Monthly Archives: September 2017

Australian federal court derails $8.8B Tabcorp-Tatts Group merger

The multi-billion dollar marriage of Australian betting firms Tabcorp Holdings and Tatts Group is now in limbo after the Federal Court upheld a petition seeking to block their union.

Justice Nye Perram tossed the AUD$11 billion Tabcorp and Tatts Group merger deal back to the Australian Competition Tribunal – so much to the delight of the country’s competition watchdog Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

The public, however, has to wait at least five days to know the reason behind the Perram’s decision, according to the report of The Sydney Morning Herald.

“The ACCC is pleased that the Full Federal Court has set aside the decision,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said after the verdict on Wednesday. “However, the reasons for the decision are not yet public.”

BetConstruct secures French Gaming Licence from ARJEL

September 20, 2017: BetConstruct is excited to announce that it has been granted a Remote Gaming Licence for its Sportsbook product by Arjel, the French online games regulator.

The Remote Gaming Licence now enables BetConstruct to provide its licensed sports betting software to its partners who are willing to operate in France.

“Being granted a licence by ARJEL is a powerful guarantee of reliability and a stamp of recognition of the strengths of BetConstruct. The French licence will allow our partners to have a privileged access to the French market that has grown 30 percent every year since it was regulated. BetConstruct will remove barriers for operators and allow them to benefit from this dynamic market,” commented BetConstruct Regional Director in France, David Ozararat.

The new licence granted to BetConstruct is an addition to Malta Gambling Authority’s controlled skill games licences and casino and pool betting licence from the UK Gambling Commission which the technology provider secured earlier this year.

Kevin Klayton: Make your property the preferred play destination

In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Becky Liggero, Kevin Klayton of Galaxy Entertainment gives his insights on how casino operators may be able to attract high rollers into their integrated resorts.

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Pokerstars Megastack adds second Malta stop to 2017 schedule

PokerStars grassroots activities across Europe yield record breaking entries

ONCHAN, Isle of Man – September 2017 – The deep-structured, low buy-in live poker series designed for recreational players, PokerStars MEGASTACK, has added an additional stop to its schedule in Malta this October, PokerStars, the flagship brand of The Stars Group Inc. (Nasdaq: TSG; TSX: TSGI), announced today.

The PokerStars MEGASTACK Malta event will take place from October 19 – 22 with the €170 buy-in Main Event prize pool guarantee increased to €40,000. Action will take place at Portomaso Casino in the lively seaside resort of St Julian’s, the unofficial ‘capital’ of Maltese nightlife. St Julian’s is home to dozens of clubs, bars, cafes and restaurants, and is the perfect setting for a MEGASTACK event. Details of the full tournament schedule can he found here. Online satellites will run on PokerStars from September 24 to October 18.

“For a low buy-in of only €170, PokerStars MEGASTACK Malta is an event perfect for the bankroll of every beginner wanting a taste of live poker action,” said Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker. “Not only will players compete for their share of the €40,000 Main Event guaranteed prize pool, but it’s also a great proving ground for those with an eye on playing a PokerStars Festival or Championship tournament in the future.”

JCM Global brings operators the next level of connection at G2E 2017

JCM Global’s award-winning line of transaction solutions has been helping operators make real connections with customers for decades. Now in booth #4039 at G2E 2017, JCM is showing the bill validators, printers, promotional solutions, and digital media operators need to take customer connections to the next level.

Leading the way to the future is JCM’s revolutionary FUZION® technology, which stole the show last year in a back-room preview. Now fully realized, FUZION is ready to adapt onto any provider of the casino management systems and address any regulatory challenges. When paired with JCM’s iVIZION® bill validator and GEN5™ printer, the transformative FUZION technology unleashes the power of what if. With FUZION, each slot machine could become a multi-line profit center with the current potential to:

• Vend and redeem lottery tickets

• Vend and redeem race & sports betting

PGA TOUR implementing new Integrity Program in 2018

Genius Sports to monitor global betting markets and provide bespoke educational services

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (September 2017) – The PGA TOUR has announced that it will implement a new Integrity Program effective January 1, 2018, to protect its competitions from potential outside influences related to gambling.

While the TOUR has a longstanding policy prohibiting players from betting or related activities at TOUR-related events, the new Integrity Program is more comprehensive. It will cover all facets of competition and operations on the six Tours overseen by the PGA TOUR, including players and their support teams, all tournament staff and volunteers, the entire PGA TOUR staff and the PGA TOUR Policy Board.

The Program’s stated mission is: “To maintain integrity and prevent and mitigate betting-related corruption in PGA TOUR competitions – ensuring competitions always reflect, and appear to reflect, the best efforts of the players, while protecting the welfare of the players and others involved with the PGA TOUR – through clear policies and regulations, ongoing education and training, and effective and consistent monitoring and enforcement functions.”

PokerStars news from WCOOP; Sochi Festival; and MEGASTACK tour

Three parts of a PokerStars puzzle including an update on the 2017 World Championship of Online Poker, details of the Sochi Festival schedule, and an extra date for followers of the MEGASTACK tour.

The PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) is that exciting, not even an outbreak of dysentery would prevent the world’s greatest poker players from doing their bollocks.

81 events.

$60m in guaranteed prize money.

NiP & Betway renew their love; Team Envy off to Dallas; Overwatch update

Three yarns from the world of esports including an update on the love affair between Ninjas in Pyjamas and Betway; Team Envy moving to Dallas, and an update on the Overwatch league.

It seems Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) have been in the confessional booth.

“Forgive me father, for I have sinned. It’s been a month since my last confession.”

“Go ahead, my son.”

WSOP.com celebrates 4th birthday; Cartwright celebrates 7th gold ring

WSOP.com celebrate their fourth birthday, and Kyle Cartwright wins his seventh World Series of Poker Circuit gold ring at the Imperial Palace in Biloxi.

Guess who’s birthday it is, today?

WSOP.com is four-years-old.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) doesn’t publish online poker revenue numbers, but news amongst the rhubarb is that it’s barely worth mentioning.

Ad watchdog sees red over Paddy Power’s ‘always bet on black’

The UK’s advertising watchdog has found fault with Paddy Power’s Wesley Snipes references, while dismissing allegations of social irresponsibility against Bet365.

On Wednesday, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) released rulings on a number of complaints against gambling industry marketing efforts, although thankfully none of them as embarrassing as last week’s epic fail of affiliate advertorial.

The first case involved Paddy Power’s promo for last month’s Floyd Mayweather Jr. v. Conor McGregor boxing match. Two newspaper ads proclaimed the company’s decision to pay out early on Mayweather bets, using the tag “Always Bet on Black.”

The ads received nine complaints by readers upset over what they perceived as references to Mayweather’s race, and thus they believed the ad was capable of causing serious or widespread offence.

Poker Grit with Jordan Young

Jordan ‘Jymaster0011’ Young steps up to the plate as the first guest in a series looking at what constitutes poker grit, talking about his experiences as a drug addict and falling into hundreds of thousands of dollars in makeup. 

Jordan ‘Jymaster0011’ Young once ruled the online multi-table tournament universe. When in his early twenties, he won both Full Tilt Sunday majors in a single day and achieved the PocketFives World #1 status.

Speaking to PocketFives at the time, Young told Dan Cypra that he had never ‘been in the zone like that his entire life.’ Only a few people knew that Young was struggling with drug addiction during those achievements.

Young was kind enough to be the first guest in a new column that uncovers stories of true poker grit. We talk about his addiction to painkillers, poor money management, getting deep into makeup, and a lot more.

Big point spreads for public teams on week 4 college football slate

Much like the NFL this week, college football features some major mismatches with big point spreads favoring very public teams. That means sportsbooks obviously will need the underdogs in those Week 4 games to keep the scores closer than expected and cover in hopes of beating bettors and turning a profit.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

For example, the Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off a 38-7 win over the Army Black Knights last Saturday following a surprising 31-16 home loss to the Oklahoma Sooners the previous week. The Buckeyes failed to cover both of those games and needed to rally late to beat the number in their season-opening 49-21 road victory against the Indiana Hoosiers.

Ohio State is listed as a 40-point home favorite this Saturday versus the UNLV Rebels, who are coming off a bye week after routing the Idaho Vandals 44-16 as 5-point road dogs. But the Rebels lost their season opener 43-40 to the Howard Bison as 45.5-point home favorites, so who knows which UNLV team will show up.

Pragmatic Play signs with Bethard

Provider’s portfolio made available to Bethard Group players in latest deal

Malta, 19 September 2017 – Multi-award winning slot developer Pragmatic Play has agreed a deal to provide its expanding portfolio of high-quality games to leading operator, Bethard Group.

The provider’s collection of state-of-the-art titles, including recent releases Queen of Gold, Pixie Wings and Jurassic Giants are now available to Bethard’s customers.

Yossi Barzely, Head of Business Development at Pragmatic Play, said: “Bethard is one of the industry’s most attractive operators, and we are delighted to have signed an agreement to offer our leading selection of titles to its players.

Aussie pols baying for Lottoland’s head on a pike

Online lottery betting operator Lottoland is fighting for its right to exist against a furious assault from Australian politicians and retail lottery operators.

On Tuesday, the Herald Sun reported that federal Communications Minister Mitch Fifield had written to the government of the Northern Territory – the jurisdiction that issued an online sports betting license to Lottoland – asking for the gaming regulator to justify its decision to issue that license.

Fifield’s letter reportedly echoes criticisms traditionally leveled at Lottoland; that it misleads customers into thinking they’re participating in a traditional lottery draw, that it’s a “risky” gambling product and that it deprives state governments of revenue that traditional lotteries are required to remit for social and community causes.

Lottoland, which allows customers to place a bet on the outcome of lottery draws – not just on local lotteries but on major international draws like Powerball and EuroMillions – has proven a hit with Australian punters since the local site’s January 2016 launch, leading the betting arm of casino operator Crown Resorts to launch a similar lottery betting product.