Monthly Archives: August 2015

Wisconsin's total unclaimed lottery winnings exceed $57M

More than $2 million was left on the table by Wisconsin residents who had winning lottery tickets but failed to collect their cash in fiscal year 2015, state lottery and financial officials said. Preliminary figures show that $2,230,267 went unclaimed during the fiscal year that ended June 30, said Stephanie Marquis, communications director for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.

SBC Betting on Football Conference announces its new date

SBC events has announced the new date for Betting on Football Conference to give the sports and betting industry an even greater networking opportunities.

SBC Events Betting on Football, a one day conference, will be held on Thursday 10th September and has moved into the luxurious Woolwich Suite at the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal FC— one of the slickest locations currently available at Premier League stadia in London.

Due to changes, SBC has extended its early bird offer by a week to Monday 10th August. Anyone buying tickets before this date will be eligible for a 50% discount – meaning that you can currently pick up tickets for just £147.50 (+VAT) at www.sbcevents.co.uk.

“When Arsenal offered us the slot on the 10th September it was hard to say no. Sports Betting Community prefers Thursday events as they allow people to enjoy the networking more; it also provided an upgrade in facilities – the Woolwich Suite really is an awesome place to do business – and means we dovetail nicely with the Soccerex show in Manchester,” said organizer Andrew McCarron.

888poker Increases Tournament Guarantees to Counteract Player Unrest in Wake of Connectivity Issues

888poker has been having a difficult time dealing with disconnection issues plaguing its players, but that doesn’t mean the site is giving in. In addition to the recent add-on of a pause functionality designed to help the site ride out particularly difficult periods during tournaments, the poker room is also bumping up the guarantees for […]

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Traffic Down at Full Tilt Since Cash Game Changes

When Full Tilt announced the dramatic changes they were making to their cash game offerings last week, there were admissions that it was possible that at least some of the changes would prove to be mistakes. While it is still far too early to tell what the long term impact of these decisions will be, […]

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Unibet bucks trends by posting poker gains; Kambi operator turnover soars

Nordic online betting operator Unibet bucked global trends by posting improved online poker revenue in Q2.

Stripping aside the one-time gains from last year’s spinoff of its Kambi Sports Solutions B2B offshoot, Unibet revenue hit £80.5m in the three months ending June 30, up 6.6% from the same period last year and a new all-time company record.

Unibet says its Q2 comparisons were negatively skewed by currency exchange fluctuations and true revenue growth in constant currency terms was over 21%. Earnings and profit after tax each rose 20% to £19m and £13.4m respectively.

The company achieved these results despite a 1% decline in the number of active customers and the lack of a major sporting event like last summer’s FIFA World Cup. Unibet credited its good fortune to its continued focus on operational efficiency and the legacy effect of previous marketing investments.

Studio City reveals grand opening on October 27

Melco Crown Entertainment reveals the grand opening date of the $3.2b Hollywood-inspired Studio City, taking the best-of-class entertainment-fueled leisure offerings.

Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman and CEO of Melco Crown announced Wednesday on a press conference that Studio City will officially open on October 27, 2015.

“The opening of Studio City represents another major achievement for Melco Crown Entertainment as we work to develop and re-imagine the future of leisure destination offerings across Asia. It also marks a major milestone for Macau as we continue to deliver on our commitment to expanding the non-gaming leisure and entertainment offerings available in the territory, as a continuing strategy in supporting its evolution into a highly-diversified and world-leading leisure and tourism destination,” said Ho.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. expects Studio City to receive 150 tables like Galaxy Macau Phase 2 but Ho said that Melco Crown has been consistent on its request of 400 tables from Macau government.

WPN Announces Five More Million Dollar Sundays Throughout the Fall

The Winning Poker Network (WPN) is set to host five more million dollar guaranteed events in the coming months. The network leaked the news over the weekend before following it up with an official confirmation early this week. The announcement immediately follows WPN’s third Million Dollar Sunday of the year, an event that atttracted 1,939 […]

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PokerStars, Nektan first to receive new Irish online betting licenses

Amaya Gaming’s PokerStars brand has been issued an online sports betting license in the Republic of Ireland.

Ireland’s new online betting regime, which includes a 1% point-of-consumption tax on turnover, kicked in on Aug. 1. Operators were invited to apply for new Irish remote betting licenses In April, and the following weeks will likely bring a flurry of license announcements from the Irish Revenue Commissioners similar to what the UK endured last year after revising its own online gambling regime.

Ireland has yet to officially authorize online poker and casino games, so PokerStars says it will continue to offer those services to Irish punters via its Malta online license. Stephen Fisk, managing director of Stars’ fledgling sports betting division, said the firm was “very pleased” to have received its new Irish license and hopes to add horseracing to its list of betting options in short order.

Amaya issued a trading update last week that said revenue from its sports betting vertical, which took its first bet in March, had been “negligible” in the second quarter. Amaya will likely provide further details on its sports betting plans when it issues its official Q2 report on Aug. 13.