Skill games are slot machines, must adhere to Pennsylvania’s gambling law, state Supreme Court rules; First nations-owned Pure Casino Entertainment approved to buy Gamehost’s Alberta casinos

...................... Home • News • Insight • Gaming Events • CDC Team . ..........

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Features

Skill games are slot machines, must adhere to Pennsylvania’s gambling law, state Supreme Court rules

Skill games are slot machines under Pennsylvania law and must adhere to the commonwealth’s crime and gambling statutes, the state’s highest court ruled Monday. However, the ruling says that law enforcement can’t take any action for 120 days. That gives the legislature a four-month window to decide whether to regulate the machines, which have proliferated across the state in taverns, gas stations, and corner stores despite existing in a legal gray area. An estimated 70,000 machines are operating in Pennsylvania.

First nations-owned Pure Casino Entertainment approved to buy Gamehost’s Alberta casinos

Indigenous Gaming Partners (IGP) has been approved to buy multi-casino operator Gamehost, expanding its brick-and-mortar footprint in Alberta to seven casinos and two hotels. The First Nations group already owns four land-based casinos in the province via its takeover of Pure Casino Entertainment last year. It announced in late March that it had agreed to acquire Gamehost, which owns and operates Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary, Great Northern Casino in Grande Prairie, [and] Rivers Casino and Entertainment Centre in Fort McMurray.

British gaming entrepreneur on track for Nevada licensing as major Bally’s shareholder

A centimillionaire British entrepreneur is on track to be licensed in Nevada as a 10% shareholder of Bally’s stock, which was worth nearly $74 million at the close of trading on Monday. In 2001, Noel Hayden co-founded Gamesys, an online-bingo and icasino operator, which was acquired by Bally’s in 2021. The Nevada Gaming Control Board recommended Hayden for licensing when the Nevada Gaming Commission meets June 25. Bally’s Nevada counsel Dan Reaser told regulators about Hayden’s accomplishments.

Read more: Rege Behe, CDC Gaming

US & Canada news continued...

Global Gaming Women accepting noms for Patty Becker Pay It Forward Award

Global Gaming Women on Monday announced the non-profit organization is accepting nominations for the 2026 Patty Becker Pay It Forward Award through 5 p.m. PST on July 3. The award recognizes people who embody Patty Becker’s legacy of “generosity, mentorship, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to helping others succeed.”

Read more: Rege Behe, CDC Gaming

Caesars Beach Club to open Friday in Atlantic City

The city’s newest beach bar will open Friday. Caesars Beach Club will make its debut on the sand with a full-service bar, lounge seating, dining areas and VIP cabanas. Guests can enjoy live DJ entertainment every Friday through Sunday. Opening weekend will feature a special performance by Party Pupils… City Council gave initial approval for the project in February.

Las Vegas Sands fills funding void in Texas’s gambling addiction program

Working to create the Texas Lottery in 1991, state lawmakers ran into concerns that government-sponsored gaming would tempt Texans prone to compulsive or problem gambling. In response, lawmakers devoted $2 million a year to a state-run “compulsive gambling program” to identify and treat problem gamblers. In its first two years, the program funded treatment for about 760 people.

Oklahoma: JCM installs products at 10 Muscogee Nation casinos

JCM Global announced Monday the completion of a multi-year project at 10 Muscogee (Creek) Nation casino properties across Oklahoma. The company installed its iVIZION bill validator and ICB Intelligent Cash Box system on all Class II and Class III gaming devices. Marking the end of the project, the recent opening of Coweta Casino & Hotel brings the total to nearly 6,800 games protected by iVIZION.

Read more: Rege Behe, CDC Gaming

World’s Largest Casino Collectibles Show hits Las Vegas this week

The World’s Largest Casino Collectibles Show begins this week at the South Point Casino in Las Vegas. The annual event, from June 18-20, will feature an array of collectibles, from poker chips to swizzle sticks, spanning Vegas’ history. Organizers said in a news release that dealers from all over the world will be on hand to offer attendees the opportunity to examine, buy, sell, or trade casino memorabilia.

Read more: Rege Behe, CDC Gaming

British Columbia seeks national rules to rein in gambling advertising

A new study commissioned by the B.C. government’s gambling regulator suggests that nearly one-fifth of British Columbian adults engaged in moderate- to high-risk gambling behavior in the past year. In response, B.C. is calling on the federal government to create a national framework of advertising controls to tackle the “normalization” of gambling, particularly among youth aged 16 to 18.
Read more: Mark Page, Langley Advance Times

Opinion

A casino on Douglas Island — what does Alaska’s governor think?

By Donald Craig Mitchell, Juneau Independent

The author is an Anchorage attorney and author of a two-volume history of the Alaska Native land claims movement.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which Congress enacted in 1988, delegates the chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission authority to approve an ordinance that authorizes an “Indian tribe” to operate a commercial gambling facility on the tribe’s “Indian lands.” In January 2025, NIGC chair Sharon Avery approved an ordinance that authorized the Tlingit-Haida Central Council to operate a commercial gambling facility on a tract of land on Douglas Island that is part of an Alaska Native Allotment. (more)

International

Regulatory stalemate threatens Italy’s gambling sector, warns trade body

Italy’s regulated gambling sector is currently trapped in a “regulatory deadlock” that threatens to expand unregulated gambling activities, industry trade body EGP-FIPE warned the Senate on Tuesday [June 9]. The association presented its concerns before the Constitutional Affairs Committee at a Senate hearing. EGP-FIPE, which represents operators as part of the Italian Federation of Public Establishments within Confcommercio, flagged that the legal gambling market’s development had been stalled by repeated extensions of national gambling concessions, combined with municipal and regional regulations.

Finland’s latest draft regulations ban online autoplay, enforce max slot stakes

Finland’s Ministry of the Interior [last] week released four new draft regulations under its recently approved Gambling Act. These include various restrictions for the sector, including loss limits and maximum stake caps for players. These measures, grounded in the recently enacted Gambling Act (10/2026), are set to come into force on 1 July 2027 as part of the market’s iGaming liberalization.

Swedish court overturns fine against MGM unit LeoVegas

The Administrative Court in Linköping has overturned an SEK8m [$851,000] fine imposed on LeoVegas-owned Roar Vegas by the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA), ruling the operator did not commit a sufficiently clear breach of its duty of care obligations to justify regulatory action. Roar Vegas was handed the penalty fee in March last year.