Monthly Archives: September 2017

MGM’s Bridgeport casino plan targets Connecticut tribes

Casino operator MGM Resorts is upping the stakes in its war against two tribal gaming operators by announcing plans to develop a Connecticut gaming venue.

On Monday, MGM announced it had inked a deal with developer RCI Group to build a $600m resort casino in Bridgeport, the largest city in Connecticut. The proposed casino, which would require a license from state regulators, marks a further escalation in MGM’s war against the state’s allegedly preferential treatment of its Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes.

Appearing at a press conference on Monday, MGM CEO Jim Murrren – a Bridgeport native – said the proposed casino would feature 2k slot machines, 160 table games, a 300-room hotel and a 700-seat theater, along with retail and dining amenities.

Murren said the Bridgeport casino “could turn the economic tide in the state. We just need the political commitment to make that happen.” Bridgeport Mayor Jospeh Ganim, who appeared alongside Murren at the presser, welcomed the idea of bringing 7k jobs to the city and assured MGM that Bridgeport was “behind you 100% to make this happen.”

Sportech CEO exits as company launches business review

UK-listed gambling operator Sportech has reshuffled its upper management ranks, bidding goodbye to both its CEO and CFO as it rethinks its business model.

On Monday, Sportech announced that chief executive Ian Penrose and chief financial officer Mickey Kalifa had informed the board of directors of their intention to leave. Penrose (pictured) will be staying on until the end of the year, while Kalifa’s last day will be October 31, although his board seat is officially vacant as of Monday.

Both Penrose and Kalifa have agreed to assist in the selection of their replacements. Kalifa’s finance role will be assumed by Richard Cooper, who currently chairs Sportech’s Audit committee.

Non-executive chairman Richard McGuire, who took over from the retiring Roger Withers in May, hailed the departing execs, saying Penrose had overseen Sportech’s transformation “from a UK focused business into a respected, fully licensed and regulated global gaming technology supplier and gambling operator in the US with a strong balance sheet.”

Wplay.co signs for Quickfire; strategic deal sees Quickfire enter Colombian market

ISLE OF MAN – Colombian-licensee Wplay.co has signed a deal for Quickfire, powered by Microgaming.

In 2016, Colombia introduced new online gambling regulations. Subsequently, the gaming regulator, Coljuegos, awarded the first online gaming license to Aquila Global Group in 2017. The Medellin-based company will operate in the Colombian market under the Wplay.co brand, with the goal of signing up 1 million customers in the next three years.

Intent on providing the very best content to their Colombian players, Wplay.co will be taking a range of Microgaming’s award-winning games live through the Quickfire platform, including roulette and slots. Wplay.co believe Microgaming create the most popular and entertaining games, with the most impressive content loading times.

Although Wplay.co is established to work in the Colombian market, its aspirations for the future are to reach different countries around the world. Julio César Tamayo, General Manager at Wplay.co, explains: “Our motto is: simplicity, speed and permanent innovation. A motto that is linked to the work that has been done by Microgaming for more than two decades.”

Better Collective secures acquisition of Pull Media

Monday 18th September, 2016 – Better Collective, the world’s leading developer of digital platforms for betting tips, bookmaker information and iGaming communities, has acquired French digital company Pull Media.

The move is seen as a substantial step in their rapidly growing acquisition strategy, with Pull Media set to enable Better Collective to instantly become a market leader in the regulated French market. Beyond the French market, the acquisition of diverse Pull Media sites further strengthens their focus markets, including the United Kingdom and Germany.

Despite already having a strong influence in the German speaking market, especially given the similarly-priced recent acquisition of Austrian affiliate SportFreunde GmbH, Better Collective saw the potential in the French company to consolidate their position.

The high-quality content produced by Pull Media prompted the deal and the acquired company will now be given the opportunity to grow alongside the 2016 winner of the EGR Nordic Affiliate of the Year award.

Microgaming in bingo software deal with Marathonbet

ISLE OF MAN – Microgaming has signed an agreement to be the exclusive software supplier of Bingo to Marathonbet.

Marathonbet’s loyal customers will now be able to enjoy an extensive Bingo offering – marking another big expansion of its online gaming collection.

Through a new deal with Microgaming, Marathonbet will benefit from a range of bingo variants, over 400 Casino in Bingo side games, access to the industry’s largest progressive jackpot network, and a back office suite designed to ensure players have the best possible experience.

Dave Mills, Marathonbet Gaming Manager, says: “We’re thrilled to be launching a comprehensive Bingo selection for our customers to enjoy. We’ll be offering our dedicated customers two classic variants of 90 and 75 ball games – plus access to a host of progressive jackpot titles with huge prizes. Our Bingo launch marks another step forward in our strategy to increase both brand awareness and footprint in the UK marketplace.”

Weekend Football Ltd partners with The Telegraph to provide odds comparison services to readers

The Telegraph has selected Weekend Football as its odds comparison partner, to provide readers with the best football betting odds and betting information through the new Football Coupon Betting app.

When it comes to football betting, Weekend Football provides users with the best value, choice and convenience. The Football Coupon Betting app gives users the best football betting odds for their football accumulators, and also provides score forecasts, recommended bets and leaderboards, ranking the most successful football punters in the Football Coupon community.

Weekend Football created one of the first odds comparison services online in 1999, and has been publishing football score forecasts since. The Football Coupon Betting app was launched in 2012, as one of the first multiple bet football odds comparison apps, and was the first to provide an integrated bet slip, so users do not have to make their betting selections again when they arrive at the bookmaker site.

Having developed version four of Football Coupon Betting over the past 18 months, Weekend Football was looking for partners to reach a wider audience when it met The Telegraph in 2016. Version four of Football Coupon Betting was launched at the beginning of the 2017/18 football season.

Imperial Pacific impairment balloons to $266M in H1

The impairment of trade receivables of Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International Holding that are due to customers widened by 38 percent in the first half of the year.

In a filing before the HongKong Stock Exchange, Imperial Pacific announced that the company’s impairment of trade receivables grew to HKD2.08 billion (US$266.1 million) from HKD847 million (US$108.36 million) in the prior-year period.

The bulk of the impairment trade receivables came from its 10 largest customers which amounted to HKD1.27 billion (US$162.9 million) in the six months to June 30. Impairment of trade receivables due from the remaining customers of the Group amounted to HK$807 million (US$103.24 million).

“[The] provisions were made based on a review of individual customer’s facts and circumstances (such as financial position and ongoing dialogue on settlement arrangements), ageing of the outstanding amounts and any subsequent repayments,” the firm reported.

British betting firms offer hands to UKs problem gambling campaign

British betting firms are willing to spare some of their dough to help the government with its problem gambling awareness campaign.

The Guardian reported that gambling companies are ready to extend monetary help to the government’s problem gambling ad campaign, which is expected to have an £8 million (US$10.84 million) price tag.

The betting firms’ offer comes at a time when the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints against marketing content created by an affiliate working for 888 Holdings, Ladbrokes, Sky Betting & Gaming and Casumo.

They hoped that the government will see their gesture as proof that they are really committed to tackle problem gambling in UK.

Wisconsin makes another push for daily fantasy sports legalization

A dead fantasy sports bill is coming back to life in the state of Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Public Radio reported that the state congress has revived debates on whether to legalize daily fantasy sports (DFS) in Wisconsin.

Led by proponent State Rep. Tyler Vorpagel, the debate centered on whether DFS should be considered as a game of chance or a game of skill. He filed a bill seeking to legalize and regulate DFS in Wisconsin for the second time.

Vorpagel argued that DFS cannot be a game of chance since it requires sports knowledge than luck alone. The representative from Plymouth, Wisconsin has been a staunch DFS supporter, to the point of admitting that he plays the game.

BGO announces the removal of wagering requirements on all bonus cash

London, UK – UK regulated online casino operator bgo announced today that it will no longer require customers to wager bonus funds before they can withdraw effective October 15th 2017.

Any bonuses issued on bgo.com and sister site Powerspins.com beyond this date will be in the form real cash only or ‘wager-less’ free spins.

It’s a bold move that puts bgo at odds with the rest of the market who continue to offer highly incentivised sign-up bonuses with customers tied in with minimum wagering conditions. These

prevent them from withdrawing any wins until they have bet the minimum, in some cases that can be 50-60x the bonus amount issued.

Sink your teeth into Betsoft’s latest game release – BLOOD ETERNAL

3D innovators Betsoft Gaming have announced the latest addition to their Slots3™ collection of video slots – BLOOD ETERNAL. This game features six reels and thirty paylines of hauntingly good fun.

BLOOD ETERNAL takes a bite out of the Vampire genre, with clever in-game events fitting this seasonal release. Match like-coloured Vampires and their Victims to lock their symbols in a sweet, bloodlusted embrace, awarding a Free Spins Event, and a succession of Blood Spatter Wilds that spread from the bite with each free spin.

Matching both sets of Vampires and Victims during the same Free Spins event can result in up to 8 Wild Spatters being generated in a single spin.

Another notable feature is the Double Bats feature. These winged creatures of the night are high paying symbols, and can occur singly, or in pairs. The player can receive a significant payout by getting up to twelve Bats in a single spin.

BitPay wallet adds support for Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin payment processor BitPay has rolled out the beta version of its open source Copay wallet, which promises to make it easier for users to spend and store their Bitcoin Cash (BCH) alongside Bitcoin (BTC).

The beta release is BitPay’s answer to the growing number of requests for the company to support Bitcoin Cash. With the Copay wallet, BitPay said will give its users “the freedom to choose—or to use both BCH and BTC.”

The BCH-compatible Copay wallet has been enabled to access the BCH balance created during the August 1 hard fork, which means that those that have wallets with BTC before the hard fork event will receive a BCH balance equivalent to their BTC balance.

To enable Bitcoin Cash support in the Copay app, users only need to turn on the “Bitcoin Cash Support” switch in the settings tab and select “Chain: BCH,” and voila, the new wallet will start operating on the Bitcoin Cash network.