News
Casinos around the world cautiously reopen to a new normal
Given how devastatingly hit the casino business has been in the past few months, it should come as little surprise that casino operators around the world are hurriedly reopening their doors at the first opportunity.
Revenue reports from March to July – effectively when the novel coronavirus had spread across the planet and forced countries to impose severe lockdown measures – made for grim reading in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia.
In Nevada and New Jersey – the biggest casino hotspots in the US – recorded losses of up to and more than 90 percent compared to the same months in 2019. In the UK and mainland Europe, the figures were similar, while Macau – the gambling capital of the world – saw three successive months of revenue drops over 90 percent.
While online operations have seen a surge as millions of people have been forced to stay at home, that makes no difference to the many people whose livelihoods depend on land-based casinos opening their doors and welcoming customers. Indeed, thousands of jobs have been lost and thousands more are still at risk.
So even as Covid-19 continues to plague many countries, casinos have understandably started to open their doors once again.
The United States – the country where the pandemic has hit harder than any other – has allowed casinos to reopen, even as new cases cross more than 50,000 per day. In Las Vegas, Nevada and Atlantic City, New Jersey casino floors are once again welcoming guests, while casinos across the United Kingdom reopened on July 4.
Las Vegas has also reopened its sportsbook operations, so guests can visit to get the latest Kentucky Derby odds (although you can find them online easier through TwinSpires.com). You can place wagers on races and sports that, like the casino business, also went into lockdown but are now re-emerging.
Meanwhile, in Macau, casinos have also reopened but the mandatory 14-day quarantine for foreign visitors has severely limited foot traffic. The same applies to other countries like Singapore, South Africa, and Monte Carlo.
While casinos have resumed operations in an attempt to bounce back from a financially damaging few months, they do so amid a new normal for operators and visitors alike.
Strict rules and health measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of guests and staff and to limit the potential spread of the coronavirus.
Maximum capacity limits range between 20 and 30 percent and face masks must be worn at all times. Drinking, eating, and smoking have been banned for the time being, while temperature check points and hand sanitizer stations have been placed all around casino floors. Glass barriers have also been placed around table games in some casinos to prevent the spread of germs between players and dealers.
Those guests returning to casinos may also notice higher gambling minimums or at least fewer options of lower minimum games. This is thought to have been introduced for two reasons. Firstly, it is viewed as an attempt by many casinos to drive revenues up as quickly as possible and secondly, to deter some players to ensure going over the imposed limited capacities.
Even with the many restrictions in place and the pandemic still raging on, the economical decision to reopen has helped to address growing unemployment in casino-focused cities and towns.
For instance, the union representing casino workers in New Jersey reported that in the first few days of reopening, between 20 and 30 percent of union members got their jobs back.
As measures loosen and capacities gradually increase, more people will be able to return to work after months of struggle and uncertainty.
It had been deemed callous to talk about reopening economies and getting people back to work during the early stages of the pandemic and when the death toll was rapidly increasing. But as the crisis continued and there was a realization that ‘normal’ would not return for the foreseeable future, then tackling increasing poverty as a result of the outbreak has become an inevitable priority.
The casino business is just one of many industries that rely heavily on visitors and tourism, and its cautious reopening shows that life must go on in the current climate, even if ‘normal’ is some way away from returning.
News
A large-scale $1 billion online casino shady scheme involving Ukrainian fraudsters Vadim Gordievsky and Alyona Suvorova has been discovered in Kazakhstan.
The Kazakhstan Financial Monitoring Agency has revealed a large-scale shady scheme with a whole layer of cross-border transfers. While referring to the press service of the Agency, Elordainfo.kz informs that numerous bank employees and 120 people from several countries were involved in the operation of the shady scheme.
The money was sent to various payment organizations, disguised as legal transactions, and was later withdrawn to numerous online casinos.
At the same time, local authorities managed to eliminate the call center, which employed foreigners, which provided technical support for four online casinos as well as advice on money transactions. In addition, the organizers of the call center created a gambling partnership program that was used to accept payments and withdraw them in cryptocurrencies. The overall turnover exceeded 200 million USDT.
During the implementation of all these measures, over 70 searches were conducted. As a result of these activities, local authorities managed to gather physical evidence as well as to detain nine suspects.
According to law enforcement authorities in Kazakhstan, the key organizer of the shady miscoding scheme is Ukrainian Vadim Ivanovich Gordievsky, born in 1974. He led this organized crime group and used the local Marginplus company for these purposes (marginplus.kz). In addition to companies from Kazakhstan, Gordievsky also worked with illegal Russian online casinos while helping them to facilitate payments.
Already in 2008, Vadim Gordievsky served as deputy head of the Boryspil Regional State Administration and was in charge of land issues. Under Gordievsky, various lands of Boryspil were sold while the money was stolen. In the same 2008, he was dismissed from his position with a huge scandal, but his case never resulted in criminal proceedings. A lot of money and connections in government offices helped him avoid accountability.
In 2012, when Viktor Yanukovych came to power, Vadim Gordievsky took the chair of the head of the highway service in the Odessa region, where he managed to get access to millions of dollars, which he later invested in FC Alta Capital.
After the initiation of criminal cases for financial crimes, fraud, and the announcement of his wanted list by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vadim Gordievsky left Ukraine on forged documents.
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According to investigators, Gordievsky’s partner, Mikhail Kovalev (Mykhaylo Kovalov), who has a number of companies in the EU, in particular, in Poland and a residence permit in Spain, was closely working with Gordievsky. By using numerous fictitious companies in Poland, in particular, STABLEX SOLUTION Sp. z o. o (solvexs.pl) he engaged in illegal payments and cash withdrawal in cryptocurrencies.
His partner, who is also his former Kyivstar employee, Alyona (Olena) Suvorova (born in 1983), who left Ukraine for Moscow after February 2022, and Ukrainian IT specialist Denis Andreevich Rykov (born in 1990), who currently lives in St. Petersburg, also participated in the shady scheme of illegal bookmakers and dubious payments.
Judging by her social media accounts, Alyona Suvorova is currently positioning herself “as an entrepreneur, investor, and crypto trader with 5+ years of experience.” According to Suvorova herself, she has been developing payment technologies in the field of FinTech for 10 years. In 2021, she opened her own business for international crypto transfers. In addition, she is the founder of the Lemoncoin Crypto Academy.
The law enforcement agencies of Kazakhstan are asking for information about the location and data of all these people. In the near future, Vadim Gordievsky, Alyona Suvorova, and other defendants will be put on the international wanted list. According to local laws, they face up to nine years in prison.
News
Second Prize Drop of N1 Puzzle Promo: Top Affiliates Score Porsche, Cartier, Leica & Apple for Driving High-Quality Traffic
N1 Partners is wrapping up the second lottery of the N1 Puzzle Promo! From September 1 to November 30, partners were actively collecting puzzle pieces for FTDs and climbing the rankings to secure their place among the winners.
A notable trend this season: the Top-5 leaders by traffic and collected puzzles differ from the main leaderboard. This means some partners slowed down, while others pushed harder — and now have every chance to boost their position in the overall standings by the end of the promo.
Five luxury prizes will be awarded to partners with consistently strong performance who entered the Top-5 by puzzle count during the second mini-lottery period.
Which prizes did the leaders receive?
1st place — MacBook Pro
C*** *****h
2nd place — Porsche eBike Sport
A***********t
3rd place — Cartier Santos Medium watch
T****** ****d
4th place — Leica Q2 camera
P******k
5th place — Apple Vision Pro
S** ****s
“The promo is entering its final stretch — a crucial checkpoint for the entire N1 Puzzle Promo, where the fate of the leaderboard may be decided,” notes Alexa Bond, Head of Affiliates at N1 Partners. “With one month left until the end, even those who joined later still have a chance to make a breakthrough, while the leaders can strengthen their positions and widen the gap. N1 Puzzle Promo isn’t about luck — it’s about consistent work and mutual trust between partners and the affiliate program.”
The Grand Finale in Barcelona Is Getting Closer
The race continues: the more puzzle pieces collected throughout the promo, the higher the ranking — and the greater the chance to fly out of Barcelona in your very own helicopter!
On January 20, 2026, in Barcelona, during iGB Affiliate and ICE, N1 Partners will host the final N1 Puzzle Promo party, where winners will receive exclusive gifts — and the grand prize: a Robinson R22 Beta II helicopter.
Guests of the event can also expect:
- Exclusive prize ceremony;
- Live performance by top artists and the evening’s headliner (announcement coming soon)!
- Activities and surprises from the N1 Partners team;
Still Not Too Late to Join
N1 Puzzle Promo runs until December 31, 2025, and partners still have time to collect puzzle pieces, climb the leaderboard, and compete for the grand prize and additional rewards. Traffic from Tier-1 GEOs counts toward the ranking, and only registered N1 Partners partners can participate.
All details and registration are available at: https://n1.partners/puzzle_promo
There’s still time! Collect your puzzle pieces, level up in the leaderboard — and your team might be the one taking home the Robinson R22 Beta II right off the stage in Barcelona!
News
One month until the N1 Puzzle Promo finale — Barcelona will host the iGaming party everyone is going to talk about
There’s less than a month left until the official end of N1 Puzzle Promo. And while the battle for the top spot on the leaderboard becomes fiercer every day – and the promo leaders eagerly wait for new updates – N1 Partners is preparing an event that will leave no one indifferent, neither N1 Partners affiliates nor the wider iGaming community.
Event: N1 Puzzle Promo award ceremony 🎉
Where: Barcelona, Spain
When: January, 2026
N1 Partners is bringing together top affiliates and industry leaders to announce – live from the stage – the winner of N1 Puzzle Promo and award the grand prize of the promo: the Robinson R22 Beta II helicopter 🚁
What else is the N1 Partners team preparing?
We’re not revealing all the details just yet, but some things are simply impossible to hide:
- exclusive luxury prizes awarding that you’ll definitely want to add to your collection
- performances by top artists and a surprise headliner — who will it be? You’ll find out very soon… 🤫
- special activities available only to guests of the event
N1 Puzzle Promo rules reminder
The promo runs until December 31, 2025. The more puzzles collected, the higher the chance to win the helicopter — we’re almost out of time.
- SEO traffic – 1 puzzle per 10 FTDs
- PPC & ASO – 1 puzzle per 40 FTDs
- FB & other* – 1 puzzle per 100 FTDs
* Social media traffic, SMS, Email, UAC, In-app
Only Tier-1 GEO traffic counts.
Who will take off in the helicopter from sunny Barcelona? Maybe it will be your team!
Stay tuned for updates on the N1 Partners website and social channels — you won’t want to miss the biggest news. See you soon!
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News2 weeks agoOne month until the N1 Puzzle Promo finale — Barcelona will host the iGaming party everyone is going to talk about
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News7 days agoSecond Prize Drop of N1 Puzzle Promo: Top Affiliates Score Porsche, Cartier, Leica & Apple for Driving High-Quality Traffic
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News15 hours agoA large-scale $1 billion online casino shady scheme involving Ukrainian fraudsters Vadim Gordievsky and Alyona Suvorova has been discovered in Kazakhstan.

