The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) has taken decisive action against five offshore online casinos, sending cease-and-desist letters for violating state gaming laws. These websites offer a variety of casino games, such as slots, poker, blackjack, Keno, bingo, and game show games, in addition to sports betting.

The following unlicensed operators are now under scrutiny following the MGCB’s action:

BetWhale Casino, Curaçao

Black Lotus Casino, owned by TD Investments Ltd., Belize

Advertisement

Coins Game Casino, Curaçao

Love2play Casino, Curaçao and Costa Rica

Orion Stars 777 Players, Sichuan Province, China

“These illegal platforms not only violate Michigan’s gaming regulations but also put consumers at risk by offering unreliable withdrawal options and lacking essential consumer protections. Our top priority is safeguarding Michigan residents by ensuring that all online gaming activities are conducted legally and safely. These operators must stop their activities or face additional legal consequences,” MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams said.

Investigations into these illegal activities have revealed that the operators are in violation of multiple Michigan state laws.

Advertisement

Despite offering various payment options like Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin and Ethereum), these illegal operators impose strict withdrawal conditions, often requiring players to wager their initial deposits multiple times before they can access their winnings.

The MGCB has given these operators 14 days from the date of receipt of the cease-and-desist letters to halt their illegal activities.

The NCAA and EPIC Global Solutions announced an extension of their gambling harm education program collaboration. This extended collaboration reinforces the NCAA’s long-standing commitment to protecting student-athlete well-being and the integrity of college athletics.

Educating student-athletes on the dangers of sports betting continues to be a key priority for the Association. EPIC’s sessions have been a crucial piece of this education since January 2022.

“EPIC has been a great collaborator for us in this space. Their lived experience education model is helpful for our student-athletes to hear stories about the pitfalls of sports betting from people who were once in their shoes as elite athletes. Protecting student-athletes, giving them the tools necessary to safeguard themselves from bad actors and maintaining the integrity of competition have been and will continue to be priorities for us,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said.

The NCAA and EPIC Global Solutions have partnered to educate over 80,000 student-athletes through in-person, experiential sessions at more than 270 campuses nationwide across all three divisions, making it the largest program of its kind globally.

Advertisement

The effectiveness of existing sessions has been demonstrated through postevent surveys, in which 96% of student-athletes and 98% staff members report that they have good or excellent awareness of the potential harms of gambling as a result of EPIC’s talks in the past year. Additionally, EPIC has hosted focus groups with student-athletes and staff to ensure that future sessions are tailored to the live needs of those active in NCAA sports.

The new agreement will allow NCAA members to receive in-person educational sessions fully funded by the NCAA national office through the end of 2027. Sessions will expand into topics like handling social media harassment, promoting competition integrity and the mental health impacts of sports betting.

“At a time of unprecedented growth of gambling in the USA, it is imperative that higher-risk populations receive high-quality education and awareness around the potential of harm. This will help to protect the student-athletes and also the integrity of the events. We applaud President Baker, and the NCAA as an organization, for prioritizing this program and committing long term to EPIC as the provider,” Paul Buck, CEO of EPIC Global Solutions, said.

The national office and representatives from member schools continuously work together to determine best practices for addressing the sports wagering landscape. The Association will continue to enhance and expand its offering of resources and initiatives to ensure the protection of student-athlete well-being and the integrity of college athletics.

Strategic partnership to deliver enhanced geolocation services for Amelco’s North American partners

Amelco, one of the world’s leading providers in sportsbook and platform solutions, is set to further enhance its geofencing abilities via a strategic partnership with Radar, a recognised leader in the geolocation space.

This strategic partnership marks a significant leap forward in ensuring seamless, precise and reliable location verification for Amelco’s expanding network of North American operators.

The integration of Radar’s geofencing and geolocation compliance solutions further solidifies Amelco’s position as the go-to B2B provider for operators seeking a future-proof, compliant and high-performance platform.

Advertisement

Founded in 2016, Radar first entered the gaming space in 2023 – having already established a footprint in other industries such as retail, restaurants, payments and logistics.

Operators using Amelco’s platform will benefit from enhanced accuracy, lower latency and optimised performance with Radar’s cutting-edge APIs and SDKs, ensuring that legitimate bettors are never wrongly excluded while maintaining rigorous adherence to state and provincial regulations.

Additionally, operators will unlock geolocation use cases beyond compliance, including location-based marketing and geofencing venues like stadiums and casinos.

Specialising in scalable, omnichannel technologies, Amelco offers the North American market the most comprehensive provision of services available via its end-to-end platform.

This includes its in-house player account management system (PAM), bonus engine, casino, sportsbook, multi-state wallets, multiple data feeds and award-winning, bespoke mobile apps.

Advertisement

Live in 17 states, as well as Ontario, Amelco already counts Fanatics, Hard Rock Bet, Saracen Casino, Entain and Flutter as major partners.

Commenting on the partnership, Amelco Head of Business Development Brandon Walker said: “This new partnership is yet another string to Amelco’s bow, allowing us to further strengthen our geolocation suite for our partners – giving them the edge they need to succeed in North America.

“As new markets continue to regulate, operators need to ensure that they remain on the right side of compliance. Our commitment to cutting-edge compliance and user experience ensures that our partners remain at the forefront of a rapidly evolving industry.”

Radar Co-Founder and CEO Nick Patrick said: “iGaming operators are demanding geolocation alternatives. We’re pleased to work with Amelco and other forward-thinking suppliers to offer a next-generation geolocation alternative that is more flexible, scalable, and cost-effective.”