Monthly Archives: May 2017

Betclic Everest gives up on Belgium after one year

French online gambling operator Betclic Everest Group has shut its operations in Belgium just one year after joining the country’s regulated online market.

In May 2016, Betclic Everest launched its Belgian-licensed Betclic.be sports betting and casino site. The site was a partnership with the Ardent Group (the former Circus Group), in keeping with local regulations requiring online gambling sites to team with a land-based gaming operator.

Fast forward to last week, when Belgian media quoted Ardent CEO Emmanuel Mewissen saying that Betclic had decided to “reposition itself on the French market.” Mewissen suggested that Betclic’s late arrival in Belgium put the company at a disadvantage compared to other operators who’d launched Belgian-licensed operations years earlier.

Betclic had indeed taken the long road to winning its Belgian license. The company spent years on the Belgian Gaming Commission’s blacklist of unauthorized online gambling domains, yet continued to serve Belgian punters until the BGC seized €600k of company funds and slapped €200 fines on 79 local punters who’d been caught gambling with the unapproved site.

The WPT moves into India; Thijs Menco wins WPT DeepStacks Amsterdam

The World Poker Tour deepens their partnership with India’s largest online poker room Adda52.com to create WPTDeepStacks India and the WPT India Player of the Year, and a 40-year old father of three wins WPTDeepStacks Amsterdam.

The World Poker Tour (WPT) continues to strengthen its position in the Asia-Pacific region by extending their partnership with Gaussian Networks Pvt Ltd’s online poker room Adda52.com.

The pair has come together to organise a $1,000 buy-in WPTDeepstacks India Main Event taking place November 7-13 on the floating Deltin Royale Casino in Goa, India.

In addition to the WPTDeepStacks event, the partnership also extends to the Deltin Poker Tour Player of the Year which will change its name to the WPT India Player of the Year.

Dan O’Callaghan on why PKR will always have a place in his heart

Lee Davy sits down with former PKR pro-Dan O’Callaghan to seek his opinion on why PKR ended up applying for an administration order and what he believes will happen to the player funds.

I never did quite get PKR.

If it was my first site, things might have been different. But the migration from PokerStars and Full Tilt was painful. I felt like I was ten again begging my parents not to move from England to Wales.

The site functionality bugged me. I couldn’t multi-table, and the pace was snail-like compared to my previous homes.

New York inches ever closer to regulated online poker

New York’s latest online poker bill breezed through a state Senate committee vote on Tuesday but an uncertain future awaits in the state Assembly.

On Tuesday, the New York Senate Finance Committee voted to send the S-3898 online poker bill introduced earlier this year by Sen. John Bonacic to the Senate floor for debate and a possible vote. Five Committee members voted against the bill, but since no debate preceded the vote, the reason behind their opposition can only be guessed at.

The Committee’s vote was largely expected, as the full Senate approved Bonacic’s 2016 online poker effort by a wide margin. But the Assembly proved a far tougher nut to crack, and Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow declined to even bring the bill up for discussion last year.

In February, Pretlow suggested that a sufficient shift in opinion had taken place since last summer and thus the Assembly was more likely to welcome a poker vote in 2017. However, a Tuesday afternoon Tweet-storm from New York journalist Andrew Whitman (@WhitmanAndrew) suggested resistance against online poker might be stiffening in the Assembly.

Philippines’ new online license for “regulated wagering events”

The Philippines has announced a new class of online gambling license for operators offering betting markets on sports regulated by foreign governing bodies.

In an announcement dated May 3 and posted to its website on Monday (8), the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) announced plans to issue a new ‘offshore’ gaming license for “Sportsbetting on Regulated Wagering Events.”

This “special class” of license applies to online operators that take wagers on “regulated gaming events, such as but not limited to, horse or dog races” and provides customers with “live event audio and/or visual feeds of such regulated gaming events, and such events are regulated by a foreign governing body.”

This new license is available only to operators that pay tax or fees for rights to live audio/video feeds “and/or betting pool access” by the sporting events’ governing bodies or contents rights holders. Applicants must have “express written permission” of the governing body or rights holder of the sporting events in question.

SportPesa launch in Tanzania, move European HQ to Liverpool

Kenya-based betting operator SportPesa has launched operations in neighboring Tanzania just as the Kenyan government prepares to impose crippling new taxes on SportPesa’s domestic operations.

On Tuesday, SportPesa announced that it had received a license to commence gaming operations from the Gaming Board of Tanzania (GBT). James Mbawe, who was appointed interim director of the GBT in January, called SportPesa’s launch a “great success for Tanzania because it will increase our visibility.”

Tanzania has a small but growing gaming industry encompassing everything from sports betting (land-based and online) to casinos to a national lottery, which is run by South Africa’s Gidani International.

Gaming operations are said to pump around TZS 1.5t (US $671m) into the local economy each year, constituting about 2-3% of Tanzania’s gross domestic product. Sports betting is the industry’s fastest growing gaming vertical, earning the government nearly TZS 22b in tax revenue in the 2015-16 fiscal year, TZ 6b more than the government earned from the entire gaming industry just five years ago.

Bitcoin users in Japan may soon reap virtual interest

Coincheck is gearing up to launch Japan’s first interest-paying fixed deposit accounts for bitcoin holders, local media reported.

The Tokyo-based digital currency exchange, according to Nikkei Asian Review, will offer four plans: bitcoin users may opt to deposit their cryptocurrency for 14 days at a 1 percent annual interest, 30 days for 2 percent, 90 days for 3 percent, or for a full year for 5 percent.

Coincheck’s deposit service is exempt form banking regulations and the recently updated fund settlement law since bitcoin is still not recognized as a currency, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) told the Japanese news outlet. The agency, however, noted that “such services could face regulation in the future” if “the number of users rise suddenly or the currency gain widespread traction as a method of payment.”

FSA won’t have to wait too long. Major retailers in Japan have started accepting bitcoin payments in the country as the digital currency’s legal position in the country becomes clear.

William Hill hails “promising start” to 2017 after challenging 2016

UK-listed bookmakers William Hill hailed a “positive start” to the year despite a flat performance at its mainstay UK retail operations.

Hills released a trading update on Tuesday covering the first 17 weeks of 2017, during which group revenue rose 9% from the same period last year. Most of the group’s divisions reported strong double-digit revenue gains while the core retail business managed only a 1% year-on-year rise.

Total online revenue was up 16%, with gaming revenue up 8% and sportsbook revenue surging 26%. Sportsbook handle improved 9% and margins rose 1.2 points to 7.5%, primarily due to punters backing the wrong horses.

The sportsbook benefited from a new Android app and a 24% rise in new customer signups during the Cheltenham and Aintree racing meets. The Vegas gaming product got a new front-end in March and single-wallet functionality in February, and Hills has hired 75 additional developers to accelerate the pace of product development.

Japan Gaming Congress to shed light on opportunities for nascent casino industry

Despite constantly being in the headlines, very little is known about what Japan has in mind for its nascent casino industry.

The country is in the middle of drafting its second Integrated Resorts (IR) bill, which will focus on how to drive foreign tourism to the country. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a staunch supporter of the government’s casino legalization efforts, expects the recently-formed IR regulatory task force to introduce “the world’s highest standards of casino regulations.”

Japan is expected to be the second biggest market in Asia and the third biggest in the world, trailing behind Las Vegas and Macau. And competition among casino operators is heating up as early as now, with Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson announcing he is ready to spend as much as USD10 billion to build a casino resort in Japan, while Lawrence Ho said Melco Crown Entertainment is prepared to “spend whatever it takes to win.” MGM Resorts, among the first companies to signal interest in a Japan IR license, is willing to invest up to USD9.5 billion to open a casino resort by 2022 or 2023.

There’s still much that needs to be discussed about Japan’s nascent casino industry. At the upcoming Japan Gaming Congress at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo (May 10-11), industry executives and policymakers will meet to discuss the regulatory and business outlook for the industry.

Gambling machine company owner pleads guilty to $240M illegal gambling lawsuit

The owner of gambling terminal machine operator Sudama Resorts LLC has pleaded guilty to the $240 million illegal enterprise.

The Telegraph reported that Sandip Patel has admitted committing three counts of commercial gambling on Monday. Patel’s plea came after his company agreed to forfeit $1.6 million in a racketeering and illegal gambling lawsuit.

Patel was meted with a one-year house arrest followed by a four-year probation as part of his plea bargaining deal. In return, Patel agreed to help authorities bust other illegal gambling in the state of Georgia and testify before the court if summoned as a state witness.

The state gave him immunity from being prosecuted for statements he makes while helping authorities, according to Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney David Cooke. He added that Patel’s medical condition has also saved the gambling operator from being thrown in the prison.

The new landscape for Betting on Football

BtoBet’s CEO, Kostandina Zafirovska was recently part of the Supplier CEO panel during the Betting on Football 2017 event in London at Stamford Bridge organized by SBC News.

“Why Football betting is so central” is one of the aspects discussed by BtoBet in its recent industry report.

The media exposure, glamour, money and accessibility involved in football has turned it into the most popular sport in the world. It stimulates the fans to want to get involved and this is particularly evident in the betting realm where technology and marketing have combined to provide unique wagering opportunities.

BtoBet’s vision on the current landscape of betting on football and on what the future holds for operators, suppliers and consumers is explained in the dedicated white paper airing topics such as:

Magnet Gaming reveals new Fish Tank slot

Denmark, May 9, 2017 – Innovative slots provider Magnet Gaming is causing a splash with the launch of its brand-new under-water themed title, Fish Tank.

Offering players the chance to dip their toes in to the warm tropical waters on the hunt for three bonus rounds, Fish Tank is sure to leave players angling for big rewards.

Bonus rounds Algae Attack, Bubble Buster and Feeding Frenzy gives players the chance to land each of two big progressive jackpots from small stakes.

In addition to great gameplay, Fish Tank offers crystal clear real time visual effects with the help of WebGL, giving users a better than ever HTML5 experience.

AstroPay to provide crucial LatAm insight at Juegos Miami

AstroPay, one of the leading gaming specialists appearing at the forthcoming Juegos Miami (May 31 – June, The Biltmore, Miami) has warned market entrants that comparing LatAm with Europe or North America, is the equivalent of comparing ‘apples with bananas’.

Brian Azar, Commercial Manager at the developer and supplier of pre-paid cards and local payment methods, explained: “Everything a European is used to completely changes when accessing the LatAm market. Operators are used to processing in most cases with instant payments, with the majority of users paying with either wallets or cards. When coming to LatAm, around 70% of the population do not have access to international credit cards, leaving them either with local credit cards or alternative payment methods to pay with. Our goal is to get operators comfortable with the alternative payments methods and give them an insight of how they work. Once an operator is comfortable and is willing to promote the payment methods on their cashier, the sky is the limit.”

Azar believes the opportunity to meet all of the players in the industry who are trying to access the LatAm markets is invaluable. He said: “Events such as Juegos Miami make it easy to meet clients and operators in the regions who want to expand their services. It’s a big bonus to meet them face-to-face, especially when dealing in emerging markets: it allows you to explain the difficulties and challenges an operator may have when tapping into the region. Without having the opportunity to meet face-to-face, many of the challenges tend to get lost in translation.”

Outlining the objectives of participating in what is widely regarded as being the premier event for what is one of gaming’s most dynamic markets, he added: “Being the leaders for cross-border payment processing in LatAm, our main goal is to greet all merchants who have decided to evaluate the opportunity of landing in LatAm. We walk them through the possibilities that each country has to offer whilst at the same time outlying the differentiators of each market and sharing our expert knowledge with them. We try to mentor and guide our partners so they can operate as efficiently as possible without any burns along the way.

Former Wynn exec Mark Strawn joins MGM Resorts

Casino operator MGM Resorts International has named Mark Strawn as its new senior vice president and chief administration officer for its Design and Development unit.

Strawn joins the Las Vegas-based casino company from rival Wynn Resorts, where he served as vice president of corporate finance and was responsible for creating and maintaining financial models, conducting market analysis and evaluating new development opportunities. Strawn also held positions as executive director of equity research for Morgan Stanley in New York and as vice president of finance for Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp.

For his new gig, Strawn will be based in Las Vegas and will report directly to Bill Ham, president of MGM Resorts Design and Development, the casino company said. He will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and financial oversight for the company’s capital improvement projects as well as the development of new MGM Resorts experiences worldwide.

“As MGM Resorts continues to grow, our company’s attention to process and discipline remains critical. Mark’s extensive financial expertise and deep knowledge of the hospitality and gaming industries make for a valuable addition to our talented executive team,” Ham said in a statement.