Monthly Archives: March 2015

Greece to issue new online gambling licenses in bid to raise €500m per year

Greece’s online gambling market is set for a shake-up after the country’s new left-wing government announced plans to issue new online gambling licenses.

The ruling Syriza party, which assumed power after snap elections were called in January, says its new online gambling licenses will cost €3m apiece and be valid for a five-year term. Syriza said its plan would raise an additional €500m per year for the cash-strapped state.

Syriza’s plan calls for the “immediate, official licensing of existing Online Gaming Providers,” apparently referring to the 24 temporary online licenses issued by the previous government in 2011 (which were revoked a year later). Each license would apply to a single online domain. License renewal fees will be revised according to “actual market data.” Syriza feels the sale of new licenses shouldn’t take more than two months.

Tax rates would remain at their current levels and each new licensee would have to prepay minimum tax of €1m per year, “irrespectively of the actual volume of transactions and with the possibility that other taxes are waived.” Syriza envisions a completely “cashless” environment with payments done by debit or prepaid cards, “to be managed by an officially licensed Payment Service Provider by the Central Bank of Greece.”

The online gambling plan was one of seven new Syriza proposals to boost revenue and thus allow Greece to meet its debt obligations. Syriza and its combative finance minister Yanis Varoufakis have been warring with Greece’s EU and IMF creditors over repayment of the €240b bailout the country received in 2010. Other aspects of Syriza’s plan include enlisting “large numbers of casual onlookers” to fink on individuals or businesses avoiding value-added taxes.

Greece’s online gambling market has been in a state of legal turmoil for years. Those 24 operators whose temporary licenses were revoked have taken Greece to the European Commission over what they claim was blatant protectionism intended to boost the pre-sale value of former state-owned betting monopoly OPAP.

Syriza’s rolling out the welcome mat for online gambling represents something of an about-face. Shortly before January’s election, Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras said he was dead set against “large gambling interest and profiteering rampages on neighborhoods.” Tsipras also suggested the Greek government’s sale of its one-third stake in OPAP was a “national crime” and “not a done event.”

Online slots portal VegasSlotsOnline.com acquires MrGamez.com for close to $500k

Malta: 6th March 2015- Leading online slots portal VegasSlotsOnline.com (VSO) announced today that they have successfully acquired the assets of MrGamez.com in a deal worth close to $500,000. VSO, the largest provider of free games and slots reviews online, have cemented their position as the leading source of online slots information with the purchase of the European-based online games portal.

MrGamez.com offers users the chance to play a huge selection of online casino games for free across a wide variety of different software providers. The site has a more European focus and masculine tone, and combined with VSO will focus on slots on a global scale by attending to the needs of different demographics.

Spokesman for VSO, Josh Turner noted that “The purchase of MrGamez.com is the next step in our quest to become market leaders in the online slots space. We are very appreciative of quality websites especially when they are in iGaming verticals, and whenever an opportunity arises to acquire something like this, you do whatever it takes to make it happen.” He added that, “We have increased our market share with this purchase and hope to leverage this going forward in our business pursuits.”

The acquisition is the continuation of an excellent 24 months for the VSO team, who have surged to the top of almost all online slots related rankings and currently serve over 800,000 monthly visitors in the online gaming sector.

It will be business as usual for the two sites which will operate as strategic partners going forward, but still offer users the same great content and experiences that they are used to.

In the near future VSO intends to continue its expansion by opening an office in Malta to utilize the strong presence of iGaming intellect and a tech savvy population. Due to the significant interest in slots, slot machines and all things related to casino games, proximity to Las Vegas remains pivotal and the majority of the team will continue to operate from the VSO head office, fulfilling research and media related roles.

Saturday's Powerball jackpot is $100 million, tops among the Ohio Lottery's biggest games…

The jackpot for Saturday’s Powerball drawing has reached $100 million after no one correctly picked Wednesday’s winning numbers of 8, 12, 15, 35 and 50 with the Power Ball of 32. Six Powerball drawings have now been held without a jackpot winner since three people split a $564 million jackpot Feb. 11. Saturday’s drawing will be at 10:59 p.m. Tonight’s Mega Millions jackpot is $20 million after no one matched Tuesday’s winning numbers of 9, 11, 42, 44 and 50 with the Mega Ball of 3. Tuesday was the first drawing since a lottery player in New York won a $127 million jackpot Feb. 27. Tonight’s drawing is at 11 p.m., and ticket sales stop 15 minutes prior to the drawing.

Elaine Wynn fights to stay on Wynn Resorts board

Admonishing the Wynn Resorts board for attempting to oust its only female director and defending her role with the company, Elaine Wynn implored shareholders in a proxy statement Thursday to re-elect her to the board after other directors voted not to re-nominate her. The shake-up prompted the ex-wife of company chairman and CEO Steve Wynn to ask shareholders directly for their votes ahead of the annual shareholders meeting on April 24. Elaine Wynn pointed to her longtime role at Wynn Resorts as its co-founder and as a director since the start.

Devils, Sixers Co-Owner Bullish On Gambling

Devils, Sixers Co-Owner Bullish On Gambling

by Joe Favorito @JoeFav
It hasn’t been the easiest of years on the field and ice for Devils and Sixers co-owners David Blitzer and John Harris, but neither has lost their enthusiasm for the business and both are bullish on the future of sport, especially their two currently suffering franchises.


This week at the Leaders in Sport Conference in New York, Blitzer touched on one of the hottest topics in sports; gambling, and where it may, or may not end up in the sports landscape as New Jersey wages an ongoing battle in the courts to have law overturned that prohibits sports betting outside of Nevada. Both the Devils and the Sixers were first adopters in taking on an online poker site as a sponsor, and earlier this year New Jersey became the first NHL club to bring in a daily pay fantasy partner to test those waters as well. “I have felt for a long time that ultimately – gaming, let’s call it, in sports – should be regulated and taxed,” he said. “I just feel like more information – I actually think one of the arguments against [full legalization], the ‘integrity of the sport’ question – that having it more out in the open rather than sort of being underneath the floor will actually enhance that [maintaining the integrity of the league] rather than degrade it. That’s been my view for a long time. When it comes and how it comes, I don’t know.”


This past weekend at the MIT Sloan Analytics Conference MLB commissioner Rob Manfred admitted that baseball will take a look at the options on gambling as well, but will also follow the proposal that NBA commissioner Adam Silver has put forth, with a federally-mandated program vs. a state by state approach which many feel would be unmanageable and fraught with issues.


“That’s a whole different question, what the business model eventually looks like,” Blitzer added. “But clearly if one is providing the content, should they at least be ‘in the value chain,’ let’s call it. That’s something for people to argue about in ‘x’ number of years. But I’m sure the leagues will be some part of the value chain.”


He also chimed in on the growth of sport abroad, both for the NBA and the NHL. “I truly believe that the NBA has the ability to be the highest-growing international business over the next decade,” he added. “Managing that growth is not easy. It’s very different managing a business in Asia or Europe than it is in America. To manage that in the right way, on a variety of continents, is going to be interesting. I think they will succeed.”


In order to keep the coffers humming, it is thought that legalized gambling will be a key growth component, some feel second in revenue only to broadcast rights. That is why teams are constantly testing the waters for revenue streams that are currently legal like pay fantasy, and that teams on the bottom looking to innovate, like the Devils and Sixers, are the ones pushing the envelope open more.



Full credit to John Brennan of NorthJersey.com. Certain quotes used from his 1-1 with David Blitzer.

STATS LLC launches daily fantasy sports data projections

Global sports statistics and information company STATS LLC has just announced a new product that could potentially be a boon to  players. Beginning this year – first in baseball before branching out into other sports – STATS will now have the capability to offer daily fantasy tools to its users and roster of media clients, creating a system by which the fantasy value of players can be tracked, opening up valuable information on which players offer value in daily fantasy sports leagues.

In line with this new tool, STATS will be offering projections directly tied into the scoring systems of both FanDuel and DraftKings, regarded as two of the biggest providers of daily fantasy sports games in North America.

“Broadcast, digital and print media are all focused on the explosion of daily fantasy sports and need content to support their audience,” STATS executive vice president of Pro Analytics Bill Squadron said in a statement.

Baseball will be the first sport to be covered under this new tool. It’s great timing considering that the upcoming Major League Baseball season kicks off next month. But it won’t be the only one. As STATS gets its feet comfortably planted on the ground with this tool, the company is expected to roll out similar daily fantasy projections for the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL, as well as other sports like soccer and college football and basketball.

STATS’ acquisition of Bloomberg Sports in September 2014 allowed the company to utilize the technology offered by Bloomberg to create a standard in predictive analysis through the integration of data-driven models centered on player and team performance. “We’ve combined Bloomberg Sports technology and analytics with STATS’ rich content and powerful data engines to provide the most accurate daily player projections to our customers,” Squadron added.

The content of STATS’ new daily fantasy sports projections will be made available through custom feed data or APIs, ensuring that players can have easy access to all the important information needed for them to build the best possible fantasy lineup in either FanDuel or DraftKings.

At the very least, you can expect this new offering from STATS will become a critical tool for a lot of daily fantasy sports players moving forward.

From Gaming to Car Rentals By @AriaSystemsInc | @ThingsExpo [#IoT]

As a life-long gamer, I spend an inordinate amount of my time thinking about the vast sums of wealth the gaming industry has squeezed out of me over the last 25+ years. There are two main ways that game companies squeeze some extra profit from their customers in addition to selling games at retail.

Netanyahu heavily favored to remain Israel PM; Betfair joins in on UK election craziness

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the favorite to be re-elected as the PM of Israel says online prediction website PredictIt.org. The site, which sets its odds depending on public volume coming in on either side of a specific bet offer, listed Netanyahu as an 81% favorite when the country holds its elections for the 20th Knesset on March 17, 2015.

Based on recent events, it appears that Netanyahu’s recent address before the US Congress had a big impact on the voters. Just before his address, public polls in Israel had the PM race a lot closer than the latest returns. PredictIt.org even posted his chances as being below 50% as recently as January 2015.

But over the past few weeks, that number has steadily gone up and it now appears that Netanyahu is all but certain to retain his status as Israel prime minister.

Speaking of election betting, UK bookmaker Ladbrokes isn’t the only one reaping the rewards of what has become an action-packed election betting prop in the UK. Fellow oddsmaker Betfair is also getting in on the action. According to CEO Breon Corcoran, Betfair has already received £2.2 million in bets on the company’s exchange and is expecting to generate close to £2.2 million £40 million in bets before the general election takes place on May 7.

Betfair is predicting that the elections will result in a hung parliament and the odds of that happening – 1/4 odds – indicate that such a scenario is the overwhelming favorite to happen. the betting company has also priced an overall Tory majority at 11/2 and an overall Labour majority at 18/1.

If the Scottish referendum last September 2014 was an indication, it’s safe to say that Betfair’s odds are right in line with what’s expected to happen in the UK elections. Corcoran even said as much when he said that it expects its posted odds as a reflection of a similarly accurate outcome with the Scottish referendum, which Betfair supposedly called earlier than a lot of other oddsmakers.

 

Lottery ad beckons: Win a lot of cash and lead an authentic life

What would you do if a giant pot of cash dropped into your lap, courtesy of a winning lottery ticket? Quit your job,? Buy a yacht? Make it rain? How about searching for your truth, paying it forward and leading an authentic life? While those are seemingly disparate notions, a new digital ad campaign for the California Lottery brings them together, subtly, in six short films about state residents prevailing over long odds, giving back to their communities and leaving indelible marks on others. There’s nary an oversized check or an overjoyed new millionaire in this bunch of videos, which represent a fairly radical departure from traditional advertising in the lottery category.

Imperial Pacific gets nod to open temporary casino in Saipan; Bangkok casino could become police station?

Macau junket investor Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd has reached a written agreement with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, amending its casino license to establish and operate a temporary casino in Garapan, Saipan.

The agreement was mentioned in a filing submitted to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, as well as the company’s plan to seek legal advice to make sure that the temporary casino complies with all the applicable laws that fall under the jurisdiction of the stock exchange.

The temporary casino will be operational while the company build its $7.1 billion integrated resort and casino project in Saipan. The first phase of the massive project is set to be completed sometime in 2016.

Once the project is completed, the massive resort and casino project will feature a town hotel plus integrated resort with gaming facilities.

The temporary casino is expected to be launched sometime this year.

Over in Bangkok, Tao Pun casino—long considered as a hotbed for illegal gambling among the residents, will be permanently shuttered and will be turned into, of all things, a police station.

Pol Col and Secretary-General of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) Seehanat Prayoonrat told The Bangkok Post that the property will finally be put to use for another purpose after gamblers continued to use it for illegal gambling activities even after the place had been seized by the AMLO.