The Associated Press reported that Washington has sanctioned the KNA, as well as its leader Colonel Saw Chit Thu.

Myanmar Militia: Casino and Scam Center Allegations

The Treasury also sanctioned the leader’s sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit. Washington says the groups have helped run criminal networks that have caused chaos across Southeast Asia.

The sanctions will see banks freeze US-based assets linked to the Saw family and the KNA. They also prevent American citizens from engaging in business operations with the militia.

The Treasury claims the KNA has run cyber scams that have caused harm to US citizens. The militia is also involved in human trafficking and cross-border smuggling, the Treasury added.

US think tanks have been publishing allegations about KNA’s operations in Myanmar, particularly in the city of Shwe Kokko, for several years.

The city, in Myawaddy District, was built between 2017 and 2020. It features Yatai New City, named for the construction firm Yatai.

AP wrote: “Criminal syndicates in the area have reportedly forced hundreds of thousands of people, including foreigners, into labor at online scam centers that operate romance frauds, fake investment pitches, and illegal gambling operations.”

The KNA says that it leases land to international companies that operate a range of facilities in Shwe Kokko.

In a BBC report published in February this year, Yatai told a journalist that “rich people from many countries” rent villas in the city, from which they run hotels and casinos.

However, Washington says that the city is also home to scam operations that generate billions in illicit revenue for crime syndicates. The Treasury says that workers are often lured to Karen State under false pretenses.

Karen National Army: US Is Trying to Bully Myanmar

AP quoted a KNA spokesperson as stating that Washington was trying to bully a weaker nation with its sanctions package.

The spokesperson conceded that some scam centers operated in areas controlled by the KNA. But the KNA said it was working with the Myanmar armed forces to shut down these centers.

It said it had repatriated over 7,000 Thai workers during a February crackdown. And it said it was working on scores of similar cases. But the KNA admitted that some 10,000 people remain unaccounted for in the areas it controls.

Yatai told the BBC in February that scam operators have been forced out of Shwe Kokko. The firm has reportedly told residents that it will not tolerate forced labour or “online businesses.”

However, the BBC said that it was “quietly told by local people that the scam business was still running.”

An Australian casino operator in the city told the same media outlet that online gambling was “the main business in Shwe Kokko.”

‘Criminal Empires’

In 2022, the Washington-backed United States Institute for International Peace claimed that the KNA “reaps massive profits from growing criminal empires” in the areas it controls.

The think tank claimed that the city’s architects have abandoned plans for a large network of casinos in favor of scam compounds and “zones designed without physical casinos.”

Formerly known as the Karen Border Guard Force, the 7,000-soldier strong KNA reportedly has battalions stationed in Hlaingbwe, Hpapun, Myawaddy, and Kyainseikgyi.

Shwe Kokko sits on the west bank of the Moei River, which separates Myanmar from Thailand. The Thai police force has recently announced plans to combat tech-related crimes and human trafficking in border areas.

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This marked the highest monthly handle for Washington, D.C. since it shifted to an open market last July.

The record total coincided with the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, which were primarily dominated by the top teams. On the men’s side, all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four for the first time since 2008 and just the second time ever.

Meanwhile, the women’s Final Four was comprised of three No. 1 seeds and No. 2 seed UConn, which won its record 12th national championship.

FanDuel Head of the Pack in DC for March

FanDuel led all DC sportsbooks with a $42.5 million handle in March. Customers won $39.2 million in prizes and payouts, resulting in a 7.7% hold for the month.

By comparison, FanDuel paid out $23.2 million the previous month from $27.5 million in bets, which equalled a 15.8% hold.

DraftKings posted the second-highest DC handle for March at $17.8 million, with $16.1 million in prizes and payouts and a 9.6% hold.

Third in line was Caesars, which accepted $10.6 million in wagers. It reported a 1.41% hold behind $10.5 million in prizes and payouts.

BetMGM ($6.9 million handle) and Fanatics ($6 million handle) are the two other online operators in DC.

FanDuel also had the highest number of wagers in March with 1.4 million, ahead of DraftKings (1.1 million). Caesars was third with 280,323 total wagers, followed by Fanatics (189,913) and BetMGM (120,304).

Ever-Changing Landscape

Gambet DC held an online monopoly over DC online betting before the app was shut down in April 2024. GambetDC — which infamously malfunctioned during Super Bowl 56 between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams, resulting in a $500,000 settlement with the DC Lottery — was often criticized because of technological glitches and poor odds.

FanDuel, which already ran a retail sportsbook at Audi Field and had marketing agreements with some local professional sports franchises, including the NFL’s Washington Commanders, took over as DC’s official sports gambling app.

City residents could previously only bet on sports via the GambetDC app, physical kiosks, or brick-and-mortar sportsbooks.

In 2023, GambetDC’s final full year of operation, the platform accounted for just 58% of wagers placed in DC. That represented a 10% increase over the previous year but fell short of expectations as the only operator with district-wide mobile sports betting. 

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The games – Birds of Pay, Buffalo Gold Collection, Wild Lepre’Coins and Wild Panda Gold – are the first in the state provided by Aristocrat Technologies, a subsidiary of Aristocrat Leisure, on the TLS platform.

The deal is thanks to the Tulalip Tribe of Washington sponsoring Aristocrat’s entrance into the TLS market, enabling the company to sell its cabinets and games in the Evergreen State.

“We are excited for the Tulalip/Aristocrat partnership and what it means to the Washington market,” said Don Hegnes, Tulalip Resort Casino slots director.

“Aristocrat has established solid product performance and will bring a superior library of content for our guests’ enjoyment.”

“Tulalip Resort Casino and Quil Ceda Creek Casino are excited to be the first properties to introduce Aristocrat cabinets and games into the Washington market,” added Belinda Hegnes, Quil Ceda Creek Casino slots director.

“Since the first install, our guests continue to embrace the product,” she said .

Siobhan Lane, SVP for marketing and gaming operations at Aristocrat, added: “We are very excited to bring these new games to Tulalip, Quil Ceda, and Washington state.

“We have worked diligently to create new games based on player-favourite titles that fully comply with TLS regulations, and we are grateful to the Tulalip Tribe of Washington for their sponsorship and encouragement throughout this process.”

The games are the first in a series of titles Aristocrat intends to roll out in the state. “Our product road map is strong and includes many titles from our core product portfolio that players enjoy,” continued Lane.

“We are committed to the Washington market and are excited to support our customers with a wide range of player-favorite titles.”

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Wilna van Wyk

A Washington jury has ordered social casino company High 5 Games to pay $24.9 million in damages to state players. 

The plaintiffs brought the case against High 5 Games after a court ruling last year found that its social casino business model violated Washington gambling state regulations.

A social casino model allows players to play slot titles using virtual chips instead of cash. Typically, these games are free to play, but players have the option to buy additional chips should they run out. 

Although virtual chips can not be converted into cash, plaintiffs argued they still held value because they allowed players to extend their playtime. The court and jury agreed, leading to a hefty fine. 

High 5 must pay $24,940,366, comprised of $18 million in damages directly relating to money lost on the company’s products and an additional $7 million in damages. 

High 5’s Targeting of “Whales”

Evidence provided to the jury showed that High 5 targeted customers classified as high-risk in the Evergreen State. These were classified as users prone to losing significant amounts of money on the site, dubbed “whales” by the social casino operator. 

One user had told High 5 that they had developed a gambling addiction and needed restrictions applied to their account. Instead, the company was allegedly ‘lured back into gambling’ on the website with an offer of free tokens. 

Edelson PC and Tousley Brain Stephens PLLC, the firm representing the plaintiffs, announced the verdict as its first victory in the years-long fight by consumers, aiming “to hold social casino operators accountable for the reality of their business operations: that they are illegal gambling operators preying on vulnerable gambling addicts.” 

Industry-Wide Implications: What’s Next for Social Casinos?

The law firm revealed that over $650 million had been paid in settlements by social casino operators in other cases brought by Edelson and Tousley, avoiding a court hearing. 

“Big Tech isn’t just standing by — they’re cashing in,” commented Todd Logan, partner at Edelson PC. He continued: “This verdict is a milestone, but it’s only the beginning. Some of our clients lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to their gambling addictions here, and Big Tech cannot be allowed to continue to profit off of these devastating addictions. We will continue fighting to ensure Big Tech answers for its role in enabling and profiting from illegal gambling.” 

Edelson serves as lead counsel in litigations against Amazon, Meta, Google, and Apple. The firm accuses them of acting as bookmakers in the business arrangement. They arrange the payments between consumers and the casinos and take a 30 percent commission. 

Cecily Jordan, Partner at Tousley Brain Stephens, added: “Today’s verdict sends a clear message: online casinos that exploit consumers under the guise of ‘social gaming’ will be held accountable. Ordinary people who have lost their life savings in these apps now have a jury vindicating them.” 

Written By

Wilna van Wyk

Wilna van Wyk is an online casino enthusiast with over a decade of experience working with some of the world’s biggest gambling affiliates, including Thunderstruck Media and OneTwenty Group. She specializes in gambling sites and games and provides expert knowledge on the online casino industry’s essential fundamentals.

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Following the six-year partnership deal formed in October 2022, Kindred is set to begin the first phase of a sportsbook launch at the Anacortes, Washington resort that will feature Unibet-branded kiosks and over-the-counter betting. 

“We are delighted to launch the first phase of our exciting retail partnership with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community,” commented Manuel Stan, SVP of North America, Kindred Group.

Signalling Kindred’s 13th retail launch in North America throughout Pennsylvania, Arizona and Washington, the development will also include an immersive Unibet sports betting lounge, set to be launched later in the year.

Stan added: “Work continues at pace to build a fantastic Unibet sportsbook lounge, offering customers to the Swinomish Casino & Lodge a truly immersive sports betting experience.”

The group recently expanded its North American presence into New Jersey after receiving approval from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to launch its proprietary platform in the Garden State.

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Chief Judge David Estudillo dismissed Maverick Gaming’s lawsuit, which was filed last year against Governor Jay Inslee, Attorney General Bob Ferguson and members of the Washington State Gambling Commission, including ex officio commissioners: Sens. Steve Conway and Jeff Holy and Reps. Shelley Kloba and Brandon Vick.

The judge said in his ruling: “The court finds that Shoalwater has not waived its sovereign immunity and cannot be joined to this action… Absent an express waiver by congress or a clear and unequivocal waiver by the tribe, tribes retain sovereign immunity from suit.” 

The gaming company believed that sports betting in Washington should be allowed beyond tribal casinos, backing state legislation that supported the expansion.

Maverick Gaming initially filed the litigation in the US District Court for the District of Columbia in January 2022, claiming the IGRA was “being used inappropriately to give tribes exclusive rights to certain types of gaming, such as sports betting, that are not allowed in non-tribal gaming properties in Washington State.”

However, in May last year, the case was moved to US District Court for the Western District of Washington.

The Shoalwater Bay Tribe filed a motion to dismiss the case in September after intervening as a defendant for that purpose, a motion backed by the Attorney General’s office, the federal government and 17 tribes.

Commenting on the dismissal of the lawsuit, Attorney General Ferguson said: “This is a significant victory for tribal sovereignty. Washington law strikes the right balance by permitting sports betting and confining it to tribal casinos, where tribes have experience carefully regulating gambling where individuals must be physically present.”

Washington passed a law in March 2020 to allow the state Gambling Commission to enter into compacts with the state’s tribes to allow sports betting at tribal casinos and their surrounding premises. The state’s sports wagering market launched in September 2021.

“The ruling today is a complete vindication of our assertion that Maverick Gaming has been attempting to undermine the sovereign rights of Indian tribes not just here in Washington State, but nationally as well,” commented Charlene Nelson, Chair of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe

“We appreciate that Judge Estudillo understood that and has now dismissed the case. As we said at the time of our legal filing, it pained us to have to legally oppose a member of our tribe, but Maverick’s case, if successful, would have irreparably harmed historically marginalized tribal communities, and would have run counter to the will of the legislature and the general public.” 

Rebecca George, Executive Director of the Washington Indian Gaming Association, added: “This is an important legal victory. Maverick’s lawsuit was a direct attack on the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which over the last three decades has been a pathway for tribes to regain their self-reliance by generating revenue to lift tribal communities out of poverty and despair. 

“It is also a strong ratification of the collaborative and productive relationship that Washington’s tribes have developed with state and federal officials to create a safe, limited and well-regulated system of gaming in Washington State.”

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This saw those acting on behalf of the state regulator arrest Sara Lee Moon at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post on theft charges, before she was later booked into county jail on four counts of first degree theft.

One year ago, the agents of the WSGC, which also reiterated a mission to “protect the public by ensuring that gambling is legal and honest,” conducted a routine inspection of gambling records at the VFW post that is located in the Washington state city of Prosser.

As a result, it was discovered that over $300,000 of funds were missing from gambling and bar accounts, which subsequently sparked the WSGC into beginning a criminal investigation into the VFW.

“After an extensive investigation, VFW employee Sara Moon was identified as the theft suspect,” the Washington gambling regulator noted.

Furthermore, it was also discovered that Moon, who started working as a Gambling Manager at the VFW in June 2019, had put some of the funds into personal financial accounts.

“The series of thefts were traced back to 2019,” the Commission added. “Moon used her position of trust, confidence, and fiduciary responsibility to facilitate the commission of the crimes.”

The WSGC is an accredited, limited jurisdiction law enforcement agency and the only state-wide agency devoted to gambling licensing, regulation and enforcement.

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Responding to the gambling firm’s latest attempt to convince the Washington State legislature, that saw a bipartisan supermajority of the legislature passed a law in 2020 that legalised sports betting but limited the activity to the premises of tribal casinos, WIGA noted that, if successful, it would “severely undermine” the state’s “safe and successful system”.

In a statement, Rebecca George, the Executive Director of the Washington Indian Gaming Association, commented: “Our tribal gaming system is safe, responsible, and benefits communities across Washington. The system works well and strikes the right balance. 

“The option to participate in gaming activities is available to responsible adults, but through compacts, additional tribal investments, and community partnerships we have minimised the negative social consequences that can sometimes result from gambling.

“In their own words, Maverick wants to ‘bring sports betting to the mass population of Washington.’ But Washington voters and elected officials have decisively rejected previous efforts to uproot our existing system and massively expand non-tribal gaming. 

“The public’s resistance to major gambling expansions in their neighbourhoods and local communities remains strong. 

“Washington State tribes continue to strongly oppose Maverick’s gambling expansion legislation. It would severely undermine Washington State’s safe and successful system of gaming and would put Washingtonians at risk, and we call on legislative leaders to once again reject it.”

As part of a new bill submitted by Maverick, the firm is calling for card rooms to legalise sports betting on the premise, the bill states, that before sports wagering may be conducted by card room or racetracks, the commission must analyse the impacts of legalised sports wagering on problem gambling.  

It also reads that the legislature authorises sports wagering via retail and online sports pools by a cardroom or racetrack. 

Maverick Gaming owns around 20 neighbourhood card rooms throughout Washington state. These include up to 15 tables where customers can play poker, blackjack, baccarat and other games. 

However, the premise does not include slot machines, which are reserved for the state’s 29 tribal casinos as well as sports betting, as it currently stands. 

In 2018, the US Supreme Court overturned a federal law that banned sports gambling. This allowed states the opportunity to create their own rulings. In 2020, the Washington legislature confirmed that sports wagering would be accessible in the state but only on Native American land. 

Speaking in a recently published article by Fox News, Maverick Gaming’s CEO, Eric Persson, stated that he hopes his suit will make it to the US Supreme Court and emphasised that he has the resources to “go all the way” while stating that Maverick will win while “having a lot of fun”. 

The post Maverick’s quest for card room sports wagering a ‘risk’ to Washingtonians appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The company organised opening ceremonies for each resort, pulling in baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson to take part in the festivities at Tulalip Resort and American football Hall of Fame inductee Steve Largent for Quil Ceda’s celebratory night.

“Like all of us at Tulalip Resort Casino and Quil Ceda Creek Casino, the DraftKings team is committed to excellence, and we intend to give local sports fans an experience that can’t be beat,” commented Brandon Jones, DraftKings Sportsbook Manager at Tulalip Resort Casino. 

“These new retail sportsbooks will take our existing world-class gaming experience to a new level, and we are thrilled to be able to show our guests these additions to both properties beginning today.”

Tulalip’s new 5,005-square-foot sportsbook can showcase up to 10 sporting events on an LED screen that spans over 800-square-feet itself while players can place bets at one of 20 kiosks or four over-the-counter windows. 

The resort has strategically placed an additional 10 kiosks around the other casino lobbies, allowing players to keep up with the sports betting without being near the new build.

Quil Ceda’s new DraftKings location also features 20 betting kiosks with three over-the-counter windows with four video walls making up a total of 896-square-feet to display sporting events alongside a beer and wine bar with food available. 

“Tulalip Resort Casino and Quil Ceda Creek Casino are preeminent entertainment destinations in the Pacific Northwest,” explained Michael Kibort, Sr. Director of Retail Sportsbook Operations at DraftKings. 

“Our brand-new DraftKings retail sportsbooks at each location will provide sports fans in the area and tourists alike with an unmatched in-person gaming experience.”

Both installations offer an array of sports betting tools in a bid to enhance the player’s experience, including odds boards, scrolling tickers with live-score updates, statistics and player information.

The post Washington casinos celebrate launch of “unmatched” DraftKings sportsbooks  appeared first on CasinoBeats.

This will see the gaming destination, which is located in the northwest of the state between Seattle and Vancouver, officially open its sportsbook space on Wednesday 31 August at 1pm local time. 

The honorary first best will be placed by former NFL quarterback and hall of famer Warren Moon, who spent a large portion of his career at the Houston Oilers but also represented the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs.

Bryan Bennett, Betfred USA Sports Chief Operating Officer, noted: “We look forward to utilising our 50 years of bookmaking experience to make the Betfred Sportsbook at Silver Reef Casino Resort the go-to destination for sports wagering in the state. 

“We’ve long been eyeing the state of Washington and are excited to enter the market in partnership with Lummi Nation and the team at Silver Reef Casino.”

The land-based sports betting space, which will occupy the site formerly occupied by the Portage Bay Bar, will include multiple high resolution video walls, sportsbook seating, multiple betting stations and self-serve kiosks.

“We are extremely excited about opening and operating the sportsbook with our partner Betfred,” stated Marty Sauvage, CEO of Silver Reef Casino Resort. 

“The sportsbook will be a fantastic new amenity for our guests and will enable us to continue delivering the premier gaming and resort experience in the Northwest.”

The Silver Reef Casino Resort features over 1,000 slots, more than 16 table games, 206 hotel rooms, full-service spa, 18-hole championship golf course named Loomis Trail, multiple restaurants, and bars, and over 30,000 feet of meeting space.

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