There was speculation earlier this year as to whether Rush Street Interactive (RSI) would get into the online poker market in the United States. RSI is definitely getting in on the action as the company recently announced that is has acquired Poker Night in America (PNIA).

This is the second big online poker acquisition that RSI has made in recent months. RSI acquired Run It Once (RIO) poker website that was founded by Phil Galfond in March and paid $5.8 million.

RSI Acquires PNIA For $4.9 Million

Poker Night In America is a popular poker TV show that runs on the CBS Sports Network and mostly features Sit & Go action and cash games. RSI is reported to have paid out $4.9 million to acquire PNIA in a deal that offered a cash and stock option.

RSI plans to huge the extensive poker TV content that PNIA has accumulated over the years to boost their BetRivers network and get their brand before the online poker market. RSI has also confirmed that BetRivers will use the poker content to cross-sell to its online casino players and sportsbook bettors.

Phil Hellmuth was supposed to play Scott Seiver at High Stakes Duel 3 on August 22. The two players met earlier this year and Hellmuth who has had a fantastic run at High Stakes Duel shows got the better of Seiver and took home $800,000. Seiver had the option to rematch Hellmuth and agreed to play Hellmuth on August 22.

However, Seiver decided to pull out earlier this month and it meant that PokerGo had to quickly find a replacement to fill the August 22 date. PokerGo was unable to find a high stakes player that was free to face the Poker Brat on August 22.

Jason Koon To Face Hellmuth

PokerGo had a few players contact them more than willing to step in on behalf of Scott Seiver. PokerGo ended up shortlisting high stakes poker pro Jason Koon who is an ambassador for GGPoker as Phil Hellmuth’s new opponent. Koon is ranked 8th on the Hendon Mob’s All Time Money list and has over $38 million in prize money.
PokerGo is yet to confirm a date for Hellmuth vs. Koon at High Stakes Duel 3.

The latest edition of PokerStars MicroMillions is just around the corner. This year, the festival will feature an expanded schedule of 208 events, with $4.3 million guaranteed across 15 days of online action.

Buy-ins Start at $1.10

The series opens with a bang on July 17 with 16 events running, the highlight of which is the $11 buy-in MicroMillions 10 which will be played in progressive knockout format and features $100,000 in guaranteed prize money.

The festival’s lowest buy-in is $1.10, and players can choose from 27 events within this price point. Texas Hold’em events will dominate the series, but there are other variants and formats available, such as PLO, Stud, Razz, 8-Game, Short Deck Hold’em, and 5 Card PLO.

Key Events

The series culminates in the MicroMillions Main Event which costs just $22 to enter and offers $500,000 in guaranteed prize pool. It takes place on July 31, along with two other key tournaments, the $11 buy-in, $35K GTD PLO Main Event and the $55 buy-in, $200K GTD MicroMillions High Roller.

Even with the already affordable buy-ins, PokerStars is giving players the chance to enter the bigger events for a fraction of the price via satellites. The site will be hosting satellites for the $22 Main Event and the $55 High Roller, with the schedule available in the PokerStars lobby.

Cambodia’s casinos are still struggling to recover from the pandemic. This is the main reason why casino license renewals have fallen significantly in 2022.

According to the country’s gaming regulator, the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia, just 143 casinos applied for license renewal this year. Of that, 13 have successfully renewed their licenses.

Pandemic Continues to Hit Cambodia’s Casinos

Cambodia was home to more than 200 licensed casinos but things changed when the pandemic hit. Ros Phirun, the Commission’s secretary general, also pointed out that the implementation of new rules for the gambling sector, which require a minimum capital investment and annual license renewal, is also partly to blame for why some casinos decided not to renew their licenses.

Cambodia’s casino GGR performance for the first six months of the year is very weak and Phirun said the industry will only begin to see an improvement when the country’s tourism industry recovers.

Online Gambling Syndicates Targeting Chinese Citizens in Cambodia

Meanwhile, as Cambodia’s land-based gambling sector struggles to get back on its feet, its online counterpart has recently been penetrated by criminal syndicates, resulting in several Chinese citizens being held for ransom in the country by con artist organizations. The victims have since been rescued.

Such incidents prompted the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia to issue a notice, warning Chinese citizens against getting involved with online gambling syndicates.

Curacao will introduce drastic changes to its online gambling regulations which will give the government more power and authority over the gambling sector.

New Licensing Body for Gambling

Among the key reforms included in new legislation that recently received the green light from the Council of Ministers is the creation of a new independent licensing body which will be named the Curacao Gaming Authority (CGA).

As part of the proposals, the CGA will supervise all licensing processes for B2C and B2B businesses. In the old system, the issuance of licenses to gambling operators is primarily governed by private entities who are master license holders.

Presently, there are four of them in Curacao. They are allowed to issue sub-licenses to gambling firms under their own framework which permits almost all types of gambling, including those done online.

The new licensing system will also require operators to pay an application fee worth €4,000. Once licensed, they will be charged a license fee of €12,000 annually, and another €250 per URL to be paid every month.

Some Operators Could Withdraw from Curacao

The major overhaul will put an end to Curacao’s liberal licensing regime which has made it a popular destination for gambling operators. Finance Minister Javier Silvania anticipates that some operators could leave the market due to the new changes.