Monthly Archives: December 2017

Exhibitors from 62 nations confirm world beating credentials of ICE

Exhibitors from a total of 62 sovereign states and gaming jurisdictions are putting their faith behind ICE London 2018 as the place to launch their latest product innovations and services to a world audience. The figure confirms ICE London as the most international B2B gaming technology event in the world and the only one to provide visitors with a 360 degree perspective on the industry.

The figures, released by Clarion Gaming two months ahead of ICE opening at ExCeL London (6th – 8th February), underline the global credentials of what has become a truly global event. “We’ve worked extremely hard in partnership with our stakeholders to create an event that every gaming vertical feels a part of,” stated Kate Chambers, Managing Director, Clarion Gaming. “Events with a global exhibitor base, in turn, attract a global audience of buyers, a chemistry which explains why ICE London continues to grow.

“The simple fact is that industry professionals can book their tickets to London with total confidence that every feature of the gaming universe will be represented amongst the 43,500sqm of innovation that is ICE. Other events can provide a comprehensive regional take on the industry, but ICE is the only one that showcases innovation from throughout the world.”

The full list of jurisdictions represented by ICE exhibitors comprises: Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia (The Former Yugoslav Republic of), Malaysia, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States of America.

nChain Group appoints Jimmy Nguyen as Chief Executive Officer

LONDON, December 2017  — The nChain Group, the global leader in research and development of blockchain technologies, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jimmy Nguyen as Chief Executive Officer.

Nguyen has previously served in roles as Chief Business Officer, and Chief Intellectual Property, Communications & Legal Officer. Prior CEO Stefan Matthews will now serve as Chairman of the Board for nChain Group.

nChain’s mission is to enable massive growth of the Bitcoin network – focusing on Bitcoin Cash as the true Bitcoin – and thus create dramatic increase in the value of Bitcoin Cash for everyone’s benefit. nChain’s Chief Scientist is Dr. Craig Wright, who has been involved with Bitcoin since 2009 and is one of the earliest minds behind Bitcoin.

The nChain Group now includes four business units: 1) nChain Limited – a blockchain research and development business; 2) nChain Holdings Limited – an intellectual property holding and commercialization company; 3) nChain Reaction – a new investment entity; and 4) nCrypt – a Bitcoin wallet and exchange in Canada. nCrypt is currently known as nTrust, but will be re-branding in early 2018 to reflect its move to focus on Bitcoin. The group of companies has grown to a team of in excess of 60 world-class scientific research, engineering and other professionals primarily based in London, United Kingdom and Vancouver, Canada. Given the Group’s global business activities, Nguyen will not be based in any one location and will continue to travel the world as needed.

LOT.TO extends its partnership with the Nigerian Lottery

Partner signs up 200,000 customers in first 4 months

UK-based LOT.TO has extended its deal to power Nigeria’s mobile-first lottery company, Western Lotto, after a hugely successful debut launch that saw over 200,000 players sign up in the first four months alone.

Western Lotto, which operates on LOT.TO’s iLottery platform, has grand ambitions to bring new lotto games to many African countries and has been buoyed by a more than stellar start to trading in Nigeria.

“Lots of people say that Africa has potential, but the truth is, that Africa is here right now,” said Rob Lawson, head of customer success at LOT.TO. “The demand for high quality lottery and gaming content has never been higher, and, together with our wonderful partners in Western Lotto, we are developing games that offer truly life-changing prizes, whilst remaining affordable and accessible for all Nigerians – and are great fun too.”

All Ocean Downs casino wants for Xmas is some table games

To virtually no one’s surprise, MGM Resorts’ National Harbor casino led the state in gaming revenue during the month of November.

On Tuesday, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming agency released its official November report card, which showed the state’s six casino operators generating revenue of $130.5m, a modest decline from October’s $133.2m.

The monthly total was up nearly 42% from the same month last year, but that was when the state had only five operational casinos. National Harbor opened on December 8, 2016, meaning were almost at the point when we can stop issuing these fakakta caveats and just start comparing apples to damn apples already.

Speaking of National Harbor, the venue reported revenue of $50.6m, down around $1.4m from October, thanks primarily to its tables bringing in $1m less than the month before.

RGA: Portugal’s regulated online gambling market a failure

Portugal’s regulated online gambling market has failed to achieve its goal of channeling local punters away from unauthorized operators, according to a new report.

On Tuesday, the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) released the findings of a Eurogroup Consulting report the RGA commissioned to determine how Portugal’s regulated online market was faring since the first locally licensed site launched in June 2016.

When Portugal approved its online gambling legislation in February 2015, the government hoped to reap an annual €25m in new revenue. The market’s Q3 report showed the state’s share of online proceeds had hit €24.5m with three months left to go in the year, so chalk that one up in the ‘win’ column.

However, while the market’s punitive tax regime has the government sitting pretty, it’s also kept operator interest to a minimum, with only seven companies having secured licenses to date. And these operators are forced to pass on some of their costs to local punters, with – at least, as far as the RGA is concerned – predictable results.

David Baazov Trial Set, Prosecutors Say Ex-CEO Illegally Traded Amaya Stock Prior to Buying PokerStars

David Baazov, founder and former CEO of Amaya Gaming, the company that in 2014 acquired PokerStars, is set to stand trial in Quebec later this month on charges of financial […]

The post David Baazov Trial Set, Prosecutors Say Ex-CEO Illegally Traded Amaya Stock Prior to Buying PokerStars appeared first on .

BC casinos hope more oversight means less money laundering

The Canadian province of British Columbia has unveiled new enforcement policies aimed at combatting rampant money laundering at local casinos.

On Tuesday, BC Attorney General David Eby released the first two interim recommendations of Peter German, a former RCMP deputy commissioner who was tasked in September with conducting a review of BC’s scandal-plagued casino industry.

The first recommendation is that BC’s gaming service providers (GSP) – the private operators to whom the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) farms out day-to-day management of its casinos – will have to complete Source of Funds Declarations for all cash deposits or bearer bonds of $10k or higher.

Two consecutive cash transactions by any one customer will prohibit the GSP from accepting further cash deposits from that customer unless the GSP can determine that the cash “is not of a suspicious or illegal nature.”

Study suggests childhood stress as problem gambling precursor

A new study has linked childhood stress to adult problem gambling behavior, further blurring the nature v. nurture debate.

A new University of Wisconsin-Madison study involved 54 young adults aged 20 to 23 who participated in an earlier study when they were eight years old. That earlier study dealt with stress hormones, and the individuals selected for the followup study were an equal mix of kids from either the least or most stressed groups.

The kids who reported chronic and high levels of early life stress (ELS) had experienced deeply traumatic events, such as severe abuse or the violent death of a parent. The researchers wanted to see what effect this history had on the high-stressed group’s decision-making.

To determine whether the high ELS subjects’ brains handled this process differently than the low-stress group, the study asked participants to complete a series of gambling-themed tasks while magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) gear measured their brain activity.

Sporting Solutions launches ground-breaking Risk Management Services product

Danske Spil the first operator to sign up for RMS

5th December, 2017 – Award-winning sportsbook and lottery supplier Sporting Solutions, part of the Sporting Group, has announced the launch of a unique new vertical, Risk Management Services (RMS), with progressive Danish lottery Danske Spil the first operator to sign up.

The deal will see Sporting Solutions supply a modular service covering pricing, trading, risk management and back-office operations. The agreement also includes the supply of trading software that empowers Danske Spil to focus resource on the provision of differentiated local content to enhance its market-leading brand proposition.

RMS is designed to be agnostic to the existing technology stack, complementing partners’ in situ platform and bet engine and removing the complex, expensive and technically challenging “switching risk” of having to move to a new platform in order to improve business processes.

Quickspin launches Achievements Races

Innovative promotional tool designed to complement supplier’s Achievements Engine and reward loyalty

Stockholm, December 5th 2017 – Swedish slots specialist Quickspin, a Playtech Group company, has unveiled its innovative new Achievements Races promotional tool, designed to offer an improved gaming experience and maximise retention opportunities for operators.

The new tool complements the supplier’s Achievements Engine, which was launched earlier this year to provide a more fun and rewarding slot journey.

The races will allow rewards to be achieved much quicker, in some cases four times as fast, giving players meaningful prizes and an even more valuable experience.

Universal inks casino tech sales joint venture with Chinese firm

Universal Entertainment Corp. has signed a deal with a Chinese firm as the Japanese-listed gaming conglomerate aims to expand its casino-related business.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, Universal announced it has entered into a “Basic Agreement” with Hong Kong-based finance conglomerate China Guangcai International Investment Group Co., Ltd. (Guangcai) to establish a fifty-fifty joint corporation in the former British colony.

The joint venture, which will be called Hong Kong Guangcai Universal Entertainment Limited, will focus on the exclusive sales and maintenance business for casino-related devices and systems that Universal developed and manufacture. The partnership will not extend to the Philippines.

Based on the little information that Universal provided to its shareholders, Guangcai is involved in the fields of finance, resource development, mineral development, and trade. The company is represented by businessman Ren Jie.

Magnet Gaming reveals new Le Chef slot

Denmark, Tuesday 5th December 2017 – Magnet Gaming is giving players the chance to cook up a storm thanks to its newest slot, Le Chef.

The innovative slots provider’s latest release features nine aptly-designed reels and two progressive jackpots, and is sure to appeal to those with a sweet tooth.

Available on desktop and all mobile devices, players help Le Chef create some tasty treats in their bid to scoop Le Jackpot.

The slot offers players the chance to win on every spin with entertaining bonus rounds such as Bon Appétit, Food Critic, Kitchen Time and Pick a Dish.