Hackers claim MGM cyberattack
MGM Resorts International, which operates a number of hotels and casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, including the Bellagio, Aria and Cosmopolitan, experienced a large-scale cyberattack on Sunday, September 10, 2023. The company had to shut down large parts of its internal networks, resulting in widespread disruption across the company’s hotels and casinos. Guests reported that ATMs and slot machines were out of order, along with room digital key cards and electronic payment systems. MGM announced on Thursday that it was attempting to resolve the cybersecurity issue as the outage entered its fourth day. In a statement issued by MGM, the company declared: “Promptly after detecting the issue, we quickly began an investigation with assistance from leading external cybersecurity experts. We also notified law enforcement and took prompt action to protect our systems and data, including shutting down certain systems.”
Ransomware group claims responsibility
The hacking group known as Scattered Spider claimed responsibility for the MGM cyberattack. It is believed to be a subgroup of the ALPHV ransomware gang. The dark web leak site on which ALPHV typically posts files stolen from victim organizations has not yet listed MGM. It’s not yet known what, if any data, was exfiltrated from MGM’s systems. Reports this week claim that Scattered Spider was also behind a recent cyberattack on hotel and casino giant Caesars Entertainment. Caesars acknowledged that hackers acquired the database of its loyalty program, which contained information on a sizable number of users, including their Social Security and driver’s license numbers.
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The Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) has cancelled the country’s two top-flight football tournaments amid investigations into allegations of corruption and match-fixing involving referees, players and club executives. The federation has also suspended the referee’s association.
The decision to cancel the tournaments came after a meeting of a soccer council in the region of Santa Cruz, where first division clubs agreed to stop the domestic league and the National Cup. The FBF said it will ask the region’s governing body CONMEBOL to organize a quick competition until the end of December to replace the cancelled tournaments. The competition will determine the spots for the 2024 international tournaments.
The FBF also filed charges to the country's public prosecutor's office and fired the three members of the country's refereeing commission.
The alleged match-fixing scheme involved at least four games in which referees allegedly favoured one team over another by awarding penalties or expelling players.
The Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) acquired a recording of Marcos Rodríguez, football club Vaca Diez president, fixing the result of a match with a referee for cash. In the recording, Rodriguez can be heard asking the referee to ensure that at least three goals are scored by one side in the first half.
Match-fixing scandal in BrazilBrazil match-fixing scandal is a recent and ongoing investigation into a criminal organization that operated to manipulate the results of football matches in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B of the Brazilian Championship. The scandal was exposed by the Public Ministry of Goiás (MPGO) in February 2023.
The investigation has revealed evidence of wrongdoing by soccer players who allegedly made sure to get bookings and gave away penalties in exchange for bribes. The scandal has international reach, as some of the players involved have connections to clubs in other countries, such as the United States. The Brazilian authorities have launched a federal investigation into soccer match-fixing and are cooperating with foreign authorities. Brazil’s lower house of Congress has also opened a probe into the scandal.
Head to SiGMA CuraçaoSiGMA Curacao is less than 3 weeks away. It will be held in from the 25 – 28 September. The event is hosted by the Ministry of Finance in association with SiGMA Curacao
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In another important milestone in the regulation of the Brazilian gaming industry, the Chamber of Deputies has approved a bill to regulate sports betting and online casino games. The approval follows an amendment to the legislation that limits the duration of licences costing over $6 million to a term of three years.
On September 13, just one day after the Chamber initially released its version of the legislation to have in place national regulation for fixed-odds betting, the lower house of Brazil's Congress enacted an amended version of PL 3626/2023.
Instead of the five-year duration that was first planned, the bill's rapporteur earlier in the day altered it to limit the term of license authorizations to three years and operators will incur annual licensing costs of more than US$2 million.
The issue of gross revenue from fixed-odds betting remains subject to a tax rate of 18 percent that rises to around 30 percent once other taxes are included. Industry stakeholders lobbying for a lower 8 percent tax rate and to have internet betting exempt from a 30% income tax on player gains over a specific threshold, remain unsuccessful. The good news for online betting operators is that the Chamber of Deputies’ last-minute plan to expand regulation of sports betting into all forms of online gambling remains largely unchanged. The previous version of the legislation for the regulating fixed-odds betting would have restricted the market exclusively to sportsbook operations. In its latest version, the bill also includes casino-style games.
Congressman Adolfo Viana, the bill’s rapporteur, in reply to criticism by fellow congressmen taking a more conservative stance towards gambling expansion, said the issue is not whether to liberalise online gaming or not, but rather about regulating a market that is spread across all Brazil.
Now the bill passes to the Senate, where industry stakeholders will lobby for more favourable changes relating to taxes and other provisions. The Senate has just 45 days to vote on the bill.
Join the upcoming SiGMA event in CuracaoSiGMA Curacao is less than 2 weeks away. It will be held in from the 25 – 28 September. The event is hosted by the Ministry of Finance in association with SiGMA Curacao
Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to be part of SiGMA Curacao, where you can gain valuable insights into the new gambling legislation, explore the thriving iGaming industry, and connect with key players in Curacao. Check out all the details here.
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MGM Resorts International, which operates a number of hotels and casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, including the Bellagio, Aria and Cosmopolitan, experienced a large-scale cyberattack on Sunday, September 10, 2023. The company had to shut down large parts of its internal networks, resulting in widespread disruption across the company’s hotels and casinos. Guests reported that ATMs and slot machines were out of order, along with room digital key cards and electronic payment systems. MGM announced on Thursday that it was attempting to resolve the cybersecurity issue as the outage entered its fourth day. In a statement issued by MGM, the company declared: “Promptly after detecting the issue, we quickly began an investigation with assistance from leading external cybersecurity experts. We also notified law enforcement and took prompt action to protect our systems and data, including shutting down certain systems.”
Ransomware group claims responsibilityThe hacking group known as Scattered Spider claimed responsibility for the MGM cyberattack. It is believed to be a subgroup of the ALPHV ransomware gang. The dark web leak site on which ALPHV typically posts files stolen from victim organizations has not yet listed MGM. It’s not yet known what, if any data, was exfiltrated from MGM’s systems. Reports this week claim that Scattered Spider was also behind a recent cyberattack on hotel and casino giant Caesars Entertainment. Caesars acknowledged that hackers acquired the database of its loyalty program, which contained information on a sizable number of users, including their Social Security and driver's license numbers.
Join the upcoming SiGMA event in CuraçaoSiGMA Curaçao is just 10 days away. It will be held in from the 25 – 28 September. The event is hosted by the Ministry of Finance in association with SiGMA Curaçao.
Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to be part of SiGMA Curaçao, where you can gain valuable insights into the new gambling legislation, explore the thriving iGaming industry, and connect with key players in Curaçao. Check out all the details here.
Register here to secure your place at this landmark event.