Monthly Archives: December 2017

BetConstruct boosts casino offering with Spinomenal content

December 20, London, UK: BetConstruct, the award-winning iGaming technology provider has signed a multi-year content distribution deal with Spinomenal Ltd. The agreement will see Spinomenal’s entire suite of original, in-house game titles being made available on BetConstruct’s game aggregation platform.

With more than 87 cross-platform, HTML5 games, Spinomenal delivers high-speed game play offering attractive and artsy graphics. The content has already been integrated into BetConstruct’s propriety gaming platform, where the provider already has over 40 integrations, and available for their operators to add to their sites.

“We are excited that BetConstruct will be offering our cutting-edge HTML5 content to their distinguished list of licensees and operators. BetConstruct has proven to be one of the iGaming industry’s most innovative companies and we are looking very forward to working with them,” comments Derek Bloom, Spinomenal Business Development Executive.

“Spinomenal is producing the most innovate HTML5 content, with various themes – from Oriental to Western, that has already grabbed a lot of attention in the industry. I’m more than sure that our operators will welcome this addition to their casino offering,” says Edgar Mkrtchyan, BetConstruct Casino Product Owner.

Winless Browns among underdogs on NFL week 16 betting lines

Time is running out for the Cleveland Browns (0-14) to avoid becoming the second team ever to finish the regular season winless. With two weeks to go, the Browns are 6.5-point road underdogs visiting the Chicago Bears (4-10), who sportsbooks may need to cover the spread on Sunday if sharp bettors wager against another 0-16 campaign.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The Bears have shown glimpses of success in the first season for rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and what looks to be the last year for head coach John Fox. However, Cleveland still has a decent shot to upset Chicago here and has a much tougher road matchup on deck versus the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17. So this line could dip to six points or less knowing that history favors the Browns getting a win.

On the other side of the spectrum, the New England Patriots (11-3) host the Buffalo Bills (8-6) in a huge divisional game for both teams on Sunday. The Patriots are coming off a 27-24 road victory against the Steelers and simply need to win out in order to earn the top seed in the AFC again after taking home their ninth consecutive AFC East title.

Patagonia Entertainment signs content agreement with Alegriabet.com

Wednesday 20th December 2017 – Patagonia Entertainment has agreed a partnership with a new Latam-facing operator Alegriabet.com to integrate its full suite of video bingo and pachinko products.

The team behind Alegriabet.com has over ten years’ experience in the industry and promises to deliver the best mobile online bingo and casino experience, including great bonuses and fun new games. Over the past year considerable work has been undertaken to develop an in-house platform to perfectly align the best technology and security. It is specially designed for the entire spectrum of players and particularly the millennial generation.

Among the games being integrated onto the Alegriabet.com platform are Pachinko 3D, Farm Bingo, Pirates and Candy Bingo 3D.

Patagonia Entertainment’s Pedro B said: “Alegriabet.com has huge potential to be a major player in the LATAM online casino market and we look forward to integrating our full suite of games onto the platform as they expand into the region.”

Wazdan signs with EveryMatrix

Wednesday, December 20, 2017, Malta – Wazdan, the major casino games producer with products covering slots, table games and video poker has agreed a deal to integrate its content onto the EveryMatrix’s Casino Engine platform, a move that takes Wazdan into a highly competitive position ahead of ICE. Wazdan’s portfolio of engaging and innovative slots, which can be enjoyed on mobile, desktop and tablets, will be made available to EveryMatrix’s network of operators.

Wazdan, the major casino games producer with products covering slots, table games and video poker continues to

expand their distribution channels having signed a deal with EveryMatrix.

Wazdan’s popular portfolio includes titles such as Magic Target Deluxe, Valhalla and Wild Guns. Upcoming titles include Los Muertos, Mayan Ritual and Captain Flynt, among others. They will all feature on the EveryMatrix platform together with over 100 other games from the popular games developer whose ‘Passion for Games’ is quietly spreading across the industry.

Lottoland solutions announces exclusive SSBT distribution agreement with Playtech BGT Sports

Lottoland Solutions is pleased to announce an exclusive lotto betting agreement with Playtech BGT Sports (PBS), the leading supplier of omni-channel sports betting technology.

Following a successful launch of Lottoland Solutions’ turnkey B2B lotto betting service, PBS will become the first retail provider to deliver Lottoland’s jackpot lotto betting products on their self-service betting terminals located in licenced betting shops. Customers of the thousands of UK betting shops containing PBS terminals will be able to place bets on the outcome of a range of future international lottos, for the chance to win huge jackpots.

Lottoland has a retail portfolio of 15+ products and a roadmap of innovation being implemented to further grow the genre. With jackpots guaranteed by Lottoland’s proprietary risk management, including their Insurance Linked Security, land based betting shop partners of Playtech BGT Sports are the latest companies to be able to benefit from Lottoland’s unique and proven lotto betting solutions which have paid out €250 million to lotto betting winners.

John Pettit of Playtech BGT Sports, said: “This exclusive distribution agreement with Lottoland allows us to add a wider range of lotto betting products with bigger jackpot payouts to our existing numbers portfolio – giving our customers further choice. Bookmakers have offered bets on lottos for years as part of their Numbers betting portfolio and it has been popular on our terminals for some time now, but we believe the innovation and customer service delivered by this partnership will take us a step further to becoming a one-stop shop for all betting operators and bookmakers.”

X-bet terminates sponsorship to ProDotaCup due to ongoing match fixing

Online betting website X-bet has announced the permanent termination of its sponsorship contract to ProDotaCup due to betting irregularities, collusion and match fixing that have been reported by the operator to the organizers of the tournament.

According to X-bet’s spokesperson Russ Stevens, match fixing and collusion have occurred between Sqreen’s Squad vs Nemiga Gaming during the Upper-Bracket Preliminary of ProDotaCup Europe #25. As a result, the match was denied by the admins. Even though the action, that wasn’t the first time the operator is experiencing such event.

X-bet.co has beensponsoring the ProDotaCup since 1st of June, 2017. During the sponsorship, the betting website has experienced match fixing at least 3 times that have all been reported to the organizers.

Russ Stevens from X-bet.co has commented: “Match fixing causes a financial loss to the operator but what is worse is that it jeopardizes the relationship between the teams and the eSports fans which affects the eSports community as a whole.”

Australian media groups appeal for gambling ad ban exemptions

Local media groups are keeping their fingers crossed that the Australian government will listen to their request for some exemptions to the siren-to-siren ban on betting ads.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Free TV Australia (FTA), Commercial Radio Australia and the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) have sought changes to the recently implemented policy aimed at reducing children’s exposure to betting ads.

In its draft code, ASTRA proposes that “low audience” subscription TV channels – like ESPN, ESPN2, and Eurosports – should be allowed to continue airing gambling ads during live sports coverages, since these channels serve only “a small number of highly devoted fans.”

FTA, meanwhile, vowed to “strike the right balance” between protecting the children from gambling and upholding the rights of Australians to access live sports broadcasts for free.

SIS chairman to depart to William Hill

20th December 2017

The Board of Sports Information Services (Holdings) Limited (SIS) today announced the departure of its chairman, Roger Devlin, with effect from 31st January 2018.

Roger Devlin has been chairman of SIS for nine years, and leaves to take up the role of chairman of William Hill plc.

The Board offers its congratulations to Mr Devlin, and looks forward to continuing to work with him in his new role at William Hill. The Board has started the search for a new chair, and expects to make an announcement in the New Year.

Jesper Karrbrink: Operators shouldn’t push the buttons of high risk players

In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Becky Liggero, Jesper Karrbrink of Mr. Green discusses the benefits of having social responsibility programs.

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The Ghost of the Boatman: He Played For His Wife book review (not really)

A book review of He Played For His Wife and Other Stories: Short Stories of Long Nights at the Poker Table, a collection of poker tales featuring the likes of Barny Boatman, Jennifer Tilly, and D.B.C Pierre.

Choosing Starbucks as my place of work seemed a good idea until Christmas rolled into town with all the airs and graces of someone stepping over bodies looking to find the pisser in a drunk tank.

Christmas Carols on repeat.

Starbucks has become Guantanamo Bay.

WSOPC Sydney: Kanaan Wins Main Event; Lee wins HR; Ulmer bags a brace

A round-up from the World Series of Poker Circuit in Sydney including the Main Event win for Michael Kanaan, a High Roller success from Jason Lee, and two rings for Timothy Ulmer.

If Kim Jong-un ever decides to demonstrate his nuclear power by wiping Melbourne off the map, then the Aussie Millions can feel confident that Sydney is more than capable of stepping up to the plate.

Sydney’s Star Casino has spent the past fortnight waving the sigil of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) from its turrets as the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) rode into town on the back of a red, white and blue horse.

The A$2,200, A$2m GTD, Main Event attracted 1,067 entrants, and Michael Kanaan banked the most beans with the fifth win of his career after disposing of Michael Fraser in heads-up action.

EPL review week 18: Everton back to basics to beat Swansea

Week 18 of the English Premier League floats into the ether after Everton continue their impressive climb up the table with a 3-1 win at home against bottom of the table Swansea.

Unless you are part of the Goodison Park furniture, it’s difficult to understand why Ronald Koeman failed to make Everton a Champions League contender after spending so lavishly in the summer. Fortunately, Sam Allardyce revealed the truth during the post-match analysis of Everton’s victory over Swansea last night.

“From a tactical point of view, I’ve simplified the game. And I’m man-managing the players,” a confident looking Allardyce told reporters. 

Translated that means Koeman over-complicated things, and big-timed the players.

Why Poker players smelling of lemon juice may suffer the Dunning-Kruger Effect

Grosvenor Poker has released their most comprehensive study of UK poker players, and the results show that poker players suffer from the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

Lemon water, curcumin, warm water, first thing in the morning. I can’t remember why I drink it. There is only a limited space in my head, so I push out irrelevant stuff like whether the sun goes around the earth, what temperature means, and why I drink lemon water, curcumin and warm water in the morning.

I’m using a fork to squeeze the juice into a glass. My nipper is jabbing me in my shins, “Up! Up! Up! Up!” I pick her up, she grabs my lemon, the inevitable grimace, and it comes back like a baton in a relay race.

I smear some of it on her cheeks.

Second week of bowls includes Fresno State as underdogs in Hawaii

The Fresno State Bulldogs are hoping to receive the gift of a postseason victory when they take on the Houston Cougars in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve. The Bulldogs are listed as a 2.5-point underdogs in that matchup, which ends a string of eight games in five days between Wednesday and Sunday leading up to a brief break on Christmas.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Fresno State (9-4) has lost in its previous six bowl appearances both straight up and against the spread, last winning the Humanitarian Bowl under former head coach Pat Hill in 2007. Meanwhile, Houston (7-4) won two straight before falling to the San Diego State Aztecs last year in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Cougars have gone 4-11 SU in their past 15 games during the month of December, but they have not dropped two bowls in a row since an eight-game skid that started in 1981 and continued through 2007.

Prior to the Hawaii Bowl, the SMU Mustangs (7-5) will kick off mid-week action on Wednesday against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (6-6) in the Frisco Bowl. The Mustangs are 4-point favorites despite failing to cover six of their last seven games. Louisiana Tech has won three of the past four meetings with SMU SU and ATS.

Penn National to Acquire Pinnacle Entertainment, Owner of Heartland Poker Tour, for $2.8 Billion

Penn National is set to become the largest gaming operator in the United States if a proposed $2.8 billion deal to acquire Pinnacle Entertainment is approved by regulators. If approved, […]

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Dench eGaming Solutions partners with Booming Games

The independent turnkey platform provider Dench eGaming Solutions has expanded its casino games portfolio through a new partnership with Isle of Man-based slots developer Booming Games.

Dench eGаming Solutions will offer to licensees the entire portfolio of over 50 casino games through its Dench Core gaming platform. This includes the popular slot titles Booming 7 Deluxe, Booming Bananas and Golden Profits, as well as the upcoming release of the hotly anticipated title Golden Royals.

Frederik Niehusen, Head of Business Development at Booming Games, said that the agreement would allow Dench to increase and extend its reach to new players in regulated markets. „We are thrilled to be partnering with Dench eGaming Solutions who have been extremely active in their B2B efforts and managed to secure agreements with a number of European regulated operators in the last couple of months. We look forward to rolling out our content with such an ambitious provider in the iGaming industry,” he said.

Dench CEO Dobromir Mitev added: “We are truly grateful that we will have the chance to work with a content provider that continues to pioneer innovative new themes and features. For us it has always been a primary goal to collaborate with game providers that push the boundaries of gameplay and introduce an “exceptional” way of playing slots. The original portfolio from Booming Games in combination with our unique marketing instrument Giselle allows our clients to revitalize their marketing strategies and position user experience as key brand differentiator.”

Deep-brain stimulation could help curb problem gambling

Researchers have identified signals in the brain that predict impulsive behavior before it occurs, raising the possibility that targeted electrical stimulation could reduce or eliminate problem gambling activity.

On Monday, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published the findings of a Stanford University School of Medicine study that identified “a real-time biomarker for impulsive behavior,” according to Casey Halpern, MD, the study’s senior author.

The researchers identified this marker by introducing a new high-fat food pellet into the diets of mice, then giving the mice a one-hour window per day in which they could eat all the high-fat pellets they wanted. In time, the mice were spending the entire hour gorging themselves on the tasty treat.

Using implanted electrode arrays in the mice brains, the researchers detected heightened electrical activity in the nucleus accumbens – a key player in the brain’s reward circuitry – immediately before the mice began their daily one-hour binge-fest. Similar reactions weren’t evident when the mice were presented with their normal food supply.