Another gambling marketing musing as Lee Davy sits down with the founder of the odds comparison app betclever, Roberto Romanello, to see how the company is doing two years after it first hit the market.
Only four people can join poker’s Triple Crown during the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Mike Watson.
Andrey Pateychuk.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission will revise guidance for medication withdrawal times and thresholds in line with ARCI guidelines–or expected RMTC updates, the most significant of which are changes to anabolic steroids.
An Irish social media star was one of six ‘net pretties’ convicted of violating Thailand’s gambling laws by promoting World Cup wagering.
On Tuesday, the Dusit District Court of Bangkok sentenced six women for violating Section 12 of Thailand’s Anti-Gambling Act, specifically, for using their social media profiles to encourage Thai bettors to wager with online betting sites that have no authority to operate in the country.
According to the Bangkok Post, the six women received sentences of one month in prison – which was suspended for one year, pending good behavior – and fined the whopping sum of THB1k (US$30) each.
Among the women was 19-year-old Jessie Vard, who moved to Thailand from Donegal, Ireland when she was a child. In recent weeks, Vard’s Instagram feed deviated slightly from its traditional offering of “these are my breasts … these are my breasts from another angle” to include shots of her holding up her phone (close to her breasts, natch), on which online betting sites were displayed (pictured).
Pennsylvania casino operators had a basically flat performance in May, with both slots and table games reporting only minor improvements.
Figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) show the state’s 12 licensed casino operators reported combined gaming revenue of $278.9m in May, up a modest 0.4% from the same month last year.
Slots revenue was also up 0.4% to just under $204m, led (as always) by the Parx Casino with $35.7m (+4.7%) followed by Sands Bethlehem’s $27m (+1.9%) and Rivers Casino’s $22.7m (+2.4%).
The table game scores were led (as always) by Sands, although its May total was down nearly 9.7% to $19.6m, while Parx reported its tables rising 12.7% to $16m. SugarHouse Casino ranked third with $10.1m (-11.8%).
Anthony Oppenheimer’s son of Frankel brings a five-race winning streak to Royal Ascot, and trainer John Gosden is hoping for a return to his best form back at the scene of his romp in the QIPCO Champion Stakes (G1) last Autumn.
Maybe the WSOP’s Poker Players Championship should be renamed the Michael Mizrachi Invitational. “The Grinder,” a two-time champion in this event, ended Day Four with a massive chip lead with […]
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Italy’s online sports betting operators roared back to life in May after suffering a rare setback in April.
Figures published by Italian gaming news outlet Agimeg show Italy’s licensed online sports betting operators reported turnover rising 6.4% year-on-year to €518m in May while betting revenue jumped 40.4% to €40.8m. For the first five months of 2018, online betting revenue has grown 46.4% to €262.4m.
Things were more mixed on the retail wagering front, where betting turnover declined nearly 5% to €355m but revenue managed to improve 9.4% to €52.1m. For the year-to-date, retail wagering revenue is up 47% to €362.6m.
As usual, Bet365 ruled the online betting revenue charts with a 17.6% share, followed by SKS365 at 14.9%, with Playtech’s new acquisition Snaitech in third with 10.5%. On the land-based side, Snai claimed the largest slice with 13.1%, followd by SKS365 at 12.4% and Eurobet at 11.2%.
John and Tanya Gunther’s storybook season got even better at Ascot June 19, as their homebred colt Without Parole (GB) bested nine rivals to land the Royal meeting’s St James’s Palace Stakes (G1).
Regional casino operator Penn National Gaming (PNG) has teamed up with a real estate investment trust to acquire a Louisiana casino.
On Tuesday, PNG announced that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire the operations of the Margaritaville Resort Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana. The transaction, which will cost PNG around $115m, is expected to close sometime in H2 pending approval by Louisiana gaming regulators.
At the same time, the VICI Properties Inc real estate investment trust (REIT) has agreed to acquire the land underneath the Margaritaville property. VICI has entered into a triple net lease agreement that will require PNG to pay roughly $23m in annual rent for the initial 15-year term of the agreement, with four five-year renewal options.
The addition of the Margaritaville property will bring PNG’s total property portfolio to 40 venues in 18 jurisdictions. PNG expects the “tuck-in acquisition” will be immediately accretive to PNG’s operating results upon closing.
Lael Stable’s Chalon moved into a tie for first in the filly and mare sprint-dirt division of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship series when she earned 10 points with her victory in the $75,000 Regret Stakes June 17 at Monmouth Park.
The New York Racing Association, which returned to private-sector control last year, is looking to a New York State agency to help finance a major renovation of Belmont Park.
Godolphin’s Blue Point (IRE) ran down long-time leader Baatash (IRE) in the final furlong, asserting late to land the King’s Stand Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot June 19. U.S.-based defending King’s Stand winner Lady Aurelia could finish only seventh.
Every World Cup sees surprises from the very start, with some pre-tournament favorites proving to be more vulnerable than fans expected. But few tournaments have had as many early surprises […]
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The parent company of online poker giant PokerStars has launched a public offering of its common shares to help fund its acquisition of UK online gambling operator Sky Betting & Gaming (Sky Bet).
On Monday, The Stars Group announced that it has filed a supplementary prospectus in North America for a proposed public offering of 15 million common shares. It will be valued “in the context of the market with the price and total size of the offering,” which will be determined at the “time of entering into an underwriting agreement for the offering.”
Aside from the preliminary treasury offering, The Stars Group is also contemplating on making a secondary offering of 6 million common shares.
Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank Securities will act as the joint book-running managers and representatives of the underwriters while Goldman Sachs & Co., Barclays, BMO Capital Markets and Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. are additional book-running managers, according to the company.
Accidental Agent got up close to home to shock 14 rivals and land the opening race of the 2018 Royal Meeting, the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) at Ascot June 19.
The Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG) has announced that Responsible Gambling Week 2018 will take place from 1st– 7th November and that, for the first time, organisations and businesses from Ireland and Northern Ireland will join those from Great Britain in supporting the event.
The IGRG brings together every sector of the gambling industry through its member trade associations, covering online, amusement arcades, bingo clubs, bookmakers and casinos: all with the common objective of raising awareness of responsible gambling behaviours and encouraging staff, customers and the wider public to discuss what it means to gamble responsibly.
The headline theme of the Week will be Let’s Talk About Responsible Gambling. By coming together with one voice, the industry is able extend its reach and ensure that the message of responsible gambling connects with the widest possible audience.
Encouraged by the success of the inaugural Responsible Gambling Week, held in 2017, which encompassed more than 10,000 gambling venues and online sites, 120,000 employees across Great Britain and created more than 10 million impressions on social media, the IGRG is seeking to build on the excellent results and take the campaign further in 2018. In Ireland, the initiative will be supported by more than 800 bookmakers shops and head offices, involving around 5,500 staff, and by the Arcades Association, the Gaming and Leisure Association of Ireland, Horse Racing Ireland and both the Irish Greyhound and Horse Racing Tote.
– Strategic Acquisition to Propel Company into Real-Money Gaming Business
– Increases Distribution and Revenue Potential of AGS’ Popular Online Game Content
LAS VEGAS, June 19, 2018 – AGS (“the Company”) (NYSE: AGS) announced today it has acquired Gameiom Technologies Limited (“Gameiom”), a UK and Gibraltar licensed iGaming aggregator and content provider for real-money gaming (“RMG”) and sports-betting partners. This transaction bolsters AGS’ diverse product portfolio with the ability to offer iGaming operators some of the highest-performing game content in the marketplace through Gameiom’s remote game server (“RGS”). Under the terms of the transaction, AGS has acquired Gameiom for $5 million in cash and will integrate Gameiom to serve as the launchpad for the Company’s iGaming division, which will become part of its AGS Interactive business segment.
“In assessing RMG providers, AGS felt it was important to pursue a pure content aggregation and distribution platform as opposed to a direct-to-consumer iGaming operation,” said David Lopez, President and CEO of AGS. “Gameiom fits that bill perfectly – their platform enables AGS to distribute our industry-leading game content into many markets, including the U.S, establishing a real-money gaming solution designed to generate revenue for AGS and our partners. Gameiom’s RGS platform is flexible, scalable, robust, and open, capable of delivering hundreds of games and sports-betting integration to operators quickly and reliably. More importantly, Gameiom’s values align with our playbook – they are passionate, team oriented, aspire to win, and a bit obsessed with gaming, just like us.”
The Indiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association has pledged $5,000 to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in support of accredited Thoroughbred aftercare.
Kentucky lawmakers are eyeing to get a piece of the U.S. sports betting pie after the country’s highest tribunal repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992, according to the Kentucky Public Radio.
The bi-partisan panel, consisting of six members of the House of Representatives and three members of the Senate, have been formed to draft and file legislation to implement legal sports betting in Kentucky.
Some of the members of the bi-partisan panel were the same lawmakers that pushed for regulation of sports betting in Kentucky in 2017. Sen. Julian Carroll was the first to propose for Kentucky to legalize the game in September 2017, but his bill didn’t make any progress in the Senate. Like Carroll, Rep. John Sims and Rep. Dean Schamore peddled the legalization of sports betting in the lower chamber but their bill remained stalled in the committee.
Based on their timeline, the nine-member legislative team has six months to study, research, and write a bill that will pave the way for betting on professional sports “and possibly some limited instances of college sports, while banning wagering on high school or below level sports.” They plan to file companion bills for each chambers during the 2019 legislative session, according to the lawmakers.
An organizational shakeup is underway at Universal Entertainment, as part of the Japanese-listed gaming conglomerate’s bid to keep ousted chairman Kazuo Okada away from its casino-related businesses.
In a regulatory filing, Universal announced that it has implemented an intra-group organizational realignment for it casino-related businesses, paving the way for the creation of a new company called Limited Liability Company ABC (LLCA).
LLCA is set to become the parent company of its three primary casino-related businesses, namely Tiger Resort Asia Limited, Aruze USA Inc., and a new entity called UE Technologies Inc., according to Universal.
Currently, Universal’s subsidiary WonderGraph Corp. holds 100 percent of LLCA. The company lists WonderGraph CORP as the operator of its casino resort business.