Sky Betting & Gaming has become the first online-only gambling operator to join the UK betting industry’s self-regulatory body.

On Thursday, Sky Betting & Gaming was officially welcomed as a member of the Senet Group, the betting industry watchdog whose charter members include prominent bookies Coral, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and William Hill, along with more recent addition Scotbet.

Sky Betting is the first Senet member that conducts business purely via web and mobile channels, and Senet chair Wanda Goldwag said it was important that the group “have a leading operator in this space to inform the development of our code of conduct.” Sky Betting CEO Richard Flint said he was looking forward to “helping shape the group’s work on online gambling issues.”

THE TIMES TAKES AIM AT THE CINNABON OF GAMBLING

PokerStars is retiring Full Tilt Poker but would keep it for itself.

Amaya, PokerStars’ parent company, announced its decision to merge Full Tilt Poker onto the PokerStars platform earlier this week, to boost liquidity, streamline development and improve the overall player experience.

The announcement wasn’t a big surprise as Full Tilt, which used to be runner-up behind PokerStars to lead the online poker pack, has sagged to 11th on PokerScout.com’s traffic report.

Full Tilt became a weakness to Amaya and the operator had to find a way to cut it loose.

PokerStars is retiring Full Tilt Poker but would keep it for itself.

Amaya, PokerStars’ parent company, announced its decision to merge Full Tilt Poker onto the PokerStars platform earlier this week, to boost liquidity, streamline development and improve the overall player experience.

The announcement wasn’t a big surprise as Full Tilt, which used to be runner-up behind PokerStars to lead the online poker pack, has sagged to 11th on PokerScout.com’s traffic report.

Full Tilt became a weakness to Amaya and the operator had to find a way to cut it loose.

Casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment (MCE) is mulling a $1b buyout of its hedge fund partners in the new Studio City resort in Macau.

MCE delivered its Q4 and FY15 earnings report on Thursday, which showed Q4 revenue falling 6% to $1.06b while earnings fell 15% to $236.4m, resulting in a net loss of $12.3m compared to a $93m profit in Q4 2014. For the year as a whole, MCE’s revenue fell one-sixth to $4b while profits fell to $105.7m from $608.3m in 2014.

MCE CEO Lawrence Ho (pictured) praised his company’s ability to withstand the “still challenging” environment in Macau and while MCE didn’t declare a dividend in Q4, Ho announced a special dividend of $350m as a way of demonstrating the company’s “impressive cash flow generation” and “strong balance sheet.”

MCE’s new Studio City resort, which opened in Macau at the end of October, reported revenue of $123.2m and earnings of $12.6m. The property famously opened with no VIP tables, but boasted mass market table drop of $385.3m, gaming machine handle of $265m and non-gaming revenue of $37.8m.

Nordic online gambling operator Cherry AB nearly doubled its online gambling revenue in 2015 following a hectic year of acquisitions.

For the three months ending Dec. 31, Cherry reported total revenue up 72% to SEK 172.5m (US $20.4m), while earnings hit SEK 23.4m, resulting in an after-tax profit of SEK 12.9m versus a net loss of SEK 15.3m one year ago.

The Q4 results were spurred by Cherry’s online operations, which rose 109%, while online earnings hit SEK 15.4m. Online accounted for 73% of group revenue, up from 58% a year ago. By contrast, Cherry’s restaurant casino business saw turnover rise a more modest 5% while earnings slipped 2% to SEK 4.9m.

Yggdrasil Gaming, the B2B online technology provider in which Cherry holds a 90% stake, reported revenue up nearly 700% while earnings improved to SEK 4.9m versus a SEK 1.4m loss one year ago. Yggdrasil recently received a UK operating license and expects to launch with its first UK-facing customers – including online market leader Bet365 – this quarter.

Nordic online gambling operator Cherry AB nearly doubled its online gambling revenue in 2015 following a hectic year of acquisitions.

For the three months ending Dec. 31, Cherry reported total revenue up 72% to SEK 172.5m (US $20.4m), while earnings hit SEK 23.4m, resulting in an after-tax profit of SEK 12.9m versus a net loss of SEK 15.3m one year ago.

The Q4 results were spurred by Cherry’s online operations, which rose 109%, while online earnings hit SEK 15.4m. Online accounted for 73% of group revenue, up from 58% a year ago. By contrast, Cherry’s restaurant casino business saw turnover rise a more modest 5% while earnings slipped 2% to SEK 4.9m.

Yggdrasil Gaming, the B2B online technology provider in which Cherry holds a 90% stake, reported revenue up nearly 700% while earnings improved to SEK 4.9m versus a SEK 1.4m loss one year ago. Yggdrasil recently received a UK operating license and expects to launch with its first UK-facing customers – including online market leader Bet365 – this quarter.