Hard Rock International will continue the years-long tradition to mark the annual Earth Hour movement in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) by having its properties “going dark” for one hour on March 25, 2023.

Going Dark to Raise Climate Change Awareness

As part of the renewed commitment, all Hard Rock Hotels, Cafes and Casinos around the world will go dark for one hour starting at 8:30 pm local property time to bring the brand’s “Save the Planet” motto to life.

Paul Pellizzari, vice president of global social responsibility for Hard Rock International, commented on the continued support for WWF’s Earth Hour movement as part of the company’s “mission to protect the future of nature and create impact together.”

As one of our four founding mottos, Hard Rock is committed to “Save the Planet” and we’re thrilled to unite team members from all over the world for this worthy cause while inspiring others for the good of the planet.

Paul Pellizzari, VP of global social responsibility, Hard Rock International

Guests at the restaurants, bars, Rock Shops, hotel rooms, lobbies and outdoor spaces will be able to partake in the movement by engaging in entertaining activities that require no electricity such as candle-lit dinners, acoustic musical performances, flame shows, cocktail promotions, and ROXITY Kids Club events.

Seeking to build awareness for climate change action worldwide, WWF’s annual Earth Hour movement encourages countries, businesses, popular destinations and iconic landmarks to switch off lights and host events with no electricity.

Its partnership with Hard Rock International through the Earth Hour movement over the years has resulted in more than 603,000 kilowatts of conserved electricity. In 2022 alone, the 114 hotels, casinos and cafes under the brand, located across more than 20 countries globally, saved nearly 391,000 kilowatts of electricity – more than enough to power over 1,500 outdoor concerts.

Sustainable Approach to Energy, Waste, Water

Hard Rock’s continued Earth Hour participation is part of the company’s efforts to address waste, energy and water in a sustainable way by utilizing operational improvements and pursuing best practices in collaboration with commercial vendors and non-profit partners.

The collaboration with one of these partners, global health leader, Clean The World (CTW), will see the gaming and entertainment operator’s hotels donate soap and bottled in-room bathroom amenities such as shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion, to help the creation of sanitized hygiene kits with recycled materials.

To date, the partnership has delivered 13,660 pounds of plastic waste and distributed through hygiene kits to shelters, food pantries and disaster recovery centers in the US more than 66,000 bars of soap and over 10,000 pounds of leftover soap.

The DP Tour, a European men’s professional golf league, has designated OlyBet as its official betting operator in the Old Continent. The agreement between the two parties has been signed for two years and will cover all European countries with the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Thanks to the agreement, OlyBet, an Estonia-headquartered casino and sports betting company, will be able to provide its sports betting customers with the freshest information regarding the DP Tour.

Relevant DP Tour information will be available at OlyBet’s sportsbooks and casinos, while its online streaming platform, OlyBet YV, will broadcast content from the tour. As announced, the operator will follow 39 DP Tour tournaments this season alone.

New Fan Experiences Are at the Heart of the Relationship

Representatives from the two companies commented on the agreement in a promotional new video announcing the partnership.

David Brookes, senior commercial director for the European Tour Group, said that finding a betting partner was a natural step for the league.

I think the drama of golf lends itself perfectly to having a betting partner and in creating this partnership with OlyBet as our official European betting operator, I think it’s a tremendous opportunity to once again evolve and innovate experiences for the golf fans.

David Brookes, senior commercial director, European Tour Group

Brooks added that his team is truly passionate about what it will be able to deliver with OlyBet, saying that this betting agreement will provide fans with new opportunities.

Corey Plummer, chair and CEO of Olympic Entertainment Group and OlyBet Group, said that his team always seeks to leverage the thrill of sports to provide sports aficionados with unforgettable experiences. Plummer added that there are very few sports and activities that are better at bringing thrill, anticipation and excitement than golf.

This is a natural sport for competition, you can play it at all ages and all levels and be very competitive. So we want to create those kind of moments that bring more of that competitive juice and the thrill of the game to as many people as possible.

Corey Plummer, CEO, OlyBet Group

Plummer concluded that golf is growing rapidly and that there are many markets hungry for more golf content. However, he noted that being able to engage with golf through content really elevates the experience.

Plummer concluded that he is excited to provide European punters with more opportunities to engage with the sport and the players themselves.

The updates are designed to help the platform boost its payment operations and introduce new security measures that safeguard against illegitimate actors.

NuxGame Doubles Down on iGaming Platform and Solutions

These improvements on the core platform include but aren’t limited to preventative measures powered by a two-factor authentication solution. Customers are ultimately the ones to decide what measures they prefer to use to bolster their security, but NuxGame has made sure that the option exists nevertheless.

NuxGame has similarly introduced a new user interface that offers in-depth transaction history for additional comfort and better onboarding. The company is also happy to announce the introduction of the GumballPay and Monnet payment solutions designed to bolster the efficiency of deposits and withdrawals.

The Agent System has also been touched up through a QR code referral link, a phone number, and an email address verification system. NuxGame has considerably strengthened its variety of new games, live sports broadcasts, and other pillars of the iGaming experience to bring a 360-degree product to market.

Not least, NuxGame is happy to announce that it has been able to introduce significant performance improvements to its Aurora database, which will translate into scalability and stability. NuxGame CEO Daniel Heywood has hailed the opportunity to introduce these changes and significantly strengthen the company’s product portfolio.

Exceeding Customer Expectations Is Modus Operandi for NuxGame

This, Heywood explained, demonstrated the company’s commitment to innovation and a desire to deliver experiences that far exceed customer expectations.

At NuxGame we are constantly on the lookout for partners that will help elevate our offering, ensuring we can continue to help our clients excel across all sectors of the iGaming and gambling space.

Daniel Heywood, CEO, NuxGame

The Monnet payment system has already been tested in Latin America where the company is keen to grow its offer by delivering the best iGaming solutions. As to the advancements made to the Agent System, the company introduced those at the end of February.

The new improvements are a confident step forward as the company seeks to deliver a robust experience for all partners looking to expand and boost their iGaming offer through the choice of a suitable technological and platform partner such as NuxGame.

PredictIt, a platform that allows customers to wager on political and financial events, is under fire by US regulators that seek to shut down the exchange. In response, the exchange filed a lawsuit, which still continues. Amid the heated battle between PredictIt and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the exchange’s deadline to respond to a letter from the latter body was extended.

As reported by Casino.org, PredictIt received a letter from the CFTC on March 2, in which the regulator emphasized that it has rescinded an August 2022 notice. In the notice in question, the CFTC said it was pulling the 2014 no-action letter. The no-action letter allowed PredictIt, which would under normal circumstances be illegal in the US, to operate as an exception for non-commercial purposes.

The CFTC accused PredictIt of certain violations, claiming that the exchange broke the terms of the no-action letter.

However, the Victoria University of Wellington, the body behind the exchange, failed to meet the deadline to respond to this letter. Initially, the CFTC expected a response by Monday, March 20. However, this has been extended to April 5, 2023, providing PredictIt and its founders with more time to respond, a spokesperson told Casino.org.

The CFTC Might Be in More Trouble than PredictIt

In the meantime, the CFTC hopes that the Fifth Circuit would lift an injunction that was placed on the commission earlier this year. The injunction was requested by PredictIt and other plaintiffs, including Aristotle International, and allows the marketplace to remain open. However, the CFTC argues that now that its original letter has been revoked, the injunction should be invalid.

The CFTC recently scrutinized the plaintiffs for not sharing that they knew about CFTC’s claims before its letter in August. PredictIt and the plaintiffs, on the other hand, slammed the CFTC for never bringing that up before, saying that the commission has had more than seven fillings in which it could have divulged that information.

The plaintiffs will now try to find the CFTC in contempt for what they believe violates the injunction. They believe that it is too late to dismiss the case now. The plaintiffs noted that injunction violations have consequences that go beyond an apology. As a result, the plaintiffs will seek their attorneys’ fees and costs associated with “nervous investor behavior” covered.

In an interview with a Casino.org journalist, Pratik Chougule, a prominent trader on PredictIt, said that the ongoing case has impacted the exchange’s business, causing liquidity in the markets to decline. Still, he believes that the situation is calming down and urged traders not to be reactionary and stick with PredictIt for the moment.

While Chougule believes in PredictIt, he accused its organizers of poor communication with their traders, to which he attributed traders’ initial panicked reaction. He also said that PredictIt should lower its withdrawal fee or remove it altogether.

The innovative award-winning integration and automation platform that delivers efficiencies for iGaming operators, Flows, announced a new partnership with the digital identity technology company, Yoti. The new deal, announced Tuesday, sees Flows’ platform benefit from leading technology provided by the UK-based digital identity company.

Under the terms of the new partnership, Flows’ platform adds Yoti’s Digital ID and Identity Verification technology, delivering fast, reliable and robust identity checks for partner operators. The new technology resonates well with Flows’ “plug-in no-code platform” that supercharges the development of iGaming operators by delivering efficiencies through automation.

The Solutions Enhance the Experience for Flows’ Partners

Thanks to the integration of the Identity Verification technology and Digital ID app, Flows’ platform is expected to deliver immediate benefits for its customers. Besides helping with identity verification, partner operators can benefit from meeting compliance requirements and combatting fraud or other foul play attempts.

“Through this new partnership with Yoti we can now instantly provide our customers with easy access to leading identity verification technology so that they are able to provide fast customer verification on-demand instantly improving the overall KYC process.“

James King, CEO of Flows

James King, Flows’ CEO, explained that the company remains committed to offering agnostic solutions for its partners that help them continue their work seamlessly. He added that the new partnership with Yoti delivers further benefits for Flows’ customers that can enjoy identity verification technology. In conclusion, King said that this technology is expected to help improve know-your-customer processes for the operators.

“We’re delighted to offer our leading Digital ID app and Identity Verification technology on the Flows platform.“

Robin Tombs, CEO at Yoti

Robin Tombs, Yoti’s CEO, added that the company is delighted to deliver its technology to Flows’ platform. He pointed out that the two solutions are easy to integrate and can help “more businesses to unlock the power of digital identity, and benefit from fast, simple and robust identity checks.” Finally, Tombs said that the solutions allow the customers to select a way to prove their identity, making the process easier.

Shopoff Realty Investments, one of the companies behind the project, is confident that the planned hotel is promising enough to draw additional investors. Rising inflation and other economic pressures almost doubled the construction costs, and the funding-related delays may push back the planned late 2024 launch. Despite ongoing difficulties, the developers remain optimistic and will do their best to see the project to its conclusion.

Problems Arose from the Very Start

Dream Hotel Group’s Las Vegas venue started construction in July 2022 with a ceremonial groundbreaking. The project aims to deliver a boutique-style experience, contrasting with the expansive casino resorts most common on the Strip. Once completed, Dream Las Vegas will feature 531 rooms, a selection of unique restaurants, 30,000 square feet of casino space, and many other amenities.

Unfortunately, the project was beset by setbacks from the beginning, suffering financing issues, delays due to the pandemic, and security concerns related to the hotel’s proximity to the airport. Despite the high hopes riding on the project and the successful start of the construction, a lack of funds has once again thrown a spanner in the works.

The Developer Should Soon Secure Additional Funding

Construction works on the property have allegedly halted, as developers Shopoff Realty Investments and real estate firm Contour can no longer pay their dues. On 10 March, the hotel’s main contractor, McCarthy Building Companies, filed a lien notice stating that it had received roughly $43.3 million in payments. However, the company still had to collect nearly $40.2 million for work performed on the project.

Shopoff Realty Investments president and CEO Bill Shopoff stated that the final projected cost of Dream Las Vegas had risen to $575 million, almost double the original $300 million estimate. He blamed the price hike on rising inflation, Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, and ongoing banking industry instability. However, he remained adamant that the builders would receive their dues and that construction would proceed as planned.

They will be paid, and the project will get built.

Bill Shopoff, Shopoff Realty Investments president and CEO

Electrical, steel, and drilling subcontractors have also filed lien notices. According to Shopoff, his company currently owes roughly $30 million. Despite ongoing setbacks, all involved parties wish to see the hotel completed. A new funding scheme is already in the works and should hopefully be sufficient to finish construction.

The owners… are working on a $400 million-plus funding package.

Bill Shopoff, Shopoff Realty Investments president and CEO

The developer hopes to acquire the extra capital within the next few weeks. Shopoff was adamant that the project leaders fully intended to finish the boutique resort and honor their agreements with all parties involved. He expressed confidence that Dream Las Vegas would soon be back on track. However, setbacks plague the project at every step, making its future ever more uncertain.