Another week filled with developments from the gambling industry, with the most notable events of the week having to do with asset sales and an ongoing feud at one of the largest US sports betting operators. This is the week in review.

Penn Entertainment has clapped back at claims by HG Vora, an activist investor, who issued a 116-page presentation to shareholders last week in which it outlined alleged transgression of the current company leadership.

This week, Penn took the opportunity to respond to those claims, arguing that they were largely spurious and misleading.

HG Vora and Penn have been at each other’s throats over the style of management exercised by the operator of ESPN Bet, a chronically underperforming sports betting platform which may be on the brink of no return, according to the activist investor.

Penn has flatly denied the accusations of running the business by offering overly-generous pay packages to its executives or using corporate jets for private errands. Those, the company said, made for good news headlines, but did poorly reflect the objective reality.

Playtech made another step in divesting its business-to-consumer assets in Germany, having agreed to sell the Happybet brand to a local operator, pferdwetten.de AG. The deal is still subject to customary regulatory approvals as well as closing conditions.

Playtech is divesting from the vertical, hoping to focus instead on what it believes to do best – developing cutting-edge software and solutions for the gambling industry instead.

Pferdwetten.de AG has been given the opportunity to acquire hardware units as well as the existing assets of the company, should it choose to. The price tag of the deal has not been specified.

Business and finance

Sweepstakes are a big part of this week’s news, with several important developments worth your attention. For starters, VGW, the operator of brands such as Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Global Poker, has confirmed that it will discontinue its Sweeps Coins currency in the state of New York.

The company will keep in place its Gold Coins offer, which cannot be redeemed for real money prizes, instead, as it faces mounting challenges in the Empire State. Sweeps Coins functionalities will be gradually phased out until August 1, 2025, when they will no longer be available in any capacity.

VGW has been attacked in other jurisdictions as well, as discontent with the sweepstakes sector in the United States spearheaded by gambling industry stakeholders is mounting.

At the same time, Montana has become the first US state to outlaw sweepstakes entirely, prompting stern criticism from industry bodies

The Social and Promotional Gaming Alliance (SPGA) has blasted the state, arguing that it had just banned "something that it didn’t understand." Montana is de facto the first state to go that far in 2025, after multiple others, among which are Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, and Florida, failed to act.

As these events have unfolded, Connecticut’s Senate has similarly pushed forward with a bill that similarly seeks to ban sweepstakes, putting the state on track to become a second jurisdiction that outlaws the operations directly.

In the meantime, Thailand is moving forward with plans to introduce its first casino resorts, called "entertainment complexes" locally.

Anything between five and seven foreign bidders have expressed interest in the future projects, based on comments made by Julapun Amornvivat, the country’s Deputy Finance Minister.

Responsible gambling

Responsible gambling remains a crucial part of Casino Guru News’ media coverage, with several interesting and noteworthy developments this week.

First off, the Wyoming Gaming Commission has issued a warning to players to avoid playing at gambling websites that have not been regulated locally in the state, arguing that the commission could not offer any customer protections in those cases.

There has been a proliferation of such websites that have repeatedly taken advantage of local players by offering them mostly iGaming products such as slots and other casino games, which are nevertheless not allowed in the state.

At the same time, Japan is facing growing demand for online wagers, with sports betting generating an estimated $45bn according to a new survey. The amount was bet on various sports with foreign and overseas sportsbooks in 2024 alone, and the betting handle is set to increase once again.

Despite this trend, Japan has little appetite for actually legalizing sports gambling, even though the country is pushing forward with one integrated resort, and two other projects now being discussed more frequently.

In the meantime, a new study has suggested that periods of extended sleeplessness are not necessarily tied to a higher frequency of gambling. The study concluded that after 18 hours of sleep, there was indeed very little difference between how players gambled at 3 am and 6 pm.

The voice of the industry

This week, Casino Guru News took a look behind the scenes of the Casino Guru Awards 2025, and the hard work behind the event.

The Casino Guru Awards received more than 300 submissions that were reviewed by a panel of 30 judges who worked painstakingly to distinguish the most deserving entrants across seven categories.

You can find out more about the evaluation process this year by visiting the full breakdown article here. The winners will be announced during the inaugural in-person ceremony on Friday, June 6, 2025, at the stunning Hotel Hilton in St. Julian's, Malta.

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