Monthly Archives: July 2018

Mybet selling B2C online gambling unit to focus on B2B

German online betting operator Mybet has inked a deal to sell its customer-facing online gambling operations to an unidentified “strategic investor” as the company pivots to a B2B and retail focus.

On Friday, Mybet Holding SE announced that it had signed a non-exclusive term sheet for the sale of its Mybet.com B2C online gambling operations to the unspecified investor for a sum the company claims is “supposed to be in the high single-digit million range.”

Under the temrs of the deal, which is subject to the conclusion of a binding contract and the fulfillment of certain conditions, this mystery man/group will acquire 100% of Mybet group companies Personal Exchange International Ltd and PNO Casino Ltd as well as full and exclusive online rights to the Mybet brand.

Mybet will retain the right to use the Mybet brand “to an extent necessary for the continuation of its remaining business segments B2B services as well as for the operation of the stationary betting shops.” Following the deal, Mybet will focus solely on its “positively performing” B2B operations and the expansion of its retail operations.

‘Broken Tooth’ Koi backs poker tourney with new crypto token

Former Macau triad boss Wan Kuok-koi has reportedly raised US$750 million for HB token, a crypto coin that will be used as the prize money for a series of chess and poker tournaments in mainland China.

On Saturday, the South China Morning Post reported that Wan, also known as Broken Tooth, launched the initial coin offering (ICO) for HB in Cambodia. The event was reportedly attended by “high-ranking government and military officials,” as well as businessmen and celebrities from mainland and Hong Kong.

There will be 1 billion HB tokens available, according to the report, but only half of these will be offered to the public. So far, 450 million of the tokens were already sold in Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines by Wan’s company, World Hung Mun Investment. The final stop for the ICO will be in Malaysia on July 18.

Wan reportedly plans to use the HB tokens prize money for the series of chess and poker tournaments that he will hold across mainland China, starting in Hainan in October. The former Triad boss has teamed up with a company called Zhonggongxin Cosmos (Beijing) Internet Technology Ltd., a subsidiary of an alleged state-owned assets management company. According to its website, the Zhonggongxin Cosmos has an “exclusive government authorization” to operate two kinds of poker games, in addition to its online chess games. The company also has brick-and-mortar games halls.

DraftKings ink sports betting deal with New York’s del Lago casino

Daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings has inked a prospective sports betting technology deal with New York’s del Lago Resort & Casino.

On Monday, DraftKings announced that it had reached a deal with the del Lago’s owners to provide the casino with a physical sportsbook as well as an online and mobile sports betting product, just as soon as state legislators approve the necessary sports wagering legislation.

This is the second US single-game sports betting deal for DraftKings, which previously announced a betting tech deal with Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino Hotel (which has yet to launch). It’s also another coup for B2B betting tech provider Kambi, which announced a technology partnership with DraftKings last month.

Sports betting would be a welcome addition to the del Lago’s gaming palette, as the venue has struggled financially since it opened its doors last year. In January, Moody’s Investors Service cut its outlook for the venue to ‘negative,’ citing the casinos’ projections that its first-year revenue would come in around $100m below its original projections.

Leading blockchain casino platform FunFair Technologies signs RaketheRake as first operator

16th July, 2018 – FunFair Technologies, the leading decentralised B2B blockchain casino platform, is today announcing its first operator in RaketheRake, the market-leading poker rakeback affiliate.

The partnership represents a key milestone on FunFair’s roadmap as it looks to provide a world of fair, secure and efficient gaming using the power of the blockchain.

Going live with RaketheRake follows a successful closed beta of FunFair’s platform and showcases how it will empower a new generation of casino operators.

Affiliates are just one example of this new generation of operators that can take advantage of FunFair’s expertise in the blockchain and casino sector, while also accessing a new audience who enjoy gambling and come with significant crypto-wealth.

Mass market drives Macau casino growth in Q2

The mass market provided Macau casinos with ample financial fuel in the second quarter of 2018 as the VIP gambling growth rate slowed.

Data released by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) on Monday showed that Macau VIP GGR grew at a pace of 14.4 percent to MOP41.04 billion (US$5.13 billion) in Q2, almost near the 12.7 percent VIP GGR posted in last quarter of 2016.

VIP baccarat revenue accounted for an estimated 55.7 percent of all casino GGR in Q2 2018, growing 17.7 percent to MOP83.99 billion ($10.4 billion) in the first six months of 2018.

However, VIP baccarat revenue in the April to June 2018 period was 4.47 percent lower than the MOP42.96 billion ($5.32 billion) revenue it registered in the first quarter of 2018.

Lebanon loses ‘millions of dollars’ to illegal gambling, official says

While its politicians continued to bicker, Lebanon has been bleeding “millions of dollars” in revenue as illegal gambling operators continue to flourish in the country.

Al Bawaba News reported that Lebanon’s online gambling bill has been gathering dust on the Congress shelf, as the never-ending political debate on who will be regulating online gambling in the country raged on.

The controversial draft decree, which would give the Lebanese government the power to regulate online gambling, was filed in Congress in 2012. An unnamed official from the country’s Finance Ministry told the news outlet that they already amended the draft decree several times to keep it up to date but legislators have been brushing it aside.

“We amended a draft in 2012 to include all gaming outside Casino du Liban, including the bingo centers … under the jurisdiction of the Finance Ministry,” the official said, according to the news outlet. “It hasn’t been approved or discussed by anyone since then because of the political nonsense you know about.”

Bitcoin Cash-powered Ayr United off to a flyer in Scottish League debut

Bitcoin Cash (BCH), the only true bitcoin and the world’s only functional cryptocurrency, gets a fitting introduction to football fans in the Scottish Championship after Ayr United repelled the gutsy Greenock Morton during its debut match at Somerset Park over the weekend.

Ayr United found itself trailing behind Morton in the first half after midfielder Michael Tidser drew first blood with a goal at the 14-minute mark. Ayr United leaned on forward Lawrence Shankland in the second half whose hat trick sealed a come-from-behind win for the team.

In April, Ayr United and CoinGeek.com signed a deal that let the cryptocurrency news website take over the shirt branding of the football club. This is considered to be a historic event as it’s the league’s first shirt sponsorship deal paid in Bitcoin BCH—the first public blockchain to sponsor a sporting club.

Ayr United’s Commercial Director Graeme Miller said accepting sponsorship payment in BCH, as well as promoting the crypto, was initially a big learning curve for the whole team. Nevertheless, Miller said they were very happy to be the first club to promote Bitcoin Cash to a wider audience.

Bitcoin Cash-powered Ayr United off to a flyer in Scottish League debut

Bitcoin Cash (BCH), the only true bitcoin and the world’s only functional cryptocurrency, gets a fitting introduction to football fans in the Scottish Championship after Ayr United repelled the gutsy Greenock Morton during its debut match at Somerset Park over the weekend.

Ayr United found itself trailing behind Morton in the first half after midfielder Michael Tidser drew first blood with a goal at the 14-minute mark. Ayr United leaned on forward Lawrence Shankland in the second half whose hat trick sealed a come-from-behind win for the team.

In April, Ayr United and CoinGeek.com signed a deal that let the cryptocurrency news website take over the shirt branding of the football club. This is considered to be a historic event as it’s the league’s first shirt sponsorship deal paid in Bitcoin BCH—the first public blockchain to sponsor a sporting club.

Ayr United’s Commercial Director Graeme Miller said accepting sponsorship payment in BCH, as well as promoting the crypto, was initially a big learning curve for the whole team. Nevertheless, Miller said they were very happy to be the first club to promote Bitcoin Cash to a wider audience.

Alessandro Fried takes center stage at AI Malta Summit

BtoBet’s Chairman Alessandro Fried attended the AI Malta Summit where together with a panel of leading experts from the iGaming industry he discussed the various benefits and applications of Artificial Intelligence in the industry.

The panel discussed the importance of this disruptive form of technology at an industry level, with Fried giving his insight on how fundamental a role AI can have in all stages of the iGaming industry, from acquisition to retention and reactivation of players, and how AI can be an asset when it comes to the operator’s daily activities whilst also safeguarding the players’ interests.

Fried also gave his insight on the various challenges that see the industry still lagging behind other sectors. He opined that this is primarily due to the reluctant approach from the major operators to change their mentality and truly endorse Artificial Intelligence at the core of their business not only for their own benefit, but essentially for a better player experience.

BtoBet has recently published an Industry Report focusing on the various aspects of AI’s application in iGaming. The report analyses the various ways in which AI can prove to be fundamental for the industry, namely through:

BetConstruct attends Sports Betting West Africa

On July 24 – 26 BetConstruct will be joining the Sports Betting West Africa summit.

Taking the chance to attend the 4th edition of the event, we will join the lively discussion of the West African market diversity with the peers. Ready to offer its solutions tailored for the region, BetConstruct will have its products showcased at Stand 1006. The provider’s innovative and proven offerings include Sportsbook with industry-leading coverage of 30,000 live matches and 55,000+ pre‐match events each month, SMS Betting channel, Fantasy Sports with enhanced graphics, RNG Casino Suite with 4,000+ games, Live Dealer Casino with new gaming features and halls, and many more solution.

For operators willing to get all BetConstruct products as well as services and start their gaming and betting right away, we will demonstrate how our business management platform, SpringBME, works.

Alongside with the products we will also tell more about our data feed solutions provided by FeedConstruct  and its sports video market, Friendship Platform.

Giovanni Garrisi: Gambling operations in Italy is impossible without advertising

In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Becky Liggero, Stanleybet CEO Giovanni Garrisi shares his views on Italy’s newest gambling policy and why he is optimistic that it will only be temporary.

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ORYX storms ahead with latest content partnership

Monday 16th July 2018 – ORYX Gaming has added to its outstanding portfolio by partnering up with content studio Storm Gaming Technology.

As part of the deal, ORYX will be integrating the inaugural Love Island slot onto its Games platform. The officially branded slot game is HTML5 ready and promises to be a huge hit on the back of the ITV show. Both Love Island and a range of other games will be made available on ORYX’s world-leading RGS platform.

Love Island’s popularity is undisputed, in the UK it’s the most watched show in ITV2’s history. Some of the biggest countries to couple up with Love Island include Germany, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark.

Matevz Mazij, ORYX Gaming CEO said: “Storm Gaming has been making waves in the iGaming world for a number of years now and we couldn’t be happier to add their content to our platform. The Love Island branded slot is the perfect match for our customers.”