Monthly Archives: May 2017

Melco Philippines swings to profit

Philippines-listed casino operator Melco Philippines Resorts Corp. bounced to a PHP148.6 million (US$2.97 million) in the first three months of the year.

In a filing before the Philippine Stock Exchange, Melco said that the multi-million profit it notched in the first quarter of 2017 is a turnaround from the net loss of P1.136 billion (US$22.73 million) in the same period last year.

Melco – which owns half of operations at City of Dreams Manila – reported improved operating revenues, lower employee benefit expenses, lower depreciation and amortization and net foreign exchange gains for the period, partially offset by associated increases in operating costs, payments to the Philippine parties as well as interest expenses.

Melco’s total net operating revenues were at PHP7.9 billion (US$158.09 million) for the three months ended March 31, 2017, surging 73.6 percent from PHP4.53 billion (US$90.65 million) for the three months ended March 31, 2016.

Duterte’s gambling policy pulls down LRWC Q1 net income

Philippine-listed holding company Leisure and Resorts World Corporation (LRWC) is now feeling the pinch of President Rodrigo Duterte’s new online gambling policy, with its gambling segments posing significant decreases in income in the first quarter of the year.

LRWC, which operates a bingo gaming business and maintains majority interest in First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corp. (First Cagayan), announced that its consolidated net income tumbled by 5.7 percent to PHP272.1 million (US$5.46 million) from PHP288.7 million (US$5.8 million) in the first three months of 2017.

Gross revenue of LRWC for the first three months of the year, on the other hand, was at PHP2.82 billion (US$ 56.7 million) while its gross expense swelled to PHP2.45 billion (US$49.21 million) in the January – March 2017 period compared to PHP2.38 billion (US$47.81 million) of the same period last year.

In a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, the holding firm recognizes that Duterte’s hard line stance against online gambling had affected their business.

One Championship partners with GoDaddy

COMMENCES AT ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES IN SINGAPORE THIS MAY

18 May 2017 – Singapore: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has announced a partnership with GoDaddy, the world’s largest cloud platform dedicated to small, independent ventures. Both companies will work closely together to bring mixed martial arts in Asia to greater heights. GoDaddy branding is set to be featured at ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES which will take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 26 May. The main event of the card will feature ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee as she defends her title against Brazil’s Istela Nunes. In the co-main event, ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben “Funky” Askren takes on rising young star Agilan “Alligator” Thani of Malaysia.

Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “I’m thrilled to be working with GoDaddy as our partnership signifies another monumental moment for the sport of mixed martial arts and for ONE Championship. GoDaddy has a great history of working with other sporting organizations and it is a privilege for ONE Championship to announce this collaboration. Singapore is set to witness the biggest mixed martial arts event in history on 26 May, and we are delighted to have GoDaddy on board with us in delivering world-class MMA action to fans all over the globe.”

Roger Chen, Vice President of Asia, GoDaddy, stated: “GoDaddy is committed to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs get online and grow their ventures. We have a successful track record of partnerships with global sporting bodies and we’re delighted to partner with one of Asia’s largest sports media properties, ONE Championship. ONE Championship provides a great opportunity for GoDaddy to build relationships with people across Asia and bring attention to the importance of having a strong online presence.”

Becky’s Affiliated: Further growth and developments in Live Dealer offerings

With G2E Asia taking place this week in Macau, I can’t help but think about innovation in Live Dealer offerings as Asian gamblers notoriously love and prefer Live Dealer over RNG games.  What is most fascinating about this sector are the vast technological developments we’ve witnessed since Live Dealer products appeared on the scene almost a decade ago.  As the technology improved and choice of games expanded, the appetite for Live Dealer grew far beyond Asia and the demand is now global.

David of LiveDealer.org is an affiliate who has been focused on the Live Dealer scene for the past eight years, qualifying him as an expert on the subject as far as I’m concerned.  David and I last spoke three years ago almost to the day and we decide to catch up again and examine how Live Dealer offerings have grown and developed since our first conversation in 2014.

Becky Liggero: Thank you for taking time to share your expertise with me once again, David.  When we first spoke three years ago, you had some reservations on the potential for mobile growth of live dealer offerings.  Can you summarize what we’ve actually seen in terms of growth in this area and why mobile has become so popular for live dealer?

David: Re-reading my thoughts from 3 years ago I can see how you picked up on those reservations.

Genting delays Resorts World Las Vegas project by another year

Stop us if you’ve heard this one, but Malaysian casino operator Genting’s $4b in-development resort on the Las Vegas Strip has been pushed back another year.

On Wednesday, the Getting Group announced that gaming industry veteran Edward Farrell (Harrah’s, Foxwoods, MGM) had been named president of Resorts World Las Vegas, Genting’s first effort to establish a casino presence in America’s top gambling hub.

The company also announced that it was pushing back RWLV’s scheduled opening by one year to 2020. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it was only last May that the company announced it was delaying RWLV’s opening by one year to 2019.

Early-stage construction is already underway on the project, but all the talk over the past couple years about younger demographics’ shifting preferences for how they spend their Vegas time apparently spooked Genting into rethinking its original design plans.

CASEXE’s CEO will deliver a speech at RGW 2017

The CASEXE company has reported that the CEO, Ivan Kondilenko, will participate in the conference to be held within the international exhibition RGW 2017 on June 7-8 in Moscow. The speaker will talk on ‘The format of White Label operation in online gambling. Benefits and risks for operators.’

As the part of his presentation, the expert will touch upon the following issues:

– What is the idea of White Label format in online gambling business;

– The positive and negative aspects of using this solution within cooperation between operators and software providers;

Pokerstars launches first ever sunday million live with €1 million guarantee

King’s Casino to host one of Europe’s biggest grassroots poker tournaments

ONCHAN, Isle of Man – May 2017 – The world’s biggest weekly poker tournament, the PokerStars Sunday Million, is making the transition from the virtual felt to the live arena for a special edition €1 million guaranteed Sunday Million Live, PokerStars, an Amaya Inc. (Nasdaq: AYA; TSX: AYA) brand, announced today.

This special event will be held from August 24 to September 3 at one of Europe’s most popular card rooms, King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, which recently hosted the second ever PokerStars Festival in March.

PokerStars has introduced a structure which allows players to choose to play Day 1 online or live at King’s Casino. Online Day 1s begin on Sunday June 18, 2017 with a buy-in of €215. Players will be able to play multiple online Day 1s. Everyone who survives a Day 1 will advance to the live Day 2, where they will battle for one of poker’s most prestigious titles and a place in poker history live at King’s Casino on September 3. Live Day 1s start from August 24 at King’s Casino with a buy-in of €220.

97.4% of attendees recommend Betting on Football

Betting on Football 2017 has been hailed as a great success with 97.4% of visitors to the conference saying they would recommend it to a colleague, according to a survey carried out by organisers SBC Events.

Delegates, sponsors, speakers and exhibitors from the 3-5 May event also rated the networking opportunities at Stamford Bridge as 70% ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ while pinpointing this as the most important reason for attending the event.

Feedback is already being used to improve future events, starting with Betting on Sports (13-15 September), which 85% of survey respondents have expressed an interest in attending.

For example, an improved version of the official event app will be available for the conference in Olympia, Kensington, after 70% said that it had proved useful at #bofcon2017.

Amsterdam Affiliate Conference to sponsor LondonSEO networking drinks after SMX London

May 2017 –  The Amsterdam Affiliate Conference is pleased to announce that it is sponsoring the LondonSEO networking drinks on Tuesday, 23rd May, following day one of SMX London.

“We are really proud to be sponsoring the LondonSEO networking drinks taking place next week,” said Shona ODonnell, Event Director at iGaming Business.

“We have met some amazing people through attending this event and they have become some of the igaming industry’s biggest speakers and affiliates. We are excited to extend our reach into this community and would love to take this opportunity to invite delegates to join us at the Amsterdam Affiliate Conference this summer.

“The Amsterdam Affiliate Conference offers incredible business networking and learning opportunities unlike any other event outside the iGaming Business portfolio.”

Paysafe’s Income Access launches new affiliate programme with GAIN Capital

Online financial trading service provider’s new multi-brand GAIN Affiliates programme to be powered by Income Access platform

Montreal, QC. – May 2017 – Income Access, Paysafe Group’s affiliate software provider, has partnered with GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc. (“GAIN”) (NYSE: GCAP), the Bedminster, New Jersey-based global provider of online trading services, for the launch of the new multi-brand GAIN Affiliates programme. Income Access’ affiliate management platform will power the programme covering GAIN Capital’s City Index and Finspreads UK ahead of the integration of other brands.

GAIN Capital’s flagship brands include: City Index, offering traders contract for difference (CFD), spread-betting and forex trading on 12,000+ international markets; Finspreads UK, providing spread-betting on thousands of global markets including forex indices, shares and commodities; and FOREX.com, a global market leader in forex trading.

Following the launch of the new GAIN Affiliates programme, affiliates will be able to promote the City Index and Finspreads UK brands. FOREX.com will join the programme later in 2017, ensuring that the affiliates can benefit from promoting three industry leading brands at once.

Tiger Jam hosts epic post-party celebration at Topgolf Las Vegas

Attendees will enjoy gourmet light bites, luxury hitting bays and beats by DJ Suga Ray

TWEET IT: #TigerJam reveals epic post-party celebration @Topgolf Las Vegas 5/20! Be There www.tgrlive.com

LAS VEGAS – In an exciting addition for 2017, TGR Live will wrap up the 19th annual Tiger Jam with an epic post-party at Topgolf Las Vegas on Saturday, May 20. Following a private concert with country star Darius Rucker at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Tiger Jam attendees are invited to an exclusive, one-of-a-kind experience at Topgolf Las Vegas where they will have the opportunity to play the Topgolf game, nosh on gourmet bites, dance to the beats of DJ Suga Ray and mingle with celebrity guests.

Topgolf Las Vegas will be the perfect setting for the post-party as its interactive golf games, numerous bars and pools bring people together for a night of revelry. Tiger Jam guests can participate in golf games via hitting bays, which feature lounge-style seating and HDTVs. Delectable late-night light bites such as alcohol-infused injectable donut holes and signature cocktails from loft & bear artisanal vodka will be served throughout the night.

US federal court rules fantasy horseracing entry fees are wagers

A US federal court has ruled that entry fees for horseracing fantasy contests are the equivalent of real-money wagers under the Interstate Horseracing Act (IHA) of 1978.

In December 2015, racetrack operator Stronach Group filed a federal lawsuit in the US District Court for the Central District of California against Horse Racing Labs, the parent of horseracing fantasy operator DerbyWars. Stronach accused DerbyWars of violating the IHA by offering wagers without a betting license and failing to provide Stronach tracks with a cut of its revenue.

In a ruling issued Monday, Judge S. James Otero determined that DerbyWars “is operating an off-track betting system” as defined under the IHA, as the site’s fantasy tournaments involve races in states other than DerbyWars’ Kentucky home. Accordingly, Otero ruled that the IHA can serve as a predicate for Stronach’s claim for compensation under the California Business & Professions Code.

Like a host of other daily fantasy sports operators, DerbyWars had argued that its business model was permissible under the fantasy carveout in the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

G2E Asia 2017 day 2 recap

CalvinAyre.com returned to G2E Asia 2017 in Macau to cover the day two of the conference and here are the highlights.

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