Monthly Archives: July 2015

DraftKings inks Major League Soccer deal; is FantasyUp going FantasyDown?

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator DraftKings has inked an exclusive partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS).

The deal will see DraftKings serve as the exclusive DFS destination for MLS in both the US and Canada. DraftKings says it will offer exclusive free and paid MLS games and will develop “new and innovative” games to further whet MLS fans’ whistles. DraftKings also intends to partner with a number of individual MLS teams, details of which will be released at a later date.

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said soccer was “underrepresented in daily fantasy and we’re going to change that in a big way.” MLS president Gary Stevenson called DFS a “proven fan development tool” and said fans could expect to see “deep integration within our many digital platforms.”

The deal follows similar tie-ups DraftKings has made with Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the NASCAR driving organization and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

New York Attorney Offering Litigious Revenge for Losers of State's Medical Marijuana Lottery

In anticipation of the seething aftermath that is likely to follow the New York State Department of Health’s selection of only five companies to cultivate and supply the entire state with medical marijuana, one Long Island lawyer says he is prepared to step into the ring on behalf of those businesses that get rejected. When the state announces the winners of the medical marijuana licenses later this month, attorney David Marquez believes there will be “38 pissed off companies” ready to duke it out with an establishment that cost them millions of dollars and then left them with nothing to show for it.

Georgia Lottery gets '30 million potential new customers'

The City Council’s decision this week to allow Georgia Lottery Corp. to sell tickets beyond security checkpoints at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will create 30 million potential new customers , according to a Georgia Lottery official. Until now, tickets could not be sold to passengers awaiting connecting flights in terminals beyond checkpoints, meaning that only one-third of 96 million travelers who pass through the airport each year have had access to lottery ticket sales, Joe Kim , Georgia Lottery senior vice president and general counsel told WSB-TV.

Georgia Lottery gets '30 million potential new customers'

The City Council’s decision this week to allow Georgia Lottery Corp. to sell tickets beyond security checkpoints at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will create 30 million potential new customers , according to a Georgia Lottery official. Until now, tickets could not be sold to passengers awaiting connecting flights in terminals beyond checkpoints, meaning that only one-third of 96 million travelers who pass through the airport each year have had access to lottery ticket sales, Joe Kim , Georgia Lottery senior vice president and general counsel told WSB-TV.

Phil Ivey Countersuing Borgata Over Disputed Baccarat Winnings

Phil Ivey and the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City are locked in a battle over $9.6 million in baccarat winnings, one that is far more dramatic than the high-stakes table game itself. We still don’t know how a court will ultimately rule on the Borgata’s lawsuit that seeks to recover those controversial winnings, but Ivey […]

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Boyd Gaming $1.6m online gambling profit, CEO says daily fantasy sports = gambling

Casino operator Boyd Gaming posted a $1.6m profit from its online gambling operation in New Jersey during the second quarter of 2015.

Boyd says its online gambling partnership with Bwin.party digital entertainment turned a profit for the fourth consecutive quarter, contributing $1.6m to Boyd’s Q2 earnings. That’s $500k more than Q1’s tally but less than the $1.8m the online division contributed in Q4 2014.

Boyd is 50% owner of Atlantic City’s Borgata casino, which is the undisputed leader in New Jersey’s regulated online gambling market. In February, Boyd CEO Kevin Smith (pictured) predicted that the company’s online gambling operations could contribute up to $5m to Boyd’s bottom line in 2015. Halfway through the year, they’re already at $2.7m, so that projection looks like a winner.

DAILY FANTASY SPORTS “IS GAMBLING AT ITS CORE”

Ladbrokes and Gala Coral Announce Merger

The world of sports betting is getting a new giant, one that will now be the biggest bookmaker in the United Kingdom. Betting companies Ladbrokes and Gala Coral have officially announced a merger, one that will create a company worth about £2.3 billion ($3.6 billion). The new company will have tremendous reach in the UK, […]

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Groupe Partouche, Winamax, Toto-Lotto ink football sponsorships

French online poker operator Winamax has inked a new football sponsorship deal with French Ligue 1 football team OGC Nice.

The one-year deal will see Winamax’s logo adorn the front of the Nice players’ shorts beginning with the team’s friendly match against Napoli on August 2. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed but speculation has it that Winamax paid a sum in the low-six-figures. The deal follows Winamax’s recent shorts deal with Olympique de Marseille, suggesting an uncommon desire by the poker operator to get its name near players’ ‘pocket aces.’ Just sayin’.

Sticking with French gaming operators, Gallic casino outfit Groupe Partouche has extended its sponsorship of Ligue 1 side Lille OSC. The two parties have had a relationship extending back a dozen years now and the 2015-16 season will see the Groupe Partouche logo once again prominently displayed on the upper-right corner of Lille’s jerseys. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, so just for fun let’s say it’s worth eleventh million billion euros and see if anyone challenges that estimate.

Finally, German state lottery and betting operator Toto-Lotto Baden-Würtenburg has inked a two-year deal with Bundesliga squad VfB Stuttgart. The deal, which runs through the 2016-17 season, will see Toto-Lotto enjoy primo signage in and around the Reds’ stadium as well as lots of spots on German telly.

Gaming Realms acquires RealNetworks’ Slingo; RockYou buy solitaire games

UK-listed online gaming operator Gaming Realms has boosted its social gaming business with the acquisition of RealNetworks’ social casino brand Slingo.

The deal will see Gaming Realms acquire the Slingo brand and patents, as well as the US and Canadian development studios of RealNetworks’ GameHouse division, plus its social and mobile publishing network.

Gaming Realms also gets the Soduko.com and Mahjong.com online domains, the entire issued share capital of social casino studio Backstage Technologies, a short-term license to the GameHouse brand and a perpetual license to the GameHouse Promotion Network.

In exchange, RealNetworks will receive a total consideration of $18m, with $10m in cash upon completion of the transaction, which expects to be done sometime in Q3. Two additional payments of $4m will be payable on the first and second anniversaries of the deal’s consummation. RealNetworks has the option of taking up to 50% of the latter two payments in Gaming Realms stock.