Monthly Archives: February 2017

Maryland joins chorus of states seeking legal sports betting

The new year is only six weeks old, yet already 10% of US states have filed new legislation aimed at authorizing legal sports betting within their borders.

On Wednesday, a pair of Maryland Republican state delegates – Jason Buckel and Kevin Hornberger – filed HB 989, which would establish a “Task Force to Study the Implementation of Sports Gaming.” Its aim would be to recommend the best foot forward should there be some change in US federal law that currently prohibits sports betting.

The Task Force would consist of three delegates, three state senators, the director of Maryland’s gaming regulatory agency, plus representatives from the state’s video lottery operators (aka casino operators) and horseracing licensees. The latter two groups would be eligible to apply for a ‘sports gaming license.’

HB 989 requires a lot of things to happen before it would take effect, including repeal or amendment of the federal PASPA sports betting prohibition. Even then, HB 989 would require approval via a voter referendum at the next November general election following passage.

CardsChat Running 200K Members Celebration, Freeroll Tournaments and Prizes Up for Grabs

The CardsChat poker forum is approaching its 200,000th member. To celebrate the milestone, users will have an opportunity to win money in freeroll poker tournaments and score other prizes. CardsChat […]

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Betsson’s mobile casino drives Q4, FY16 results

Nordic online gambling operator Betsson says strong growth in its casino vertical helped offset poor sports betting results in December.

Figures released Thursday show Betsson’s revenue rose 7% to SEK 1.12b (US $125.6m) in the three months ending December 31, while operating income surged 52% to SEK 256m as margins improved seven points to 23.7%.

Betsson’s core casino operations drove the numbers upward, as casino revenue rose one-fifth to SEK 823.7m. Mobile casino revenue was up 83%, while overall mobile revenue rose 46% to SEK 546.8m, now representing 49% of group revenue.

Betsson continues to humble-brag that its mobile casino is now the “world’s largest.” Betsson’s casino boasts 1,758 games, of which 1,246 are available via mobile channels thanks to the rollout of Betsson’s new OBG front-end technology platform.