Monthly Archives: February 2020

London Conference Week 2020 Day 5 recap: iGB Affiliate London

iGaming industry professionals traveled to the ExCeL for one final time, the conclusion of London Conference Week and day two of iGB Affiliate London. iGaming affiliates, affiliate managers and other industry professionals have returned to roam the lively expo floor, enjoy activities at different booths and maybe even catch a marketing session or two.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB9iE0n4QHg?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

Each year at iGB Affiliate London Betsson Group Affiliates pimps out their stand with some sort of entertainment for delegates. This year they introduced a “car simulator challenge” with a Formula 1 feel and five tempting prizes up for grabs. The promo did not have any direct relationship to games offered by Betsson Group brands, rather the idea was simply to entertain.

“Its more to entice people to come to our stand, to have fun, it’s a thrilling challenge, we have great prizes in store for the people who come and our top five, so its just for them to have fun”, Shakyra Jonsson, Affiliate Operations Manager of Betsson Group shared.

Harrah’s Ak-Chin Resort & Casino renovations creates job opportunities

Now that the three-year renovation project has been completed for Harrah’s Ak-Chin Resort & Casino, it is expected that 100 new job opportunities will be available as a result of the multi-million dollar expansion plan.

The resort and casino already employed over 1,000 men and women from across the Phoenix, Maricopa and the surrounding areas. The expansion plan helped to make the facility an even more impressive property, according to Robert Livingston, General Manager of Harrah’s Ak-Chin Resort & Casino:

“Harrah’s Ak-Chin’s guests come from across the state and around the world and are searching for one-of-a-kind experiences. The increase in gaming and entertainment space, as well as the addition of luxury guestrooms, means more people are coming to see what we have to offer. And that means more employment opportunities.”

The move to expand was driven by the rapid growth of the Maricopa area as well as the area in and surrounding Phoenix where the increase in population and big business interests has grown rapidly over the last decade.

Pontius Pilate, call your office

New York Supreme Court decision exposes the Achilles’ heel of U.S. gaming law.

Taking it all around, the beleaguered Procurator of Judea actually got off lightly. The only question put to him was “what is truth?”. And he managed to avoid it. But today our jurists and lawmakers need to coherently answer the question: “what is chance?”. And this time they don’t get to wash their hands of the problem.

On Thursday, February 6th, ,the Supreme Court of Albany County, NY, ruled that the New York State legislature had no right to do what it did in 2016, namely legalize Daily Fantasy Sports by simply declaring it a game of skill, rather than chance. Court terminology in New York is a little different then the rest of the country. What the Empire State calls a Supreme Court is actually a lower court. Decisions at that level may be appealed to the appropriate division of the Appellate Court (intermediate level Court of Appeals) and then finally to the Court Of Appeal, which is New York’s name for the state Supreme Court.

There were procedural questions – the state constitution of New York, said the Court, requires such things be submitted to a popular referendum first. In fact the proper procedure would be to change the state constitution, as California did in order to allow Indian gaming.

Treasure abound in Blueprint Gaming’s Pirates’ Frenzy

February 2020: Join the hunt for hidden treasure in the latest addition to Blueprint Gaming’s slots portfolio, Pirates’ Frenzy.

In this 5×3 10-line casino style slot, three or more scattered pirate ships trigger the free spins round in which players can win up to 50 free games. Throughout the feature, the scurvy pirate gathers all the coin bag’s in view to boost the standard win.

Pirates’ Frenzy is the first Blueprint game to incorporate the slot developer’s new Power Play Bet mechanic, which allows players to activate an extra reel for up to six of a kind wins and more chances to trigger free games.

The new release will be made available to the company’s ever-expanding global operator network and follows recent game launches Sweet Success Megaways and Scribes of Thebes.

Champion Sports to sponsor official networking event at ICE North America

London, 7th February 2020 – Innovative sportsbook solutions provider Champion Sports has been named as the sponsor of the official networking event at ICE North America.

The free to attend conference takes place between May 13th and 14th at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

And following an agreement at ICE London, Champion Sports has agreed to partner with Clarion Gaming to put on the show’s main drinks reception on the opening night at the iconic Mardi Gras World.

Taking place at the venue’s Grand Oaks Mansion, the event will feature local music and cuisine alongside the famous southern hospitality as delegates look to unwind among their industry peers.

Galfond Challenge may be the ultimate in positive thinking for Run It Once guru

Almost 10,000 hands into the first Galfond Challenge, Phil Galfond find himself almost €800,000 in the hole to the highly experienced VeniVidi. Worse still, with €200,000 on the line in the side bet he is currently losing, Galfond stands to lose almost a million euros if things stay as they are. The worst part is, few observers expect Galfond to break even over the rest of the series.

So, if you’re Galfond, how do you deal with it? Tilting could cost him a million more, while doing nothing simply continues the slide. He must arrest his losses, turn them into profit and at the same time, maintain his demeanour and class at all times, all the while under constant analysis from poker insiders and constant demand as a parent of young children.

There is precedent for what to do next from the pages of poker history, with the Tom Dwan ‘Durrrr’ Challenge springing to mind for Joey Ingram.

How crazy would it be if Phil took a break from the challenge for the next 10 years and told Veni every so often he would get around to continuing it?

Galfond Challenge may be the ultimate in positive thinking for Run It Once guru

Almost 10,000 hands into the first Galfond Challenge, Phil Galfond find himself almost €800,000 in the hole to the highly experienced VeniVidi. Worse still, with €200,000 on the line in the side bet he is currently losing, Galfond stands to lose almost a million euros if things stay as they are. The worst part is, few observers expect Galfond to break even over the rest of the series.

So, if you’re Galfond, how do you deal with it? Tilting could cost him a million more, while doing nothing simply continues the slide. He must arrest his losses, turn them into profit and at the same time, maintain his demeanour and class at all times, all the while under constant analysis from poker insiders and constant demand as a parent of young children.

There is precedent for what to do next from the pages of poker history, with the Tom Dwan ‘Durrrr’ Challenge springing to mind for Joey Ingram.

How crazy would it be if Phil took a break from the challenge for the next 10 years and told Veni every so often he would get around to continuing it?

Betsoft passes ISMS Audit to green light games suite in Colombia

10 February 2020 – Betsoft confirms Regulator’s approval for launch in Colombia

Betsoft have continued their strategic drive into regulated markets through the passing of an ISMS Audit. This is another milestone in Betsoft’s expansion within Latin America over the last year.

The ISMS Audit focuses on extensively monitoring all internal controls to ensure that the business is sensibly protecting the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of their games from threats and vulnerabilities. 

The rigorous certification processes conducted by iTech Lab, a leading accredited testing lab for online gaming worldwide, confirms that the Colombian jurisdiction will allow Betsoft titles to be used by locally licensed operators.

Betsoft passes ISMS Audit to green light games suite in Colombia

10 February 2020 – Betsoft confirms Regulator’s approval for launch in Colombia

Betsoft have continued their strategic drive into regulated markets through the passing of an ISMS Audit. This is another milestone in Betsoft’s expansion within Latin America over the last year.

The ISMS Audit focuses on extensively monitoring all internal controls to ensure that the business is sensibly protecting the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of their games from threats and vulnerabilities. 

The rigorous certification processes conducted by iTech Lab, a leading accredited testing lab for online gaming worldwide, confirms that the Colombian jurisdiction will allow Betsoft titles to be used by locally licensed operators.

EPL Gameweek #26 part 1 review: Blades put Bournemouth to the sword

This season’s Midwinter Break must come as something of a relief to 19 of the 20 teams in the Premier League, with only Liverpool surely able to be totally happy with their season so far. But as we find out, there are actually a couple of other teams who can look at their year as one to be proud of as they battle towards possible European football.

Everton 3-1 Crystal Palace

When Carlo Ancelotti took over at Goodison Park, The Toffees were looking more at threat of relegation than they were qualifying for Europe. However, after this weekend’s results, they sit 7th in the table, and just five points behind the Champions League places, thanks to another good win to please the Gladwys Street faithful.

The latest victory, their sixth in succession at home and fifth in all competitions, came at the expense of a Crystal Palace side with which the Evertonians share a special kind of history.

“We’re playing tennis, he’s playing something else.” Why Björn Borg walked away

We live in an era where three men – Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are rewriting tennis history as they dominate the sport in a manner that is completely unprecedented. Between the trio, they have won 56 Grand Slam titles. Yet there was a time where three other men might well have done the same.

Two Americans – Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe – and one Swede, the eponymous Björn Borg, were constantly in the limelight as the 1970’s gave way to the 1980’s. In total, they won 26 Grand Slam titles between them, but it may have been so many more. This week, we look at why Björn Borg walked away from the game when he was at his untouchable best.

We look at the feats of messrs Djokovic, Nadal and Federer so rarely that it would be feasible to imagine that no other records existed before they came along, or still exist despite their recent dominance of the sport. Borg, however, was a one-off. He won the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back in three consecutive seasons, something no other player has ever got close.

Björn Borg mastered two surfaces that are at opposite points on the spectrum in tennis – clay and grass. In total, he won six French Open titles and five Wimbledons, but what it even more amazing than his 11 Grand Slam titles is the fact that while he failed in nine attempts to win the U.S. Open (losing in the final four times) but also, he only entered the Australian Open once, being absent in the other eight years he might have been a strong contender.