Monthly Archives: September 2016

Bill to ban online gambling quietly introduced to the US Senate

Amid the fanfare that is the upcoming U.S. presidential elections, one senator has sneakily made a move to ban online gambling again in the country.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., quietly filed a new bill, S.3376, on the Senate agenda last September 21. The bill was read twice before it was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, which means that is eligible for debate as well as voting for its passage.

According to the Congress website, S.3376 seeks “to ensure the integrity of laws enacted to prevent the use of financial instruments for funding or operating online casinos are not undermined by legal opinions not carrying the force of law issued by the federal government lawyers.”

The Poker Players Alliance, which first broke the news, added new information about S.3376, which includes a description that the bill is a “reaffirmation of prohibition on funding of unlawful internet gambling.”

SBTech Announced as Software Provider for Hero Gaming’s Betser Brand

September 26, 2016 | SBTech, the industry-leading provider of online sports betting solutions, management services and iGaming platforms, has been announced as the software provider for Betser, the new gamified sportsbook from Hero Gaming.

Betser, powered by SBTech’s bespoke technology, includes a new twin-track loyalty scheme devised by the fast-growing Malta-based operator, which is also responsible for the hugely successful Casino Heroes. Inspired by the success of fantasy football, private betting leagues and social betting, Betser has applied the same principles to fixed odds real sports betting, creating unified betting journeys for all players, in which they build on their own accomplishments and compete directly with other bettors.

The system, described as the world’s first sports betting adventure, enables players to earn points from all their sports bets and exchange them for Free Bets in the “locker room”. Known as “Balls and Brains”, the program awards points for both low-risk (brainy) bets and high-risk (ballsy) bets, as an integrated feature shown on the player’s bet slip. In parallel, Betser’s League Points program allows players to compete against each other, earning achievements and moving up through various divisions in a social leaderboard format.

Hero Gaming CEO Magnus Alebo said: “We don´t aim just to please players with good products – our strategy is to WOW! them by pushing the boundaries of the industry. With Casino Heroes we redefined the online casino experience by putting gaming and adventure at the core of the product offering. Betser likewise offers players a much more engaging betting journey by rewarding both their courage and skills, and by allowing them to measure themselves, compete, and interact with other players. SBTech’s knowledge, technical prowess and all-round professionalism made the process of realising our vision fast, smooth and highly enjoyable.”

SBTech Announced as Software Provider for Hero Gaming’s Betser Brand

September 26, 2016 | SBTech, the industry-leading provider of online sports betting solutions, management services and iGaming platforms, has been announced as the software provider for Betser, the new gamified sportsbook from Hero Gaming.

Betser, powered by SBTech’s bespoke technology, includes a new twin-track loyalty scheme devised by the fast-growing Malta-based operator, which is also responsible for the hugely successful Casino Heroes. Inspired by the success of fantasy football, private betting leagues and social betting, Betser has applied the same principles to fixed odds real sports betting, creating unified betting journeys for all players, in which they build on their own accomplishments and compete directly with other bettors.

The system, described as the world’s first sports betting adventure, enables players to earn points from all their sports bets and exchange them for Free Bets in the “locker room”. Known as “Balls and Brains”, the program awards points for both low-risk (brainy) bets and high-risk (ballsy) bets, as an integrated feature shown on the player’s bet slip. In parallel, Betser’s League Points program allows players to compete against each other, earning achievements and moving up through various divisions in a social leaderboard format.

Hero Gaming CEO Magnus Alebo said: “We don´t aim just to please players with good products – our strategy is to WOW! them by pushing the boundaries of the industry. With Casino Heroes we redefined the online casino experience by putting gaming and adventure at the core of the product offering. Betser likewise offers players a much more engaging betting journey by rewarding both their courage and skills, and by allowing them to measure themselves, compete, and interact with other players. SBTech’s knowledge, technical prowess and all-round professionalism made the process of realising our vision fast, smooth and highly enjoyable.”

PAGCOR OKs resumption of LRWC eBingo operations

State-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has greenlit the resumption of some of the eBingo parlors of Philippine gaming investor Leisure and Resorts World Corp (LRWC).

LRWC said in a filing before the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday that AB Leisure Exponent Inc., one of its subsidiaries, was able to secure a permit for some of its electronic bingo parlors to resume operations in the country.

Of the 36 electronic bingo games parlors of AB Leisure, only 20 eBingo sites have been allowed to operate.

“AB Leisure Exponent Inc … on 24 September 2016 received via email, notices from [the] Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) of the approval by Pagcor … to recall the revocation to operate eBingo,” said LRWC in a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange, referring to a decision by the country’s gaming regulator.

Pink is the New Red

This is a guest contribution by Matt Harris, Head of Content at 90Digital.com. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

Cricket’s first ever day / night test match was played between Australia and New Zealand in November 2015 and a quick glance at the scorecard would indicate a mixed beginning for the pink ball.

The game was over inside three days and the match stats tend to confirm a difficult time for the batsmen as the bowlers got the unripe ‘cherry’ to hoop around the Adelaide Oval. 821 runs were scored with the loss of 37 wickets and that’s an average at just over 22 runs per dismissal.

At the same time, individual batting stats were nothing to get excited about. There were just three half centuries in four innings while Peter Nevill’s 66 was the lowest top score ever in an Adelaide test.

Week 3 Monday Night Football Betting Preview

A tight point spread is often daunting for Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, who host the Atlanta Falcons in a potential Monday Night Football scoring battle to wrap up Week 3 of the NFL season.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

New Orleans is listed as a three-point favorite on the betting lines, with a total of 53.5, which is the highest of the week.

The Saints are 2-3 straight-up and 1-3-1 against the spread in their last five games as a favorite of three or fewer points. New Orleans is 5-0 ATS in their last five NFC South games, and has a good chance of getting RB Mark Ingram going since the Falcons and rookie MLB Deion Jones are allowing 4.6 yards per rushing attempt.

NOVOMATIC Americas launch the World Championship of Slots™ at G2E

NOVOMATIC Americas will use the upcoming G2E in Las Vegas to launch a brand new slot tournament concept that gives players the chance to win huge prizes on national TV.

The US subsidiary of the NOVOMATIC Group partnered with Emmy award-winning game show producer Gary Hunt Productions (GHP), Entropy Entertainment, and media sales company Trifecta Entertainment & Media (Trifecta) to launch – THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF SLOTS™ (WCOS).

This industry-first slot competition will be demonstrated on NOVOMATIC Booth #1259 at G2E on Tuesday 27th, Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th – from 10am until 3pm – with the Championship Competition held at 4.00 PST daily. Qualifying tournaments will run hourly, and the top 10 winners will advance to the final playoff in the Championship Finale with a top prize value of $1,000 awarded on Tuesday and Wednesday. All contestants will be awarded from a selection of prizes.

Adding to the entertainment frenzy, the Emmy award-winning producer Gary Hunt, Entropy Entertainment and Trifecta Media will all be on the booth to present the concept and answer questions.

3-Barrels: Svenska Spel Extends IGT Deal; 888 to Host Live Swedish Championships; Unibet Poker 2.0 Launch Date Delayed

3-Barrels of a Swedish flavour including a contract extension between Svenska Spel and International Game Technology; 888Poker to host the live version of the Swedish Poker Championships; and Unibet delay the launch of Unibet Poker 2.0.

Sweden’s state-owned gambling monopoly, Svenska Spel, has signed a contract extension with the American gaming company International Game Technology (IGT).

The pair has done business together for a decade, and as the weekend broke they agreed to extend that deal for another four years. The agreement will see IGT continue to supply the Swedish outfit with online poker products across the full length and breadth of devices.

Amongst the poker variants heading to the Swedish online market are the U.S patent-pending Poker Challenge tournament format and character based cash games.

CEEGC2016 Budapest Results, Clarifications and CEEGAwards 2016

September  2016, Budapest – The organizers would like to thank each delegate for honoring us with their presence and we are certain that it is going to be memorable event despite the happenings that enfolded during the day.

The CEEGC2016 Budapest took place on the 20th of September and had a smooth start with rich and vital content discussed by the panelists of the Hot topics of the online gambling market in the Balkans and the Hot topics of the online gambling market in Eastern Europe panels.

Ms. Mirjana Acimovic (President @ the first Serbian representative association of gaming industry JAKTA) gave an informational presentation about the current legislative situation of the Serbian online gaming market where she shared the updates and the outcomes which will be discussed during the 2017 – 2018 season. The Power Point presentation will be available shortly and each delegate will be notified by its upload and availability.

The panel in which Ms. Acimovic gave speech was moderated by Rita Gyaraki (GamblingCompliance) and also included the presentation of STJEPKO ČORDAŠ (CEO @ NSoft), who gave light upon the current status of the online gaming market in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Week 6 EPL Review: Man City’s Perfect 10

A roundup of the Week 6 Premier League news including the perfect 10 for Manchester City, a Wayne Rooney free Manchester United destroy the champions, and Sunderland drops to the foot of the table after capitulating at home to Crystal Palace.

Pep Guardiola entered English football under a thunderous fanfare, but not even the greatest manager in the world could have expected a start like this. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager extended his start in English football to a ten-game winning run, in all competitions, after a hard fought victory over Swansea City, at the Liberty Stadium.

Can anyone stop them?

On the evidence of their most recent showing in South Wales, the answer is yes. Guardiola’s success is without question, but he has never played or managed in the Premier League. Every game is a battle, and the Swans pushed them all the way.