Monthly Archives: October 2016

Mr Green co-founder acquires shares in Football Addicts, creators of live score app Forza Football

Football Addicts (www.footballaddicts.com), the Swedish startup known for the popular Forza Football live score app, today announces that Mikael Pawlo, co-founder of betting platform, Mr Green (www.mrgreen.com), has, through his investment company Derzhava, acquired a new class of shares from existing stakeholders.

Forza Football, an app which keeps users up-to-date with the latest footballing scores 560 from leagues and tournaments globally, has created a unique integration for leading betting companies, including bet365, Unibet, bwin and Paddy Power. From within Forza Football, betting companies can advertise their latest footballing odds, allowing users to click through to their external websites. Football Addicts, based in Gothenburg, Sweden, partners exclusively with one betting brand per geographical market, examples being Paddy Power in the UK, Unibet in Denmark, and bwin in Italy.

Serial entrepreneur Mikael Pawlo, Director of the Board at Swedish football club Djurgårdens IF, co-founded the listed Internet casino Mr Green in 2008. He is currently co-founder and CEO of Red Flag, a new fintech startup which recently launched an app which allows users to invoice without having to go through the rigmarole of setting up a company. He has recently been recognised as one of Sweden’s 52 most important technology investors, according to Dagens Industri, Sweden’s largest business newspaper. By having Mikael on board, Football Addicts will benefit from his vast experience in the gaming industry, which will help the company scale and improve the way it works with betting companies.

Patrik Arnesson, CEO and co-founder of Football Addicts, comments: “Among our biggest customers are leading betting companies, and, since launching in 2012, we have worked with all of the industry’s largest brands. We truly believe in displaying relevant and targeted adverts instead of shouting about bonuses. Since we are outsold in all of our major markets, we have shown that this strategy works both for our betting company partners, and also for our users, who find our adverts relevant and useful. We conducted research into how our users felt about the adverts within Forza Football, and the majority told us that they were great.”

BitPay rolls out full-featured app for Bitcoin trading

Bitcoin payment service provider BitPay has launched its latest advancement—a full-featured app for purchasing, storing and spending the popular digital currency.

The new app, announced during the Money 20/20 event in Las Vegas, will allow bitcoin to be converted to dollars via an integrated BitPay Visa prepaid debit card, according to a Nasdaq report. Visa is currently the only debit card used by bitcoin users across the United States.

BitPay’s new app promises to give users “full control over their funds at all times through device-based private keys, backup protocol and multi-device authentication.” Current services normally require users to maintain their bitcoin in company-managed accounts, making them vulnerable to security breaches and hacks.

BitPay CEO Stephen Pair said the app provides a “new way to bring more users and companies into the bitcoin ecosystem.”

BitPay rolls out full-featured app for Bitcoin trading

Bitcoin payment service provider BitPay has launched its latest advancement—a full-featured app for purchasing, storing and spending the popular digital currency.

The new app, announced during the Money 20/20 event in Las Vegas, will allow bitcoin to be converted to dollars via an integrated BitPay Visa prepaid debit card, according to a Nasdaq report. Visa is currently the only debit card used by bitcoin users across the United States.

BitPay’s new app promises to give users “full control over their funds at all times through device-based private keys, backup protocol and multi-device authentication.” Current services normally require users to maintain their bitcoin in company-managed accounts, making them vulnerable to security breaches and hacks.

BitPay CEO Stephen Pair said the app provides a “new way to bring more users and companies into the bitcoin ecosystem.”

Wynn ramps up campaign vs. Revere slots parlor

Casino mogul Steve Wynn is flooding the state of Massachusetts with money to keep slots parlor at bay.

The Boston Globe reported that Wynn is now on a spending spree in order to ensure that the residents of the Bay State will say no to slots when they troop and cast their votes on Question 1 on Nov. 8.

Wynn had been campaigning against the slots parlor since September, which he claimed to be going against the 2011 casino law that called for a single slots parlor in Massachusetts. This is the first time that the casino mogul has expressed its intention to finance an opposition to a statewide ballot question that would authorize the slots parlor, known as Question 1.

But Wynn won’t say how much it plans to spend. And under the state’s political finance laws, Wynn won’t be required to disclose its spending until after the Nov. 8 balloting.

India Roundup: Delta Corp gaming revenue grows 45.8%, Pokerbaazi launches live poker room

India’s only listed gaming company, Delta Corp Ltd, continues its good run in 2016.

In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the gaming and hospitality company reported that its consolidated income from gaming operations has reached INR1.24 billion (USD18.5 million) in the July to September period—a 45.8 percent increase compared to the same period in 2015.

Delta Corp’s comprehensive net profit after taxes and minority interests also jumped 680 percent year-on-year to INR322.5 million.

Delta Corp. holds three of the six issued offshore gaming licenses in Goa in addition to an integrated casino resort in Daman, and three luxury hotel properties in Goa—Deltin Suites, Deltin Palms and Villa Marina by Deltin. The government of Goa has also authorized Delta’s wholly owned subsidiary, Delta Pleasure Cruise Company, to operate MV Royale Flotel – Deltin Caravela on Mandovi River.

The WSOPE Builds a New Home in Kings Casino

The World Series of Poker Europe has signed a multi-year agreement with the Kings Casino, Rozvadov, that will see the most famous brand in poker set up shop in 2017 & 2019.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a global brand.

Global.

And that means, events like the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) are vital for the poker playing community.

Crown detainment highlights Chinese VIP biz risk, says Fitch

Chinese VIP business remains to be a risky venture for global operators as high roller gambling by Chinese nationals outside of China continues to be on the top of mind for Chinese authorities.

This was the assessment made by international credit debt watcher Fitch Ratings in light of the detainment of 18 employees of Crown Resorts in China.

Fitch believes that the risks related to the more recent detainment (namely reduced VIP volume) will affect the Asia-Pacific casinos more than casino operators in Macau.

It explained that VIP in Macau represents less than 20 percent and 10 percent for Fitch rated MGM China and Sands China, respectively.

Atlantic Lottery’s excessive spending chided

The skeletons hiding inside Atlantic Lottery Corp.’s (ALC) closet have finally been uncovered.

ALC officials are now under fire for living like royalties as they spend thousands of dollars on lavish dinners, throwing extravagant Christmas parties, and even showering generous perks to politicians.

All of these would have not been uncovered if not for the careful sleuthing conducted by four provincial auditors of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador into the management of the corporation, according to CBC News Nova Scotia.

Surprised by what they had found, Nova Scotia’s auditor general, Michael Pickup said most people would have trouble with that kind of expense.

Becky’s Affiliated: Top Five Takeaways from EiG & BAC 2016

Last week, CalvinAyre.com joined iGaming operators, suppliers, affiliates, affiliate programs and other professionals in Berlin while attending EiG and BAC 2016.  These two events combined covered just about every aspect of the global online gambling industry and here are my top five takeaway from Berlin after spending five consecutive days reporting on both events.

Don’t fear failure

Innovation in the iGaming industry is the underlying theme of EiG.  Not to fear failure was a concise and consistent message sent out to the world from all the interviews CalvinAyre.com conducted with innovative EiG speakers this year.

Christina Thakor-Rankin said during an EiG panel, “As an industry we have to be more open to failure- historically its always been about success and making things happen and work.  The industry is congested and fragmented now, we can’t take success in the UK and replicate it in other parts of the world”.

Becky’s Affiliated: Top Five Takeaways from EiG & BAC 2016

Last week, CalvinAyre.com joined iGaming operators, suppliers, affiliates, affiliate programs and other professionals in Berlin while attending EiG and BAC 2016.  These two events combined covered just about every aspect of the global online gambling industry and here are my top five takeaway from Berlin after spending five consecutive days reporting on both events.

Don’t fear failure

Innovation in the iGaming industry is the underlying theme of EiG.  Not to fear failure was a concise and consistent message sent out to the world from all the interviews CalvinAyre.com conducted with innovative EiG speakers this year.

Christina Thakor-Rankin said during an EiG panel, “As an industry we have to be more open to failure- historically its always been about success and making things happen and work.  The industry is congested and fragmented now, we can’t take success in the UK and replicate it in other parts of the world”.