PokerStars has teamed up with Facebook to pre-launch a new set of TV commercials starring Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr.

PokerStars has teamed up with the behemoth Facebook to pre-launch a spanking brand new TV ad campaign featuring their two newest recruits from the world of sport: Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr.

The ads will be aired globally on TV in a fortnight’s time, but you don’t have to wait that long. On videos below, you will get a front row seat in two poker games football fans would give their left testicle to get involved with.

Cristiano Ronaldo video.

Irina Nikolaidi wins the partypoker World Poker Tour National London Main Event after beating Simon Green in heads-up action to take the £25,130 first prize in Stratford.

Irina Nikolaidi has won the partypoker World Poker Tour National London Main Event after beating Simon Green in heads-up action to take the first prize of £25,130.

[Image Credit: PokerNews]

Nikolaidi topped an impressive field of 667 players in the £600 Accumulator event that carried a £100,000 guarantee. The ‘Accumulator’ clause meaning players could enter any of the three Day 1 starting days for £200 each and the accumulated stack counts from all three performances would be carried into Day 2.

Penn National Gaming has agreed to acquire Illinois video gaming terminal (VGT) operator Prairie State Gaming (PSG) in an all-cash transaction.

PSG, also known as Illinois Gaming Investors LLC, operates more than 1,100 terminals at 270 bar and retail gaming establishments throughout Illinois.

In 2009, former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill into law allowing video gaming terminals to be offered at any business holding a liquor license, which in the state equates to selling wine by the glass. Thousands of so-called “slot-cafes” have sprung up since then, taking a big bite out of casino revenues. Prairie State Gaming was one of the top five route operators in the state with $10m in EBITDA for the fiscal year that ended June 30.

Penn National Gaming CEO Jay Snowden said that purchasing PSG proved the company’s long-term strategy for growth through acquisitions.

Could social casino apps be the key to weaning Australia’s pokies addicts off their drug of choice?

Australia boasts the world’s most avid gamblers, with the average Aussie adult losing over $1k per year to various gambling activity. The chief beneficiary of this national gambling jones is the video poker (pokies) industry, the excesses of which recently led the state of Victoria to introduce the country’s first pokies pre-commitment technology.

But perhaps there are other methods for decreasing pokies dependency. Researchers at Central Queensland University’s Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory are conducting a study to determine if free-to-play social casino apps could play a role in lessening the allure of real-money pokies play among problem gamblers.

Professor Matthew Rockloff told the Brisbane Times that interviews with problem gamblers suggested that the free-play casino apps offered “the same sort of rewarding characteristics” players were used to getting from pokies. Rockloff noted that the “intermittent wins” obtained via social casino apps offered a measure of satisfaction that came without the risk of players losing money.

Finland’s state-owned gambling operator Veikkaus reported generating over 40% of 2014’s annual turnover via its digital channels.

Veikkaus, which holds a monopoly on lottery sales in Finland, generated total sales of €1.95b in 2014, up 5.4% from 2013’s total. Profit rose 3% to €520.4m but the operator warned that slowing consumer demand amidst an ongoing economic downturn could put a damper on future results.

Over half of Veikkaus’ 2014 sales came via its three most popular games – Lotto, Keno and sports betting products, with the latter enjoying a boost thanks to last year’s FIFA World Cup. Lotto sales fell 10% to €431m based on fewer rolled-over mega-jackpots while keno revenue grew 2.8% to €394m. Sports games sales grew 5.9% to €428m, of which €217m came via fixed-odds betting.

Veikkaus’ digital operations accounted for 40.3% of overall sales, up four points from 2013, as weekly visits to Veikkaus’ website improved by 7% to 413k. Mobile devices accounted for around 15% of total digital sales.