Independent gaming software provider 1×2 gaming launched a new sports betting product, providing a new virtual betting experience made up of more than 160 national league competitions from 146 countries, all in the world of simulation.

The product titled “Virtual Football Pro” will feature real team names from various football leagues around the world with offerings of a number of betting options that bettors normally see in live-action football matches. Be it total match goals or other additional outright markets, Virtual Football Pro provides a pretty cool simulated interpretation of actual football leagues.

“This represents a genuine milestone in the provision of online virtual football,” 1×2 gaming Chief Marketing Officer Kevin Reid said in a statement. “The product provides localized content that will be interesting and compelling to the players in the different geographic locations, and operators will be able to see the benefit of having a data-driven, virtual sports product to complement their existing graphical products.”

It’s still unclear which operator will sign up to get Virtual Football Pro in their libraries but with the immense potential of a simulated virtual football market, it likely would be just be a matter of time before we see the game go live.

Meanwhile, online gambling operator Betway followed up on its massive £20 million deal with  English Premier League club West Ham United by striking an agreement with UK-based sports radio station talkSPORT.

As part of the newly minted partnership between the two sides, Betway’s Alan Algar will get a segment on the station’s “Weekend Sports Breakfast Show” where he will be able to discuss some of Betway’s latest sports betting odds while also giving listeners a first-hand lowdown on the range of betting markets and specials being offered by Betway in that particular time.

The deal is particularly important for Betway, which now has access to a multitude of people who are exposed to talkSPORT. “For a huge number of football supporters across the UK, talkSPORT is the first place they tune into every day for all the latest football news, the company said in a statement. “We are delighted to have teamed up with the station which will give us exposure to this huge pool of sports fans.”

South Korea casino operator Grand Korea Leisure reported a 57% increase in visitation numbers from Chinese gamblers in its casinos compared to its numbers a year ago, quelling fears that China’s tightening grip on the ability of its VIP gamblers from gambling in other casinos would have a direct effect on casinos’ ability to draw in these high rollers.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, Grand Korea Leisure reported that it welcomed a total of 510,000 visitors in its three foreigners-only casinos, a number that was 34% better year-on-year. Of this total, Chinese gamblers accounted for 40% of gambling visitors with Japanese gamblers coming in at second at 28%.

“There was no slowdown in Chinese gamer traffic,” Daiwa Securities Group analyst Thomas Kwon said. “[GKL] benefited from robust visitor traffic for VIP floor and mass-table games from all countries including China.”

In the same time period, GKL reported an increase in its revenue by 5% to KRW149 billion ($134.8 million) while operating profit shot up by 4% to KRW40 billion ($36 million) year-on-year. The numbers were still below Daiwa’s forecast of KRW45.2 billion ($40.8 million) but it was still good enough to post a net profit of KRW31 billion ($28 million), an increase of 21% compared to its numbers in the same time period a year ago.

Meanwhile, Donaco International has successfully raised almost $72 million through a successful share placement, thanks to an entitlement offer to some of its new investors. The casino operator told the Australian Securities Exchange that the shares placement will net the company 154,014,665 new shares, which it began trading on February 11, 2015. Similarly, a retail component to Donaco’s entitlement offer opened on Monday, February 9, and is expected to close on February 23. The trading of these shares is expected to begin on March 3.

Donaco has made no bones about its intentions when it first announced the filing back in January 30, saying that its plan to raise $100 million in equity financing through this entitlement offer would go dotards the acquisition of the Star Vegas Resort and Club casino property in Poipet, Cambodia. That transaction is expected to be completed in April.

Vietnam says it’s getting serious about picking an investor to build an integrated resort and casino in the Van Don special economic zone in Quang Ninh province. If that sounds familiar, it’s because this process has been going on for a year and a half with very little public sign of progress.

But fear not: Nugyen Van Doc, chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, told Vietnam Investment Review that local authorities have been asked to speed up site clearances for the resort as well as for the Van Don airport. Time is of the essence, as the investment certificates have to be obtained by March and the recipients have to start construction by April.

The Committee claims companies including Las Vegas Sands have paid visits to the province. Sands routinely cites Vietnam as a promising market but has also stated it’s only interested in building in major metropolitan centers like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. And only if Vietnam relaxes its ban on locals entering casinos.

Other reported tirekickers include Casinos Austria and Phoenix Macau Tailoi, whose only English-language online references specifically relate to this project. Dao Hong Tuyen‘s Tuan Chau Group has promised to spend over $7b building not one but two casinos and Sun Group, whose properties include the Ba Na Hills and Son Tra Intercontinental resorts in Da Nang, is also in the hunt.

VIETNAMESE GAMBLER RESCUED FROM CAMBODIA BORDER CASINO

Whoever builds in Van Don may eventually get the chance to participate in the Vietnamese government’s promised pilot program to allow locals in casinos. Vietnamese gamblers are currently forced to venture abroad to get their gamble on and the government is struggling to stem the flood of gamblers crossing the border into Cambodia.

For years, Vietnamese media has retold stories of unlucky gamblers falling victim to loansharking, kidnapping and torture in Cambodia’s border casinos. On Monday, the Cambodia Daily reported the arrest of an employee of the Roxy Casino for detaining a gambler over an unpaid line of credit.

This is a guest contribution by Focus Online Management Ltd. owner Phil Fraser. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

2014 was a year of huge legislative change for the whole of the online gaming industry, with the long-anticipated introduction of Point of Consumption tax on December 1st, as well as changes to UK remote gaming licensing laws.

Many industry commentators predicted that these legislative changes would lead to a change in the online bingo landscape, with many of the smaller brands struggling to remain profitable.

Phil Fraser, owner of the leading UK bingo portal www.whichbingo.co.uk, gives his take on what happened in the online bingo market in 2014 and what he predicts will happen next in 2015.

Making hay while the sun shines

Despite the impending Point of Consumption tax on the horizon, 2014 was a record breaking year for new bingo site launches, with over 77 new sites entering the market. This figure however was skewed slightly by Bauer Media launching 20 virtually duplicate sites under their magazine and radio brands. These 77 new sites dwarf the 2013 total, and, as can be seen from the graph below, is the largest ever number of new site launches in the UK market.

(Source  www.whichbingo.co.uk)