Monthly Archives: September 2016

Week 5 EPL Review: Guardiola Equals Ancelotti Win Streak Record

A roundup of the Week 5 Premier League news including a record-breaking start for Pep Guardiola at Man City, three losses on the bounce for Jose Mourinho, and continued unbeaten starts for Everton and Spurs.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola equalled Carlo Ancelotti’s Premier League record of five wins our of five after his side thrashed Bournemouth 4-0.

During the post-match interviews, Guardiola then sent a flaming cannonball across the bows of the rest of the Premier League, especially Jose Mourinho, declaring that Bournemouth was the best team he had faced this season and that everyone else just played long balls.

Even with Sergio Aguero sitting out game two of a three-game ban, and John Stones sitting on the bench, City had far too many weapons of mass destruction for the Cherries. It was a game where Kevin de Bruyne once again showed that he is a world class midfielder, and Raheem Sterling continued to show growing maturity and confidence under the Spaniard’s wing.

Licenses awarded to casinos irreversible, says former Goa Chief Minister

Casinos are now ‘fait accompli’ of Goa government.

This was stressed by former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar as he surprised lawmakers over his sudden major reversal of stand at the height of a legislative debate on the fate of casinos in the Indian state of Goa.

It would be recalled that Parrikar and his group, in the run up to the 2012 state assembly election, had opposed casinos in 2007. Parrikar’s group also promised to rid the Mandovi, one of the two main rivers in Goa that flows along Panaji, of the offshore casinos which are berthed in it.

But during his address to a group of core party workers in Panaji on Saturday, Parrikar pointed out that the casino industry cannot be disturbed as they are the “fait accompli” of the BJP-led state government. By definition of fait accompli, the government could no longer overturn the decision of the state government to grant six licenses to casinos

Entity betting struggles to gain foothold in slow start

Despite claims that it is going to become the next big thing in sports wagering, entity betting is off to a in Nevada.

The reason? Lack of involvement among sports books.

In June 2015, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed the state’s entity betting law, which allows out-of-state residents to wager—albeit passively—with Nevada sportsbooks. Under the law, Nevada-licensed sportsbooks are now able to accept wagers from business entities representing pools of passive investors—a process that can be compared to investing in mutual funds.

More than a year later, the concept only has one participant: sports betting tech provider CG Technology. The company was also a proponent of the legislation, lobbying the Nevada Legislature for the adoption of the legislation in hopes that entity betting will cause a dramatic boost to the state’s betting handle. Nevada is the only US jurisdiction currently allowed to offer single-game sports wagers.

Non-US Bitfinex users may soon reimburse their lost funds

Troubled digital currency exchange Bitfinex is making good on its promise to reimburse its clients who lost funds following the recent bitcoin theft.

If you recall, Hong Kong-based Bitfinex lost 119,756 bitcoins—estimated to be worth more than $61 million at the time—during a security breach last August. This prompted the bitcoin exchange to “generalize losses across all accounts” on its system, meaning all Bitfinex users, even those who weren’t affected by the hack, will have a portion of their accounts replaced by the BFX token, which will remain outstanding until they are repaid in full by the digital currency exchange.

Now, Bitfinex announced that it has taken new steps to reimburse its clients via another special purpose vehicle, BFXTrust, courtesy of an effort organized by investor Alistair Milne. The digital currency exchange previously teamed up with UK investment platform BnkToTheFuture for a special purpose vehicle that will allow clients to redeem their BFX tokens for equity in iFinex Inc., at a value of $1 per BFX.

“BFXTrust is an SPV being formed by Alistair Milne to allow certain verified, non-U.S. Bitfinex users the ability to convert BFX to equity in iFinex in a similar manner to BnkToTheFuture,” the digital currency exchange said in a blog post.

Sands’ Parisian Macao could become a headwind for Studio City: analysts

Awareness of the recently opened Parisian Macao casino resort is high among gamblers in the city state, and this could prove to be a headwind for rival Studio City.

The opening of Sheldon Adelson’s new casino property last week has caught the attention of many of Macau’s visitors, thanks partly to Sands’ active marketing campaign in the months leading up to the launch. In comparison, Wynn Macau took a “more passive” approach for the Wynn Palace, which launched on Cotai on August 22.

“The awareness of the Parisian (Macao) among gamblers was high, with Sands having blanketed the region with social media impressions of the new property over the last couple of months,” Buckingham Research Group analyst Christopher Jones said in a note. “This is in contrast to the recent Wynn Palace opening that took a more passive strategy relative to marketing, prior to opening. We believe that Wynn is looking to address this, as it adjusts to the operating environment in Cotai.”

For its first weekend of operation, Parisian Macao appeared to be “more compelling” compared to next-door neighbor Studio City, causing a “net migration” of visitors coming from Melco Crown Entertainment’s casino venue, according to Union Gaming Securities Asia analyst Grant Govertsen.

Philippines’ crackdown on eGaming cafes a boon to casinos – Razon

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s all-out war against illegal online gambling has given a boost by no-less than casino mogul Enrique Razon.

Bloomberg reported that the chairman and founder of Bloomberry Resorts Corp. has thrown its support to Philippine government’s campaign to stamp out illegal online gambling in the island nation. He agree with President Duterte’s observation that eGaming parlors have been loosely regulated.

“I think cracking down on this, looking at it from our perspective, helps the licensed casinos,” Razon told the business news website.

Razon remains unfazed the by current administration’s gambling policy as he professed his intention to continue betting big on the Philippines instead of making investments overseas.

Artificial Intelligence Cements Its Technological Dominance in the Global Gaming Market

The evolving gambling market has been requiring high technology solutions to attract the attention of players, to retain their loyalty and to stay competitive. The Artificial Intelligence has been confirmed to be crucial for the industry during this year and BtoBet is ready to export its cleaver platform worldwide.

After its first presentation to the iGaming industry during ICE London, Btobet’s B Neuron platform had obtained an incredible success and acquired an excellent reputation within the global gambling market.

Sabrina Soldá, Btobet’s CMO, commented:

“The competitive gambling market needs cleaver instruments and thinking platform that can seamlessly fit operators demanding requests and players’ expectation, all over the world. During the year, the company has attracted the attention of countless operators from different countries and for this reason we have decided to extend BtoBet’s global reach.”

Why I Withdrew From The Poker Hall of Fame Media Panel

Lee Davy explains why he felt it was important to remove himself from the Poker Hall of Fame Media Panel in the wake of the recent social media storm over the shortlist.

I have lived in the UK all of my life. I have a 15-year old son, and my wife will give birth to a baby girl, Zia, any day now. What happens to this tiny island is important to me. And yet I didn’t vote during the Brexit referendum, and the reasons underlying that decision have led me to vacate my seat in the Poker Hall of Fame Media Panel.

It’s June 2, 2016, and I am sitting in a tiny room in the Royal Geographical Society in London. I am surrounded by books, significant enough to be kept behind lock and key. There is a worldly smell about the place. I feel out of sorts.

Sir Bob Geldof is giving a keynote speech at the launch of one of the most meaningful pieces of literature I have ever read Freedom: The End of the Human Condition by Jeremy Griffith. He commands respect. I am in awe. I am making notes on my iPhone as he talks about his concern over Brexit and how a YES vote could lead to war.

European Online Poker Desegregation Moves Closer to Finality After Senior Heads of Europe’s Gaming Regulators Meet in Paris

The prospects of the desegregation of the ring-fenced European online poker markets took a step closer to finality after a meeting of the minds in Paris.

Adrian Mateos Diaz is one of the most promising poker players in the world. Ranking high amongst his accomplishments are victories in the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Main Event and the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final.

At only 22-years of age, the only Spaniard who has earned more live tournament earnings is Carlos Mortensen, and yet, barely out of nappies, Mateos had to move to London, to continue his career because of a decision by the Spanish regulator to ring-fence liquidity within the country’s virtual borders.

Mateos is not alone.

Pariplay Ltd. Unveils Eyeon Ahead of G2E 2016

Technology company launches on-premises mobile gaming system for land-based casinos and will demo the platform at upcoming US gaming industry conference

September 2016 – Pariplay Ltd., a leading gaming technology company serving land-based casinos, iGaming operators and iLotteries, has announced the launch of its new mobile gaming platform eyeon. Allowing land-based casinos to offer their patrons both real-money and free-play casino gaming via a branded iOS or Android app installed on their customers’ tablets and smart phones, eyeon will be demonstrated by Pariplay at the G2E conference in Las Vegas in late September 2016.

Recently granted certification by Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), a gaming industry standard in software testing, Pariplay’s eyeon provides casinos with the ability to extend their customers’ gaming experience beyond the physical confines of their property and into the digital space. Acknowledging customers’ increasing use of mobile devices, the eyeon system allows a casino visitor to install the property’s branded app featuring a wide range of digital content onto their personal tablets and smart phones, or, alternatively, access the games via a pre-installed app on the casino’s own mobile devices.

Following a seamless integration with the casino’s existing CMS and IT facilities, eyeon’s diverse portfolio of branded and original online slots, instant win, scratch cards and bingo games developed by Pariplay’s in-house studio can be offered to casinos’ customers via their branded mobile apps. In addition, eyeon also provides casino patrons with access to additional digital content such as virtual sports, video bingo, slots and other games developed by leading industry providers.

The International eBoost Society Create The First Virtual Currency Designed For Use in eSports Wagering

The International eBoost Society has created the world’s first virtual currency specifically designed for wagering on eSports matches, and immediately opens up a crowdfunding program with 100 million tokens up for sale.

I fear change, do you?

And yet I know, deep in the back of my mind somewhere, that I need to embrace it if I am going to simplify my journey through life.

Charles Darwin learned throughout his intrepid voyages on The Beagle that life evolved through a process called Natural Selection – if you don’t adapt to the changing environment, you will eventually fade away to be replaced by those that can change.