Morm Rithy, who is one of the leaders in Cambodia’s labor movement, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for a Facebook post he used to criticize the treatment of a casino worker.  

Union Leader Rithy Faces Legal Battle Over Facebook Critique

Rithy who is also the president of the Cambodian Tourism and Service Workers’ Federation (CTSWF) and the vice president of the Cambodian Labor Confederation (CLC) was charged with incitement and discrediting judicial decisions, reported The Camboja News. 

The reason behind the charges is a Facebook post from February 24, 2022, with which Rithy expressed concerns about the arrest of Morm Sreyleak, a female employee at the Jin Bei 2 casino, and questioned the legitimacy of her being detained. He also called for more transparency in the judicial proceedings. As a result, the Chinese-owned Jin Bei Group filed a complaint against him.

Following prolonged legal proceedings, Rithy was arrested on May 7 this year outside the offices of CLC in Phnom Penh. Scheduling conflicts prevented Rithy from attending the hearing and the verdict was pronounced in his absence. 

Cambodian Rights Groups Decry Union Leader’s Sentence

Licadho and other human rights groups have spoken against Rithy’s prison sentences. The have labeled the imprisonments an attempt to scare labor unions and thwart their activist operations. 

The incident is part of a wider crackdown on activists and union leaders in Cambodia. A couple of days before Rithy’s arrest Cambodia’s Supreme Court confirmed the verdict of Chhim Sithar who is also a labor unionist and several other individuals who organized a strike at NagaWorld Casino.

Cambodia has faced criticism that such activities undermine its reputation as a democratic state and violate fundamental freedoms. The Cambodian government has stated that it abides by the law, however, it is still the subject of allegations of politically motivated prosecutions and judicial harassment.

Cambodia has a history of authoritarian governance including former Prime Minister Hun Sen. Against this backdrop the country is still struggling to uphold democratic values and protect human rights and the freedom of speech. Despite a change in leadership, observers have yet to witness significant improvements in the country’s human rights landscape.

Following Rithy’s arrest and prison sentence, fellow union leaders and activists have vouched for his release. They see the incident as a threat to the labor movement‘s ability to advocate for workers’ rights.

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Joseph Garrison, one of the youths who staged cyber fraud involving DraftKings Sportsbook accounts in 2022, has pleaded guilty, accepting an 18-month prison sentence.

The 19-year-old was involved in a credential surfing attack. Along with other conspirators Garrison exploited system vulnerabilities to steal $600,000 from DraftKings users whose credentials had been stolen in other data breaches.

In total, over 1,600 sports betting accounts were affected. Garrison allegedly bragged to friends about the cyberattack, telling them that “fraud is fun.”

The cyberattack not only hurt many victims but also undermined confidence in DraftKings’ ability to protect its customers. As a result, the young man had to receive a sentence that reflected the caliber of the crime. According to attorney Damian Williams, “The sentencing underscores the urgent need for vigilance and the critical importance of our collective efforts in combating cyber threats and safeguarding digital integrity.”

Garrison Will Spend 3 Years on Supervised Release

As mentioned, Garrison is set to serve 18 months in prison. Following that, he will spend three years on supervised release.

In addition to his time in prison, Garrison will have to pay $1.3 million in restitution and $175,000 in forfeiture.

The DraftKings incident, however, is not the only time Garrison has been involved in legal trouble. The young man currently has a legal matter in Wisconsin where he allegedly used Bitcoin to pay another party that would call in several bomb threats to his school.

Two of Garrison’s Co-Conspirators Were Arraigned

In the meantime, Nathan Austad and Kamerin Stokes, two of Garrison’s alleged conspirators, were just arrested and arraigned. The latter allegedly paid Garrison to gain access to DraftKings Sportsbook accounts and then re-sold them online.

Austad, on the other hand, leveraged artificial intelligence to promote a shop of stolen user accounts. In addition to that, he allegedly managed cryptocurrency wallets that received approximately $465,000 in proceeds from credential-stuffing attacks and the sale of compromised data.

As a result of their alleged participation in the conspiracy, the two youths risk up to 20 years in prison.

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The Primorye Gambling Area in Russia reported that tourism is experiencing a slight recovery although foreign tourism is yet to fully pick up. Despite that, the visitation figures far outclassed those recorded in 2022, attesting to the region’s post-COVID recovery.

The Gambling Area is located in Russia’s Primorsky Krai, a coastal territory in the Far Eastern Federal District. During the first nine months of the year, the region’s Primorye Gambling Area welcomed some 3.1 million visitors, which represents a 16% year-on-year increase.

The zone’s tourism agency added that an overwhelming majority of these people (2 million) have arrived in the third quarter.

The zone is still to reach the level of international appeal the Primorsky Krai hopes it to as only 56,000 of the tourists were foreigners. While this figure may seem underwhelming at first glance, it should be noted that this number is still 10 times higher than the one recorded during the prior year period.

While foreign visitation is on the rise, experts believe that it will continue to be impeded by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the multiple sanctions and restrictions imposed on Russia.

Primorye Gambling Area on Track to Hitting 2023 Visitation Targets

In any case, the visitation figures are slowly returning to their pre-pandemic state. For reference, the Primorye Gambling Area welcomed 5 million people in 2019 and 4.5 million in 2018.

The visitation figures reported by the tourism agency show that the region is on track to reach its 2023 target of 3.5 million visitors. This would be 500,000 people more than those recorded in 2022.

In the meantime, Russia continues to develop the Primorye Gambling Area, hoping to further bolster its appeal. The zone seeks to capitalize on the thirst for gambling in the region by providing premium casino Gambling.

As of the time of this writing, the location sports two casinos, notably Tigre de Cristal and Shambala. The Primorye Gambling Area is set to have more casinos but the war in Ukraine caused setbacks that led to the suspension of NagaCorp’s casino project in the region. In the meantime, Asia-Invest Group is currently working on another casino property.

The final version of the Gambling Area should have around a dozen casino hotels, shopping centers, exhibition galleries and Gambling centers.

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The leading sports-tech entertainment company, FanDuel Group, announced the launch of two new features, strengthening significantly its basketball offerings. The company said Thursday that it introduced its new product innovation called “The Pulse” along with a new feature called NBA League Pass.

The new NBA League Pass feature builds upon FanDuel’s successful partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA). Previously, the sportsbook was named the official sports betting partner of the Association. Ultimately, the new features seek to elevate the experiences for basketball fans and bettors alike, offering options for wagering on out-of-market games as well as betting on key moments in real-time.

Between October 19 and October 26, new users will be able to access three complimentary months of NBA League Pass as well as $200 in Bonus Bets as long as they register and place a $5 wager. NBA League Pass can also be accessed by existing customers of the sportsbook that wager $5 on the NBA. Basketball fans who are currently a part of the NBA’s global membership program, NBA ID, can tap into exciting unique benefits, FanDuel explained. The latest announcement designated FanDuel as the only US betting operator that offers NBA League Pass.

The Sportsbook Is Committed to Offering Unrivaled Experiences

In addition to NBA League Pass, the betting operator uncovered details regarding its new curated experience, The Pulse. According to FanDuel, the new feature is available via its homepage icon Live Now for some of the most popular basketball games. “As the action unfolds, new bets will be added to the feed in a narrative-driven format, offering fans a simple and streamlined path to discover what is happening in a game in real-time,” reveals FanDuel. This innovative feature is expected to further propel the experiences for basketball fans and bettors alike, granting them more betting options.

“FanDuel is committed to offering the top sportsbook product on the market and elevating the entertainment experience for fans this NBA season.“

Mike Raffensperger, chief commercial officer at FanDuel

Mike Raffensperger, FanDuel’s chief commercial officer, explained that the company remains committed to offering unrivaled experiences thanks to its new products for fans of basketball. He explained that FanDuel is thrilled to leverage its successful partnership with the NBA and deliver unique moments and entertaining experiences for basketball fans.

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Française des Jeux (FDJ), the leading Frech lottery operator, released its latest trading update Thursday, revealing insights regarding its performance for the third quarter and first nine months of the year. Overall, the reported revenue for the third quarter of this year halted at €586 million ($620.5 million). This result, when compared to the corresponding period in 2022, represented a decrease of 1%.

On the other hand, group revenue for the first nine months of the year through the end of September soared to €1.88 billion ($1.99 billion). This result, when compared to the reported revenue for the first nine months of 2022 marked a growth of 3.9%.

According to the recent report, lottery revenue hit €1.41 billion ($1.49 billion) for the first nine months of the year. This result marked a year-over-year decrease of 1.2%. However, FDJ explained that excluding Euromillions and Amigo shows revenue growth of 3%.

The revenue reported by online gaming and sports betting increased exponentially, hitting €360 million ($381.2 million), a result that represented 9.3% growth. The company said that this increase is “in line with growth in stakes.” While the online segment was impacted positively by the gained momentum for the FIFA World Cup near the end of last year, the pace slowed down during the third quarter of this year.

The Company Anticipates Further Growth

Stéphane Pallez, FDJ’s CEO and chairwoman, praised the latest results, explaining that the company enjoys growth, pushed by strong demand from its growing customer base. She spoke about the strategic acquisition of ZEturf, dating back to September, as well as the upcoming closing of the acquisition of Premier Lotteries Ireland planned for November. Finally, Pallez said: “We are delighted that the teams of these two operators are joining FDJ and that these operations will contribute to the Group’s sustainable and profitable growth.”

“Our growth remains solid, with strong players’ demand, even though it has been affected by the low number of Euromillions high jackpot draws.“

Stéphane Pallez, chairwoman and CEO of FDJ Group

The strategic takeover of ZEturf along with its horse betting business enabled FDJ to strengthen its position in the sports betting and online gaming market in France. As a result, the company became the fourth largest operator in the country with a market share of more than 10%.

FDJ’s latest report uncovered details regarding its expectations throughout 2023. The company confirmed that it anticipates seeing revenue growth of some 5% or between 1.5% and 2% on a like-for-like basis. In Q4, FDJ anticipates seeing growth in lottery sales, as well as strong performance within the online gaming and sports betting vertical.

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After months of the world waiting to learn who the lucky player was, the man who bought a record-breaking $2.04Bn Powerball lottery ticket in November has finally come forward after three months to claim his massive winnings. Lottery winners have one year to come forward or they lose the money forever.

Edwin Castro bought his ticket at a gas station in Altadena, California, and has been flying below the radar and out of the public eye since the winning numbers were announced. On Tuesday, California Lottery Director Alva Johnson said that Castro had won the “unbelievable and historic” prize after the jackpot continued to grow drawing after drawing last fall and as each drawing passed, no winning jackpot numbers were announced.

Winner Takes All

He won’t have to share the prize with other players as he was the only ticket buyer that week who matched all five regular numbers plus the all-important Powerball to make a little piece of paper worth billions of dollars.

Rather than speak in public about the win, Castro released a statement that he was “shocked and ecstatic,” and that he was happy to learn that California public schools were also big winners in the draw.

The California public school system from kindergartens to universities collected a whopping $156.3 million from the lottery pool in addition to Castro taking home the jackpot, Johnson said.

Castro commented: “As someone who received the rewards of being educated in the California public education system, it’s gratifying to hear that as a result of my win, the California school system greatly benefits as well,” according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

Rather than collecting yearly disbursements for the entire amount over a 30-year period via an annuity, Castro chose the “lump-sum” option which amounted to almost $1 billion ($997.6b), according to lottery officials.

Since neither he nor lottery officials revealed any more about the winner than his name, we would have to assume he resides in California in order to figure out how much he might net in the end. California doesn’t tax lottery winnings but some states do.

The IRS via the Lottery automatically withholds 24% of big winnings with the winner being subject to as much as 13% more for a total tax hit of 37%. The initial tax would have left him with $758.2 million. The top U.S. tax rate is 37% in total, so his take-home would be $634,785,984. If he lives in another state that taxes lottery winnings he could take another hit of 3% to more than 10% of the win.

Nice work if you can get it!

With that much “found money” it’s no wonder Castro chose to “largely remain private.” California law only requires that his name and how he chose to be paid – lump sum or annuity, be revealed.

California public schools were not the only collateral winners alongside Castro. Retailers who sell winning jackpot tickets are also awarded .5% of the jackpot value with a cap of $1,000,000 and the owner of Joe’s Mobile Service in Altadena has already collected his million-dollar check.

The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are about one in 292.2 million. The jackpot was hit seven times in 2022.

California lottery spokesperson, Carolyn Becker, said at a press conference at state lottery headquarters in Sacramento Tuesday: “This is a history-making day here at the California Lottery. Edwin Castro shares in our love for California public schools on this Valentine’s Day — couldn’t be more fitting.”

Source: Winner of record $2-billion Powerball jackpot announced, Los Angeles Times, February 14, 2023

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