THE AMERICAS
Amaya Gaming launched its new StarsDraft daily fantasy sports site one day after Michigan gaming regulators said DFS was illegal; new data revealed that just 1.3% of DFS players earn 91% of player profits; DraftKings ramped up its TV marketing; Nevada’s WSOP.com added Paypal as a payment option; New Jersey approved NetEnt to launch its games on Bwin.party’s sites and Caesars Interactive Entertainment NJ was okayed to host online game content for the Delaware Lottery; nearly half of social casino gamers spend money to play; Unikrn launched a new global free-play eSports betting platform and Digital Fuel Marketing’s Luke Cotton explained how companies can win the eSports real-money betting battle; the Ongame poker network sunk NYX Gaming’s Q2 earnings; Loto-Quebec’s online gambling site revenue rose 27%; Las Vegas Sands got the nod to launch stadium-style electronic table games in Pennsylvania; California gaming regulator Richard Schuetz left for a similar job in Bermuda; Latin America drove Codere’s H1 revenue; a study found humans gamble more on anthropomorphized slot machines and you might not recognize the casino floor of the future; Westgate Las Vegas sportsbook VP Jay Kornegay discussed the enduring appeal of sports betting in the US of A with Rebecca Liggero while Kelly Heffernan talked sleeping rough with Tatjana Pasalic.
EUROPE
GVC Holdings emerged triumphant in the Bwin.party bidding war despite 888 submitting an improved offer, while Bwin.party’s CEO said PartyPoker had become an afterthought; the Czech Republic proposed lower taxes for sports betting than casino games; Ireland and Romania handed out a bunch of new online gambling licenses; unauthorized online gambling sites grew their Swedish market share; players dubbed PokerStars’ new VIP program a “money grab:’ Irish bettor John McManus sued the IRS for withholding $5.2m of his winnings; Rafi Farber said he expects great things from the merger of Betfair and Paddy Power; Two Plus Two’s David Sklansky explained why too many poker pros are a bad thing and Ace Publishing’s Glyn Thomas told Becky Liggero why the Ukrainian market is coming in from the cold.