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An Australian casino player is taking Royal Caribbean to court, arguing that the company banned him from sailing with its services and from playing at its casinos over his ability to count cards. After previously winning a legal battle against Star Casino, Mark Timothy Grant is now moving to confront the cruise line. 

Grant argues that he has booked five Royal Caribbean cruises that were valued at a total of AUD 22,000. He booked the cruises with money he won playing at the Royal Caribbean’s ships’ casinos. 

However, before he could even board the first cruise, Grant was told that he would not be able to proceed onboard. Grant had his son and partner along with him. The company only then went to inform Grant that he had been placed on a “no sail” list, effectively a ban, because of “breaking the house rules” in the casino.

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In second-quarter results posted last month, Encore Boston Harbor saw $209 million in revenue for the period, which was a 3% drop year-over-year. A 12% YoY drop in table games win led to a 6% decline in overall casino revenue, although Wynn CEO Craig Billings said the property delivered second-quarter records for both hotel revenue and revenue per available room. Demand in Boston “has remained healthy, with slot handle running slightly ahead of last year”, Billings said.

 “When a company refuses to respect the workers who make its profits possible, we shut it down,” Thomas G Mari, president of Local 25, said in a statement. “The teamsters don’t cross picket lines and won’t be intimidated.”

Union deals have been a pressing topic for casino operators in recent years. Workers have pressed for increased benefits and job security provisions in the wake of macroeconomic uncertainty and the advent of potentially disruptive technologies like AI.

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The report identifies land-based and online casinos and sports betting as carrying the highest money laundering exposure. By contrast, lotteries and scratchcards present lower risk. 

It finds that online gaming shows more documented terrorist financing activity than gambling, although proliferation financing risks remain limited across both sectors.

Cash, e-wallets, mobile money and virtual assets emerge as the payment methods most vulnerable to abuse. This is particularly true where operators use them to structure deposits below reporting thresholds.