Monthly Archives: September 2016

Imperial Pacific notches second lowest rolling chip in August

Imperial Pacific International Holdings reported that its temporary casino on the island of Saipan posted its second lowest rolling chip last month since it began operations in November.

In a filing to the HongKong Stock Exchange, Imperial Pacific announced that its August rolling chip volume was at US$1.55 billion, the second lowest tally that the company had. The lowest rolling chip volume of Imperial Pacific was achieved in December last with US$1.44 billion.

The highest monthly VIP roll of Imperial Palace was recorded in April with of US$3.19 billion.

The latest figures is cementing Imperial Pacific’s recent claim that its VIP turnover “will cease to grow and have become saturated.” Imperial Pacific exclusively operates in Saipan, the main island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, through its subsidiary, Best Sunshine International.

Group plays revenue card in appeal to legalize sports betting in India

With the exception of cricket, sporting events in India are an exercise in despair—a fact that experts chalked up to scarce resources that continues to elude sports to this day.

This is the card that the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) is dealing Prime Minister Narendea Modi as it appeals for the legalization of sports betting in the country.

India is governed by a central law that prohibits gambling on games of chance called The Public Gaming Act 1867. Some states, however, started allowing gambling after the Supreme Court acknowledged that activities such as rummy and horse racing are skill-based pastimes.

So far, the state of Andhra Pradesh has allowed horse racing, rummy and a state lottery. Goa has ten casinos, seven of which are based on boats thus circumventing land based casino laws, and Karnataka allows horse racing and rummy. Maharashtra allows horse racing and a state-run lottery. Sikkim is in the process of applying for the right to offer online gambling, and government officials in West Bengal believe poker is a game of skill.

Philippine Supreme Court strikes down gambling corporate tax

Bloomberry boss Enrique Razon may now heave a sigh of relief after the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) has pulled out the corporate income tax stake that the government has driven through the heart of his casino business in 2014.

In a decision dated August 10, 2016 but was only released on Monday, the SC struck down the Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 33-1013 of the Philippines’ Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and ordered the tax agency to cease and desist corporate income tax on income from gaming operations of casinos duly licensed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

This Supreme Court decision will allow PAGCOR and Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels, Inc. (Bloomberry) as an integrated casino resort to revert to the original license fee structure of 15% and 25% license fee (inclusive of the 5% franchise tax) for high rollers/junket and mass gaming respectively.

In June 2014, Bloomberry, the developer of Solaire Resort and Casino, had questioned the validity of the BIR’s RMC 33-2013 which declared that PAGCOR’s income from operations and licensing of gambling firms is now subject to corporate income tax under the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC).

Bitcoin bounces back to $600 amid renewed fears of yuan devaluation

Bitcoin has jumped back to the $600 price range.

This is the highest price range that the popular digital currency has reached since the August hack of Hong Kong-based bitcoin exchange Bitfinex, in which an estimated $65 million worth of bitcoin was stolen. Since then, bitcoin’s price has been hovering at around $570

There are several factors that might have influenced bitcoin’s sharp spike in price. For one, the renewed interest in cryptocurrency could have been caused by Bitfinex’s announcement that it has found a way for its customers to convert their BFX tokens. It could also be because Russian authorities have finally admitted that a blanket ban on digital currency is “not worth implementing,” given that the technology is still evolving.

Another factor is the renewed fears of yuan devaluation among Chinese investors.

UK gambling regulator sees no problem with courtsiding, other in-play edges

Find a way to beat nimble-fingered punters.

That was directive the UK Gambling Commission had for operators after it concluded that in-play edges such as courtsiding don’t require further regulatory measures.

Courtsiding is a practice of relaying information from sporting events to bettors, or of placing bets directly from a sporting event such as tennis. Recently, the practice—along with other edges including high-speed internet and advanced computer software—started drawing flak allegedly because it enabled players to get favorable in-play odds.

On Monday, the gambling regulator published a paper addressing the issue, in which it determined that there’s no need for additional controls over in-play betting since operators could “set their own time-delay standards for live betting and cash-out functionalities without the need for an industry standard.”

Speaker profile – Iryna Sergienko, Ukrainian Association of Gambling Industry

Tuesday, September 6th  2016, Budapest – The organizers are proud to announce the newest confirmed speaker, Iryna Sergienko(Ukrainian Association of Gambling Industry), who will be among the keynote speakers of the “Hot Topics on the online gambling industry in Eastern Europe” panel at the Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference(CEEGC 2016) which will take place in Budapest at the Hilton City Budapest on the 20th of September 2016.

Iryna Sergienko is a Partner, Director of the Law Company “Sergienko and partners” . Her specialization is in the fields of gambling, IT – business and sports law.

She is also the CEO of the Ukrainian Association of Gambling Industry starting from August 2016 and a Board Member of the All-Ukrainian Union for bookmaking development.

A member of the Interagency Working Group for consideration and resolution of problematic issues in the field of gambling and lotteries (2015)

12BET Sign Long Term Arsenal Deal; Zlatan Ibrahimovic Says he Could Have Joined Gunners

The Asian-facing gambling outfit, 12BET, has signed a long-term sponsorship deal with Premier League giants Arsenal, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic announces that he had the chance to join The Gunners in the summer.

Asian-facing gambling operator, 12BET, has increased its presence in the Premier League after signing a deal to become the regional betting partner of Arsenal.

The deal, described only as ‘long term’, will see the 12BET logo advertised pitch side at all Arsenal’s domestic home games at the Emirates Stadium, and sees them gain access to the team’s stars for promotional purposes.

Arsenal adds 12BET to an impressive list of betting partners that include Betfair, SportPesa, DraftKings, and DJI Holdings. 12BET also sponsor the Premier League champions Leicester City and have had previous relationships with Premier League new boys Hull City, Welsh outfit Swansea, and Championship side Newcastle.

12BET Sign Long Term Arsenal Deal; Zlatan Ibrahimovic Says he Could Have Joined Gunners

The Asian-facing gambling outfit, 12BET, has signed a long-term sponsorship deal with Premier League giants Arsenal, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic announces that he had the chance to join The Gunners in the summer.

Asian-facing gambling operator, 12BET, has increased its presence in the Premier League after signing a deal to become the regional betting partner of Arsenal.

The deal, described only as ‘long term’, will see the 12BET logo advertised pitch side at all Arsenal’s domestic home games at the Emirates Stadium, and sees them gain access to the team’s stars for promotional purposes.

Arsenal adds 12BET to an impressive list of betting partners that include Betfair, SportPesa, DraftKings, and DJI Holdings. 12BET also sponsor the Premier League champions Leicester City and have had previous relationships with Premier League new boys Hull City, Welsh outfit Swansea, and Championship side Newcastle.

TonyBet Announce Run It Twice Tournaments & Help Make NYX Gaming Become The First Major Casino Provider in Lithuania

TonyBet has announced plans to create a new format of multi-table tournament poker: Run It Twice and agree to use NYX Gaming’s Open Gaming System in Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark and the UK.

I played poker over the weekend. It was my first foray to the tables in nearly a year. I was worried that my extended time away from the game would have changed things. Had my absence left me short of experience and skills to play in the modern game?

Nothing had changed.

I was out within two hours.

Hong Kong Jockey Club has record year thanks to football betting

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) posted another record performance in its most recent fiscal year thanks to a double-digit rise in sports betting revenue.

Last week, the HKJC turned in its fiscal 2015-16 report card, covering the 12 months ending June 30, aka “another outstanding year.” Turnover was up nearly 6% to HKD 202.7b (US $26.1b) while the Hong Kong government took home a record sum of HKD 20.9b in duty and profits tax.

Counting a further HKD 1.3b payment to the Lotteries Fund and HKD 3.9b in charitable contributions – double the sum from just three years ago – the HKJC’s total return to the community was up 4% year-on-year to HKD 26.1b.

Racing remains the HKJC’s bread and butter, and racing turnover was up 1.8% to HKD 107b in 2015-16. But football betting posted the biggest gain, as turnover jumped 10.9% to HKD 86.8b. HKJC CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges called football “undoubtedly our key revenue driver,” adding that the vertical “contributed very significantly to our operating surplus.”

England Late Show in Slovakia; Wayne Rooney Midfield Role Hinders Progress

After Wayne Rooney stars in a deep-lying midfield role in England’s stuttering victory over 10-men Slovakia Lee Davy shares his opinion on why both Jose Mourinho and Sam Allardyce need to drop him if they are to find success.

Wayne Rooney was capped for the 116th time in his country’s 1-0 win over Slovakia last night, and only Peter Shilton has played more (125). He is the all-time England goalscorer with 53, a record that will stand long after I am pushing up daisies.

He has scored 246 goals in 524 appearances for United, three goals behind the record held for so long by Sir Bobby Charlton. It’s a record that Rooney will break by the end of the season. His 178 goals in the Premier League, for United, is also a record for the most scored at a single Premier League club.

The man is a true legend of English football; one of the most recognisable faces in world football, and yet, if both Jose Mourinho and Sam Allardyce continue to pick him they will suffer.

Quebec Regulators Pronounce iGaming Site Blocks Illegal, Dispute Bill

In Canada, regulators for the province of Quebec are now disputing a recently passed bill that would block its citizens from accessing unlicensed online gambling websites. Quebec Bill 74 passed back in May, but has yet to be put into action. If the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunication Commission (CRTC) has its way, the bill will […]

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BetDNA Changing Lines reported by ThePOGG.com

ThePOGG.com has just released a report that BetDNA sportsbook has been caught changing their lines after a player has made a series of wagers. In particular the handicapped betting lines changed from a positive value to a negative which significantly decreases the player’s chances of winning the bet. BetDNA are synonymous with rogue behaviour as there are numerous websites that have documented BetDNA’s history over the years.

The report can be found here.

BetDNA is part of the casinoaffiliatenow.com affiliate program with their group of casinos initially running on Amigotechs casino software, which has been caught running non-random games on multiple occassions. Later on their Pamper Casino was caught using Microgaming games without permission and using counterfeit casino games from Playtech software. This has lead to many casino affiliates blacklisting the group of casinos. After this incident Pamper casino were again caught using counterfeit games, this time the fake games were from Net Entertainment’s catalogue. Sportsbetting affiliates are also keen to point out a growing list of complaints against the BetDNA sportsbook for slow paying players on small wins.

“A player approached us with credible evidence that, among other issues, the lines of the bets they had placed were altered after they placed their bet at BetDNA. The player could document multiple occasions where this had happened and the operator have offered no response. Given this group with highly suspect software and counterfeit games we view this issue as a serious threat to players.” Duncan Garvie – Manager for ThePOGG.com

Shane Warne and Shilpa Shetty to Endorse a New Real Money Online Poker Site in India

Australian cricket legend, Shane Warne, and former Celebrity Big Brother winner, Shilpa Shetty, are a few celebrities who have signed up to endorse and play on a new online poker site in India.

The online poker market in India will grow by one on 15 September when celebritygames.in makes its debut. The real money online poker site is heralded as the first real money poker offering in India fully endorsed by celebrities, and where celebrities will sit down and play.

Celebritygames.in falls under the umbrella of companies operated by Satyug Gold Pvt Ltd., an enterprise created by the British-born entrepreneur Raj Kundra.

So who are these celebrities?