Asia round-up: Steven Gerrard & M88; Thai police stop illegal network, Gravity and more

Steven Gerrard has become M88 Mansion’s 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup Brand Ambassador for Southeast Asia. 

asia news round up thailand background

Gerrard’s image will be used to promote the Asian gaming platform during the competition, and Gerrard himself has agreed to engage in both digital and physical promotional campaigns across the region. 

Gerrard said: “I am delighted to join M88 Mansion as their Brand Ambassador for the World Cup. I couldn’t be more excited to share my experiences from my time on the field, especially my views and opinion to the Asian sports fans regarding the upcoming World Cup.” 

Alan Wafer, M88 Mansion’s Head of Commercial, added: “We are ecstatic that Gerrard agreed to become our Brand Ambassador for the Qatar World Cup. It is an honour to have him be included in our growing roster of partners.” 

Liverpool Football Club’s ex-captain is now the latest in a string of high-profile former players to agree on a sponsorship deal relating to the World Cup in Qatar.  

This could see Gerrard draw similar criticism to other ex-players such as David Beckham or Gary Neville – due to the intense scrutiny over Qatar’s poor human rights record and anti-LGBTQ+ laws. 

Thai police say they have thwarted online gambling network 

Police in Thailand say they have thwarted an alleged online gambling network said to operate around 500 illegal betting websites. 

To complete the clampdown, police forces say they conducted 63 raids in 14 provinces, primarily in the Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Saraburi, Sa Keao, Maha Sarakham and Phitsanulok regions. 

Thai authorities say the syndicate employed around 2,000 staff to undertake its activities, having operated for over 10 years as an illegal company. 

Investigations into the illegal operation supposedly began after a separate bust happened in September, which led authorities to undertake their latest raid on illegal operations. 

In an unrelated raid in October, Thai police seized the assets of another illegal organisation that had an estimated US$14m daily income.  

Steven Gerrard, M88 Mansion Brand Ambassador “I am delighted to join M88 Mansion as their Brand Ambassador for the World Cup. I couldn’t be more excited to share my experiences from my time on the field, especially my views and opinion to the Asian sports fans regarding the upcoming World Cup”

Gravity generates KRW102.8m in revenue for Q3 

Developer and publisher of online and mobile games Gravity has reported revenue of KRW102.4m ($71,500), up 6% sequentially and down 20% year-on-year. 

Based in South Korea, the developer made a Q3 2022 profit of KRW21.8m, a 4% decrease sequentially and a 47% decrease from the prior-year period.  

Net profit was down too, dropping 8% sequentially and 39% year-on-year to KRW 16.1m.  

Revenue specifically from online games stood at KRW19.2, down 22% quarter-on-quarter, although it was up 5% year-on-year.  

Meanwhile, mobile game revenue reached KRW79.4m, a 17% increase sequentially and a 25% decrease year-on-year.  

Q3: 23,000 Macau casino workers remain under-employed 

Over 23,000 Macau residents who work in the gambling industry remain under-employed as of Q3 2022. 

Under-employment figures are taken from casinos, junkets and lotteries, as published by Macau’s Statistics and Census Service. 

However, it’s worth noting this figure may seem worse than is the case, as Macau considers under-employment to encompass anyone who involuntarily works less than 35 hours a week. 

Missed a big gambling industry story in Asia? Don't worry, Gambling Insider has you covered with our Asia round-up.   


Asia News Sponsor
Premium+ Connections
Premium

Revsharks

 
Premium

PIN-UP Partners

 
Premium

1xBet Partners

 
Premium

Sport Generate

 
Premium

Digitain

 
Premium

Lynon

 
Premium

GammaStack

 
Premium

Imagine Live

 
 
Premium

Galaxsys

 
Premium

RISK

 
Premium Connections
Consultancy

SCCG Management

Executive Profiles
Zeal Network SE

Stefan Tweraser

VIP Play

Les Ottolenghi

Scientific Games

Keshav Pitani

Social & App

Spribe CEO exclusive: Simplicity is the foundation

Spribe CEO David Natroshvili speaks to Gambling Insider abou...

Redefining iGaming: A history of crash games

Crash games is a growing vertical that has taken gambling by...

A certain something: What makes crash games special?

Crash games. They’re simple, they’re easy to learn and,...

Smarter innovation to shape the future

Spribe CCO Giorgi Tsutskiridze discusses the past, present a...

Facing Facts: The corner of quarterly contemplation

With Q1 reports out across the industry, Gambling Insider co...

Taking Stock: A guide to key stock prices across the industry

Gambling Insider tracks prices from some of the industry’s...

15 years of Gambling Insider: From the Founders

Over the last 15 years, Gambling Insider magazine has interv...

15 years of Gambling Insider: The Awards over time

Global Gaming Awards Event Manager Mariya Savova gives us he...