The fifth edition of SiGMAgazine is out and contains a wealth of information about the remote gaming as well as the top c level executives shaping the industry, specifically from Malta.

The 220 page magazine can be accessed here.

In the words of editor Eman Pulis, “The publication is unlike any other magazines out there for two reasons – the focus is on Malta, on the c level executives and personalities shaping the industry, as well as on the show itself. We are circulating 5,000 copies before the show to entice any last minute delegates to grab a few passes and join us for a few days of networking in Malta.”

Issue five of SiGMAgazine features a series of interviews; with renowned legal advisor Alan Alden from Kyte Consultants, MGA chairman Joseph Cuschieri, Vera&John CEO Johan Königslehner, games developers Kasper Kau and Luigi Spina, startups, twitch affiliates and much more.”

17 October 2016 – London, UK (Press Release): Game server software specialist, Black Cow Technology, has struck a long-term deal to licence its Open Gaming Architecture (OGA) software to The Games Company.

Under the agreement, The Games Company will use the OGA software to power their new remote game server (RGS) to deliver market-leading games to the industry’s biggest operators.

Built using open-source software, with a fully-functioning Games Development Kit, OGA provides The Games Company with the most flexible and efficient solution available in the market today.  OGA is revolutionising the speed with which game engines can be developed, complex slot engines being completed in just four or five days.

The Games Company is currently integrating its RGS into a Tier 1 platform ahead of a Q1 2017 go-live with more than 20 games set to be available at the launch.

17 October 2016 – London, UK (Press Release): Game server software specialist, Black Cow Technology, has struck a long-term deal to licence its Open Gaming Architecture (OGA) software to The Games Company.

Under the agreement, The Games Company will use the OGA software to power their new remote game server (RGS) to deliver market-leading games to the industry’s biggest operators.

Built using open-source software, with a fully-functioning Games Development Kit, OGA provides The Games Company with the most flexible and efficient solution available in the market today.  OGA is revolutionising the speed with which game engines can be developed, complex slot engines being completed in just four or five days.

The Games Company is currently integrating its RGS into a Tier 1 platform ahead of a Q1 2017 go-live with more than 20 games set to be available at the launch.

17 October 2016 – London, UK (Press Release): Game server software specialist, Black Cow Technology, has struck a long-term deal to licence its Open Gaming Architecture (OGA) software to The Games Company.

Under the agreement, The Games Company will use the OGA software to power their new remote game server (RGS) to deliver market-leading games to the industry’s biggest operators.

Built using open-source software, with a fully-functioning Games Development Kit, OGA provides The Games Company with the most flexible and efficient solution available in the market today.  OGA is revolutionising the speed with which game engines can be developed, complex slot engines being completed in just four or five days.

The Games Company is currently integrating its RGS into a Tier 1 platform ahead of a Q1 2017 go-live with more than 20 games set to be available at the launch.

After Cabinet Minister, Priti Patel, compares Brexit negotiations to a game of high stakes poker, Lee Davy, examines how poker helped him overcome his xenophobic stereotyping.

How is this for a tough spot.

I was sat in the maternity ward when a couple started talking about Brexit.

Woman: “Did you hear about that Polish guy who was battered close to death for being Polish?”

The Global Poker Index has increased its footprint in China after partnering with China’s largest online poker room, Tencent Poker, in a move that will see players who compete in the Tencent Poker Tour have their points recognised by the GPI.

Is the next poker boom going to be in China?

If it is, the Global Poker Index (GPI) and Global Poker League (GPL) will be ready and waiting after founder Alex Dreyfus entered into an agreement with China’s largest online poker platform Tencent Poker.

The new arrangement will see the GPI incorporate the Tencent Poker Tour (TPT) into their ranking system. Players participating in TPT events will see the GPI points awarded as they currently do for the World Series of Poker (WSOP), World Poker Tour (WPT), PokerStars Championships and thousands of other tournaments operating globally. The GPI ranks 460,000 players competing in 97 countries, now including the country with the largest population in the world.

The Global Poker Index has increased its footprint in China after partnering with China’s largest online poker room, Tencent Poker, in a move that will see players who compete in the Tencent Poker Tour have their points recognised by the GPI.

Is the next poker boom going to be in China?

If it is, the Global Poker Index (GPI) and Global Poker League (GPL) will be ready and waiting after founder Alex Dreyfus entered into an agreement with China’s largest online poker platform Tencent Poker.

The new arrangement will see the GPI incorporate the Tencent Poker Tour (TPT) into their ranking system. Players participating in TPT events will see the GPI points awarded as they currently do for the World Series of Poker (WSOP), World Poker Tour (WPT), PokerStars Championships and thousands of other tournaments operating globally. The GPI ranks 460,000 players competing in 97 countries, now including the country with the largest population in the world.

Vietnam is celebrating the first ever jackpot winner of the country’s new computerized lottery.

In July, Malaysia’s Berjaya Corp and Vietnam’s state-run lottery firm Vietlott launched the new Mega 6/45 lottery product in Vietnam. But despite holding three draws per week, the jackpot went 39 straight draws without a big winner, generating both anticipation and frustration among lottery players.

But that losing streak ended on Sunday, after a farmer in Tra Vinh province found himself holding a ticket bearing all six lucky numbers. By that point, the original prize of VND 12b (US $536k) had swollen to just over VND 92b, or around $4.11m.

Tuoi Tre News reported that the lucky farmer claimed he bought the winning ticket – for the list price of VND 10k (45¢) – on his way home from work on Sunday morning, then discovered his windfall while watching the televised draw with his family over Sunday dinner. The eager farmer chucked his fork and went to claim his prize at Vietlott’s HQ that same night.

Pennsylvania casinos reported gains in both slots and table game revenue in September.

Figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board showed overall casino gaming revenue of just under $261m in the month of September, 2.9% higher than the same month last year. Slots revenue rose 2.4% to $192.1m. while table game revenue improved 4.35% to $68.8m.

Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment’s Parx Casino earned top honors in September, with a combined slots/table take of $45.9m, up 10% from September 2015. The sum was enough to see off Las Vegas Sands’ Sands Bethlehem property, which nudged up 1.2% to a little less than $44.2m.

Sands Bethlehem is the state’s undisputed table game king of kings, having earned $19.4m in September compared to just $14.1m at Parx. But Parx reported its September slots total rising 6% to $31.8m while Sands Bethlehem’s slots grew cold in September, falling less than 1% to $24.7m.