaires and Breaking Records for Over Three Decades

IGT’s Megabucks is a progressive slot jackpot that is available at various casinos. It debuted in Nevada casinos in 1986 and has an array of titles. The terminals have made many gamblers extraordinarily wealthy over the 37 years of its operation. 

While this week’s Megabucks jackpot hit at the Atlantis Reno is the largest slots prize ever won in the city, the $14 million haul is far from the top jackpot ever won in Nevada. Reno resident Rachael Renee Romanick also won $33 million playing the Megabucks slot machine at Terrible’s Rail City in Sparks on April 12, 2009.

The chances of hitting a Megabucks progressive slot jackpot are not good. According to Anthony Curtis of Las Vegas Advisor, an online resource for visitors to Southern Nevada, the chances of hitting a Megabucks jackpot are about 1 in 49.8 million.

Things are changing fast though, as Pennsylvania is moving quickly towards the legalization of esports gambling, which may be coming sooner than you suspect. HB733, a piece of legislation that is making its way through the Pennsylvania General Assembly, could finally make this happen.

Let’s Legalize Esports One Pennsylvania Lawmaker Says

Neilson and his colleagues are hoping that they would make this happen. The lawmakers who endorse the idea argue that esports is estimated as an industry that could have a value as big as $1.8 billion, and argue that it is already worth $1.1 billion worldwide.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia is already investing heavily in esports in the United States, which will attract events from all over the world. The backers of the suggestion also argue that other states, such as New Jersey, have already legalized betting on esports. Similar legislation is underway in other states as well.

Therefore, Neilson believes that Pennsylvania should not fall behind, hence why HB733 was introduced in the first place. Should the bill pass, it will make it completely legal for residents of the states to place a bet on the outcome of esports events, such as Counter-Strike, Dota 2, League of Legends, and potentially myriad others.

Bettors would have to be 21 years of age to bet on esports but 18 years of age to participate. The bill’s language could simply mean that bettors would not be able to bet on individuals under the age of 18, rather. The part is a little restrictive, as many esports athletes start much younger. Esports betting legislation, however, is not an immediate priority for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, but the momentum to pass it seems to be there.

Make Esports Betting Happen at Long Last

Meanwhile, tax on the activity would be put at 36% which could be a little harsh, as the esports vertical is more challenging to turn a profit from for many sportsbooks which consistently find themselves outsmarted by passionate fans with a very strong insight into competitive video gaming.

Pennsylvania also has some experience trying to pass esports betting bills. There have been three other bills attempting passage, including HB69, HB521, and HB642 before HB733 made its debut a few weeks ago. How beneficial esports betting would be for the state remains to be seen, but there is definitely interest in the activity, hence why it ought to be legalized Neilson believes.

The leading online lottery company in Germany, ZEAL, has announced it has become the latest member of the World Lottery Association (WLA). Thanks to the new addition, the Association expands further its portfolio of members. Since it was founded in 1999, following the merger of the International Association of Lotteries and Lotto Organizations, the International Association of State Lotteries and Intertoto, to date, the Association has members from six different continents and 80 countries.

Helmut Becker, ZEAL’s CEO, shared his excitement saying that the company is delighted to become the newest member of the World Lottery Association. Admitting that the company holds a leadership position within the online lottery market in Germany, the CEO reaffirmed ZEAL’s commitment to security, as well as risk management and compliance.

“We are proud the WLA has accepted us as a member. As the German market leader for online lotteries, we take our responsibility in the areas of compliance, security and risk management very seriously and attach great importance to social commitments as well.“

Helmut Becker, CEO of ZEAL

Becker explained that compliance with the rules, social responsibility and commitments represent significantly important goals for ZEAL. Finally, ZEAL’s CEO said: “We are pleased to be a part of this important organization with immediate effect and to support the high standards of the WLA and its members.”

The Association Continues to Expand List of Members

Becoming a member of the WLA means that ZEAL commits to the Association’s established standards for responsible gaming and social responsibility. Additionally, as a WLA member, the company commits to risk management and other strategic priorities set by the WLA.

Recently, the WLA expanded further its list of partners by adding the leading geolocation and fraud prevention company, GeoComply. The membership, which was announced in February, marked an important milestone not only for the Association but for the geolocation and fraud prevention leader.

Expanding its membership list and involving stakeholders from the industry undoubtedly helps the WLA. What’s more, members of the Association help raise funds for different charitable causes. In fact, back in 2021, WLA members around the world helped deliver some $80 billion to charitable causes.