Monthly Archives: July 2016

PAGCOR allows Philweb to operate for one more month

Just in the nick of time.

Philippines-based gaming technology provider PhilWeb Corporation gets a lease – albeit a short one – of life after the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has granted its request to extend its operation license in the island nation on Monday.

The renewal of Philweb’s license, which expired also on Monday, came more than a week after PAGCOR Acting Chairperson Andrea Domingo announced a freeze on the issuance of new licenses. The freeze was pursuant to the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to stop the proliferation of online gambling in the country.

In her July 8 letter addressed to Philweb President Dennis Valdez, Domingo pointed out that the new license issued to the gaming technology provider will only be until August 10, 2016.

PAGCOR allows Philweb to operate for one more month

Just in the nick of time.

Philippines-based gaming technology provider PhilWeb Corporation gets a lease – albeit a short one – of life after the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has granted its request to extend its operation license in the island nation on Monday.

The renewal of Philweb’s license, which expired also on Monday, came more than a week after PAGCOR Acting Chairperson Andrea Domingo announced a freeze on the issuance of new licenses. The freeze was pursuant to the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to stop the proliferation of online gambling in the country.

In her July 8 letter addressed to Philweb President Dennis Valdez, Domingo pointed out that the new license issued to the gaming technology provider will only be until August 10, 2016.

PAGCOR allows Philweb to operate for one more month

Just in the nick of time.

Philippines-based gaming technology provider PhilWeb Corporation gets a lease – albeit a short one – of life after the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has granted its request to extend its operation license in the island nation on Monday.

The renewal of Philweb’s license, which expired also on Monday, came more than a week after PAGCOR Acting Chairperson Andrea Domingo announced a freeze on the issuance of new licenses. The freeze was pursuant to the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to stop the proliferation of online gambling in the country.

In her July 8 letter addressed to Philweb President Dennis Valdez, Domingo pointed out that the new license issued to the gaming technology provider will only be until August 10, 2016.

CEEGC 2016 Speaker profile – Jan Řehola – Focus on Czech Republic – New Gambling act. – Gambling reform – License application process

The organizers are proud to announce that Jan Řehola will be among the speakers of the “Focus on recent developments in Eastern Europe” panel at the CEEGC 2016 which will take place in Budapest on the 20th of September 2016.

A seminar type conference which is designed to encourage a Pan-European dialogue and create an in-depth report of the Central, Eastern and Northern European markets, with an additional Balkans gambling market overview allowing operators and suppliers to monetize the value of their reputations.

Jan will be the key speaker about “Focus on Czech Republic – New Gambling act. – Gambling reform – License application process” topic which is embeded in the “Focus on recent developments in Eastern Europe”.

Jan Řehola has over 6 years of experiences in gambling field, both from the public and private sector.

CEEGC 2016 Speaker profile – Jan Řehola – Focus on Czech Republic – New Gambling act. – Gambling reform – License application process

The organizers are proud to announce that Jan Řehola will be among the speakers of the “Focus on recent developments in Eastern Europe” panel at the CEEGC 2016 which will take place in Budapest on the 20th of September 2016.

A seminar type conference which is designed to encourage a Pan-European dialogue and create an in-depth report of the Central, Eastern and Northern European markets, with an additional Balkans gambling market overview allowing operators and suppliers to monetize the value of their reputations.

Jan will be the key speaker about “Focus on Czech Republic – New Gambling act. – Gambling reform – License application process” topic which is embeded in the “Focus on recent developments in Eastern Europe”.

Jan Řehola has over 6 years of experiences in gambling field, both from the public and private sector.

Support for the North Jersey casino plan losing steam

More residents of New Jersey are now opposing plans to allow the expansion of casino gambling into North Jersey.

In a press statement, Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind poll pointed out that 57 percent of the Garden State residents are cool to plans of state leaders to expand gaming beyond Atlantic City. On the other hand, support for the expansion of casinos beyond Atlantic City has dropped from 42 percent in January to 37 percent in June.

Krista Jenkins, professor of political science and director of PublicMind, pointed out that proponents of North Jersey casino will be in for an uphill battle to convince the voters that casinos beyond Atlantic City are a worthwhile investment in their local economies.

In the previous years of tracking voters’ attitude, Jenkins said that the majority is cool with the idea of allowing more casinos in the state.

Robert Stocker sees little chance of success for DFS in Latin America

Will daily fantasy sports thrive in Latin America?

For Robert Stocker, member of Dickinson Wright PLLC, there is a very small chance that daily fantasy sports will succeed—let alone survive—in the Latin America market, where sports betting is legal.

Stocker expressed his doubt that DFS will go big in Latin America, telling Yogonet in an interview: “Daily fantasy sports was designed to get around the fact that with the exceptions of the state of Nevada and pari-mutuel wagering in some states, sports betting is not legal in the United States.”

He pointed out there’s no point for players in Latin America to spend their money on fantasy when they can “bet on the real thing”—sports betting, that is.

Robert Stocker sees little chance of success for DFS in Latin America

Will daily fantasy sports thrive in Latin America?

For Robert Stocker, member of Dickinson Wright PLLC, there is a very small chance that daily fantasy sports will succeed—let alone survive—in the Latin America market, where sports betting is legal.

Stocker expressed his doubt that DFS will go big in Latin America, telling Yogonet in an interview: “Daily fantasy sports was designed to get around the fact that with the exceptions of the state of Nevada and pari-mutuel wagering in some states, sports betting is not legal in the United States.”

He pointed out there’s no point for players in Latin America to spend their money on fantasy when they can “bet on the real thing”—sports betting, that is.

Robert Stocker sees little chance of success for DFS in Latin America

Will daily fantasy sports thrive in Latin America?

For Robert Stocker, member of Dickinson Wright PLLC, there is a very small chance that daily fantasy sports will succeed—let alone survive—in the Latin America market, where sports betting is legal.

Stocker expressed his doubt that DFS will go big in Latin America, telling Yogonet in an interview: “Daily fantasy sports was designed to get around the fact that with the exceptions of the state of Nevada and pari-mutuel wagering in some states, sports betting is not legal in the United States.”

He pointed out there’s no point for players in Latin America to spend their money on fantasy when they can “bet on the real thing”—sports betting, that is.

eSports and Skin Gambling: The Elephant in the Room

This is a guest contribution by Mark McGuinness, co-founder of esportsbet. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

Over the last few months, the intersection between competitive video gaming and eSports with gambling has gone into proverbial overkill. More and more mainstream gambling operators are adding eSports betting services to their 24-hour betting options menu.

However, the evitable has happened. The murky world of Skin Gambling on popular eSports game franchises has blown up just like one of the characters in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO).  Are we witnessing another Daily Fantasy Sports styled backlash from conservative regulators looking to quash a flourishing albeit yet unregulated activity? Industry eSports and digital betting consultant Mark McGuinness explains.

Yes, folks, the elephant in the room, has well and truly stampeded into the world of eSports, and it’s the evil twin in some quarters referred to as skin gambling or skin trading.

Halving barely registers on bitcoin price chart, but mining’s about to get a lot harder

After much speculation—and in some cases, trepidation—the halving is already here, and guess what? Everyone is still alive and so is bitcoin.

The halving process, an event that happens every four years, involves reducing the amount of bitcoins that could be created. The next halving schedule prompted a lot of speculations and uncertainty about the price of the popular digital currency and its stability.

But July 10–the day of the halving—proved to be anticlimactic.

Last Sunday, block number 420,000 has been added to the blockchain and the reward for mining new digital currency has been cut in half from 25 bitcoins to 12.5 bitcoins. Despite this, the price of bitcoin remained stable, trading at $655 with a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, confirming the view of many analysts who said that halving would not have any important impact on the bitcoin pricing because it is a “normal and scheduled process.”

WSOP Main Event: Heroes & Villains

The greatest poker tournament in the world has begun, and Lee Davy takes a look at the cast to figure out who stars as the hero and who gets to play the villain?

I used to rave to 2 Unlimited. The Vicks would burn my eyes; my jaw would ache; my skinny white top drenched in sweat. And now, I stand, feeling like an old man, listening to the same techno tantrum filling up the vastness of the Amazon Room.

“Yeah!”

I said it under my breath.

WSOP Main Event: Heroes & Villains

The greatest poker tournament in the world has begun, and Lee Davy takes a look at the cast to figure out who stars as the hero and who gets to play the villain?

I used to rave to 2 Unlimited. The Vicks would burn my eyes; my jaw would ache; my skinny white top drenched in sweat. And now, I stand, feeling like an old man, listening to the same techno tantrum filling up the vastness of the Amazon Room.

“Yeah!”

I said it under my breath.

WSOP Review: Bracelets Galore As Time Runs Out

Plenty of World Series of Poker action to catch up on as we hit the end zone of the 47th annual festival including bracelets for Tony Dunst, Jens Kyllonen, and Kyle Bowker.

I was walking down the Rio corridor to get Matt Ashton a coffee (I have to bribe my interview guests) when Jens Kyllonen and his girlfriend walked past me in the opposite direction. The pair looked out of place amongst the shorts and flip flops. Both immaculately dressed, looking like they had just stepped out of a Gucci advert.

It later transpired that Kyllonen had flown into Las Vegas with one goal in mind – to win the $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha (8-Handed) event, and that’s what he did.

Kyllonen became only the third Finnish player in history to win a WSOP bracelet, and bank a $1.1m score in the process, after beating 2016 WSOP hero Tommy Le in a three-hour heads-up marathon. Le was making his third final table of the season, and as now recorded Top 5 finishes in all of them.

New Jersey reaches deal to share online poker liquidity with UK gambling sites

New Jersey-licensed online poker sites could soon be sharing liquidity with their UK-licensed counterparts, if regulators can work out a few pesky details.

On Sunday, Global Gaming Business reported that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) had reached an agreement in principle with the UK Gambling Commission regarding a transatlantic jurisdictional partnership.

DGE Director David Rebuck cautioned that there were a host of regulatory issues yet to be resolved, including tax rates, player ID and geolocation issues as well as any number of unknown unknowns. But Rebuck insisted that “you have to start somewhere” and that the DGE was “very serious about this.”

The DGE has sent letters to its online licensees that also do business in the UK, asking them for comments on how they’d like to see a shared liquidity program work. Operators have been asked to submit their thoughts by August 1.

New Jersey reaches deal to share online poker liquidity with UK gambling sites

New Jersey-licensed online poker sites could soon be sharing liquidity with their UK-licensed counterparts, if regulators can work out a few pesky details.

On Sunday, Global Gaming Business reported that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) had reached an agreement in principle with the UK Gambling Commission regarding a transatlantic jurisdictional partnership.

DGE Director David Rebuck cautioned that there were a host of regulatory issues yet to be resolved, including tax rates, player ID and geolocation issues as well as any number of unknown unknowns. But Rebuck insisted that “you have to start somewhere” and that the DGE was “very serious about this.”

The DGE has sent letters to its online licensees that also do business in the UK, asking them for comments on how they’d like to see a shared liquidity program work. Operators have been asked to submit their thoughts by August 1.

Prop betting: Will Anderson Cooper replace Michael Strahan on ‘Live with Kelly’?

Here’s a brief respite for us who bow down before the altar of prop betting: entertainment.

It may not compare to the Super Bowl or the World Series of Poker in terms of stature, but there’s no better thrill than putting some money down for sheer entertainment. This time, the focus is on Kelly Ripa’s next “Live” co-host.

A bit of recap for those who’ve just emerged from under a rock: Michael Strahan left the show last May 13, giving the “Live” the summer to find someone in time for the November sweeps. Now, it’s no secret that Strahan is a tough man to replace—in terms of likeability, at least—and his successor will have to fill some big shoes because we’ve seen how perfectly matched Ripa and Strahan were with their brother-and-sister chemistry.

With the summer fast coming to an end, several names have already started popping up with one very popular man leading the list: Anderson Cooper.