Monthly Archives: March 2017

Imperial Pacific’s VIP gambling turnover tumbles in February

Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) saw its VIP gambling turnover tumble in February following the previous month’s record sum.

In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday, IPI said VIP turnover at its Best Sunshine Live temporary casino totaled $1.67b in February. The sum is a significant retreat from the record $5.6b the casino reported in January, a period that included the kickoff of the annual Chinese New Year celebrations.

IPI’s monthly turnover reports have reported such dramatic swings in the past, leaping from from $1.55b last August to $3.95b the very next month. But IPI’s latest lowball figure comes shortly after a gaming analyst voiced suspicions that IPI’s figures may be artificially goosed in order to boost the company’s stock price.

The March issue of Forbes Asia contains a lengthy profile of IPI’s operations, including a quote from Newpage Consulting CEO David Green, who wondered if IPI’s monthly numbers “may be confected to ramp up the market value of Imperial Pacific.”

500.com goes another year with nil sports lottery revenue

Lunar new year celebrations are being blamed for a double-digit decline in China’s lottery sales in January.

Figures released by China’s Ministry of Finance show lottery sales falling 10.7% to RMB 29.16b (US $4.24b) in January. Welfare lottery sales were off 10.6% to RMB 19.15b and sports lottery sales fell 10.8% to RMB 12.5b.

The Ministry blamed the decline on the timing of the New Year holiday, which began in late January. Only five of China’s 31 provinces posted year-on-year sales increases, while sales in Guangdong province, which ranked highest in lottery sales in 2016, declined by 17.4%.

Meanwhile, erstwhile online sports lottery operator 500.com says it failed to generate a single yuan from lottery sales in 2016. The company’s fortunes have been reeling ever since China ordered the ‘temporary’ suspension of online lottery sales in March 2015 after uncovering rampant corruption at provincial lottery administration centers.

Daniel Strelitz Out Front at Final Table of 2017 WPT LA Poker Classic, Mike Sexton Still In It to Win It

Day Five at the 2017 WPT L.A. Poker Classic began with fireworks and ended with the television final table of six decided. For the third straight day, Daniel Strelitz left the […]

The post Daniel Strelitz Out Front at Final Table of 2017 WPT LA Poker Classic, Mike Sexton Still In It to Win It appeared first on .

Sportech announces sale of Football Pools division (again)

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but UK-listed gambling operator Sportech says it’s sold its Football Pools business.

On Thursday, Sportech filed its annual report, along with a notice announcing the £83m conditional sale of the Pools business to FP Acquisitions Ltd, a new entity controlled by European private equity firm OpCapita LLP.

The deal depends on Sportech securing its shareholders’ approval and OpCapita being able to acquire the necessary licenses from the UK Gambling Commission. Sportech claims OpCapita has long been eyeing a gaming-related acquisition and the Pools was apparently the ideal way to get its toe in the door.

For the record, Sportech has been down this road before, having scrapped three announced deals to offload the Pools in in the last 18 months to Contagious Gaming, NetPlay TV and Burlywood Capital. The last of these aborted deals would have seen Burlywood pay £97.25m for the Pools business.

NFL receives plan to keep Raiders in Oakland ahead of March meeting

Ronnie Lott’s group has finally made its move to keep the Raiders in Oakland.

Fortress Investment Group has sent the NFL and the Raiders a formal proposal to build a new stadium for the team, according to a Sports Business Daily report. An NFL spokesman confirmed the report to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Jon Mark Saraceno, noting that the proposal included details for a 55,000-seat stadium, worth an estimated $1.3 billion, in Alameda County.

The Oakland City Council and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted in mid-December to support a plan to enter into an exclusive negotiating deal with Lott’s investment team to build a new stadium for the Raiders.

Fortress’s initial plan was accepted by the Oakland council with a 7-0 vote, while the county board voted 3-1. The league, however, rejected the proposal and asked the group to resubmit it with more information.

EnergyBet partners with David Haye for the big fight

EnergyBet is proud to announce an official partnership with former world cruiserweight and world heavyweight boxing champion David ‘The Hayemaker’ Haye. Haye and his team will be wearing EnergyBet branded apparel in the lead up to, and during, the heavily anticipated fight against Tony Bellew on March 4th at London’s O2 Arena.

On Saturday David Haye will enter the ring with Tony Bellew, as they go head-to-head in the heavyweight division, in one of the most eagerly anticipated fights in recent years. Both men are looking in incredible form, but Haye has a formidable reputation and has made it very clear that he will be looking to finally settle his differences with Bellew in the ring.

The partnership is going to provide EnergyBet with powerful exclusive content to share with their customers, and a few of them will even be joining the EnergyBet team at the O2 Arena on Saturday, to lend their support to Haye in person.

The agreement is a result of a collaboration between Hayemaker and Entourage Sports & Entertainment.

BtoBet at Vienna International Gaming Expo 2017

During the 3 days of gaming exhibition and conference, in the heart of Europe, multinational BtoBet – bronze sponsor of the event – will meet operators wishing to have a deep insight into its innovative technology, crucial to develop the gaming business efficiently, to speed up revenues and operations by guessing what players will do next.

On 21 March, at 2.30 pm, BtoBet’s CEO Kostandina Zafirovska has been invited as kay speaker during the Innovation panels at the ground floor of the expo. She will provide her vision about the importance of the Omnichannel platform to move easily from retail to online and mobile with the support of a high technology software for Sportsbook and Casino games.

The same day, in a second Innovation Talk after 3.45 pm,  Kostandina will also discuss about the new technological features of the Augmented Reality (AR) that can boost the iGaming business creating totally new and attractive ways of betting, offering licensees the possibility of unconventional marketing opportunities to attract and retail players, new users and also Millennials.

BtoBet’s experts will be available at VIGE for live demos of the company’s cutting edge, multicurrency and multi-jurisdiction omnichannel platform.

Sky Vegas launches Blueprint Gaming’s Free Spins tool

2nd March, 2017 – Blueprint Gaming’s Free Spins promotional tool is to feature on all of Sky Vegas’ upcoming gaming content with the UK-based game studio after a successful trial run.

The initial Free Spins UK launch was on two of Blueprint’s most popular games, King Kong Cash and Slots O’Gold, which links into the multi-game Jackpot King system.

The feature will now be available on all upcoming Blueprint Games, as well as collaborations with Sky Vegas.

Matt Cole, Managing Director of Blueprint Gaming, said: “The initial Free Spins launch with Sky Vegas has gone really well and this is mainly down to the innovative and effective use of marketing tools, which have become increasingly important.

London Affiliate Conference lauds 2017 success

2nd March, 2017 (London) – iGB Affiliate, the most respected information provider for the igaming affiliate market, has hailed this year’s London Affiliate Conference a huge success following its move to the ExCeL.

A record-breaking total of 5,062 delegates attended the four-day event in London, including 2,989 affiliates and 1,512 exhibitors. This represents an 11% growth year on year and is a strong indicator that the move to ExCeL was well received.

The move offered new and existing exhibitors the chance to dramatically increase the size of their stands, while also allowing organisers to invest in new feature areas and the delegate experience. The change also proved convenient for attendees of ICE, which ended the same day that LAC began.

iGaming Business’ head of operations Shona ODonnell commented: “LAC this year was an incredible reflection of the growth and innovation our industry has seen in the past 12 months. Feedback from clients and delegates on the move to ExCeL was astoundingly positive across the board.  As always with a new space, we had a few teething problems but we are already working on eliminating these for 2018.  Now, more than ever, LAC is the must attend event for the affiliate industry and I am extremely proud of what we have delivered.”

Cheltenham Festival 2017: What punters need to know

Horse racing enthusiast will once again be treated to some of the most fiercely competitive racing of the year: the Cheltenham Festival.

During the four day event, the best chaser and hurdlers from Britain and Ireland ( plus the occasional French / US contender ) will attempt to win one of the 28 races that comprise the meeting, including four championship contests – the Stan James Champion Hurdle ( Tuesday ), Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase ( Wednesday ), Sun Bets Stayers’ Hurdle ( Thursday ) and Timico Gold Cup ( Friday ).

According to freebets.com, there will be 21 races due to take place at the festival that will be attended 200,000 people over the four days. There will also be 250 bookmakers to be in attendance on each of the four days.

With these number, expect 220,000 pints Guinness and 10,000 amount of tea and coffee in gallons expected to be consumed during the event.