Alderney-licensed online gambling operator Sky Betting & Gaming has inked a social gaming deal with San Francisco developer OpenWager. The new Sky Hollywood Slots social casino is now available on both Android and iOS devices, featuring a variety of original slots titles. The game is hosted by ‘talent manager Sid Sharkey,’ who invites players to participate in a variety of gigs in a quest to become movie stars.

Sky Betting’s head of social games Bruce Bale celebrated the company’s initial foray into the social casino world, which he said offered the company the chance to “engage with new customers, particularly in Western Europe, the US, Canada and Asia.” OpenWager CEO John Cahill said his firm’s platform would provide Sky’s existing customers with “an entirely different type of experience” and would allow Sky to build “a proven social-mobile stream of revenue.”

MAN U TEAMS WITH KAMAGAMES

English Premier League mainstays Manchester United have struck their first social gaming deal by signing on with Dublin-based developer KamaGames. The multi-year deal will see the launch of mobile and online platforms featuring the team’s iconography and social casino games like blackjack and roulette and KamaGames’ popular Pokerist: Texas Poker title. Man U have around 659m online acolytes while KamaGames have 70m registered players and 1m daily active users.

Man U group managing director Richard Arnold said the team understood “the importance of engaging with and entertaining our fans,” something KamaGames will allow the team to do “in new and exciting ways.” KamaGames CEO Danny Hammett said his firm was “proud and honored to be associated with such a great team and iconic brand” and vowed to build a strong relationship with the team’s fans.

INSPIRED GAMING ACQUIRE WE R INTERACTIVE

Virtual sports outfit Inspired Gaming Group has acquired UK social game developer We R Interactive, the company behind titles like We R Football and I AM PLAYR. Inspired CEO Luke Alvarez said the acquisition “reinforces our leadership in virtual sports on mobile and opens our content up to a new group of gamers.” The “passionate, smart and forward-thinking” We R Interactive staff are being retained as Alvarez found them to be “a great fit with Inspired and our culture.”

Jose Montes has defeated Benjamin Keeline, in heads-up action, to win the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at the Choctaw Casino Resort in Oklahoma.

The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) continues to prosper as the event at the Choctaw Casino and Resort ends with yet another Season 11 record.

Event 11#: $1,675 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Main Event attracted 1,363 entries, to create a total prize pool of $2,044,500, setting the record for the largest Main Event of the season. It’s the second record set at Choctaw after it also hosted the largest-ever WSOPC event, when Ray Henson defeated 4,053 players to take the first prize in the $365 NLH Re-Entry event.

Ray Henson didn’t get near the top of this one though. That honor is bestowed to Jose Montes who turned his fourth WSOPC cash into his most significant, winning the $352,669 first prize, and securing his seat in the season-ending WSOP National Championships.

With a field so large you could be excused for thinking the final table would resemble a school of fish, it didn’t turn out that way. Montes had to find his way through a final table containing a whole series of gold rings. Two time gold ring winner Ben Reason finishing sixth, ring winner Ryan Tepen finishing ninth, and Ben Keeline coming close to claiming his second ring with his runner-up finish.

“I can show my son one day.” Montes told the WSOP journalist when talking about his own gold ring.

Montes was referring to his 11-month old son. A son who was born on the same day as Montes. Now that’s what I call a man of fortune. There is already another bun the oven and Montes plans to use part of his six-figure sum to buy a new home.

The hearts of online poker players were all-a-flutter Wednesday afternoon following messages that seemed to indicate that Amaya Gaming’s Full Tilt had been cleared to offer services in New Jersey’s regulated online gambling market. However, hopes were soon dashed after it turned out to be a digital cockup.

The confusion began when poker player Dennis Lopez (@DLO_Rican) tried logging on to Full Tilt’s free-play dot-net site on his iPhone. Lopez was presented with a splash screen indicating that Tilt’s software had been “fully licensed by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, offering real-money gameplay on a fully regulated online gaming platform.” The notice went on to invite users to download said software and log-in with their current Full Tilt account details.

Lopez posted a screenshot of the message, which quickly circulated through the US online poker community. Sadly, Lopez found himself unable to download the advertised software and PokerStars spokesman Eric Hollreiser soon deflated hopes like so many New England footballs, saying the message was “an error” and that Amaya was investigating what had happened. (We’re looking at you, North Korea.)

Amaya has been anxiously awaiting a positive sign from New Jersey regulators as to if/when it might be allowed to take advantage of PokerStars’ nearly two-year-old online poker deal with Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino. Two weeks ago, state Sen. Ray Lesniak suggested Stars would be out of the starting blocks by March, but he offered few specifics as to how he’d arrived at this timeline.

SPORTECH TO LAUNCH NEW JERSEY ONLINE CASINO IN FEBRUARY

A more definite Resorts online launch has been promised by SNG Interactive, the joint venture of UK-based pools betting operator Sportech and Stockholm software outfit NYX Gaming. The JV partners inked an online casino deal with Resorts last June and have now scheduled a soft launch for February.

Sportech CEO Ian Penrose told eGaming Review that the casino site was still awaiting regulatory approval but that things were progressing “really well.” Penrose believes there’s “definitely room for more brands” in New Jersey and SNG remains “very ambitious’ about its ability to carve out a “strong position” in the market.

Amaya Gaming Inc. have once again been recognized for their achievements, this time being on the receiving end of awards from the Canadian technology magazine Cantech Letter.

The recognition and rewards keep rolling in for the stars of online gambling, as Amaya Gaming Inc. receive yet more awards for their sterling performance in 2014.

Cantech Letter is an online magazine that focuses on Canadian technology. It was founded in 2008 by Nick Waddell and was once described by Canadian Business Magazine as: ‘one of Canada’s premier technology newsletters.’

Each year, a select band of Cantech Letter analysts, and readers, honor the very cream of Canadian online technology, and Amaya Gaming Inc. rose to the top of that discussion to be named the TSX Tech Stock of the year. Their youthful CEO, David Baazov, was also recognized for his due diligence by being awarded the mantle of TSX Tech Executive of the Year.

It seems PokerStars and Full Tilt’s puppet master can do no wrong in the eyes of the Cantech Letter award issuance panel. Amaya were also handed the TSX Venture Stock of the Year award in 2012 & 2013, with Baazov also picking up the same award during an identical timeframe.

“It is an honor for Amaya to have received this award three years in a row, and it reflects the ongoing dedication of our employees and the sound guidance provided by our board of directors,” said Baazov.

Baazov, 34, is one of the youngest CEOs in the game and lives in Montreal with his wife and four children.

Former 888Poker star, Shane Warne, has hit the headlines after a 43-year old mother-of-two sold a warts and all sex story about meeting the Aussie cricket legend through the dating app Tinder.

The former 888Poker star, and Australian cricket legend, Shane Warne, has hit headlines worldwide, after a 43-year old mother-of-two sold a warts and all sex story to Woman’s Day magazine about a romp with the man she described as ‘one of the best lovers’ of her life.

When will people in the limelight ever learn?

Kim McGrath has spilled the beans over her alleged sex romp with Warne, where she says the former 888Poker pro asked to ‘devour her’, after the pair met on the dating app Tinder (or shagging app as it apparently seems to be known). Now that’s quite some allegation from a man who doesn’t seem to be able to devour much without spilling it all over his chops.

In the McGrath interview, she describes how she met Warne through the dating app where he proceeded to send her a series of text messages, and the obligatory selfie, before the pair met up for a little bit of slap and tickle.

Warne’s mug is more than capable of filling the pages of most national tabloids, so one wonders about his George Michael style of cloak and dagger.

“Can I trust you? Are you private? This has to stay between us? X” He allegedly texted to the mother-of-two.

In this week’s confessions series, Lee Davy, gives the readers an insight into how the universe sends him his writing ideas.

Where do you get your ideas from?

That’s a question I get asked a lot, although I never used to understand why? Ideas came naturally to me, so I didn’t understand why it could be a problem for people? I now understand that people who have this problem are stuck in a perpetual loop of mind-fucked inaction because of the way they think. The thought of generating ideas is difficult for them, and so by thinking that, it becomes their reality. So, my first piece of advice is stop thinking like that.

If you open your mind a little. If you can believe that your thoughts generate your reality, and use that to your advantage by asking for writing ideas to trip you up as you walk down the road – it will happen. Your problem will vanish.

Here is an example of how numerous ideas have come my way since last night. This is not a milestone blog post. It’s a snapshot in time, and I will repeat this process when I think it will be beneficial to readers.

One important note before I blab on any further. You can expand this way of thinking, and incorporate it into any area of your life. Shit man, you can make this way of being the core of your life. I know that I do.

I am having a conversation with myself about Facebook. It’s pissing me off. It used to be a forum where I could catch up on my friend’s lives. Now it’s a relentless reel of video content that momentarily gives me motion sickness.

Cubits, one of the latest additions to the world of Bitcoin marketplaces, is dedicated to bringing a blend of speed, simplicity and security to the buying, transferring, and shopping with Bitcoin.

One of the very few Bitcoin firms based out of Europe, designed and built with German engineering and fully supporting 17 currencies, Cubits is making its mark with the Cubits Wallet for everyday users and Cubits Pay for merchants.

Cubits is proud of recently agreed partnerships in the online gaming industry. Cubits will co-sponsor Europe’s biggest gaming exhibition this year, ICE Totally Gaming, where CEO Tim Rehder will share both insight and experiences in light of the firm’s recent achievements in the gaming industry. Furthermore, together with SoftSwiss CEO Ivan Montik, he will elaborate on their integration process and explain the ease of integrating Bitcoin into existing gaming platforms and operators. “With Cubits, we have found a strong partner for fiat-bitcoin payments, connected not only by language, but also a common ideology of bringing customers the highest degree of quality and innovation.” – Ivan Montik.

SoftSwiss is one of the largest online B2B casino companies, with over 14 online casinos to their credit. Cubits will begin handling the Bitcoin payments for BitStarz, one of SoftSwiss’s biggest and most successful online casinos, BetChain, a hugely popular Bitcoin casino, and finally, their newest addition, Princess Star. When it comes to choosing our partners, Cubits places an extremely high level of attention to KYC policies. Cubits knows all of its partners adhere to the highest standards in legality, security, and fair business practices. BitStarz, BetChain and Princess Star, as iterations of SoftSwiss, are all fully licensed.

For these online casinos, Cubits has added 2-Way deposit functionality. This helps customers simplify the way they deposit Bitcoin into their accounts, regardless of whether they have a Bitcoin wallet or not. Cubits handles the deposit of regular currency, instantly buys Bitcoin on behalf of the customer and transfers the Bitcoin amount to their gaming account. This streamlined system helps online casinos move quicker into the Bitcoin arena while at the same time slowly integrating everyday players into using Bitcoin, but without pushing it on them.

“This system is a valuable tool for online casinos and online merchants alike, because it creates a seamless checkout process when making deposits and payments. We are very excited to launch this service with SoftSwiss”, says Tim Rehder. One of the most exciting features of this payment functionality is the ability for customers to sign up with Cubits and acquire Bitcoin instantly, all the while maintaining their merchant’s purchase window live and intact. In a few easy steps, not only has a customer made a satisfactory purchase, but is now also a Bitcoin user through Cubits wallet.

When making online purchases, going through numerous extra steps like navigating away from the merchant’s page can often cause a timeout, which could lead to lost business. Cubits new integrated payment functionality not only avoids these potential losses, but helps grow the Bitcoin-using community, therefore generating more business for Bitcoin-accepting merchants.

Casino junket operator Gold Moon Group is closing one of its VIP gaming rooms in Macau in order to focus on other regional markets. After nearly three years in operation, Gold Moon’s VIP room at Sands China’s Sands Cotai Central is closing, leaving the company with four remaining rooms in Macau.

Gold Moon director Chiu Siu Fung said there would be no staff redundancies as a result of the closure. Affected staff will be offered work at Gold Moon’s remaining 70 tables located at the Wynn Macau (12 tables), Galaxy Macau (14), Melco Crown’s Altira (35) and Macau Legend Development’s Pharaoh’s Palace Casino (9) at the Landmark Hotel, which operates under a SJM Holdings license.

Speaking to GGRAsia, Chiu acknowledged that the room at Sands Cotai Central “has not been doing really well” but insisted Gold Moon remained “stable” and focused on a number of expansion plans. Aside from gaming, the company operates a Hong Kong-based food souvenir business as well as restaurants – and soon a travel agency – in Macau.

Gold Moon is determined to boost its presence in markets outside Macau. Chiu says the firm has been luring clients to markets like Australia, Vietnam and the Philippines for “about a year” and expects business will ultimately be generated “half-and-half” between Macau and international markets. But Macau will “absolutely remain as our major market.”

The David Group junket is also putting increased emphasis on international markets. Last weekend, the operator announced it would close three of its seven VIP rooms in Macau, keeping them in ‘hibernation’ until the declining VIP market rebounds. With a travel company and planes of its own, David Group is eyeing the same markets as Gold Moon, with South Korea thrown in for good measure.

The two junkets will have lots of overseas company, including the Hengsheng Group, which saw VIP revenue take a tumble in 2014 and has since struck deals with the Crown Casino in Da Nang and the Walkerhill in South Korea. iGamiX analyst Ben Lee said junkets were embarking on their “biggest expansion phase ever” in a bid to replace the lost revenue in Macau.

Ambrose So, CEO of SJM Holdings, told the Hong Kong Economic Journal that there was little evidence that Macau’s VIP room closures had gone viral. So said Macau’s junket industry wouldn’t “jump on the bandwagon” and that any closures would “depend on the financial statement of individual enterprises.”

Yuval Ziv, COO at payments technologies provider SafeCharge, takes a look at some of the payment trends and challenges which companies trading online in 2015 will face and how to combat them.

The payments world is rapidly advancing technologically and globally, giving rise to many future payment possibilities for users and similarly allowing merchants to attract and connect with others around the world. It is now possible for a user to make payments on the move via mobile devices, enjoy access to multiple payment methods and currency options and feel secure in the knowledge that their sensitive data is protected due to new tools being developed to combat fraudulent activity.

Localisation of payments. A borderless world gives rise to countless global payment opportunities. By introducing multiple alternative payment methods and currencies, merchants are able to increase their global presence. What is key for merchants is the management of currencies and enabling their end-users to pay / checkout and withdraw funds globally. An example is the current economic situation in Russia where the Rouble has hit an all-time low. A merchant operating in Russia has a number of expenses which needs to be settled in Roubles, however if the merchant is paid out in Dollars, a second conversion to Roubles will result in a loss due to currency fluctuations. A merchant that uses the expertise of a payments provider partner will be able to make use of a few currency features; Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) offered within the payment page allows the merchant to select his preferable currency, and the settlement feature which gives a merchant the opportunity to settle in like for like currency, i.e. Rouble to Rouble, therefore not needing to depend on currency changes. These features enable merchants to reduce their risk to currency exposure.

Mobile payments. Paying via mobile is not new, however more advanced tools for mobile payments have recently been introduced making online payments easier and simpler. These new payment tools lead to a higher conversion rate. Mobile hackers have become a new threat and although not yet particularly sophisticated, it will only be a matter of time before systems are cracked and sensitive data compromised.

Identifying and combatting new fraud trends. A number of fraud trends can be identified;

Identity Fraud – Recently new fraudulent trends have been identified. There is a growing occurrence of users in some countries obtaining credit cards from the US illegally. They then use multiple cards and rack up high amount transactions. Another case is when stolen credit cards from the US pass complete authentication for 3D Secure.

Fraud Rings – Fraud rings are increasingly prevalent, and especially in online poker as there is the opportunity for a group of fraudulent players to collude together to defraud a legitimate player, or for a group to launder stolen credit card funds onto a genuine credit card or into an anonymous e-Wallet.