Monthly Archives: March 2015

Fiscal '16 state budget, prison bill on to-do list

Arkansas legislative leaders said they’re hoping to have a copy of state government’s proposed $5.2 billion budget for fiscal 2016 on the desks of lawmakers by the end of this week as they scramble to wrap up the Arkansas legislative session by the end of this month. They said they also want this week to complete work on legislation complementing Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s $32 million plan to curb prison crowding.

GVC Holdings celebrates boffo 2014, eyes acquiring “something like” Bwin.party

UK-listed online gambling operator GVC Holdings saw operating profit soar in 2014 thanks to the “resounding success” of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

GVC, which operates the Sportingbet and Betboo brands, issued a preliminary results announcement for the year ended Dec. 31 that showed betting turnover rising 25% to €1.46b and net gaming revenue up 32% to €225m. Earnings rose 28% to €39.2m and GVC’s stock rose 1.3% on the day to close at 460p.

Sportsbook revenue was up 21% to €110.2m, 71% of which was generated by GVC’s mobile channels. Sportsbook margin was up 0.2 points to 9.8%, despite the widely cited ‘punter friendly’ football results that decimated other operators in Q4. Non-sports gaming revenue rose 26% to €114.6m.

In 2015 trading through March 18, GVC says sports wagers are up 22% over Q1 2014, net gaming revenue is up 18% to €661k per day and in-play revenue is up 19% to €300k per day. GVC CEO Kenneth Alexander said the firm “has never been in a stronger position and we look forward to 2015 and beyond with confidence.”

Italy Scoops The Inaugural Global Poker Masters

The inaugural Global Poker Masters (GPM), an event which Cards Chat was an official media partner of, took place this weekend in Malta and when the betting was over it was one of the statistical underdogs that ran away with the championship title. Dubbed the World Cup of Poker (not to be confused with PokerStars […]

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Ivey’s Bid To Dismiss Borgata Lawsuit Rejected

Phil Ivey’s attempt to have the Borgata’s lawsuit against him dropped has been rejected by a US District Judge. The case relates to four sessions of baccarat that Ivey and fellow defendant Cheng Yin Sun played at the Borgata in 2012, during which they won $9.6 million. The casino claims that the edge-sorting technique the […]

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Macau leader Fernando Chui vows to strengthen casino regulation in policy address

Macau Chief Executive Dr Fernando Chui Sai-on vowed to strengthen regulation of the gaming industry when the former Portuguese enclave conducts a review of casino licence renewals, as he gave his annual policy address on Monday. But Chui warned against the “possible problem” of unemployment arising from adjustments to the casino industry, saying that measures will be taken to prevent the problem from snowballing and affecting other industries.