The World Series of Poker announces a multi-year agreement to showcase Black Clover Enterprises, LLC, as an official brand sponsor of the world’s greatest poker tournament series.

Black Clover Enterprise’s slogan is Live Lucky. A perfectly suited match for poker, and one that has come to fruition thanks to a multi-year deal that’s been struck between the lifestyle apparel brand and the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

In a press release distributed by the Caesars owned outfit, the pair have inked a deal that will see Black Clover Enterprises LLC become an official sponsor of the WSOP. Black Clover has been heavily involved in the golf and NASCAR industry. This is their first foray into the world of poker and they have partnered with one of the industries giants.

“We are excited to begin a relationship with the poker community at large through the game’s biggest brand, the WSOP,” said Black Clover President Matt Lichtie.” “Black Clover has always encouraged all to Live Lucky and we want the poker players who are looking for quality gear and a little luck to join us in our way of living, being comfortable and feeling good at the tables.”

Lee Davy takes you step by step through the 15th day of the 46th Annual World Series of Poker, including a fifth bracelet for Daniel Alaei, Christian Pham hoping to go wire-to-wire, and much more.

Daniel Alaei has only played one tournament at the 46th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). It was Event #21: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. The landscape of this event is familiar to him. In 2009, he beat 179 players, including a final table boasting the likes of Scott Clements, Daniel Negreanu and John Monnette.

In 2015, he won it again.

Once again Clements was at the final table. Once again he was joined by an array of stars, gold bracelet winners, and titleholders. Clements finished 4th, WSOP bracelet holder Ken Aldridge 5th, World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year (POY) Anthony Zinno 6th, and the former November Niner Jeremy Ausmus 9th.

This is a guest contribution by Mark McGuinness, eSports Futurologist for Mainstream Marketing & Communications Ltd. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

eSports, is the rapidly growing sector for competitive multiplayer video game competitions which has attracted the attention of the iGaming industry. Social betting has yet to come of age. So with this growth in this male dominated participant sport, could eSports be the next betting product vertical?    

eSports tournaments are already filling entire arenas, with tens of thousands of fans, camped out at New York City’s Madison Square Gardens. There is no doubt eSports is like a tsunami. It’s sweeping everyone along in its path. And it’s no surprise as video gaming is a $100bn dollar business, which C-level iGaming executives are salivating over with profit figures in their eyes.

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has picked Susan Harrison (pictured) to replace outgoing CEO Jenny Williams.

Williams is set to step down from her CEO role at the end of September and the search for her replacement has taken longer than expected. Harrison, who currently serves as senior partner of electricity and gas regulatory body Ofgem, will join the UKGC as a commissioner on Sept. 7 before assuming the full CEO role on October 1.

UKGC chairman Philip Graf said Harrison has “a wealth of experience in regulation along with social and consumer policy and communications – she is well placed to lead the Commission into its second decade as the regulator of commercial gambling in Great Britain.”

Harrison claimed to be “very pleased” with her new gig and was looking forward to “the challenges of keeping gambling fair and safe and regulating an industry that is rapidly changing with technology.”

The University of Massachusetts has released key findings of what it’s calling “the largest and most representative gambling survey ever conducted in the United States.”

The UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences survey queried nearly 10k state residents on their gambling attitudes, participation and problems. The survey is part of a broader Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA) study that seeks to establish a baseline reference point prior to the launch of the state’s new brick-and-mortar casino operations.

The survey, which covered lotteries, sports and horserace betting, casinos, online gambling, bingo and casual wagers with friends, was conducted between September 2013 and May 2014. The UMass team plans to conduct a followup one year after the last of the state’s three new casinos has opened for business.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents had engaged in at least one form of gambling in the past year. Of these, nearly 40% said they gamble once a year, 20% gamble monthly and 15% gamble on a weekly basis. The top motivation for gambling was to win money, followed by entertainment, socializing with family or friends and supporting charitable causes.

The European Union’s top court has criticized Hungary’s slot machine law for running contrary to the European Commission’s principles on the freedom to provide services.

In 2011, Hungary imposed a fivefold increase on slot machine taxes, followed quickly by an additional 20% tax on slots in amusement arcades, while slots in casinos were exempt from the new tax. The following year, Hungary restricted slots operations to casinos, leaving arcade operators crying foul and seeking compensation. Hungarian courts referred the matter to the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU), which issued its opinion on Thursday.

The CJEU believes that Hungary’s confinement of slots to casinos “constitutes a restriction on the freedom to provide services.” The CJEU similarly ruled that the increased tax on arcade slots appeared intended to bolster the casino industry by making it impossible for arcade slots operators to turn a profit, but said this determination was ultimately to be made by the Hungarian courts.

The CJEU acknowledged that Hungary’s stated objectives – consumer protection and prevention of crime – would, in principle, justify restrictions against gambling. However, the CJEU noted that Hungary was “pursuing a policy of controlled expansion of gambling activities,” which seemed to run counter to the state’s lofty objectives of keeping a tight lid on its citizens’ gambling behavior.

London’s Ritz Club Casino is suing property magnate Safa Abdulla Al Geabury for refusing to honor a £2m gambling marker.

According to the suit, Al Geabury (pictured) ran up £2m in losses during a single night of play at the Mayfair casino in February 2014. Geabury, a member of the club since August 2012, gave the casino a check to cover his debt, but the check bounced when casino staff attempted to deposit it the following day.

al Geabury has since refused to honor the debt on the grounds that the casino understood – or should have understood – that he was a gambling addict, yet Al Gaebury claims the casino took no steps to limit his gambling activity. A full hearing on the suit is scheduled for the end of June and High Court Justice Simler has already commissioned a psychiatric report to determine Al Geabury’s conduct on the evening in question.

The Ritz Club says Al Geabury’s debt now includes £200k in interest, which is growing at £400 per day. The casino has been down this same road before, having sued 10 welchers last year alone, including the wife of Oman’s foreign minister, who last August was ordered by the High Court to honor her own £2m marker.