Gaming Realms plans release of classic SPACE INVADERS game for real money gambling

Mobile gaming content developer Gaming Realms announced Tuesday that it has signed a licensing agreement with TAITO Corp. to create a real-money Slingo SPACE INVADERS game. TAITO is Japan’s internationally renowned video games and arcade company.

TAITO developed and released SPACE INVADERS in 1978, one of the most influential video games of all time. Gaming Realms will combine Slingo’s unique game format with SPACE INVADERS’ iconic pixelated Invader characters, creating one of its most exciting new launches to date. The game will be available as a social media and real money gambling game.

SPACE INVADERS is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.

Tsuyoshi Nishiwaki, executive officer of TAITO Corp., commented: “We are overjoyed that it still brings fresh experiences to new audiences and gaming formats. We feel that Slingo and SPACE INVADERS will make a great partnership, and we are excited to see our iconic pixelated Invader characters manifest in this established platform.”

Applications to operate skill games in Louisa, Virginia, voted down

Two applications that would have brought skill games to the small town of Louisa, Va., were voted down on Tuesday during a joint meeting between the town’s planning commission and council.

The Sappington Revocable Living Trust and Central Virginia Property Holdings, LLC, submitted Special Use Permits (SUP) applications to operate skill games at their businesses in the town of 1,555 people. The Sappington Revocable Living Trust operates the Louisa BP gas station in town.

The machines, also known as gray machines, are like standard casino slot machines, but operate in a different way and are known as skill games. The machines have come under fire from the state as being a form of gambling since 2020. A judge in Greenville, Va., stopped the state’s attempt to ban them in July 2021. They still operate in the commonwealth today.

Applications fail

The Louisa BP gas station was already operating skill games. The station changed ownership twice in 2022, once in February, and then in September. Sumata Das, the current operator, had to submit a SUP application when it was discovered the gas station was already operating skill games.

“He was unaware a SUP was required,” one council member explained during the meeting Tuesday.

The second SUP submitted by Central Virginia Property Holdings LLC was for the Court Café and Pub building across from the Louisa post office.

Both SUP applications failed to pass during a joint vote before the Louisa planning commission and town council meeting.

The town is currently in a rebuilding effort to move forward as a vibrant community of small businesses.

“A lot of people enjoy these games,” said Melissa Chisholm with Central Virginia Property Holdings, LLC. “They do it for entertainment and they do it to relax and unwind after a day of work. I’ve had them in my business for three years down in Bumpass. We’re excited about coming to the Town of Louisa. We just didn’t know we had to go over this hurdle.”

Chisholm’s business partner, Mike Rasswallia, told the council, “People come and play $20. Nobody is losing their house. Nobody is losing rent money. It's more of a place where you come and enjoy and have a good time.”

Before voting on the applications, council members opened up the meeting for public comment.

“Once we open those doors, more is gonna happen. We’re just gonna bring in more gambling,” a resident said during public comments. “How do they know that no one has lost rent? Or money for food? Or for child support, or anything like that, by gambling with that $20, that turns into $30, $40, $50, etc…”

The games continue to operate in Virginia in a "gray area" throughout the Commonwealth. A legislative effort to regulate and tax the games failed earlier this month in the Virginia State Capitol.

Meanwhile, thieves have targeted the gaming machines in six 7-Eleven stores in Fairfax County during a four-week period in January. Surveillance cameras show thieves casually carrying the machines out of stores with ease.

International reaction to North Korea missile launches, 'what has to be done is clear'

According to news reports, North Korea launched two more ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday.

The two ballistic missiles were fired around 5 p.m. EST on Sunday and went into waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. The first missile reached an altitude of 100 kilometers and the second, launched 10 minutes later, reached 50 km.

The launches come just two days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the sea off Japan's west coast.

The action met a strong reaction from congressional members in Washington.

“The recent North Korean ICBM test is a stark reminder that Kim Jong Un is an unstable dictator with a growing nuclear arsenal capable of ranging the U.S. homeland,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

“Protecting the U.S. homeland must be paramount as we develop our 2024 budget, and this includes fully-funding homeland missile defense assets,” he continued. “What has to be done is clear – we must accelerate our missile defense development to outpace the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) threat. This includes speeding up the Next Generation Interceptor, putting more interceptors in the ground, and looking to space-based missile defenses.”

The German Federal Foreign Office said the launch endangers international security.

“North Korea is obliged to completely, irreversibly, and verifiably end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles,” said the Federal Foreign Office in a statement on Sunday.

“North Korea’s continued violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions are deeply worrying,” the office continued. “We call on North Korea to fully implement the decisions of the United Nations Security Council and to take up the offers put forward by the United States and South Korea to engage in serious dialogue.

Referring to the ballistic missile test by North Korea, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 on Feb. 18 stated that North Korea’s reckless behavior demands a unified response by the international community, including further significant measures taken by the UN Security Council.