Monthly Archives: February 2017

Anders Holmgren appointed CEO of Cherry AB (publ)

The Board of Directors of Cherry AB has appointed Anders Holmgren as CEO for Cherry AB. Holmgren had previously served as acting CEO, and now becomes ordinary CEO with immediate effect.

Holmgren is currently a board member of Cherry AB and Yggdrasil Holding Ltd, and has been acting CEO of Cherry AB since January 2017. He will resign as a member of the Board of Directors as a result of his new position as CEO.

Rolf Åkerlind, Chairman of the Board, said: “Anders Holmgren has, during his years as a Board member of Cherry AB, been a driving force for the company and possesses an excellent knowledge of the industry in which we operate. His experience working within large companies in the finance and gaming industries, as well as an entrepreneur, will give Cherry impetus to continue the company’s expansive development.”

Anders Holmgren, newly-appointed CEO, said: “I am looking forward to continuing to develop Cherry as a fast-growing company, as well as managing the strong positions Cherry holds across all its business areas. As a member of the Board of Directors of Cherry AB, I have had the benefit of observing this exciting company and all the development possibilities it holds. Cherry is one of the most complete gaming companies there is, and is well positioned to continue to develop and grow faster than the market.”

Product Profile – Spawn Point

Hai Ng: For us the most important thing is how does it benefit the casino? How can we cross that community over to their tables, not just to their restaurants and night clubs but over to the gaming tables, and increase, or move the needle for the ggr.

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Aspers moves ahead with plan to build $500M Southampton super casino

The Aspers group is pushing through with its plans to build a casino in Southampton after rival bidder Global Gaming Ventures (GGV) lost an appeal against the decision to award Aspers an operating license.

In 2016, the UK government awarded Aspers a casino license for Southampton’s Royal Pier Waterfront development. Aspers, a joint venture between the Aspinall Family and Crown Resorts Australia, plans to build a USD500 million (GBP400 million) super-casino.

Aspers bested rivals GGV, Grosvenor and Kymeira for the last of the eight large casino licenses the UK government intends to issue. The award, however, was challenged by GGV, claiming that its bid has been “unfairly rejected” by the Southampton Council even though the company had already secured building permit for its site at the Hammerson shopping development.

GGV also claimed that Aspers’ evaluation of benefits should have been mathematical since they used the term “Gross Value Added” (GVA). Bidders for the Southampton casino license are required to submit business plans, which include employing staff from the area and the business’s potential GVA to the area.

Google Maps saves Goa’s offshore casinos from liquor sale ban: report

Casino vessels in Goa have been exempted from the Supreme Court’s recent ban on liquor sales, and they have Google Maps to thank for it.

The Supreme Court recently ordered the ban of liquor sale within 500 meters of national and state highways. Casinos operating on the Mandovi River, however, are reportedly not within the minimum distance set by the court, which means it will be business as usual for the offshore vessels.

“If any casino vessel is within 500 meters of the bridge we will not renew their license. But as per Google Maps, they are 800 meters away from the bridge on national highway,” Menino D’Souza, commissioner of Goa’s Excise Department, told the Press Trust of India.

The excise department, which currently mapping the liquor outlets along the state highways, said those who fall under the court directives will not have their licenses renewed after March 31.

EquiLottery joins West Virginia Racing United, will pursue legislation

Lexington, KY – EquiLottery has joined West Virginia Racing United as an Honorary Member as part of its effort to bring its innovative lottery game based on the results of live horse racing to the state. EquiLottery, working with this well-established trade organization that represents horsemen and The Jockeys’ Guild in West Virginia, will attempt to pass legislation during the 2017 session that allows for a lottery game to be based on a live horse race.

“We have enjoyed a great working relationship with multiple racing interests in the state of West Virginia since our inception in 2014,” said EquiLottery Founder and CEO Brad Cummings. “They were among the first to embrace the idea of EquiLottery and now is the perfect time for us to work together to bring this innovation to The Mountain State. Together we look forward to providing this important industry a vital marketing tool that enhances purse and racetrack funds while also returning money to the good causes supported by the West Virginia Lottery.”

The bill will be a shared effort by EquiLottery and West Virginia Racing United and will propose a tweak to the statutory language unique to West Virginia that currently prohibits the lottery from basing a game on the results of a live sporting event by excluding horse racing from this prohibition. This approach has precedent across the country in states such as Kentucky and Minnesota which expressly allow for lottery games based on the results of live horse racing despite a prohibition against combining lottery with other live sporting events. More details about the bill will be available in the coming weeks.

“We are very happy to count EquiLottery as the newest member of our organization,” said West Virginia Racing United President Randy Funkhouser. “Their support of racing in West Virginia through our organization shows EquiLottery is not just an innovative product, but is also committed to being an active part of our local industry. We look forward to the opportunity to work on this legislation together and share the excitement of live horse racing with hundreds of thousands of West Virginians who are not currently engaged with our product.”

Netent’s former chairman joins Scout Gaming Group

Scout Gaming Group has appointed Rolf Blom as Chairman of the Board and Andreas Ternström as CEO

Scout Gaming Group (SGG) provides iGaming industry with solutions for Daily Fantasy Sports; one of the fastest growing business areas at the nexus of gaming and betting.

Newly appointed Chairman of the Board, Rolf Blom, joins the company as it prepares for its next growth spurt.

Mr. Blom, NetEnt’s former Chairman of the Board, was one of the first investor in Betsson , which was later bought by Cherry Group (Nasdaq: Cher B), and he has an extensive background as an executive manager and investor in several B2B companies.

Gambling Expert Group formed to enhance the regulatory environment

The Gambling Business Group (GBG) is at the forefront of a new industry wide body whose core objective is to improve the regulatory environment for all parties in the UK gambling sector.  Entitled The Gambling Expert Group, the affiliation of trade and regulatory bodies, will meet on at least a quarterly basis.

Invitations have been extended to a total of 15 bodies comprising Regulatory Delivery Office, The Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), The Gambling Business Group (GBG), Local Government Association (LGA), National Association of Licensing Enforcement Officers (NALEO), The Remote Gaming Association (RGA), The Bingo Association (BA), The Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), The British Amusements Caterers Trades Association (BACTA), The National Casino Forum (NCF), The Institute of Licensing (IOL), The Gambling Commission (GC), The British Association of Leisure Parks Piers and Attractions (BALPPA), Association of Multiple Licensed retailers (ALMR)  and The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).

GBG, Chief Executive, Peter Hannibal, said: “The Gambling Expert Group is the outcome of a programme of close collaboration with the Regulatory Delivery Office, part of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Membership is made up of stakeholder representatives including Licensing Authorities, regulators and policy makers. One of the objectives is to provide an opportunity for members to raise regulatory issues and identify and address areas where regulation can be improved.”

He added: “Enhancing the regulatory environment will involve the identification of industry-wide situations where regulation and/or legislation are having adverse impacts or have the potential to be delivered more efficiently/effectively; dealing with queries relating to the interpretation and implementation of regulations, with a view to issuing (further) guidance to business and regulators; providing advice and opinion on industry best practices and processes that impact on the effective and efficient regulation of the industry; entering into dialogue with government policy makers and acting as an industry resource providing expert views on issues around the impact of government thinking and planning.”

Former MTGA CEO: exit not tied to Mohegan Sun Pocono fraud

The former CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA) is pushing back against suggestions that his abrupt exit had anything to do with an internal fraud at one of the tribe’s casinos.

Last Tuesday, the MTGA announced that CEO Bobby Soper (pictured) was leaving the organization a year before his current contract expired to “take on a new challenge.” The following day, the MTGA announced that it was being investigated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) for “possible operational control deficiencies” at the tribe’s Mohegan Sun Pocono casino in Wilkes-Barre.

The MTGA’s filing said the PGCB was probing the Pocono property’s “system of tracking and reporting the issuance of certain customer incentives such as free slot play.” The same property was the site of a scandal last year involving VP of player development Robert Pellegrini and two accomplices that used bogus reward cards loaded with free slots credits to take the casino for over $422k.

On Monday, Soper told The Citizens’ Voice that his resignation was in no way connected with the Pellegrini fraud. Soper, who managed the Pocono venue until 2012, wanted to make it “unequivocally clear” that while Pelegrini’s antics were underway, “I neither oversaw the property nor had any role at MTGA related to Mohegan Sun Pocono.”

Malta Gaming Authority disavows links to 10 gambling sites

Malta’s gambling regulator has disavowed any connection with a flurry of online gambling sites.

On Friday, the Malta Gaming Authority published a string of notices indicating it has “no connection” with the following websites: Caesarcrown.com, Casino-royal.net, Diamond-777.com, Explosionbet.com, Fortunepub.com, Greatway-casino.net, Lucky-play.net, Play-azart.com, Winner-bet.com and Wpcasino.net.

Winner-bet.com is currently inaccessible, but the other naughty nine domains are going strong. The Malta-based GreatWay is operated by TEM Group Ltd, while Fortunepub.com and Wpcasino.net (Winn-Palace) are owned by the Malta-based Nordic Gaming Group/Bremor Holding.

Play-azart.com and Casino-royal.net claim to be owned by Williambet Anjouan and licensed by the Anjouan Lotteries and Gaming Authority. (The MGA dropped the boom on another Anjouan LGA site – black-white-casino.com – last November.) In case you were wondering, Anjouan is an island in the Indian Ocean that’s part of the Union of the Comoros, which may or may not have been a Duran Duran song.

FA Cup Review: Arsenal escape from Gander Green Lane with rep intact

The Fifth Round of the FA Cup is nearly in the books after Arsenal avoided a ‘Burnley’ by beating non-league Sutton in a comfortable outing at Gander Green Lane.

 If Arsene Wenger does leave Arsenal at the end of the season, don’t be surprised if he leaves with a record-tying sixth FA Cup win.

The longest serving manager in world football came into the Fifth Round tie against non-league Sutton off the back of a 5-1 slamming in front of 75,000 fans at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Sutton had been beaten in front of 650 fans at Guiseley.

That defeat was Sutton’s third on the spin, conceding ten goals in the process. Arsenal had lost three of their last four conceding 12. But I don’t know why I am even typing about form. This was Rocky Balboa vs. Ivan Drago, David vs. Goliath, Hulk Hogan vs. The Brooklyn Brawler.

Poker advice from the Stoics: Judgments

In this week’s Poker Advice from the Stoics, Lee Davy takes a look at judgments with a little help from Only Fools and Horses character Del Boy and his four-month-old daughter, Zia.

I knew it would happen.

The day my wife tells me to take our four-month-old daughter to Little Notes music class on my own, she decides to do one of those ‘firsts’ that end up in the scrapbook.

While staring at the teacher playing Bart the Cello, I noticed my daughter was sitting up straight all by her lonesome. I brought her home and showed my wife, who started to cry, first through the sheer emotion of seeing her little girl being so grown up, and then through laughter when she did a Del Boy.