Monthly Archives: March 2018

Sky Bet on cloud nine as customer base, revenue soar

UK-based online gambling operator Sky Betting & Gaming (Sky Bet) is riding a wave of good news to start the week.

In a regulatory filing, Sky Bet announced that their customer base grew 19% to 2 million in the first half of 2017-2018 financial year, thanks to what the company described as its “busiest” Cheltenham Festival.

Sky Bet CEO Richard Flint said that the company recorded bet volumes of more than 300 bets per second, placed during the festival’s Gold Cup. He attributed the rise of punters to the improvements that they made to their website, which expedited the process of rewarding their customers, and to the algorithm that gave players tailored content. The company also offered customers a money back guarantee during the first race at the Cheltenham festival.

“Our investments in data science are delivering greater personalization to our customers, with the home page tailored towards the individual, and recommended games and bet options delivering relevant and appealing content,” Flint said in a statement.

New Mexico tribe loses $10.1M in gaming revenue to US government

The feds have come knocking on the doors of the Pojoaque Pueblo tribe over the weekend, seizing a total of $10.1 million in gambling revenue.

According to The Santa Fe New Mexican, the seizure was part of a government-initiated civil forfeiture process that stemmed from the years-long earnings tussle between the state of New Mexico and the tribe. Records showed that the bank account has $10,128,847.42 at the end of January.

The dispute basically stemmed from the failure of the Pojoaque Pueblo tribe and the state of New Mexico to immediately come up with a new gambling compact after their agreement expired in 2015.

While impasse dragged on for two years, the U.S. attorney allowed the tribes’ to continue the operation of its casinos provided that they would abide by a few conditions.

Kansas sports betting bill gives leagues a taste of what they want

Professional sports leagues scored a victory in the state of Kansas after lawmakers introduced a sports betting bill that called for an integrity fee.

On Friday, the state Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs, chaired by Sen. Bud Estes, introduced S.B. 455, which seeks to allow sports betting in the state should the U.S. Supreme Court decides to lift the ban on such wagering.

To summarize the 37-page measure, lawmakers want the Kansas lottery to oversee the conduct of sports betting while the Kansas Gaming Commission will act as the bridge between bookmakers and the professional sports leagues. The gaming commission, bookmakers and sports leagues will work side-by-side to conduct integrity-related investigations and compare information, among others.

S.B. 455 also gives Kansas Gaming Commission the final say on the restrictions on games and types of wagers. In terms of revenues, Kansas lawmakers wants no less than a 6.75% share from the sports betting operators.

UltraPlay elevates its eSports live betting model to the next level

Online betting solutions provider UltraPlay has announced that its live betting model has been further extended to offer more exciting players’ experience for betting on their favorite eSports.

Having been known for its leading eSports betting role in the iGaming industry, UltraPlay has recreated the years of eSports experience and profound knowledge into its sophisticated live betting model, which will provide more markets for players to place bets on. Amongst the new markets are Decider Map Played, Correct Score, Map Advantage, which every player can choose from during the game and enjoy the enhanced live betting powered by UltraPlay. The wider markets provision on live betting gives a greater advantage to the operators trying to catch the interest of the savvy eSports punters.

Peter Ivanov, Head of trading at UltraPlay has commented: “We are proud to provide the most advanced and competitive eSports live betting model on the market right now. The highest-quality product comes as a result of more than a year research and development in order to meet the expectations of both operators and players for dynamic eSports betting. The model will also serve as a solid ground for introducing more games into live betting in the future.”

The upgraded live betting model already covers all major events from the three leading games – CS:GO, Dota 2, and League of Legends. So far the collected results show a positive effect on the customer satisfaction in terms of increased volume and interest towards the games. More markets and new game titles are expected to be added to the model throughout the year with the main focus of the game objectives and personal markets.

Pragmatic Play goes live following Royal Panda integration

Provider’s growing portfolio made available across desktop and mobile

Malta, 26 March 2018: Multi-award-winning casino games provider, Pragmatic Play, has agreed a deal to take its entire portfolio live with leading operator Royal Panda.

Games from the provider‘s acclaimed portfolio, including Wolf Gold, Vegas Nights and Gold Rush, are now available to the online casino’s players and live in all territories in which Royal Panda operates, including the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.

Royal Panda is the first operator to integrate the games via the NYX platform, continuing Pragmatic Play’s impressive commercial progress in 2018.

The first ever summit focusing on Investment Opportunities in Asian Gaming to be held in Manila this June

The inaugural Investment Opportunities in Asian Gaming will be held at Solaire Resort & Casino, Manila, Philippines on 5-7 June 2018. It will be the first summit held in the region providing a comprehensive overview of the various investment and expansion opportunities in the booming Asian gaming market. The summit will also highlight the latest land-based regulatory updates.

The inaugural summit will be held in the Philippines, one of Asia’s hottest gaming markets. Casinos in the Philippines have contributed a combined US$828.8 million in 2017, up from US$679 million 12 months earlier, with over half of that total contributed by the 48 casinos operated by PAGCOR. The industry is expecting major changes in the area as PAGCOR, the government-owned corporation, needs to sell off its casinos and surrender its dual role as a regulator and operator under the reform bill. Andrea D. Domingo, Chairman & CEO of PAGCOR, will deliver her keynote on conference day two highlighting the future of the land-based gaming industry in the Philippines. Thomas Arasi, President & COO of Solaire Resort & Casino is also confirmed to speak. Solaire Resort & Casino is the first property launched in the Entertainment City, the Philippines. Solaire’s mother company, Bloomberry Resorts, was listed in the Nikkei’s Asia300 last month.

2018 will be another interesting year for the land-based gaming industry not only in the Philippines but also in other parts of Asia. As many operators watch the realisation of the Japan’s Integrated Resort bill, the Summit will dedicated a session highlighting the realization timeline and its possible economic and social impacts in Japan. Other panels discussing the Asian gaming opportunities in Macau, Vietnam and Cambodia will also be held on day two of the conference.

The conference will also focus on assessing geopolitical risk, raising capital, regional IPO’s, joint ventures and strategic partnerships in the APAC region. Dane Chamorro, Senior Partner of Control Risks South-East Asia will speak on the geopolitical dynamics in the Asia Pacific and the compliance issues affecting the gaming industry in the region. Other confirmed speakers include, Tim Shepherd, Director of Fortuna Investments and Co-Founder of Silver Heritage Group, William D. Greenlee, Jr., Partner at DFDL, and Carlos Lobo, Lawyer at MCL Law Firm and former Legal Advisor to the Macau Gaming Commission.

‘New driving force’ wanted after NetEnt sacks CEO Per Eriksson

Online gambling technology provider NetEnt is on the lookout for a new chief executive following CEO Per Eriksson’s firing over the weekend.

In a statement, NetEnt announced that its board of directors has decided to replace Eriksson “to increase focus on long-term growth for the company.” Eriksson’s sacking was announced on Sunday, effective immediately.

NetEnt Chief Financial Officer Therese Hillman has been appointed as acting CEO while the search for Eriksson’s replacement is ongoing.

Vigo Carlund, chairman of NetEnt’s board of directors, said the game developer’s overall performance “has not been as it should.” Last month, the Stockholm-listed company reported an “eventful” 2017, with revenue improving 11.7% to SEK1.62 billion, while operating profit and after-tax profit also gained 9.5% to SEK587 million and SEK552 million, respectively.

Outdated Dutch gambling law needs tweaking ASAP: regulator

The Netherlands’ gaming regulator has prodded the Senate to once and for all pass the remote gaming act that has slept deeply inside the lawmakers’ filing cabinets.

In a recent report, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) regulatory body called on the Senate to take a stand against illegal online gambling by passing a bill that will regulate online gambling operations in the country. The Netherlands is one of the few European countries that has not legalized online games of chance.

KSA chairman Jan Suyver said the state regulator’s hands are tied in terms of combating illegal online gambling in the country, due to the outdated Dutch gambling law, which dated back to 1964.

To back his statement, Suyver cited the December 27, 2017 ruling of the Administrative Law Division of the Council of State, which ordered the Dutch regulator to back off from gambling payment providers.

Registration for iGB Live! 2018 officially opens

26th March, 2018 (London) – Clarion Gaming, one of the world’s leading events organisers, has opened registration for the inaugural iGB Live!.

The event, which takes place at the Amsterdam RAI between the 17th-20th July, brings the iGaming Super Show, EiG and the Amsterdam Affiliate Conference together for the world’s biggest dedicated iGaming exhibition and conference.

iGB Live! 2018 also features a completely revamped conference format, with a strong focus on the delegate experience.

Portfolio Director at Clarion Gaming Shona ODonnell said: “After spending many months creating a new Amsterdam show that will serve the needs of the entire igaming sector, it is fantastic to finally open registration.

APPT Macau News: Lin Wiu, James Chen and Jian Chen win Platinum Passes

PokerStars have handed out three more Platinum Passes at the Asia-Pacific Poker Tour Macau after Lin Wiu, James Chen and Jian Chen won the Main Event, Super High Roller and Asia Open respectively.

Women breastfeed. Men pretend not to stare, Children just stare. The line for the drug that’s not a drug spills into the outside world where British Summer Time has announced itself to the world by allowing the sun to play outside for one day.  And somewhere in a snazzy poker room in Macau, three people have just won the opportunity to compete in the Bahamas for millions of dollars.

Oh, how the other half lives.

The resurrection of the Asia-Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) is final. Three people have earned a $30,000 Platinum Pass for the 2019 PokerStars’ Player’s No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC).

A class of their own: Unibet Open to merge with Deepstacks event in Malta

The team at Unibet will unite the Unibet Open, and the Unibet Deepstacks Open in a May extravaganza at the Casino Malta in St Julians as they continue to provide everything their community needs and more.

When I saw her, I wanted her badly. She was massaging a man, a big smile lighting up the room. There were over a hundred people riffling chips. The only sound I could hear was my heart pushing the blood to the thing that lives between my legs.

Excitement.

Passion.

Juan Garcia: Blockchain is a very promising backbone for gaming systems

In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Becky Liggero, DGOJ Director Juan Garcia shares how operators may be able to harness blockchain’s potentials without getting in the crosshairs of regulators.

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Nolimit City and iGaming Platform announce joint partnership deal

Boasting their latest expansion with recent client partner deals and their increasing presence at several must attend industry events, iGaming Platform (iGP), known for their cutting-edge turnkey, whitelabel and aggregator platforms have reached a deal to integrate Nolimit City’s full portfolio of premium video slot games.

The partnership deal between the two will make way for a direct integration on iGP’s platform thanks to Nolimit’s fully flexible, propriety owned RGS platform. iGP owns a wealth of knowledge and experience in the industry and comes with one of the industry’s largest game provider portfolios.

Nolimit City games will be introduced to the platform’s client network and boast popular titles such as; WiXX, Casino Win Spin, Oktoberfest and Creepy Carnival, to name a few.

Malcolm Mizzi, Head of Sales at Nolimit City, said: “The general approach and enthusiasm to work on a partnership deal with iGP has been something that got this deal done in record timing.” “We are impressed with the far and wide reaching extent of iGP’s platform compatibility and client network that this deal was a must”

Playkey set to transform German gaming industry

Cloud-based gaming platform Playkey continues global expansion following launch in Germany

26th March 2018 – Cloud-based gaming platform Playkey is continuing its international assault on the cloud-gaming eco-system, as the platform has today launched in Germany. Revolutionising the way in which millions of gamers can access top-rated triple-A games, Playkey is continuing to position itself as a global leader within the cloud-gaming sphere.

Using cloud and streaming technology to aid users of less-powerful PCs and Macs to run demanding computer games without the need to acquire high-end and top-quality hardware, Playkey has already successfully established itself in the UK, Russia and CIS.

Launching in Germany with the support of the European solution provider G-Core Labs – known for its CDN partnership with game publisher Wargaming – and DARZ GmbH, one of the largest German IT providers, Playkey uses powerful remote servers, which are based on NVIDIA Tesla graphics cards to deliver a video-stream of the highest quality.

NetBet launches Realistic Games content

Operator makes comprehensive slots portfolio available to players 

Reading, 26th March 2018: Slots from award-winning casino supplier Realistic Games are now live with casino and sportsbook operator NetBet.

Recent releases Win Sprint, Symmetry, and the shortlisted Game of the Year, Time is Money, have been made available alongside player favourites Super Graphics Upside Down and Six Appeal.

These will be joined in the new year by a host of exciting new games, including Realistic’s new 3D slots and deluxe games, which are scheduled to be released on phone, tablet, and desktop.