Monthly Archives: September 2016

Gambling companies account for 10% of Swedish TV advertising

Online betting operator Unibet has usurped Sweden’s state-owned betting monopoly as the number one gambling advertiser on Swedish television.

New figures released by Stockholm-based media consultants Mediavision show gambling companies accounted for 10% of all Swedish television ad buys in the first half of 2016, up from just 3% as recently as 2013.

A total of 31 gambling companies, both international and domestic, advertised on Swedish TV in H1 2016, up from 24 in the same period last year and from 20 in H1 2014. International gambling firms account for 75% of current gambling advertising spending, up from 64% in 2013, according to Sweden’s gambling regulator, which helps explain why international operators are growing faster than domestic firms.

Gambling’s increased presence on Swedish telly is all the more impressive given that the Institute for Advertising and Media Statistics believes total TV advertising spending is down by SEK 100m (US $11.8m) over the first seven months of 2016, and the prediction is for a further SEK 100m decline before 2016 is done.

GAN reveal more detail of international online gambling deal for US casino

Online gambling software provider GAN has shed more light on its deal to offer real-money online technology to a major US casino operator.

Last month, GAN (the former GameAccount Network) teased news about advanced talks it was conducting with a major US land-based casino operator regarding an international online gambling operation. On Monday, GAN offered further details without revealing the name of the operator in question.

GAN now says it has sealed a seven-year deal with the US operator and that the gambling site and app are expected to launch in H1 2017. GAN promised further details would be revealed when it releases its H1 earnings results on Sept. 30.

For the time being, GAN will say that the operator – “a major multi-property casino operator in a regional US gaming market with approximately $1b in annual land-based gaming revenues” – was one with which it already has a business relationship. GAN’s existing regional casino client roster includes American Casino & Entertainment Properties, Rock Gaming, Isle of Capri Casinos, Maryland Live, Atlantic City’s Borgata and numerous tribal casinos.

Betradar extends Italian offering with German 1. and 2. Bundesliga

Betradar, a brand of Sportradar, is pleased to announce the further extension of its live streaming coverage for online, mobile and retail sports betting offers for the Italian market. Standing out in the enlarged offering are the now available highly attractive German 1. and 2. Bundesliga.

Additionally, Betradar is proud to announce that Sisal, a long-standing partner and recipient for Betradar´s flagship products Live Channel Online and Live Channel Retail, has already added the rights for the two German Top Leagues to their offering. As a result, Sisal is the first Italian partner of Sportradar that complements their interesting and diverse portfolio with two highly attractive rights and forthwith will make the matches available to their clients on both channels.

Sportradar’s Director Sales Lorenzo Caci regards the latest developments as yet another milestone for Betradar and its goal to further strengthen its products for the Italian clients. “We are delighted to have come to this agreement with Sisal as they are one of the major players in Italy. We are convinced that more of our partners will benefit from our augmented rights-offering and will add Bundesliga to their portfolio.”

“Throughout these last years, Sisal is moving strongly from a pure betting offer to a broad entertainment experience for its own customers“ – states Marco Tiso, Online Gaming Business Manager of Sisal – “We are very pleasant to announce that Sisal will be the first player in Italy to offer the streaming of Bundesliga in partnership with Betradar. This achievement means a significant step forward to support our strategy, giving our customers the opportunity to experience the emotions of one of the major European football championships.”

Networking Breaks and Complimentary Lunch to be sponsored by ViGE2017

Friday, September 12  2016, Budapest – The organizers are excited to announce that ViGE2017 (Vienna International Gaming Expo 2017) is going to sponsor the Networking Breaks during the day and also invite the delegates to the complimentary lunch.

ViGE(Vienna International Gaming Expo) is a unique event which aims to bring together the online and land based gaming industry from all over the planet and help them reach a global audience.

ViGE2017 will set a milestone for industry related event in Central Europe and it will set stage for a meeting ground which involves networking, deal making and act as a hub for the gaming industry, regulators, third parties, media and industry leaders.

We expect that the quality and quantity of the audience, not to mention the fact that it will open a whole new market for the industry for networking and business development opportunities in Austria and surrounding regions.

Betting on Sports 2016 Conference preview, an event not to be missed

This coming Thursday and Friday the online gambling industry will be introduced to the first conference dedicated to the entire sports betting sector, Betting on Sports 2016. SBC has organized two days of sessions spanning just about every issue impacting sports betting professionals, numerous networking opportunities such as VIP dinners, an official party and the BiG Sports Dinner in addition to private events for CEOs and affiliates working in the sports betting space.

CalvinAyre.com caught up with Andy McCarron of SBC to reveal any last minute developments the sports betting industry should know about, including delegate representation, featured speakers, hot topics, celeb appearances, additional networking opportunities and more.  We hope to see you later this week at BOSCON 2016.

Becky Liggero: Now that we’re only a few days away from the event kicking off, can you give us an idea of where your delegates will be coming from? What representation of the globe will you have at BOSCON?

Andy McCarron: The Betting on Sports conference has become a global sports and betting event with an incredible 60+ C-Level Executive Sportsbook Operator representatives from across the world, including Asia, Australia, Africa, Central Europe, CIS, UK, US and Canada.

90 Speakers across 28 Topics finalised for the Betting on Sports Conference 15 & 16 September

London, September 12th, 2016: This week’s Betting on Sports Conference will offer the most comprehensive look at the betting industry ever seen, according to organisers SBC Events.

From Brexit to Esports, marketing to integrity, money laundering to DFS, and US Sports to payments, the two-day conference will feature 90 speakers across 28 separate discussions.

On Thursday 15th and Friday 16th September, high level delegates from all over the globe will be descending on the Grange Tower Bridge Hotel in London to listen to industry experts and visit the exhibition, which features companies like Sportradar, SIS, Golden Race, Optima, BetConstruct, and Paysafe.

Marathonbet CEO Viktor Hoffmann is on a panel discussing the future of sports betting, along with SNAI CEO Fabio Schiavolin and 10Bet CEO David Bazak.

MasterCard faces $19B lawsuit in UK over illegal card fees

British customers of MasterCard are going after the financial services corporation over charging illegally high fees on store transactions for more than a decade.

The class action lawsuit, filed last week at London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal by law firm Quinn Emanuel, wanted MasterCard to pay £14 billion ($18.6 billion) to its British customers, which it claimed paid “unlawful card charges” to the company between 1992 and 2008. The law firm estimates some 46 million people in the UK were affected.

“Consumers were unaware of the level of these fees or that they were illegal,” the law firm said in a statement. “The fees were a significant cost for retailers that was then passed on through increased prices of goods and services. All UK consumers, including cash purchasers—and not just MasterCard holders—have lost money as a result.”

Quinn Emanuel is acting on behalf of Walter Merricks, former chief of UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service, the agency that tries to resolve complaints against financial services firms.