Monthly Archives: March 2017

Poker sponsorships deals for DXRacer and Kimo Sabe Mezcal

Two new sponsorship deals to catch up on including the World Series of Poker inking a deal with the gaming chair specialists DX Racer, and Poker Night in America shaking hands with the tequila expert Kimo Sabe.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the Superbowl of Poker, so it makes sense that the top brands in the business would want to cut a deal with the most prestigious poker tour in the world.

The latest to partner with Caesar’s baby is the gaming chair specialists DXRacer and with the mantra Sit Better, Work Harder, Game Longer, can you think of a better partnership?

DXRacer is a brand that specialises in video gaming with a focus on the perfect gaming chair. Prices range between $339 – $700, and they also offer a selection of office chairs, to prevent people like myself turning into Quasimodo. They have physical showrooms in Anaheim, California and Whitmore Lake, Michigan, and are a regular face on the game exhibition circuit.

New York rakes $3M from daily fantasy sports in first five months

New York has hit a flea flicker for a touchdown five months after the state legalizes daily fantasy sports (DFS).

The Times Union reported that New York made the right call to legalize DFS in the Big Apple with data from the New York Gaming Commission showing that the state reaped more than $2.8 million in tax revenues from DFS operators between late August and January.

It would be recalled that the state enacted a law that allows DFS sites to serve New Yorkers on August 3, 2016. Daily fantasy sports companies in New York, however, are operating under temporary permits while the New York regulator irons out the permanent set of DFS rules.

Nine companies have obtained temporary permits. In addition to DraftKings and FanDuel, Yahoo, Fantasy Draft, Draft, DraftDay, Synkt Games, Fanamana and DataForce are authorized to operate.

Crown Resorts: all systems go for 42.9M share buy-back

Australia-listed Crown Resorts Ltd has announced to buy-back 42.9 million of its ordinary shares worth US$378.8 million.

The casino operator said in a regulatory filing on Monday that the share buy-back will take place “on or after March 20” after securing the required regulatory approvals for the program. UBS Securities Australia Ltd will act as broker on the company’s behalf.

According to Crown Resorts, the buy-back program of the 5.89 percent of its issued capital is expected to last for 12 months.

On February 23, Crown Resorts announced the share buy-back amid a plunge in revenues linked to the arrests of 18 employees by Chinese authorities.

Bitfinex withdraws from Washington State over license issue

Digital currency exchange Bitfinex has exited the state of Washington.

Last week, Bitfinex clients received a message from the exchange that it will stop offering its services to residents of the Washington State. According to reports on Reddit, the cryptocurrency exchange gave its current customers in Washington until March 1 “to withdraw their funds and transfer property off the Bitfinex site.”

In a message shared by a Bitfinex user, the digital currency company said it has no plans of securing a money transmitter license, hence the decision to withdraw its services in the state.

“Over the past several months, we have been in discussions with representatives of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) about Bitfinex’s business and, specifically, services provided to Washington customers. DFI representatives take the view that we may not offer our platform services to Washington state residents without obtaining a state money transfer license in their state,” Bitfinex said. “At this time, we are not obtaining a money transmitter license in Washington and, accordingly, we will no longer be doing business with verified Washington customers, effective immediately.”

Jerry Jones joins effort to bring Raiders to Vegas: report

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is reportedly taking part in the effort to bring the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas.

Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole broke the news over the weekend the Jones is working to find potential investors to help the AFC organization in filling the void left by Las Vegas Sands Corporation chairman Sheldon Adelson.

“Two NFL sources said Friday #Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is trying to gather investors to fill role Sheldon Adelson had in Vegas for #Raiders,” Cole tweeted.

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands had been wooing the NFL team to come to Sin City with the promise of building a 65,000-seat domed stadium near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The initial plan was for Adelson to shell out $650 million toward the stadium’s construction while the Raiders will commit $500 million. The remaining $750 million would be funded by a 0.88-percentage-point increase in Clark County’s hotel room tax.

Corinne Valetta on creating a level playing field in Malta

In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Becky Liggero, Corinne Valetta of the Malta Gaming Authority discusses ways by which Malta could be at par with other gambling jurisdictions.

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Betsoft Gaming signs partnership deal with Eurobet

Leading 3D iGaming supplier Betsoft Gaming have announced that they have signed a partnership with Eurobet, part of the Ladbrokes Coral Group and a dominant player in the robust, highly regulated Italian market. Eurobet is broadly respected in that market, having won the Italian EGR award for Operator of the Year two years in a row.

Under the terms of the partnership, Eurobet will be taking on Betsoft’s core of ADM-approved Slots3™ titles, including among them SugarPop!, Alkemor’s Tower and Mamma Mia!. The ToGo collection, mobile versions of the Slots3™ games, will also be served to Eurobet’s established and growing playerbase. This newly signed deal with Eurobet is a significant part of Betsoft’s concentrated push into regulated markets.

“It is a distinct honor to partner with Eurobet,” said Francesca Raniolo of Betsoft. “Eurobet has set a high standard for quality, ease of use for their players and a diverse variety of available iGaming content. We feel there is no limit to the heights of success that we will achieve together, as leaders in our respective sectors of the iGaming industry. Our suite of ADM-approved Slots3™ titles offers a broad range of themes and innovative bonus features that are certain to do well with Eurobet’s players.”

“With careful precision, we decided to add Betsoft’s collection of superior games to that which we already offer to our players,” said Alfredo Melloni, Head of Gaming for Eurobet. “Very few games can match the quality and enjoyability of these titles and we believe that they will shortly become extremely popular. We are assured that, in the near future, even more of Betsoft’s incredible games will receive the sought-after ADM certification, and we eagerly await the release of those titles to add to this already impressive repertoire from Betsoft.”

South Korea gambling revenue tops $17B in 2016

South Korea’s gambling industry continues to defy the odds, despite the economic downturn the country is facing.

For the second year in a row, the gambling sector grew 7.7 percent to reach KRW20.3 trillion (USD17.6 billion) in 2016 from a year earlier, according to The National Gambling Control Commission. The figures include revenues from Gangwon Land, cycle racing, horse racing, boat racing and sports promotion voting right system, or Sports Toto.

The nation’s casinos earned the lion’s share of 2016’s gambling revenue, reporting KRW28.04 billion (USD24.21 million)—a jump from the KRW20.5 trillion reported in 2015. Foreigners-only casinos contributed KRW1.2 trillion, while state-run Gangwon Land reported KRW1.7 trillion in sales.

Sales of lottery tickets also grew 9.3 percent on-year to reach KRW3.9 trillion as lottery participation among those making less than KRW2 million (USD1,700) per month nearly doubled to 10.2%.

ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang to defend title against Ev Ting

06 March 2017 – Manila, Philippines:The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced its return to Manila on 21 April to hold its tenth event on Philippine shores. The 20,000-capacity SM Mall of Asia Arena will play host to ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY, which promises another evening of world-class mixed martial arts action that fans around the globe should not miss. Headlining the card will be ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang of the Philippines, who will defend his belt for the first time against Malaysia’s Ev “E.T.” Ting.

Ticket information for ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY is available at www.onefc.com

Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “It is always an amazing time when ONE Championship is in Manila, because Filipino fans are so intensely passionate about the sport of mixed martial arts that the atmosphere in the SM Mall of Asia Arena just hits a fever pitch. We can’t wait to be back in April as our team has prepared an incredible main event for the organization’s return to Manila. The Philippines’ beloved hero Eduard Folayang will defend his ONE Lightweight World Championship against Malaysian superstar Ev Ting.”

Eduard “Landslide” Folayang of the legendary Team Lakay in Baguio City is one of the Philippines’ most experienced mixed martial artists. After nearly a decade of competing in various promotions, Folayang has amassed an impressive 17-5 mixed martial arts record. The 33-year-old veteran has authored a career resurgence in 2016, winning three consecutive matches against high-profile opponents and showcasing a highly-improved wrestling and grappling offensive arsenal. In his last bout, Folayang shocked the world by capturing the ONE Lightweight World Championship belt with a sensational victory over Japanese legend Shinya Aoki. He will be making his first title defense against Ev Ting.

Officials mull lifting Japanese badminton star’s gambling ban

The indefinite ban on Japanese badminton star Kento Momota could be lifted sooner than expected.

The 22-year-old, who ranked second among the world’s best badminton players, missed the Rio Olympics last year after he admitted to spending time in casinos with another badminton player, 27-year-old Kenichi Tago.

The Nippon Badminton Association (NBA) banned Momota from playing “indefinitely,” while Tago was deregistered by the association—a more severe punishment due to his more gambling habit, according to authorities.

Late last year, officials believe Momota’s ban could be lifted as early as May 2017 since the badminton player had been working ‘diligently,’ ‘training with a great attitude,’ and applying himself in the charitable sector.

Momentum builds for Juegos Miami as Latin America tops the gaming agenda

Opportunities in Latin and South America are top of the agenda for many of the industry’s leading business figures, according to organisers of Juegos Miami, the specialist C-Level event taking place May 31st – June 2nd at The Biltmore, Miami.

Speaking in the week that registration for Juegos Miami went live, Kate Chambers, Managing Director of the Gaming Division at Clarion, and the person responsible for launching the event in 2016, said: “Last month’s LatAm Seminar was one of the most in-demand events during ICE week, attracting an incredibly senior attendance of gaming professionals who were drawn from 31 countries.  Many organisations were represented by three or, in some instances, four C-Level directors, which illustrates quite how serious the gaming world views the business opportunities in the region.”

She added: “The seminar provided a taster of what the industry will experience at Juegos Miami, as well as an expert insight on the current market dynamics.  Many important connections were made at ICE, which augurs well for the second edition of this specialist business event.”

Curated to meet the specific needs of what is a key regional market, Juegos Miami is attracting widespread support from gaming innovators and industry thought leaders alike.  Described by Javier Balbuena, Presidente, CONAJZAR, as ‘A brilliant place to bring the key people together from the industry’, the first edition of Juegos Miami attracted exhibitors and representatives from a total of 42 countries.  The  C-Level attendance comprised 648 of the region’s most influential industry and regulatory figures, confirming its status as the major event for the region.

BetConstruct Roadshow 2017: BetConstruct starts a series of hands-on workshops

March 2017: BetConstruct is launching a series of free workshops to showcase its entire product line and give participants hands-on experience with using BetConstruct tools.

Held on Sunday, 19 March, before VIGE 2017 in Vienna, BetConstruct The Door: Orientation Day will become the first in the series of workshops the company plans to hold in different regions this year. Following VIGE 2017, the team will travel to Malta to organize the second workshop at the Corinthia Hotel on March 24.

“Our colleagues and peers will have an opportunity to experience first-hand what makes BetConstruct partners successful and profitable. They will create an operator using our tools and services including CRM, CMS, odds feed management tools, loyalty program and some hundreds of other tools and features.

“The workshop will give our guests something to compare their platforms to,” says BetConstruct Executive Chairman Vigen Badalyan.

Stellar Jackpot Dolphin Gold makes a splash in Europe

Latest HTML5 slot from Lightning Box Games goes live exclusively with BetVictor before going on general release

Sydney, March 2017 –Stellar Jackpot Dolphin Gold, the latest release from slot design specialist Lightning Box Games, has made a splash in Europe after launching exclusively with BetVictor before going on general release.

The 4×5 reel, 40-line video slot combines oceanic and intergalactic themes, and boasts a unique bonus trigger involving up to 12 stacked wilds. Six blue dolphins trigger the Gold Dolphin free spin bonus, offering three free spins while 12 blue dolphins offer 21 free games.

It also features Lightning Box Games’ innovative Stellar Jackpot bonus that is launched from a random hidden trigger in the game. Players are taken to a space shooting arcade game for the chance to win epic prizes.

Playtech first to launch online casino in Czech Republic

Fortuna first operator to go live in newly regulated market

London: March 2017 – Playtech, the world’s leading gaming content and software, systems and services supplier, has become the first supplier to launch online casino in the Czech Republic with the rapidly expanding Fortuna brand.

On February 24th the Czech Ministry of Finance granted Fortuna the country’s first ever licence to operate ‘online technical games’. The operator has since gone live with a large selection of Playtech’s industry-leading online and mobile slot and table game content and best-performing progressive jackpot titles including the Age of the Gods™ portfolio and other Playtech favourites including Gladiator and White King. Fortuna will gradually expand this in the coming months.

In August 2016 Playtech agreed a contract with Fortuna to supply it with a scalable, omni-channel platform and seamless wallet technology enabling it to accelerate its gaming strategy across sportsbook, gaming and CRM and become a leading regulated operator in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region.

EPL Week 27 Review: Spurs and City close the gap on Chelsea

A full round-up of Week 27 of the English Premier League including Spurs coming out on top in an exciting encounter with Everton, Arsenal falling out of the top four for the first time this year, and Middlesbrough dropping into the bottom three after defeat at Stoke.

With Chelsea not playing until Monday night, Spurs closed the gap to seven points thanks to another couple of goals from Harry Kane. The England marksman scored one either side of half-time to cement his position as the Premier League’s top marksman with 19 goals. Kane has now scored 14 times in 12 league and cup games since the beginning of the year. It’s hard to believe he is only 23-years of age.

The man sitting second in those Premier League scoring charts is Romelu Lukaku, and it was the Belgian who gave Everton hope of a fightback when he scored his 18th Premier League goal with the clock running out of space to run. Lukaku is now Everton’s top Premier League scorer of all time with 61 goals.

But Lukaku’s strike didn’t give Everton the impetus they needed to take a draw from Fortress White Hart Lane. Instead, Dele Alli found space in the box to score off a Harry Winks free kick in injury time, and despite a late consolation goal from Enner Valencia Spurs held on to win their ninth consecutive home game.

3: Barrels: Kyllonen to quit; Robl 4x charity drive; Hallaert WSOP sheet

3: Barrels of a financial theme including Jens Kyllonen’s decision to quit poker, Andrew Robl’s monthly charity drive, and Kenny Hallaert’s request to help REG in return for WSOP spreadsheet sweat.

Yesterday, I visited a baby fair in ExCel, London. I spent close to £200 on toys, clothes, and saltwater solutions I can squirt up my daughter’s nose to soften those dreaded buggers enough so I can suck them out while leaving her tiny brain intact.

My wife loved it.

Me, not so much, I couldn’t stop worrying about the money we were spending. And so, for me, when I read self-help books telling me that money doesn’t improve my happiness, I think:

Strelitz LA Poker Classic win; Colman, Schindler & Kempe with ARIA wins

Daniel Strelitz prevents Mike Sexton from winning a second World Poker Tour event with victory at the LA Poker Classic, and Dan Colman, Jake Schindler, and Rainer Kempe pick up wins in the ARIA High Roller series.

The poker heater bug has bitten Mike Sexton. The World Poker Tour (WPT) commentator and member of the Poker Hall of Fame finished fourth in the $10,000 buy-in WPT LA Poker Classic this past weekend.

Sexton, who won the C$3,850 buy-in WPT Montreal for $317,817 in November, earned $300,690 for his efforts and is now the primary challenger behind Benjamin Zamani in the race to be crowned the Season XV Player of the Year. Sexton trails Zamani by 500 points with plenty of events left until the season draws to a close.

Daniel Strelitz was the eventual winner. The former WPT Ones to Watch beat the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Simeon Naydenov, in heads-up action to take the $1m first prize.