Monthly Archives: February 2018

Relax Gaming agree Betsson partnership

Deal sees table games integration before further casino roll-out

Malta, 27th February 2018 – Innovative supplier Relax Gaming has agreed to supply its content to leading multi-brand casino operator Betsson.

Relax will initially provide its suite of high-quality table games at very competitive rates, before rolling out further products later in 2018.

These will go live on Betsson’s self-titled site, as well as a number of its other brands, including Betsafe, NordicBet, Oranje Casino, and Casino.dk.

LV BET is official oartner of the DEB

Munich, 27 February 2018

The German Ice Hockey Federation eV (DEB) is proud to announce its partnership with digital sports betting company LV BET. While the national team is currently playing in South Korea, LV BET and the DEB have agreed on a mutually beneficial media cooperation. During the one-year agreement, LV BET will be bestowed with the honour of being “DEB Official Partner” as well as “Official Partner of the German National Ice Hockey team.” Conversely, the LV BET brand will gain exposure through televised sporting events, as well as on billboards, video displays, and promotional areas within all DEB arenas. Furthermore, LV BET will be granted a number of match tickets and an official presence on the sponsor wall.

Just like the DEB, LV BET is synonymous with the thrill, excitement and emotions of live sports. As a site that covers all major sporting events around the globe, LV BET has become a trustworthy betting option for sports fans. That is why LV BET is a participant in the TÜV-certified code procedure of the German Association for Telecommunications and Media e.V. and guarantees the highest level of control and security.

Robert SchÜtt, Head of Marketing DEB: “Through this partnership with LV BET, we acquire a first-class, well-known ally in the sports betting market. LV BET’s commitment to us is testament to the steady rise in popularity of the national ice hockey team in recent years. The DEB provides advertisers from all industries with excellent customised packages to make use of our legacy and history as one of the leading nations in ice hockey. We couldn’t be happier with this latest development.”

Betfred and Racing Post join forces to offer key football content on latest Betfred app

Tuesday 27th February, 2018 (London, UK) – Betfred have become the first high street bookmaker to partner with Racing Post to provide mobile customers with an innovative new digital football content package that is now live on the latest Betfred mobile and tablet apps.

The latest Betfred app – available to download from the App Store and Google Play – offers customers a vast array of football markets alongside the Racing Post football data content package which includes match verdicts, keys stats for a variety of markets and latest team form for 28 worldwide leagues and competitions.

A brand new predicted team line-up view is available up to three days before the game and offers integrated goalscorer markets, giving customers a seamless betting experience directly from the line-up page.

The independent pre-match betting-focused analysis and tips are all handwritten by Racing Post’s team of football experts and are designed to engage punters, offering access to key information without having to leave the app.

Pinnacle pens Enteractive partnership

Operator integrates supplier’s churned player reactivation solution

Malta, Tuesday 27th February 2018: Pinnacle, the award-winning online sports betting and eSports operator, has taken initiative to invest in its players by striking an agreement with the leading retention solution provider, Enteractive.

Enteractive’s Player (Re)activation Service is now live with the operator, which turns churned players into active users through its unique one-to-one personal phone calls.

The solution sees trained agents conduct interviews with individuals to understand exactly what they want from their gaming experience and guide these players accordingly.

Report: four bidders for William Hill’s struggling Aussie division

UK bookmaker William Hill’s struggling Australian online sports betting operation has attracted at least four serious suitors, according to local media reports.

On Tuesday, the Australian Financial Review reported that four companies – Ladbrokes, Bet365, Paddy Power Betfair’s local brand Sportsbet and Australian online operator CrownBet, which was just acquired by PokerStars parent company The Stars Group – had submitted bids for William Hill Australia by Monday’s deadline.

Citigroup, which was tasked with flogging Hills’ Australian division, will reportedly select a winner by week’s end. The sale is expected to fetch around A$200m (US$156m) and the transfer of control could come as early as the end of March, assuming the selected winner finds no dark secrets lurking in the company’s balance sheets.

William Hill put its struggling Aussie operation under review in January, following the passage of new restrictions on credit betting and in-play wagering, as well as the imposition of state-level point of consumption taxes. William Hill booked a £238m impairment charge on the Aussie operation in last week’s FY17 report. The site is estimated to control a 5% chunk of Australia’s regulated online betting market.

The Stars Group acquires majority stake in Australia’s CrownBet

The parent company of online poker giant PokerStars has acquired a majority stake in Australian online sports betting operator CrownBet.

On Tuesday, The Stars Group (TSG) announced that it had acquired a 62% stake in CrownBet Holdings Pty Ltd from Australian casino operator Crown Resorts, which is divesting itself of operations outside its domestic land-based resorts. Crown announced the deal to sell its CrownBet stake last December without disclosing the purchaser’s identity.

TSG paid US$117.7m in cash for its CrownBet stake, using funds on TSG’s balance sheet. The deal has already been approved by CrownBet’s regulator, the Northern Territory Racing Commission, subject to TSG “satisfying certain standard conditions.”

Crown recently reported that its digital division had finally begun posting positive earnings. TSG called CrownBet “one of Australia’s fastest growing online sportsbooks,” with revenue rising to A$204m last year from just A$76.5m in 2015.

MansionBet sponsors World Pool Masters

Online sportsbook brand, MansionBet, will be the title sponsors of the 25th World Pool Masters, which takes place in Gibraltar this March 2-4, and broadcast live on Sky Sports.

Adding to Mansion’s strong history of sporting sponsorships, which has recently covered boxing and football, this partnership provides an international platform for their latest sportsbook brand which launched earlier this year.

The ‘MansionBet World Pool Masters XXV’ will see a host of former champions return to the tournament to celebrate its quarter-centenary, meaning the likes of Francisco Bustamante, Earl Strickland and Ralf Souquet will be competing among a star-studded 16-man field for the $20,000 top prize.

Karel Manasco, CEO of Mansion, said of the sponsorship, “We are always looking at platforms for brand promotion, and as a Gibraltar-based company, the location combined with the international exposure of this popular event, made our title sponsorship of the World Pool Masters a natural fit.”

Tax adjustment slashes Ainsworth fiscal H1 2018 profit

Net profit of Australia-listed slot machine supplier Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd plunged by more than 50 percent in the first half of the financial year as a result of a one-time tax adjustment.

In a regulatory filing, Ainsworth announced on Tuesday that the company’s net profit from operations in the first half of fiscal 2018 tumbled to AUD9.7 million (US$7.6 million) from AUD$20.6 million (US$16.14 million) posted in H1 FY17.

On the other hand, Ainsworth’s total revenue for the six months to December 31, 2017, dropped 2 percent to AUD120.3 million ($94.3 million) from AUD$122.7 million ($96.18 million) for the six months to December 31, 2016.

The company attributed the dismal financial result to the one-off adjustment of AUD8.6 million ($6.74 million) in the first half of fiscal year 2017, which reflected “the reversal of previously-recognized deferred taxes resulting from the treatment of foreign currency movements.”

West Virginia sports betting bill secures House committee’s nod

A bill seeking to legalize sports wagering in West Virginia has taken a a step closer to Gov. Jim Justice’s desk.

Barely a week after the Senate vote, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that Senate Bill 415 has already won the approval of the House Finance Committee members. The bill will now head onto the House floor for a vote by the full chamber.

In recap, SB 415 would give the West Virginia Lottery Commission the authority to regulate sports betting in the state, including the authorization of online and mobile betting. The legislation required that players be older than 20.

The bill would permit the state’s five gaming facilities to offer sports betting, provided they obtain a five-year, sports betting operator license at a cost of up to $100,000 and pay 10 percent tax on their gross betting revenue.

Philippine tycoon Andrew Tan doubles bet on Westside City casino strip project

Filipino billionaire Andrew Tan is digging $2.33 billion out of his company’s pockets to fund the development of the Westside City casino strip in PAGCOR’s Entertainment City.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Tan-led property developer Megaworld announced that it is allocating an additional PHP54 billion ($1.04 billion) for the development of the 31-hectare property for the next 10 years.

Tan’s property arm had initially committed to shell out PHP10 billion ($192 million) for the casino strip project in 2015.

Including the PHP57 billion ($1.1 billion) investment of Megaworld’s affiliate, Travellers International Hotels Group Inc., the group’s combined capital expenditure for the township is now at P121 billion ($2.33 billion) or 80 percent higher than the original commitment.

Skill, luck or bias: 2018 Super High Roller lottery system still in place

The organisers of the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl have announced March 1 as the date of registration, and have confirmed they will select the final player list via lottery if interest exceeds 48-players.

The reasons Homo Sapiens have managed to put a leash on the tiger, ride elephants and adorn our walls with the heads of bears are numerous. One of them is our ability to make a mistake, learn from it, adjust, and try again.

Has the Super High Roller Bowl lost sight of that fact?

On Thursday, March 1 registration opens for the 2018 iteration of one of the eagerly anticipated tournaments of the year. The best poker players on the planet will form a line at the cash cages of the ARIA, pocket watch in hand – tick, tock – waiting to drop a lit match on the trail of gunpowder leading to a place in history.

Masks: The algedonic life of Jake Cody

Jake Cody returns to the Internet screens after a prolonged period of absence showing how difficult it is for this art to continue during some of the toughest periods of your life.

Masks. We adopted them in our teenage years. Resignation. We had two choices. Do what we feel naturally inclined to do, and face ostracisation from the tribe. Or do what society wants us to do, and feel a part of something, anything.

Most people wear a mask.

Poker players are a little different.

Bruno Berlafa: Streamlined setups make life easier for affiliate partners

In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Becky Liggero, Bruno Berlafa of GIG Affiliates shares the challenges of combining two former affiliate programs.

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Habanero unleashes new London Hunter slot

Players tasked with saving the capital from catastrophe

27th February 2018 – Premium slots and table games provider Habanero has taken a T-Rex-inspired trip down memory lane with its latest slot, London Hunter.

Set in Victorian London, the five-reel, three-row, fixed 25-line slot asks players to help save the city from devastation when the escaped dinosaur takes to its streets.

The game’s unique steam punk style provides a striking backdrop and creates Habanero’s most cinematic game to date.