Monthly Archives: May 2016

How to Win the UEFA Before it Even Starts

The UEFA Euro is a grand tournament, which, on average, sees an 80% increase in number of bets compared to the regular season. Events of this magnitude give many “non-punters” a reason to place a bet and enjoy the thrill of sport betting. They also create added value for fans and bring them closer to the competition. The increase in the total number of bets, the surge of first-time bettors and the appearance of more engaged fans presents operators with great opportunities for turning first timers into active users and upping the ante for active customers.

Before and During the Event

Your churned customer base should be your top priority here: pick customers with high value and try to bring them back do to the event. In addition, build a plan for the customers you are going to reactivate and acquire during the event.

During the event it will be easy to bring customers “into the shop”: the magic will be to know what to offer them while they are visiting your website. Try simple promotions that will push them into various games and product.

How to Win the UEFA Before it Even Starts

The UEFA Euro is a grand tournament, which, on average, sees an 80% increase in number of bets compared to the regular season. Events of this magnitude give many “non-punters” a reason to place a bet and enjoy the thrill of sport betting. They also create added value for fans and bring them closer to the competition. The increase in the total number of bets, the surge of first-time bettors and the appearance of more engaged fans presents operators with great opportunities for turning first timers into active users and upping the ante for active customers.

Before and During the Event

Your churned customer base should be your top priority here: pick customers with high value and try to bring them back do to the event. In addition, build a plan for the customers you are going to reactivate and acquire during the event.

During the event it will be easy to bring customers “into the shop”: the magic will be to know what to offer them while they are visiting your website. Try simple promotions that will push them into various games and product.

Esports Awareness Exceeds 1 Billion as New Global & Local Initatives Are Launched

According to Newzoo’s latest quarterly update of its Global Esports Market Report, the number of consumers worldwide that are aware of esports will surpass one billion this year, up 36% compared to last year. One of the main contributors to this conclusion is Newzoo’s recent consumer research effort performed in April, spanning North America, Europe, Middle-East & Africa, China, Japan, and Korea. From the 16 countries studied, the average awareness of esports among gamers increased from 53.7% in 2015 to 65.7% in 2016.

Rise in Awareness Leads Esports Audience Growth to Exceed Expectations

The rapid growth in awareness exceeded Newzoo’s expectations for these regions that were researched. Explosive growth in coverage from global and local media, an intensified effort from game publishers, as well as the launch of an abundance of new leagues and events have accelerated the global exposure of esports beyond initial expectations. This jump in awareness in these key regions has, for a large part, also translated into higher audience numbers for both Occasional Viewers and Esports Enthusiasts. This is why, with its latest quarterly update report, Newzoo has adjusted its audience figures upward, from 131 million Esports Enthusiasts to 148 million. Combined with the 144 million Occasional Viewers (those who watch esports less than once a month and mostly tune in for a big event or watch along with someone else), the total audience will reach 292 million.

These results come from Newzoo’s Esports Audience and Revenue Model that is fed continuously by numerous data feeds, primary research and validated by a number of key players in the esports ecosystem. As the granularity of this model increases, more data is released to Newzoo’s subscribers. As of today, Newzoo’s esports clients can access granular esports data through its Esports Market Dashboard.

Esports Awareness Exceeds 1 Billion as New Global & Local Initatives Are Launched

According to Newzoo’s latest quarterly update of its Global Esports Market Report, the number of consumers worldwide that are aware of esports will surpass one billion this year, up 36% compared to last year. One of the main contributors to this conclusion is Newzoo’s recent consumer research effort performed in April, spanning North America, Europe, Middle-East & Africa, China, Japan, and Korea. From the 16 countries studied, the average awareness of esports among gamers increased from 53.7% in 2015 to 65.7% in 2016.

Rise in Awareness Leads Esports Audience Growth to Exceed Expectations

The rapid growth in awareness exceeded Newzoo’s expectations for these regions that were researched. Explosive growth in coverage from global and local media, an intensified effort from game publishers, as well as the launch of an abundance of new leagues and events have accelerated the global exposure of esports beyond initial expectations. This jump in awareness in these key regions has, for a large part, also translated into higher audience numbers for both Occasional Viewers and Esports Enthusiasts. This is why, with its latest quarterly update report, Newzoo has adjusted its audience figures upward, from 131 million Esports Enthusiasts to 148 million. Combined with the 144 million Occasional Viewers (those who watch esports less than once a month and mostly tune in for a big event or watch along with someone else), the total audience will reach 292 million.

These results come from Newzoo’s Esports Audience and Revenue Model that is fed continuously by numerous data feeds, primary research and validated by a number of key players in the esports ecosystem. As the granularity of this model increases, more data is released to Newzoo’s subscribers. As of today, Newzoo’s esports clients can access granular esports data through its Esports Market Dashboard.

ORYX bolsters portfolio with BalkanBet deal

May 2016 –ORYX Gaming has penned a deal to supply Serbia’s BalkanBet with a wide range of online and mobile content to create a custom interactive gaming environment for the operator. ORYX will deliver hundreds of slot, casino and live dealer games that will be available in a number of formats from multiple vendors. Popular games from ORYX’s proprietary library include Anaconda Eye, Sceptre of Cleo and Golden-7-classic. These top titles will be complemented by a strong selection of aggregated games provided by third party suppliers such as Amatic, Gamomat, Intervision and others. ORYX is constantly adding content to its partner network and BalkanBet customers will be able to benefit from this growth in due course.

Matevz Mazij, ORYX CEO said: “I am delighted to have agreed terms with BalkanBet as it marks a significant milestone for our business. ORYX significantly enhances deployment possibilities for our operator partners thanks to our distribution network of real money wagering games. The speed at which BalkanBet is going to be able to deliver quality content to its players is testament to the simplicity of our integration capabilities. A close working partnership between BalkanBet’s platform partners and ORYX played a pivotal role too.” Nenad Aleksic, Head of Gaming at BalkanBet said:“Our supplier partnership with ORYX Gaming allows BalkanBet to offer players the best in multi-supplier casino content. We are extremely interested in the potential to partner with a significant number of suppliers via ORYX, as well as being able to leverage the proven ORYX content that triggered this partnership.”

About ORYX Gaming

Oryx Gaming is a leading turnkey solutions provider for gaming industry offering Casino, Sportsbook and Lottery solutions with wide portfolio of proprietary and 3rd party Casino, Slot, Live dealer content, Virtual Sports and Instant game offerings, all seamlessly integrated with their I-Gaming platform and selected operational and marketing services. About BalkanBetBalkanBet was founded in 2000 and is one of the leading operators in the Serbian market. Today, BalkanBet operates over retail 150 branches throughout Serbia with a total of over 900 employees.

ORYX bolsters portfolio with BalkanBet deal

May 2016 –ORYX Gaming has penned a deal to supply Serbia’s BalkanBet with a wide range of online and mobile content to create a custom interactive gaming environment for the operator. ORYX will deliver hundreds of slot, casino and live dealer games that will be available in a number of formats from multiple vendors. Popular games from ORYX’s proprietary library include Anaconda Eye, Sceptre of Cleo and Golden-7-classic. These top titles will be complemented by a strong selection of aggregated games provided by third party suppliers such as Amatic, Gamomat, Intervision and others. ORYX is constantly adding content to its partner network and BalkanBet customers will be able to benefit from this growth in due course.

Matevz Mazij, ORYX CEO said: “I am delighted to have agreed terms with BalkanBet as it marks a significant milestone for our business. ORYX significantly enhances deployment possibilities for our operator partners thanks to our distribution network of real money wagering games. The speed at which BalkanBet is going to be able to deliver quality content to its players is testament to the simplicity of our integration capabilities. A close working partnership between BalkanBet’s platform partners and ORYX played a pivotal role too.” Nenad Aleksic, Head of Gaming at BalkanBet said:“Our supplier partnership with ORYX Gaming allows BalkanBet to offer players the best in multi-supplier casino content. We are extremely interested in the potential to partner with a significant number of suppliers via ORYX, as well as being able to leverage the proven ORYX content that triggered this partnership.”

About ORYX Gaming

Oryx Gaming is a leading turnkey solutions provider for gaming industry offering Casino, Sportsbook and Lottery solutions with wide portfolio of proprietary and 3rd party Casino, Slot, Live dealer content, Virtual Sports and Instant game offerings, all seamlessly integrated with their I-Gaming platform and selected operational and marketing services. About BalkanBetBalkanBet was founded in 2000 and is one of the leading operators in the Serbian market. Today, BalkanBet operates over retail 150 branches throughout Serbia with a total of over 900 employees.

Kangwon Land has good Q1; Grand Korea Leisure, Paradise Co Ltd… not so much

South Korea’s three main casino operators had a mixed start to 2016, with one operator faring significantly better than the others.

Kangwon Land, the only one of the country’s 17 small-scale casinos that admits local residents, reported modest revenue gains in the three months ending March 31 but a tight grip on costs and a strong slots performance produced a more pronounced rise in Q1 profits.

Kangwon Land revenue rose 2.6% year-on-year to KRW 436.5b (US $373.2m) while earnings rose 5% to KRW 177.9b and net income jumped 7.9% to KRW 142.8b ($122m).

Daiwa Securities analysts said Kangwon Land’s management expected growth to pick up speed into H2 2016 thanks to more efficient allocation of gaming tables, an improving VIP market and an increase in the number of mass market visitors.

Kangwon Land has good Q1; Grand Korea Leisure, Paradise Co Ltd… not so much

South Korea’s three main casino operators had a mixed start to 2016, with one operator faring significantly better than the others.

Kangwon Land, the only one of the country’s 17 small-scale casinos that admits local residents, reported modest revenue gains in the three months ending March 31 but a tight grip on costs and a strong slots performance produced a more pronounced rise in Q1 profits.

Kangwon Land revenue rose 2.6% year-on-year to KRW 436.5b (US $373.2m) while earnings rose 5% to KRW 177.9b and net income jumped 7.9% to KRW 142.8b ($122m).

Daiwa Securities analysts said Kangwon Land’s management expected growth to pick up speed into H2 2016 thanks to more efficient allocation of gaming tables, an improving VIP market and an increase in the number of mass market visitors.

3-Barrels: The Hachem’s Limo Stolen; PartyPoker Big Bluff; Super High Roller Bowl on CBS Sports Network

3-Barrels of pure value including Tony and Joe Hachem stranded after an opportunist thief steals their stretch limo en route to a charity poker game; partypoker want to prove that anyone can play poker in The Big Bluff Challenge, and CBS Sports Network will air 30-hours of live Super High Roller Bowl action.

An Australian car thief chalked one off his bucket list this week after stealing a Chrysler Superstretch Limousine.

The limo was carrying former 888Poker Ambassador Shane Warne; Australian poker legends Joe and Tony Hachem, and AFL soccer star Brendan Fevola and his wife to a charity poker tournament in aid of the National Breast Cancer Foundation when it made a pit stop at the Fisherman’s Pier restaurant on Geelong’s waterfront outside of Melbourne.

The gang hadn’t even looked at the menu when the driver burst in to tell the celebrities that someone had stolen their ride. Rather comically the driver posted a help message on Facebook in the oft chance someone would spot one of the world’s longest vehicles speeding down the highway.

3-Barrels: The Hachem’s Limo Stolen; PartyPoker Big Bluff; Super High Roller Bowl on CBS Sports Network

3-Barrels of pure value including Tony and Joe Hachem stranded after an opportunist thief steals their stretch limo en route to a charity poker game; partypoker want to prove that anyone can play poker in The Big Bluff Challenge, and CBS Sports Network will air 30-hours of live Super High Roller Bowl action.

An Australian car thief chalked one off his bucket list this week after stealing a Chrysler Superstretch Limousine.

The limo was carrying former 888Poker Ambassador Shane Warne; Australian poker legends Joe and Tony Hachem, and AFL soccer star Brendan Fevola and his wife to a charity poker tournament in aid of the National Breast Cancer Foundation when it made a pit stop at the Fisherman’s Pier restaurant on Geelong’s waterfront outside of Melbourne.

The gang hadn’t even looked at the menu when the driver burst in to tell the celebrities that someone had stolen their ride. Rather comically the driver posted a help message on Facebook in the oft chance someone would spot one of the world’s longest vehicles speeding down the highway.

Anti-Online Gambling Politicians Try to do a UIGEA And Sneak RAWA in Through The Backdoor

Anti-online gambling politicians who failed to get the Restoration of the Wire Act bill signed into law have decided to take a tip from the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) by tacking it onto a bill that carries far more clout.

Once upon a time the entire face of online poker in the United States of America was bloodied after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) was added to the SAFE Port Act and signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 12, 2006.

Safe ports and online poker?

It doesn’t compute does it?

Anti-Online Gambling Politicians Try to do a UIGEA And Sneak RAWA in Through The Backdoor

Anti-online gambling politicians who failed to get the Restoration of the Wire Act bill signed into law have decided to take a tip from the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) by tacking it onto a bill that carries far more clout.

Once upon a time the entire face of online poker in the United States of America was bloodied after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) was added to the SAFE Port Act and signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 12, 2006.

Safe ports and online poker?

It doesn’t compute does it?

Justin Bonomo Refuses to Take EPT Snapshot But Did he go Far Enough?

Justin Bonomo tried to make a statement at the recent European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monte Carlo by refusing to take a winners photo after taking down a side event, but did his intentions go far enough?

Justin Bonomo, the Global Poker League (GPL) London Royal’s star, made it very clear to his 30k+ Twitter followers that he would not be playing ‘media’ ball with PokerStars officials during his time competing at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final in Monte Carlo in protest to what he believes are actions taken by PokerStars that ‘defrauded many thousands of players.’

2/2: At this point in time, I see no reason to do unpaid promotional work from a company that has defrauded many thousands of players

— Justin Bonomo (@JustinBonomo) April 28, 2016

Justin Bonomo Refuses to Take EPT Snapshot But Did he go Far Enough?

Justin Bonomo tried to make a statement at the recent European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monte Carlo by refusing to take a winners photo after taking down a side event, but did his intentions go far enough?

Justin Bonomo, the Global Poker League (GPL) London Royal’s star, made it very clear to his 30k+ Twitter followers that he would not be playing ‘media’ ball with PokerStars officials during his time competing at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final in Monte Carlo in protest to what he believes are actions taken by PokerStars that ‘defrauded many thousands of players.’

2/2: At this point in time, I see no reason to do unpaid promotional work from a company that has defrauded many thousands of players

— Justin Bonomo (@JustinBonomo) April 28, 2016

Atlantic City casinos rebound as municipal gov’t stares bankruptcy in the face

Atlantic City casinos rebounded in April thanks to a more respectable showing at their gaming tables.

On Thursday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) published its figures for April 2016, which showed total brick-and-mortar gaming revenue at the city’s eight casinos rising 6.3% year-on-year to just over $198m. Add in the $17m that the state’s licensed online gambling sites earned last month and April’s total was up 8.1%.

April’s slots revenue rose nearly 5% to $142.6m while table games bounced back from their poor showing in March, rising 10% year-on-year to $55.5m. For the year-to-date, brick-and-mortar gaming revenue is up 2.7%, which rises to 4.4% if you include the online contributions.

This April benefited from having two more weekend days than April 2015, but New Jersey Casino Control Commission chairman Matt Levinson wasn’t about to quibble, calling the results “very heartening” and praising the city’s surviving gaming venues for doing “a better job attracting new customers in a challenging business environment.”

Atlantic City casinos rebound as municipal gov’t stares bankruptcy in the face

Atlantic City casinos rebounded in April thanks to a more respectable showing at their gaming tables.

On Thursday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) published its figures for April 2016, which showed total brick-and-mortar gaming revenue at the city’s eight casinos rising 6.3% year-on-year to just over $198m. Add in the $17m that the state’s licensed online gambling sites earned last month and April’s total was up 8.1%.

April’s slots revenue rose nearly 5% to $142.6m while table games bounced back from their poor showing in March, rising 10% year-on-year to $55.5m. For the year-to-date, brick-and-mortar gaming revenue is up 2.7%, which rises to 4.4% if you include the online contributions.

This April benefited from having two more weekend days than April 2015, but New Jersey Casino Control Commission chairman Matt Levinson wasn’t about to quibble, calling the results “very heartening” and praising the city’s surviving gaming venues for doing “a better job attracting new customers in a challenging business environment.”