Swinomish Casino & Lodge, nestled in Anacortes on the Washington coast, has been forced to shutter its doors until further notice following a suspected cyberattack. The casino, owned and operated by the tribal community, announced this news on its website on Wednesday, leaving patrons and employees in limbo. Casino management has not shared details regarding the incident, raising fears of a potential data breach.

The Venue Released Little Relevant Information

The sudden closure has left employees and patrons perplexed, with little communication from management regarding the situation. While the lodge remains open, the venue only honors existing reservations, leaving potential guests in the dark. The casino released an official statement regarding the ongoing issues, but the update contained little relevant information.

According to the official announcement, guests with existing reservations affected by the incident would receive refunds as they can only access the lodge and RV park. The casino admitted that the disruption was due to a cyberattack incident necessitating the closure of the casino and all restaurants on the property.

Swinomish Casino & Lodge added they were cooperating with authorities and cybersecurity experts to resolve this issue, adding they would contact affected customers in case of a data breach. The venue reassured patrons it would post an update on its Facebook page as soon as its systems returned online but did not disclose any concrete timeframe. 

Cyberattacks Represent an Industry-Wide Concern

This disruption is not the first time Swinomish Casino & Lodge has faced closure, with the last prolonged shutdown occurring in March 2020 due to COVID-19 safety measures. However, the ongoing closure has cast uncertainty over when operations will resume, leaving troubled employees and patrons awaiting updates. Many visitors wishing to visit for the weekend had to return, expressing their disappointment in the sudden shutdown.

Local news outlet KIRO 7 investigated the matter, contacting former employee Greg Sullivan, who revealed that the incident was highly unusual. He noted that closures on a  Friday or a Saturday night were something the casino tried to avoid at all costs, highlighting the severity of the issue. He expressed concern regarding the staff who depended on tips to make ends meet.

This impact is substantial on the workers, particularly the ones that are not salaried employees. The public absolutely deserves the truth.

Greg Sullivan, former employee

Despite limited information, this case resembles 2023’s cyberattacks against gambling giants like Caesars and MGM. These incidents caused significant customer data leaks, causing substantial damage to the affected operators. Although the increasing frequency of such cyberattacks should serve as a warning for the broader industry, this newest case indicates that many casinos may still be vulnerable.

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A recent study, commissioned by Lottoland.co.uk, has revealed that a significant portion of British adults have dabbled in gambling at some point in their lives, yet nearly half of them have never played popular card games like poker or blackjack. 

29% of Brits Cite Knowledge Gaps, Study Finds

The study, conducted on 2,000 adults, uncovered that 29% of respondents felt intimidated by the prospect of stepping into a casino. This intimidation primarily stemmed from a lack of understanding about betting games, deterring 37% of the participants from trying their luck.

Fear of being judged for not knowing the rules of a betting game (19%) and the anxiety of doing ‘the wrong thing’ (23%) were also cited as reasons for their apprehension. As a consequence, 29% expressed a preference for the comfort of online casinos, while only 18% favored physical ones.

The research exposed the gaps in knowledge among British adults. The study found that 23% of participants lacked a basic understanding of slot machines, while the same percentage was clueless about betting on horse racing. Additionally, 30% felt mystified by roulette, and 37% were out of their depth when it came to betting on boxing matches.

Surprisingly, while a large portion admitted their lack of gaming know-how, Brits showcased familiarity with simpler card games. For instance, 62% knew how to play a basic game of snap, and 61% were familiar with Solitaire. However, when confronted with the prospect of learning a new card game, a third expressed dread.

Study Reveals 32% Prefer Games Requiring Skills

Moreover, the study disclosed that 32% of those who had ventured into gambling preferred games that involved an element of skill, indicating a proclivity for strategic betting over chance-based games. Additionally, a whopping 45% of participants expressed a desire to visit iconic casinos like Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, highlighting a latent interest in the world of gambling.

A spokesperson for Lottoland’s casino noted, “It is interesting to see how many people believed they’d be a dab hand at poker if they just gave it a try. And for those who do think they’d have a secret mastery of card games but aren’t quite ready to hit the casinos, then dipping your toe in with an online version can be a great test of your skills.”

Intriguingly, even without experience, 34% believed their ability to remain calm would make them proficient at poker. Furthermore, 19% considered themselves adept at bluffing, a skill valuable in card games. Yet, 28% confessed their shortcomings in ‘reading’ other people, a disadvantage in games like Texas hold ’em.

Despite their hesitations, 23% found watching poker games entertaining, even if they were not card game aficionados themselves, as revealed by OnePoll data.

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As part of a new partnership with Aristocrat Gaming, the NFL will enjoy brand new series of slot games. These new machines will be introduced to casino floors at the beginning of the 2023 NFL season and just in time to ensure that the league’s profile amongst casual gamblers and sports fans improves.

Helping Build Better Brand Awareness

The NFL Super Bowl Jackpots – the first game – will be available as part of the new King Max cabinet, ensuring that players get access to some of the slickest and most worthwhile gameplay experiences. The NFL Super Bowl Jackpots is not going to be a standalone game, but rather a part of an entire series of titles, which will be released over time. NFL SVP of consumer products Joe Ruggiero had this to add:

The unveiling of the first NFL-themed slot machines represents an opportunity to bring the league closer to our fans in a new area.

FL SVP of consumer products Joe Ruggiero

Super Bowl Jackpots will give players a chance to win a $1 million progressive jackpot, which will be available through rich and exciting gameplay features. There are also excellent audio effects that include six licensed fan-favorite stadium anthems which will add to the mood and immersiveness of the entire experience.

Apart from Super Bowl Jackpots, Aristocrat Gaming and the NFL will also be delivering other machines throughout the year, and later – in 2024. Those machines include Overtime Cash, Super Bowl Link, NFL Kickoff, Winning Drive, and Rings of Victory, among others.

Aristocrat Gaming Excited about NFL’s Games Release

The initial game in the series is set to be unveiled at the beginning of the season around September 7. However, no firm date has been confirmed by Aristocrat Gaming nor the NFL just yet which means that the details are still being hammered out.

Aristocrat Gaming has the rights to the 32 teams in the NFL’s logos and it has already enjoyed a steady interest in the upcoming product. The original IP deal signed between the companies goes back 16 months and the slot machines will be available not just in the United States, but also in casinos all across the globe, further helping strengthen the NFL profile.

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Elon Musk’s ambitious plan to transform the popular social media platform Twitter into X, a versatile “everything app,” has faced a significant setback in Indonesia. The conservative Islamic state recently blocked access to the platform, citing concerns about content related to online gambling and explicit material.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in Indonesia confirmed the ban, explaining that the domain X.com had a history of associating with sites that violated the nation’s strict legal framework against offensive content, including gambling, pornography, and other objectionable material. Usman Kansong, the agency’s head of media and public relations, revealed that the government reached out to X to gain clarity on the site’s essence. As a result, the platform is currently inaccessible to Indonesians, even though it had an estimated 24 million users out of the country’s total population of 270 million.

Elon Musk’s decision to rebrand Twitter to X sparked considerable attention as he unveiled a new black background adorned with a striking white X, bidding farewell to the iconic bird name and logo. This move aimed to redefine the landscape of one of the most influential social media platforms and expand its functionalities to include financial transactions and banking services.

Indonesia has a history of blocking or threatening to block prominent websites, especially those that do not comply with the country’s strict content regulations. In 2022, authorities warned popular sites like Netflix, Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to provide details about the content on their platforms or face potential bans. Many platforms managed to avoid the prohibition by registering before the deadline.

The decision to block X was not an attack against Twitter itself, but rather a precautionary measure due to the association of the domain X.com with previously offensive content. Twitter has had gambling and sports betting content in the past, but it only became a target in Indonesia recently.

Given that Twitter remains accessible in Indonesia, there is a possibility that the ban on X.com could be lifted if Twitter can prove that the domain truly directs to their platform. However, the country’s history of blocking risque online content poses a dilemma for internet users, balancing concerns about freedom and religious aspects, considering Indonesia’s status as the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

As online censorship may not always succeed in its aims, tech-savvy users find ways to circumvent the restrictions by changing domain names or URLs. Despite the setback, X may have the opportunity to regain access to the Indonesian digital space by addressing the government’s concerns about objectionable content.

Elon Musk’s vision of transforming Twitter into X as an all-encompassing platform faces challenges in different regions, and Indonesia’s recent actions underscore the complexities of implementing such ambitious plans. As the situation unfolds, the future of X in Indonesia remains uncertain, and stakeholders will closely watch how the platform adapts to comply with the country’s strict regulations.

More casino & gambling news

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Acquisition target PointsBet sent a letter to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) this morning to request a trading halt of its stock due to a material announcement.

Disclosure Obligations

PointsBet requested the immediate implementation of a trading halt on its securities listed on the ASX to allow it to manage its continuous disclosure obligations in relation to a material transaction as per ASX Listing Rule 17.1.

The Australian-based sports betting operator is at the center of an acquisition tussle between the sports commercial giant with a huge appetite in the sports betting space, Fanatics, and the second-largest in terms of sports wagering market share in the US, DraftKings.

Last month, Fanatics thought they had wrapped up a $150 million deal to acquire the US assets of PointsBet as both sides agreed to the deal under the terms of which Fanatics would pay $100 million upon transaction close and the rest in February 2024. The nascent sportsbook went live in its second US state, Maryland, in early June.

On June 16, Boston-based sports betting and gaming operator DraftKings tabled a 30% higher bid, $195 million, for PointsBet USA and derailed the agreement between PointsBet and Fanatics. A recent media report also suggested that personal motives dating back to a failed merger deal in 2021 may exist behind the risky bid.

Upon receiving the proposal from DraftKings, PointsBet said its previous agreement with Fanatics was inferior and began looking into the new bid. There is one stumbling block in the proposal as it is subject to DraftKings obtaining regulatory approvals while PointsBet insists on a “hell or high water deal” deal.

Trading Halt for One Day

In its letter to the ASX, PointsBet requested that the trading halt remains in place until the company makes its announcement to the market but no later than the commencement of normal trading on June 28, 2023, meaning that trading with PointsBet stock should be suspended for no more than a trading day.

PointsBet concluded its letter by stating that the company “is not aware of any reason why the trading halt request should not be granted, nor of any other information necessary to inform the market about the trading halt.”

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One of the first sports betting brands to launch operations in Ontario, Coolbet, announced its decision to withdraw from the Canadian province due to the extremely competitive environment.

GAN’s sports betting brand Coolbet launched operations concurrently with the official market launch in Ontario in April last year, but is now set to become the first to leave, citing the extremely competitive market conditions.

In a recent blog post, Coolbet announced that the brand will stop operating in Ontario on April 3, 2023, advising its customers to withdraw their remaining funds as soon as possible. Coolbet also provided its players with a timetable, stating that all deposit options will be turned off on March 21 and that its casino and sportsbook will close by the end of the subsequent day, March 22.

“If you have a bet that cannot be settled by then because the outcome is still unknown, the bet will be voided and refunded,” the sportsbook told its customers, outlining that “this includes futures and in parlays, if any of the outcomes result is not known the part of that parlay will be voided and odds set to 1.00.”

As for active bonuses, Coolbet advised all players to complete the wagering requirements by March 22 but also told them that in case they could not, their bonus funds will be fully unlocked from the wagering requirements on March 23.

By the end of April 3, the operator intends to shut down its website and mobile app and stop operating in the Canadian province. It also recommended its customers switch to the online casino brand and Coolbet friend, Wildz.

Earlier in the year, the legal entity managing internet gaming in the Canadian province of Ontario, iGaming Ontario (iGO), revealed in its third-quarter report that the Ontario market had achieved significant growth, nearly doubled the previous quarter’s total wagers and generated 71% more revenue. iGO also stated that the number of active operators increased by 50%.

Only months into operations, the company stated that its start in Ontario had been slower than anticipated and that its future outlook in the province had been softened due to the competitive nature of the market. Currently, there are more than 70 iGaming operators in Ontario competing for a market share and further heightening the promotional aspect of the market.

Coolbet decided to withdraw from Ontario, focusing on maximizing profitability while assessing new regulated market opportunities that may provide good returns.

In January, Coolbet went live in Mexico in an asset-light launch relying heavily on local partnerships and sponsorships to make the country its tenth Latin American gaming jurisdiction.

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FIAU conducted an investigation that uncovered a serious need for an overhaul in Casino Malta’s internal procedures, especially ones concerning risk assessment, but other administrative shortcomings were also heavily outlined in the resulting report.

Multiple Breaches Established in FIAU Investigation

According to information from Malta Today, FIAU’s investigation found that the Eden Leisure Gaming-owned St Julian’s casino systematically failed in enhanced due diligence processes, especially with identifiable high-risk players. The report has it that this was evident in around 28% of the cases that FIAU reviewed during its investigation.

Another reason for the substantial €229,000 (approximately $242,500) fine was that Casino Malta breached several other laws, in addition to established regulations on risk assessments. This means that FIAU’s investigation and administrative fee will most likely be followed by multiple follow-up directives, which can also have consequences for the establishment.

FIAU’s investigation also uncovered that in around 20% of the profiles reviewed, the players were assigned a low or medium risk rating. This was despite their exhibiting behavior that can be a flag for high risk of money laundering, such as the size of the transactions, for example. 10% of the reviewed profiles didn’t have a permanent address, and 6% had given incorrect foreign addresses.

Another serious deficiency was that the casino often relied on self-reported information about its customers’ occupation details, with around 12% of the profiles providing only basic information. The same approach was extended to establishing the source of funds checks, without which a casino’s risk assessment practices can’t be adequate.

Examples of the Casino’s Risk Assessment Deficiencies

Multiple examples of the casino’s breaches were made public. A Turkish company chief executive was allowed to gamble more than €1 million (more than $1.06 million) all in cash from eight different banks and was assigned a low-risk status. Another player gambled more than €2 million ($2.12 million) and lost almost half of that and his SOF check consisted of establishing that his funds were coming from a reputable bank.

FIAU said that this was not sufficient for establishing the source of funds and only served as information about the flow of funds. This is a drastically insufficient approach to the risk assessment process, and there were multiple other instances where the casino’s risk assessment and due diligence came up short of what is legally required.

A former politically exposed person (PEP) was allocated a low-risk rating, which is incorrect. The PEP registered in 2015 and after the casino identified that he was allegedly involved in tax evasion and bribery in 2019, he was still allowed to gamble with large amounts of cash. FIAU added that the casino also failed to submit a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) for the case.

Another STR-related failing was with a business owner who owed €500,000 in unpaid taxes – a fact the casino was aware of – and was still assigned the low-risk rating by the casino in 2019. Such a large sum owed in back taxes can be indicative of possible tax evasion – another well-known fact. However, because of the casino’s insufficient customer risk assessment (CRA), an STR was not submitted.

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In September 2021, the regulator launched a thorough evaluation of Blue Star Planet Limited, the company behind the 10Bet brand, after an investigation uncovered that the operator had several substantial problems with anti-money laundering (AML) policies and responsible gambling. 10Bet has taken steps to remedy these shortcomings, which is why the UKGC agreed to a settlement instead of a fine.

AML and Safe Gambling Measures Were Ineffective

According to the UKGC’s public statement, Blue Star Planet Limited was responsible for several egregious license breaches between November 2019 and June 2021. An investigation and subsequent section 116 regulatory review found failings in the operator’s processes aimed at preventing Money Laundering and protecting vulnerable people. Commissioners also uncovered weaknesses in its reporting arrangements, which was a substantial aggravating factor.

Blue Star has accepted the UKGC’s findings and acknowledged its shortcomings. The company agrees that its measures to limit customer deposits and prevent overspending were too relaxed. AML risk alert limits were also too high to be effective, and many clients managed to deposit significant amounts before any risk profiling occurred. The regulator also noted that the automated restrictions meant to limit high-velocity gambling were largely inefficient.

The Regulator Urged Other Operators to Take Notice

The UKGC’s report listed several aggravating and mitigating factors which informed their final verdict. It stated that the breaches were serious and directly impacted licensing objectives. The operator’s shortcomings also likely affected clients outside the scope of the investigation. According to the Commission, Blue Star’s senior management should have been aware of these issues but did nothing to remedy them.

However, the regulator noted that 10Bet took extensive steps to mitigate the issues, recognized its failings early, and cooperated with the Commission, promoting a more lenient verdict. The UKGC claims this case should serve as an example for the wider industry and urged other operators to review their compliance procedures.

Gambling operators should take account of the failings identified in this investigation.

UKGC official statement regarding Blue Star Planet Limited

Despite the severity of the violations, 10Bet managed to get away relatively scot-free. The operator must pay £620,000, which will go towards socially responsible causes. An additional £3,571.25 will be necessary to cover the Commission’s expenses regarding the case, and Blue Star must consent to the publication of the case details.

Overall, the UK regulator has had a busy start to the new year. The Commission already fined three other operators for similar violations. Vbet and TonyBet received relatively minor punishments, while Touch Games got slapped with a hefty $7.5 million (£6.1 million) fine due to its continuous failings. Such sanctions may seem heavy-handed, but a proactive and potent regulator is necessary for a healthy gaming ecosystem.

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