Monthly Archives: October 2016

Mybet issues revenue warning, makes big bet on German court fight

German online betting operator Mybet is warning investors that its downward spiral shows no sign of abating this year.

In a brief statement released Wednesday, Mybet wanred investors that its preliminary read of its Q3 results showed revenue of around €35m through the first nine months of 2016. The company says Q3 showed a “continuation of the negative trend in revenues from the previous quarters.”

As a result of this ongoing revenue lethargy, Mybet says its previous forecast for FY16 revenue coming in between €59m and €62m “is no longer realistic.” The company is now projecting FY16 revenue to come in between €43m and €46m, a difference of €16m.

Mybet insists that its forecast of “positive low-seven-figure EBIT” remains unchanged, thanks in part to the June sale of its stake in the Pfederwetten.de race betting business, which provided a one-time cash injection of nearly €10m.

Poker Bits & Bobs: MPN MTT Changes; Brian May Honours Devilfish; And More

Lee Davy brings you a few pieces of bite size goodness from the world of poker including a new tournament schedule on the Microgaming Poker Network, the chance to win a Brian May signed electric guitar at the Devilfish Open, and much more.

The Microgaming Poker Network (MPN) has rolled out a new tournament structure for its 27+ poker clients and here are the main highlights:

There are three brand new daily tournaments with the same structure but differing buy-in and guarantee. There is a €5.50 Kilobyte event with a €500 Guarantee, a €33 buy-in Megabyte tournament with a €2,500 guarantee, and a €110 buy-in Gigabyte tournament with a €7,500 guarantee.

Moving up in stakes, and there will be a €215 buy-in €10,000 Guarantee Mega Moolah every Monday, and a €215 buy-in €10,000 Guarantee Thunderstruck event every Thursday.

The GPL PlayOffs Are Set: Rome, Paris, New York and Las Vegas Miss Out

The league stage of the Global Poker League have come to an end, and Rome Emperors, Paris Aviators, New York Rounders and the Las Vegas Moneymakers will not be making the trip to Las Vegas for the PlayOffs.

It all began as a spark of ingenuity inside the head of a poker loving Frenchman. What if he could gather the greatest poker players in the world, separate them into franchises, and create a Global Poker League (GPL)?

Like all great entrepreneurs, Dreyfus put in the elbow grease, the money, and let the thing roll.

Did it work?

The GPL PlayOffs Are Set: Rome, Paris, New York and Las Vegas Miss Out

The league stage of the Global Poker League have come to an end, and Rome Emperors, Paris Aviators, New York Rounders and the Las Vegas Moneymakers will not be making the trip to Las Vegas for the PlayOffs.

It all began as a spark of ingenuity inside the head of a poker loving Frenchman. What if he could gather the greatest poker players in the world, separate them into franchises, and create a Global Poker League (GPL)?

Like all great entrepreneurs, Dreyfus put in the elbow grease, the money, and let the thing roll.

Did it work?

UK Gambling Commission proposes new online software, technical rules

The UK Gambling Commission has published proposed changes to its online gambling software and technical standards.

The UKGC launched a consultation on its Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards (RTS) last year and the initial results (viewable here) have resulted in a number of proposed revisions, on which the UKGC is seeking further input from industry stakeholders.

Among the changes are a requirement for in-play betting software to allow customers to “choose whether to automatically accept price fluctuations that occur after a bet is placed.” These options would have to be presented on the bet slip or in the account settings, and operators would need to provide sufficient info to ensure customers understood their options.

Online poker operators are potentially facing new rules on funds confiscated from players due to integrity issues. Some cases involve funds that rightfully belong to other players, yet the UKGC says players are “insufficiently informed” at present as to what happens to confiscated funds.

Baha Mar’s original developer calls project’s Chinese bankers liars

The original developer of the $3.5b Baha Mar resort casino in the Bahamas is trying to publicly shame Chinese bankers into selling him back the project.

Earlier this week, Sarkis Izmirlian (pictured) wrote an open letter to the Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM), asking them to sell him the unfinished Baha Mar project while simultaneously calling them liars. Shrewd, that.

Last week, Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie announced that EXIM had sold Baha Mar to Perfect Luck Holdings, a special purpose vehicle set up by EXIM. The presumption is that none of the actual Baha Mar bidders offered to pay the $2.45b EXIM had lent Izmirlian’s Baha Mar Ltd before that company filed for bankruptcy in June 2015, and thus EXIM is simply getting Baha Mar’s red ink off its books until a better offer comes along.

Izmirlian’s letter repeats his earlier claim that his new corporate entity BMD Holdings Ltd had sent EXIM “a bona fide proposal to buy Baha Mar at a price superior to any offer” EXIM had or would receive. Izmirlian claims that it doesn’t make “economic sense” that nobody to date has responded to his offer.

Baha Mar’s original developer calls project’s Chinese bankers liars

The original developer of the $3.5b Baha Mar resort casino in the Bahamas is trying to publicly shame Chinese bankers into selling him back the project.

Earlier this week, Sarkis Izmirlian (pictured) wrote an open letter to the Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM), asking them to sell him the unfinished Baha Mar project while simultaneously calling them liars. Shrewd, that.

Last week, Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie announced that EXIM had sold Baha Mar to Perfect Luck Holdings, a special purpose vehicle set up by EXIM. The presumption is that none of the actual Baha Mar bidders offered to pay the $2.45b EXIM had lent Izmirlian’s Baha Mar Ltd before that company filed for bankruptcy in June 2015, and thus EXIM is simply getting Baha Mar’s red ink off its books until a better offer comes along.

Izmirlian’s letter repeats his earlier claim that his new corporate entity BMD Holdings Ltd had sent EXIM “a bona fide proposal to buy Baha Mar at a price superior to any offer” EXIM had or would receive. Izmirlian claims that it doesn’t make “economic sense” that nobody to date has responded to his offer.

Pennsylvania House dares Senate to reject online gambling, DFS bill

Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives has once again approved online gambling and daily fantasy sports legislation but the odds appear stacked against the Senate following suit.

Pennsylvania’s House convened a special session on Thursday in an attempt to finish some unfinished business that didn’t get covered on Wednesday, which was supposed to be their last official day of work before the November election.

Among the items on their to-do list was the quick-fix bill the Senate passed on Tuesday to temporarily fill the funding gap created in September when the state Supreme Court struck down a local share slots tax law as unconstitutional.

The House approved their HB 1887 bill by a respectable margin (110-71) on Thursday, but not before amending it to include a permanent fix to the local share tax issue, as well as the online gambling, DFS and airport mobile gaming language in the HB 2150 bill the House approved in June.

Pennsylvania House dares Senate to reject online gambling, DFS bill

Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives has once again approved online gambling and daily fantasy sports legislation but the odds appear stacked against the Senate following suit.

Pennsylvania’s House convened a special session on Thursday in an attempt to finish some unfinished business that didn’t get covered on Wednesday, which was supposed to be their last official day of work before the November election.

Among the items on their to-do list was the quick-fix bill the Senate passed on Tuesday to temporarily fill the funding gap created in September when the state Supreme Court struck down a local share slots tax law as unconstitutional.

The House approved their HB 1887 bill by a respectable margin (110-71) on Thursday, but not before amending it to include a permanent fix to the local share tax issue, as well as the online gambling, DFS and airport mobile gaming language in the HB 2150 bill the House approved in June.