Monthly Archives: September 2016

NOVOMATIC acquires video bingo provider Otium

NOVOMATIC Gaming Industries (NGI) has acquired a 60 percent stake in the video bingo company OtiumGI, S.L. and will present the new product offer at the upcoming G2E in Las Vegas.

Austrian gaming giant NOVOMATIC, via its subsidiary NOVOMATIC Gaming Industries (NGI), has purchased a 60 percent majority shareholding in the Spanish video bingo company OtiumGI, S.L. with headquarters in Barcelona. The deal instigates an initial business plan to provide a leading, state-of-the-art video bingo slot offer as well as service and support to the Mexican market via a local subsidiary company.

The new video bingo slots are a further expansion of the leading NOVOMATIC product portfolio and will be presented for the first time at G2E. With a distinctive look and premium quality design, the new bingo machines are expected to have an instant impact on the Mexican market and quickly gain significant market share. Future product development of the newly affiliated company will benefit from synergies and the vast experience of NOVOMATIC in international gaming markets.

Lawrence Levy, Senior Vice President for Central and South America, NGI, said: “We are delighted to announce this acquisition that has the potential to establish an excellent position for NOVOMATIC in the Mexican bingo segment and beyond. It further broadens our highly diversified product offer for the region and perfectly correlates with the Group’s ongoing commitment and strategic expansion in the Latin American markets.”

NBA Announces Multiyear Partnership with Sportradar and Second Spectrum

– Sportradar to Distribute Real-time NBA League Statistics Worldwide –

– Second Spectrum to Provide Leaguewide Advanced Analytics and Official Player-Tracking System –

NEW YORK and LONDON, Sept. 2016 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced a multiyear partnership with Sportradar and Second Spectrum that will expand the league’s global distribution of statistics and will implement a new, state-of-the-art leaguewide player-tracking system.

Beginning with the 2017-18 season, Sportradar will make statistical information for the NBA, WNBA and NBA Development League more widely available than ever before, delivering data to fans, teams, media and other data users in more than 80 countries and territories.  At that time, Sportradar will become the league’s Official Provider of Real-time NBA League Statistics.

Week 3 Sunday Night Football Betting Preview

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys will try to capitalize on the Chicago Bears being shorthanded and get above .500 in a compelling Sunday Night Football betting matchup. The Cowboys are seven-point favorites against the Bears – who face a choice about whether to have QB Jay Cutler play with a sprained thumb – with a total of 44.5.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The scenario – no Cutler, and star Bears WR Alshon Jeffery (knee) possibly limited – seems tailor-made for Dallas, which is off to a 1-1 start. However, the Cowboys are only 2-10-2 against the spread in their last 14 home games at AT&T Stadium. They are 9-1 straight-up and 1-9 ATS in their last 10 home games where they were favored by at least 6.5 points.

The visiting team is 4-1 SU and ATS in its last five games in this matchup.

DJI Holdings rebrands as gambling technology platform firm

Chinese lottery operator DJI Holdings is dropping its current name as its business shifts to becoming a gaming technology platform provider.

Manchester Evening News reported that the UK-based lottery operator will now be known as BNN technology in order to reflect the company’s broader service. The company will now be able to facilitate mobile payments, deliver mobile content and provide data management to consumers throughout China.

The company is also reportedly preparing for a dual-listing on Nasdaq.

“Now is the right time to begin building a new brand, with the BNN Technology name, as we broaden from lottery specialist to payment fulfilment, content-delivery, data management and value-added services on mobile internet,” DJI Chief Executive Officer Darren Mercer said. We believe completing the pivot to a technology company will add substantial shareholder value as we enter high growth, multibillion dollar markets in China.”

Clarion to bring Shakespeare to Vegas

Clarion Events is bringing a touch of William Shakespeare to G2E Las Vegas as part of the official launch of the multi-media campaign in support of ICE Totally Gaming 2017.

The ICE booth 5023 will feature ‘The world theatre of gaming’ creative, described by Clarion Gaming Division’s, Managing Director, Kate Chambers, as ‘William Shakespeare meets graffiti artist, Banksy’ and which is set in a contemporary London street environment.  Expanding on the latest ICE campaign and the decision to launch in Vegas, Kate Chambers said: “In the 400th anniversary of his death, we are harnessing the influence of the world’s greatest playwright to spearhead the international marketing campaign for what many believe to be the world’s leading gaming expo.

“Shakespeare has a fantastic international reach and his work has been translated into over 100 languages.  The links between ICE and Shakespeare are closer than most people might realise.  Our home at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre, which is situated on the banks of the river Thames, is just six miles (ten kilometres) from the Globe Theatre, regarded as the spiritual home for Shakespeare’s 37 plays and 154 sonnets. It has become a tradition for us to launch the ICE campaign in Vegas and I look forward to welcoming the many ICE stakeholders who will be at G2E on to our Shakespeare themed booth.”

The 2016 edition of ICE attracted a record and independently audited attendance of 28,487, who travelled to London from 150 nations.  The exhibitor line-up comprised 529 international companies and organisations occupying 38,980 square metres of space (net).

Clarion to bring Shakespeare to Vegas

Clarion Events is bringing a touch of William Shakespeare to G2E Las Vegas as part of the official launch of the multi-media campaign in support of ICE Totally Gaming 2017.

The ICE booth 5023 will feature ‘The world theatre of gaming’ creative, described by Clarion Gaming Division’s, Managing Director, Kate Chambers, as ‘William Shakespeare meets graffiti artist, Banksy’ and which is set in a contemporary London street environment.  Expanding on the latest ICE campaign and the decision to launch in Vegas, Kate Chambers said: “In the 400th anniversary of his death, we are harnessing the influence of the world’s greatest playwright to spearhead the international marketing campaign for what many believe to be the world’s leading gaming expo.

“Shakespeare has a fantastic international reach and his work has been translated into over 100 languages.  The links between ICE and Shakespeare are closer than most people might realise.  Our home at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre, which is situated on the banks of the river Thames, is just six miles (ten kilometres) from the Globe Theatre, regarded as the spiritual home for Shakespeare’s 37 plays and 154 sonnets. It has become a tradition for us to launch the ICE campaign in Vegas and I look forward to welcoming the many ICE stakeholders who will be at G2E on to our Shakespeare themed booth.”

The 2016 edition of ICE attracted a record and independently audited attendance of 28,487, who travelled to London from 150 nations.  The exhibitor line-up comprised 529 international companies and organisations occupying 38,980 square metres of space (net).

Tangelo Games partners with Leap Gaming

Pioneering Integration of 3D Virtual Sports in a Multi-­‐Game Social Casino  Environment

Toronto, Ontario September 22,2016 -­‐ Tangelo Games Corp. (“Tangelo” or the “Company”) (TSX-­‐VENTURE: GEL) and Leap Gaming (“Leap”) have entered into a partnership agreement under which Leap will be providing its virtual sports turnkey product to Tangelo’s social gaming platform. This partnership is a meaningful step taken by both companies as it represents one of the first times virtual sport is deployed as a social gaming product, and will include several innovations designed to optimize Leap’s product for social environments. Leap’s portfolio will be available across Tangelo’s European and Latin American facing social casino environments.

The resulting product, which is already being developed and is planned to be released by the end of the year, will be a 3D virtual sports game adapted to fit social casino players with special social features to provide a more entertaining feeling and an easiest layout to allow faster game play.

Oscar Fonrodona, Tangelo’s Managing Director, stated: “I am delighted by this new collaboration with Leap Gaming. Their virtual sports products are truly state of the art and provide an exquisite user experience across all platforms. We are sure that the resultant product will fit very well with our players and our consumer brands and will help both our ability to retain and monetize existing players, as well as open new channels of acquisition”.

Iao Kun Group says don’t write it off despite $104m quarterly loss

Casino junket investor Iao Kun Group Holding (IKGH) saw its net losses more than quadruple in Q2, reflecting the turmoil the company has endured over the past year.

Figures released by IKGH on Thursday show VIP gambling turnover falling 51% year-on-year to $900m in the three months ending June 30. Revenue fell 52% to $10.6m, while net losses came to $104.4m, a significant downturn from the $23.8m loss the company reported in the same period last year.

IKGH took pains to note that the bulk of its quarterly losses came via a one-time $97.3m impairment of intangible assets. The company says that if you strip out all the negative one-offs, its quarterly loss was a far more reasonable $3m. So, you know, hooray.

IKGH has projected full year VIP turnover will fall to between $2.5b and $3b this year, but the company claims those numbers will still allow it to “theoretically” operate at cash flow breakeven, assuming that VIP win rate doesn’t far too fall out of whack.

EQ-Radio That Reads Your Emotions Could Impact Poker

A group of students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has created a form of EQ-Radio that uses wireless technology to understand human emotion, and Lee Davy believes it could one day impact the world of poker.

Daniel Negreanu spoke very highly of the success of the European Poker Tour (EPT) Festival in Barcelona.

Dara O’Kearney said it sucked balls.

So, what is the accurate predictor of success? Is it a record-breaking attendance figure, or a key performance indicator (KPI) that measures the level of happiness those attendees felt during their experience?

The Next Evolution of Poker Fan Engagement; Why Not Make Them The Managers of the Global Poker League Franchises?

Inspired by the recent New York Times story of a football side that allows their fans to take on the role of manager, Lee Davy ponders whether the same concept could apply to the Global Poker League.

Fabrice Soulier plays for the Global Poker League (GPL) Eurasia Conference side Paris Aviators. According to statistics robbed from the league’s website Soulier has played six matches, winning a possible 0.22% of points available.

The suave and sophisticated Frenchman can play poker. His World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and $6m in live tournament earnings are a testament to that fact so we can put his woeful start down to being on the wrong side of variance. But let’s be honest, with stats like that, he wouldn’t be your first choice to step into The Cube.

The manager needs to drop him.

Calling The Clock: Books; Becker & Beach Resorts

In this week’s poker news roundup we bring you the scoop on two book deals from two very different poker pros, more news on the poker charity front, and an appearance from Boris Becker.

As the PokerStars World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP) heads into the final weekend most of you will be thinking who the hell cares?

I get your point, I really do.

$5,000 is a lot of money, and as Haley Hintze said during her interview with CardPlayer Lifestyle’s Robbie Strazynski this past week ‘The amount of disposable income usually determines the recreational outlet, not the other way around.’ But miracles do happen, and if you don’t believe me, just ask 34-year old Iwan Roberts.

Proxy betting driving Manila casinos’ triple-digit junket revenue gains

Philippine casinos saw revenue rise nearly one-third in Q2 2016, thanks in part to telephone-based proxy betting.

Figures released by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) showed the nation’s total casino gaming revenue in the three months ending June 30 rising 30% to PHP 34.2b (US $715.3m).

PAGCOR’s own casinos (which are soon to be privatized) weren’t the chief engine of Q2 growth, as their revenue was up only 6% to PHP 8b. But the privately run PAGCOR-licensed casinos had a much better time, rising 40% to PHP 26.1b. Of this, PHP 22.6b was generated by the resorts in Manila’s Entertainment City gaming zone (as well as Resorts World Manila).

The private casinos got most of their Q2 gains from junket operators steering VIP gamblers to their properties. While non-junket gaming revenue improved 22% to PHP 10.2b and slots improved 12% to PHP 6.9b, junket-derived revenue more than doubled to PHP 9b.

North Jersey casino backers hoist white flag after dismal polls

New Jersey’s casinos look set to remain confined to Atlantic City after north Jersey casino supporters suspended their campaign to win voters over to their side.

On Thursday, the main backers of the push to launch two new casinos in the northern part of New Jersey suspended their OUR Turn NJ campaign, which had been running TV and radio ads intended to encourage voters to approve the referendum question on November’s election ballot.

When New Jersey first approved casino gaming in 1976, the state constitution restricted casino gambling to within Atlantic City’s borders. A voter referendum is therefore required before the restriction can be amended. But recent polling showed a broad majority of New Jersey voters remained unsold on the merits of further casino expansion.

Sensing doom, Meadowlands Racetrack operator Jeff Gural and former Reebox CEO Paul Fireman, who wanted to build separate casinos in different areas of north Jersey, released a joint statement on Thursday saying the poll data “speaks for itself.”