Ken Hirata has been elected as the new governor of Nagasaki Prefecture, providing a measure of political certainty in a jurisdiction that has previously drawn attention from the integrated resort (IR) and wider tourism investment community.
Kangwon Land Inc, South Korea’s only casino open to locals, has approved a sponsorship package of up to KRW 4.5 billion (US$3.3 million) for Gangwon FC, reinforcing its long-standing support for regional sports and tourism development. The sponsorship was endorsed at a recent board meeting and will cover the 2026 football season.
Entain is positioning itself aggressively ahead of New Zealand’s planned launch of a regulated online casino market, signalling strong confidence in the country’s long-term digital gambling potential. The move comes as the New Zealand government advances plans to introduce a licensing regime for online casinos, aimed at replacing the current unregulated offshore environment.
South Korea’s casino industry is seeing a sharp uplift as a surge in Chinese tourists drives higher visitation and gaming volumes ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. Industry data and operator commentary indicate that inbound traffic from China has accelerated since late January, translating into stronger table drop and improved mass-market play at foreigner-only casinos across the country.
Sportradar has signed a multi-year partnership with NBC Sports Regional Sports Networks to enhance NBA broadcasts with advanced data and real-time visual storytelling. The agreement will see Sportradar’s NBA data and its AI-driven GameFrame technology integrated across hundreds of live games during the 2025–26 and 2026–27 seasons, sharpening how fans experience the action.
Author: Janice Chew • Tuesday, 10/02/2026
