GamCrowd partnered with Innvotec Limited, an FCA-authorized fund management firm to launch the first Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) dedicated for the gambling industry.

The GamCrowd 2015 SEIS Fund opens for investors today—a day before the start of Cheltenham Festival, where hundreds of millions of pounds is wagered.

GamCrowd has already begun assessing companies, judging to meet the relevant regulatory and licensing requirements. Once the qualified companies are selected, GamCrowd will advise Innvotec on GamCrowd 2015 SEIS investments, evaluating the potential of all start-ups against strict growth criteria and assisting through the pre-funding process, prior to helping the companies to deliver the objectives agreed at the time of investment.

“SEIS is one of the most advantageous tax schemes available to investors anywhere in Western Europe,” said GamCrowd CEO Chris North. “Because of the UK government’s generosity and enthusiasm to funnel tax payers’ money towards UK start-ups, many specialist funds have been started. But, until now, none has existed in gambling, despite it being a huge industry.

With all the confusion in the Eurozone (Greece gets an extension, Greece doesn’t get an extension), Chinese crackdowns on Macau, war in Russia, and the extremely volatile monetary environment in the US, it’s time to take a look at a (relatively) quiet, nice, sane, stable region where there does not seem to be any potentially explosive development on the horizon: Sweden, with a closer look at Betsson AB. What a relief.

First a look at the monetary environment in Sweden. We’ll need several charts for this.

First, and perhaps most impressive, is that Sweden is one of only a tiny handful of countries whose debt to GDP has not gone up since 2008.

That alone tells you something about the stability of the place. Its economy is on an even growth trajectory, notwithstanding that GDP is not one of my favorite economic indicators.

Florida’s Seminole Tribe launched another statewide TV campaign on Monday urging the state to extend its gaming compact, which will expire on July 31st.

Titled “Partnership,” the second in a series of ads features Florida Chamber of Commerce CEO Mark Wilson and Restaurant and Lodging Association CEO Carol Dover saying that Seminole compact has been good for Florida and the economy, while controlling the expansion of gaming.

“Florida is changing, which is why we need to extend the compact and limit gambling. Changing it could lead to the expansion of gambling, which simply is unacceptable for a state that has worked hard to grow its economy and develop a family-friendly image,” Wilson said.

“Since the Seminole compact went into effect, it has generated more than $1 billion in state revenue for education, health care and veterans’ services,” said Dover. “We cannot afford to lose these vital dollars.”

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JERSEY CITY N.J., March 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Virgin Casino is proud to introduce 90 Ball Bingo to New Jersey, becoming one of the first online casinos in the U.S. to offer real money 90 Ball Bingo. The game was developed by Gamesys, the leading developer of online bingo games.

Virgin Casino’s 90 Ball Bingo is available to play on desktop every day between 10am and 11pm and guarantees more than $90,000 in Bonus Money prizes each month. As part of the launch, there will be FREE games available to play every day at VirginCasino.com.

Lee Fenton, COO at Gamesys said, “We are delighted to introduce 90 Ball Bingo to our players in New Jersey. Gamesys operates the leading online bingo site in the U.K. market and we’re confident that we can bring the best online 90 Ball Bingo experience to Virgin Casino in the U.S.”

Global Poker Index, CEO, Alex Dreyfus has agreed to reintroduce a European Poker Award category for best Online Player of the Year after a former winner called for its inclusion.

The 2016 European Poker Awards (EPA) will include a category for Online Player of the Year, after former winner Andreas Torbergsen took to Twitter to voice his displeasure at the category being missing from the 2014 ceremony.

Andreas Torbergsen spoke. Alex Dreyfus listened. The advent of social media has closed the gap between company owners and customers. The same is true in poker. Over the past years I have seen the big three poker tournament organizers interact with their customers through this channel to great effect. It has just happened again.

In 2010, Andreas ‘Skjervoy’ Torbergsen won the EPA for the Best Online Player of the Year. In 2014 there isn’t even a category for online players. Torbergsen decided to create a poll to see what his twitter follower’s thought of the omission. The answer was a 92% yes vote for an online poker award (36 people voted).

Doyle Brunson, the Godfather of Poker, has recovered from his 12th major surgery, this time to have a melanoma removed, and is in good spirits recuperating at home.

Doyle Brunson, the Godfather of Poker, has emerged from successful surgery to remove a melanoma from his head, and the charm and humor is still in tact.

“Found out this big incision on my head is where @RealKidPoker paid the doc to try to extract some poker knowledge from my head. #Didn’twork.” Doyle tweeted.

And it was a big incision!

The Global Poker Index has released the full schedule of the upcoming 2015 Global Poker Masters, and Bet365 are offering odds on which nation will win poker’s World Cup competition.

The clock is ticking.

In 11-days time the very best poker players in the world will gather in Malta to eat rabbit, get wet, and compete in poker’s first World Cup competition. I am, of course, talking about the 2015 Global Poker Masters, and the man behind it all has just released the final schedule.

The event will take place over two days: 21 – 22 March, with the action forming part of the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Malta. Interesting parties, who are not in Malta, needn’t fret as all the action will be streamed live on Twitch, in five different languages.

Jamie Burland: Giving Poker a Big Bear Hug Video

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