california – Bookielink

October 16, 2024

Tribes: Sweepstakes the latest threat to sovereignty, exclusivity

Angry and concerned that sweepstakes operators are another existential threat to sovereignty and gaming exclusivity, Indian Country is gearing up for a fight.
“This falls squarely on the tribes again,” Victor Rocha, editor of Pechanga.net, said during his weekly webinar on Wednesday (16 October). “If they don’t react, no one will. We thought it was over, but here we go again. We’re not saying you can’t come into California, we’re just saying that you have to do it through the tribes.

“We will take on that fight anytime, anywhere, anyhow. It’s brand new, it’s right on our platter and we’ll address it.”

Rocha, who hosts the ‘New Normal’, was joined by California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) chairman James Siva and National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) executive director Jason Giles. A week removed from the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) where sweepstakes were the talk of the industry, Rocha opened by sharing his anger and frustration that another group of “unlicensed” and “..

October 15, 2024

Presidential politics could alter gambling expansion landscape in multiple states including Texas

Three weeks from today, US voters will elect a new president. Whoever the winner is, there's likely to be a change in the gambling political landscape in multiple states.
Should Donald Trump become president, there are at least two states – Arkansas and Texas – that could be most affected when it comes to gambling expansions. And if Kamala Harris wins the election, there are another two states in which change could moderately affect the current gambling climate.

Trump could tap Texas governor Greg Abbott or lieutenant-governor Dan Patrick for his cabinet. Either one of those appointments is a potential game changer in the second-biggest state in the US. And in Arkansas, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is a former Trump White House press secretary, so it seems possible that she would be on a short list for another appointment.

Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, is the current governor of Minnesota. Walz has been supportive of an expansion of gambling and that likely wouldn’t chan..

October 8, 2024

G2E: California betting initiative could be as soon as 2026, but “probably” 2028

Two years after a pair of California legal sports betting initiatives lost in spectacular fashion, a key tribal leader teases what's coming next and when.
On Tuesday (8 October) James Siva, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, said that Indian Country is restarting discussions about what a tribal legal sports betting initiative would look like. As for timing, he said “maaaaaybe 2026, but probably 2028,” at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas.

Siva was on a panel titled ‘Tribal Sovereignty and Sports Betting: A Delicate Balance’. He was joined by Washington Indian Gaming Association chair Rebecca George, Minnesota Indian Gaming Association executive director Andy Platto and Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association board chairman Matt Morgan. Indian Gaming Association convention chair Victor Rocha moderated the panel.

California would be the biggest online gaming market in the US and the fight to legalise sports betting has been fierce and protracted. It ..

August 30, 2024

State of the Union: California sports betting scandal, BlueBet exit, proposed MD regs

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.
Another California illegal bookie pleads
On Monday (26 August) professional poker player Damien LeForbes agreed to plead guilty to running an illegal sportsbook in California. His business is likely tied to Mathew Bowyer’s. Bowyer is the illegal California bookmaker who took wagers from former Shohei Ohtani interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. Bowyer last month agreed to plead guilty to multiple federal counts

Both operated illegal sportsbooks in Los Angeles and Orange counties in California and Clark County, Nevada.

LeForbes, according to Legal Sports Report, wagered $148 million at “Casino A”, as it is referred to in court documents. It’s possible that casino is Resorts World. A May Nevada Current story said he owed Resorts World $12.3 million. Resorts World was identified as a casino at which Bowyer laundered illeg..

August 19, 2024

Weekend Report: FBI takes action in DC and the “Drake Curse” strikes again

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB covers the news that you may have missed over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week, we look at an FBI arrest in DC, as well as a California bill that would allow tribes to sue cardrooms.
FBI takes DC Councilman Trayon White into custody
DC Councilman Trayon White was arrested by the FBI on Sunday (18 August) afternoon, according to the City Paper. White will be charged on Monday (19 August), although what the charges are have not yet been disclosed.

In 2019, the DC Council approved legal sports betting and gave lottery operator Intralot the sole-source contract. White was absent on the day of the 2019 vote. He voted to approve the FY2025 budget that opened the market earlier this year.

Bill that would allow tribes to sue CA cardrooms moves
A bill that would allow California’s tribes to directly sue cardrooms moved forward late last week. The assembly’s appropriations committee voted, 14-0, to send the bill to the floor for a full vote. It’..

August 5, 2024

Bowyer allegedly had 700+ illegal betting customers, washed money through Las Vegas and California casinos

Court documents reveal that alleged illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer had more than 700 customers, washed money through multiple casinos and used Costa-Rican betting websites in his business.
On 1 August, Bowyer was charged on three counts. He is accused of running an illegal bookmaking scheme, laundering money and filing a false tax return. Bowyer, according to court documents, will plead guilty Friday before Judge John W Holcomb at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Santa Ana, California.

Bowyer’s business was based out of Orange and Los Angeles counties in California and Clark County in Las Vegas. Sports betting is illegal in California.

Bowyer faces a maximum sentence of 18 years in prison and three years of probation. He could be fined $750,000 or two times the “gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offences” – whichever is higher.

Mizuhara, two pro ballplayers linked to Bowyer
According to the court documents, it is unclear when Bowyer sta..

August 2, 2024

Mizuhara bookie Mathew Bowyer charged in illegal California wagering ring, set to plead guilty

Mathew Bowyer, an illegal bookmaker with deep connections to Las Vegas’ gambling scene, is set to plead guilty in a high-profile betting case involving a former interpreter for Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Bowyer is charged with multiple counts of illegal gambling activities. Among these charges are running an unlicensed sportsbook, filing a false tax return and money laundering. According to a US department of justice notice, federal prosecutors have outlined a case demonstrating that Bowyer facilitated and profited from a large-scale illegal sports betting ring, which implicated various figures in the sports world.

The illegal southern California wagering ring involved high-profile clients, including athletes and executives.

Most notable among those figures was Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. He pleaded guilty in June to bank fraud and filing a false tax return. He has to return to court in October for sentencing.

If convicted, Bowyer could face up ..

June 4, 2024

Mizuhara pleads guilty to stealing $17m from Ohtani to pay gambling debt

On Tuesday (4 June) morning, former Shohei Ohtani interpreter Ippei Mizuhara pled guilty to two federal counts of stealing $17m from Ohtani. Mizuhara fell hard and fast into gambling debt with an illegal bookmaker. His sentencing is set for 25 October.

Mizuhara, wearing a dark suit with an untucked shirt and no tie, told Judge John A Holcomb: “I worked for Victim A and had access to his accounts. I had fallen into major gambling debt. The only way I could think of to pay that was to send money from Victim A’s account” to the illegal bookmaker.

Mizuhara then pled guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a fraudulent tax return. The maximum penalty for the charges is 33 years in prison and a $1.5m fine. Tuesday’s proceedings took place at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Court House in Santa Ana, California. Previous court appearances were at the Roybal federal complex in downtown Los Angeles.

From here, the court and US Probation Office will put toge..

June 3, 2024

What if Ippei Mizuhara had started betting with a legal operator in a legal market?

Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara bet millions with an illegal bookie. His addiction bloomed fast. Could he have been slowed or helped if he'd been wagering with a legal operator?

US operators have many checkpoints in place that may have indicated Mizuhara had or was developing an addiction problem. And none would have extended Mizuhara credit to gamble.

But the short answer, according to a recovering addict turned addiction counselor, is that none of that would have mattered. The best efforts by legal operators are no match for addiction.

“To a (addicted) bettor, none of those are a deterrent,” said Dave Yeager, who overcame a gambling addiction and is now a recovery counsellor. “In the throes of an addiction, when the addiction is at its highest, when the next bet is so all-consuming, then nothing else matters…. There’s just not a whole lot of things that are going to stop you from doing it.”

At its height, addiction is overpowering

Yeager, who works ..

May 9, 2024

Ex-MGM exec Sibella gets probation, $9,500 fine in money laundering case

Wearing a navy blazer and a sombre expression, Scott Sibella said he was sorry. Minutes later, US District Court Judge Dolly M Gee sentenced Sibella to 12 months probation, a $9,500 fine and a $100 special assessment. And so ended the legal portion of Sibella's part in the Wayne Nix illegal gambling ring.

Sibella was sentenced late Wednesday afternoon in the US District Court for the Central District of California.

The lightly attended event was speedy and without drama. Sibella was found guilty of one count of failing to file a suspicious activity report while employed by MGM Grand. He gave Nix, a known illegal bookmaker, $120,000 in exchange for a casino marker.

Sibella, the first to be sentenced in a wide-reaching federal investigation around Nix, stood, head slightly bowed during the 18-minute sentencing.

When he was allowed to speak, he said this: “I want to apologise to the court, my family, my friends, the casino industry. Committing this crime has turned my life ups..

March 28, 2024

IGA executive director confident of California sports betting with tribal help

Jason Giles, executive director of the Indian Gaming Association (IGA), believes there could yet be online sports betting in California, although he also believes the help of tribes is vital to any legalisation.

Another attempt to legalise sports betting in California failed in January after two ballots aiming to grant tribes exclusive rights were scrapped following fierce tribal opposition in the state.

Eagle1 Acquisitions Corp, the group of backers for a proposition to legalise sports betting in California, had made several amendments to its ballot initiative in December in a bid to gain increased tribal support, however the efforts ultimately failed.

In response, the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) stated the failure should serve as a warning against future attempts to legalise sports betting in the state without tribal involvement.

Jason Giles, Executive director of the indian gaming association, sees operator engagement with the tribes as a positive

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Tag: california