Most of the recent casino and sports betting expansion has been focused on the United States but we have some news from South America. We’ll start there as we recap this week’s headlines:
Online Casinos, Sports Betting Making Their Way To Peru
Online casinos have mixed access in Latin America but now one country is moving ahead with it. Peru just announced that there will be online sportsbooks and online casinos coming soon, which comes on the heels of a new law that just got passed by Congress regarding a tax rate on the industry. At the moment, nobody is quite sure which operators are interested in the Peru market right now. Some expectations are that Caesars Entertainment and MGM could be first movers in the space.
There wasn’t much opposition to getting this implemented in Peru as the measure got a result of near unanimous approval straight away. Part of this launch is a keen focus on responsible gaming rules to help their residents stay safe while gambling.
Peru is the home to roughly 32.8 million people, just under the total population of the state of California. This could wind up being a successful market for whichever operator decides to jump in. On top of Peru, Brazil and Columbia have taken steps to legalize gambling in their own countries. We’ll see if all of the other neighboring countries decide to follow suit.
Man Pulls Out A Gun On Dealer In Washington State Casino
There is always a concern that irresponsible gamblers will cross boundaries and a player in Washington State did exactly that.
A dealer at The Point Casino in Kingston feared for his life when a player pulled a gun out at the table. The man has been identified as a 24-year-old but no name has been released to the public at the moment. The man was already cut off from consuming alcohol and some witnesses say that he was slumped over at the table when the casino restricted his alcohol access. The police say that he had a blood alcohol level of 0.332.
The man continued to demand drinks but the dealer reminded him that he had been cut off for the time being. This was when the gun game out and became pointed it at the dealer. Luckily, the situation was diffused and nobody was injured during this situation.
For now, it isn’t known if the man had been losing a lot of money gambling throughout the night, which could have been a previous trigger to consuming that much alcohol. The police reported that the man refuted any claim that he pointed the gun at the dealer but video evidence pointed to the contrary. He was then shown a surveillance video of himself in the act, to which he simply put his head down and stopped talking. He is currently being charged with second-degree assault and the unlawful possession of a firearm.
Caesars Entertainment Set To Open Revamped Poker Room, Sportsbook
Caesars Entertainment has made some major renovations to a key property of theirs in Louisiana. The company announced that they will be bringing in a brand-new sportsbook along with a World Series of Poker Room over at Harrah’s New Orleans. Both are expected to release to the public this fall.
The poker room just underwent a $325 million transformation. It is now a 5,000-square-foot room with 20 poker tables. All of these will feature the WSOP branding as well.
When they do finally open up, it is worth noting that this poker room isn’t going to be open 24/7 for guests. The room will remain open from 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Sunday through Thursday. Then the hours will change to 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Nonetheless, this should attract more action as the previous poker and sportsbook offering felt very faded.
