Monthly Archives: June 2017

Betcartpartners to sponsor SBC Betting Forum networking drinks

23rd June, 2017 (London) – The first edition of the SBC Betting Forum will take place on 12th July at this year’s iGaming Super Show, with Betcartpartners confirmed as sponsors of the event’s networking drinks.

The event, co-organised with SBC Events, will feature talks on the latest industry trends and will also act as a networking opportunity for delegates at the Amsterdam show.

The day will culminate in a sports betting networking drinks event held at The Corner Amsterdam from 19:00 to 21:00. This will be a fantastic opportunity for delegates to kick off the evening’s festivities with fellow industry professionals.

Betcartpartners, a market-leading affiliate partner for the betting industry, will be the headline sponsor of the networking drinks and expect it to be one of the cant-miss events of this year’s iGaming Super Show.

PokerStars in marketing shift to prevent house of cards crashing down

PokerStars has announced the appointment of David Carrion to Director of Marketing and Interim Director of Live Events as Edgar Stuchly and Vadim Soloveychik leave the company.

After watching Frank & Claire Underwood remain in fictional office last night, I switched my sleepy eyes to Seth Godin.

Picture credit: Neil Stoddart & Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd

Netflix.

New Hampshire congress OKs Keno tax bill

A proposal to impose taxes on newly authorized Keno games in New Hampshire gets a greenlight from both chambers of Congress during a bipartisan vote on Thursday.

New Hampshire Union Leader reported that the bill, which aims to fund full-day kindergarten through tax revenues from Keno games, is now awaiting the signature of Gov. Chris Sununu. Sununu has made expanded kindergarten a signature policy issue.

Many thought that the Republican-backed bill will face an uphill climb in the congress, but in the end majority of the House Representatives threw their support to the proposed bill, voting 251 – 111. The Senate also backed the bill as it voted 15 to 8 in favor of the tax law.

The way the legislators voted for and against the bill is quite interesting. Usually Democrats are more likely to vote in favor of gambling related bills while the more conservative Republicans tend to go against it.

Macau visitors grew 3.7% in May

Tourists flocking to Macau grew 3.7 percent in May, with visitors from mainland China leading the pack to the former Portuguese enclave.

Data provided by Macau’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) showed that the number of Macau was at 2,570,428 in May 2017, higher the figures posted during the same period last year. But in terms of month-to-month comparison, the number of tourist fell 6.3 percent last month compared to the numbers set in April this year.

Overnight visitors (1,376,336) went up by 14.2% year-on-year while same-day visitors (1,194,092) decreased by 6.1%. The average length of stay of visitors rose by 0.1 day year-on-year to 1.3 days; overnight visitors and same-day visitors stayed an average of 2.2 days and 0.2 day respectively, the same as in May last year.

Once again, mainland Chinese visitors boosted the Macau’s tourist statistics, rising 4.4 percent 4.4% year-on-year to 1,702,578 in May. The number of mainland Chinese visitors travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme went up by 9.9 percent year-on-year to 789,488, said the statistics bureau.

KAX Media rebrands as Gambling.com group

KAX Media has re-branded as Gambling.com Group as of May 18th, 2017. The new name enables the Group to take better advantage of its unique asset, the domain name Gambling.com, and communicate its business focus more directly.

The new name only applies to the Group’s holding company. The Group will continue to use the KAX Media brand as the name of the Group’s internal digital agencies located in Dublin, Ireland and in Tampa, United States. The Group is a leader in digital performance marketing. Through a network of over 30 casino focused information portals across 14 national markets in 8 languages, the Group delivers a deep source of players for operators in the online gambling industry.

Gambling.com became the Group’s largest website in 2012 and remains the company’s leading publishing asset, having grown substantially year on year for each of the last three years. The Group acquired the domain name for USD 2.5 million in April of 2011. Gambling.com has since featured in two national TV campaigns across the United Kingdom, transforming it from just a unique domain name into a well-known brand. By utilizing the domain in the company’s name and corporate branding, the company’s shareholders will further benefit from the power of this unique asset.

In conjunction with the re-brand, the group has launched a new corporate website located at www.gambling.com/corporate.

Health Bureau probes Galaxy Macau over possible smoking ban violation

The government of Macau is now looking into reports that Galaxy Macau casino resort have violated the special administrative region’s smoking ban.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Macau’s Health Bureau has confirmed that that they are verifying claims of the alleged absence of “no-smoking signs in a no-smoking zone” in the gaming area of Galaxy Macau.

A room called “Horizon VIP Room” is the main subject of their investigation after receiving numerous complaints that such portion in Galaxy Macau is swarmed by smoking casino patrons despite being considered as a no-smoking zone.

Horizon VIP room used to be junket-run, meaning players brought by junkets under the local industry’s rolling chip programs play in this section. In 2015, Galaxy Macau operated by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd., said it has turned Horizon VIP Room into a facility for premium mass table games cash play from a junket-run VIP room.

Booming Games – The King Panda

Since day one, Booming Games has brought a diversity of celebrated titles to the slots market. Games such as Booming Seven Deluxe, Cold Cash and Wild Jester have been released to considerable acclaim. Not content to rest on their laurels, Booming Games continues to push the boundaries when it comes to pioneering new themes and features.

This July sees them gearing up for the release of one of their most hotly anticipated title, The King Panda. Pushing the boundaries of gameplay, it introduces a fascinating way of playing slots.

On the surface, the layout of The Panda King may look like any other retro styled slot, with three reels and a single payline, but the playing experience is anything but typical. This is the first Booming Games’ title to display an interactive paytable above the reels. This is just one of the things that sets this slot apart from your standard run of the mill slot.

The paytable displays the matches and the multiplication for each of the bet levels, with some staggeringly high payouts achievable, the highest being 10,000 times your bet.

Astros lead charge as World Series favorites over Cubs and Yankees

Two of the biggest surprises in baseball so far this season have probably been the surprisingly good play of the New York Yankees and the mediocre performance of the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

However, no team has been more impressive through the first three months than the MLB-leading Houston Astros, who are +500 favorites to bring home their first World Series title.

The Astros are running away from their competition in the American League West, and it would be shocking if any of the other teams overtook them for the division lead in the second half. But the Yankees and Cubs both find themselves in extremely close races and could be battling to get into the postseason all the way into late September.

Unikrn and Betgenius Partner to Create Immersive Live Esports Betting Platform

by Tanner Simkins

Unikrn and Betgenius Partner to Create Immersive Live Esports Betting Platform
Unikrn and Betgenius sign tech partnership to drive customer engagement by leveraging esports data analytics, content, pre-match and live betting markets

(UNITED KINGDOM, London – 21 June, 2017) Betgenius, the global leader in providing sportsbook technology to regulated bookmakers and lotteries, today announced a landmark agreement with Unikrn, the world’s leading esports bookmaker.
Betgenius will provide Unikrn with a captivating in-play betting product, featuring fully automated prices for thousands of live events, including all major League of Legends, DotA 2, CS:GO, Call of Duty and Overwatch tournaments.

The partnership leverages Betgenius’ unique data services and technology to drive the global expansion of Unikrn’s betting community in a host of regulated territories and harness the combined power of both platforms’ partnerships.
The technology collaboration will enable the two companies to create best-in-class experiences across esports data analytics, content, as well as pre-match and live betting markets.

Unikrn and Betgenius have been strong advocates for competitive integrity in esports, and amid the recent controversies surrounding unregulated betting operators and illegal skin gambling sites, the need for safe and legal esports betting providers is more pressing than ever before. In bringing together the most regulated esportsbook in the world in Unikrn, alongside unique technology from Betgenius, the new live betting product will set the standard for regulated esports bookmakers globally.

Jack Davison, Betgenius MD said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Unikrn, the most renowned and innovative operator in esports, to facilitate its state-of-the-art live betting experiences and help grow the regulated market.”
Rahul Sood, CEO of Unikrn, said: “There is no doubt that legal, regulated wagering is a blossoming frontier in esports and we are proud to offer our customers with not only the most engaging product on the market but also the most secure. This could only be achieved by partnering with a leading supplier with the utmost integrity. Betgenius was the clear choice.”
By partnering with Betgenius, operators can partially or fully outsource their trading function across a huge array of markets, specific to individual in-game objectives.

Stay tuned for more information on the timing of Betgenius and Unikrn’s immersive betting launch.

Calling The Clock: Obst leads WSOP POY; 888Poker shot clock excitement

In this week’s poker news round-up James Obst leads the World Series of Poker Player of the Year race as we move into the second half of the festival, and 888Poker shake things up with the introduction of shot clocks in all 888Live events.

As we encroach into the second half of the 48th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), James Obst has emerged as the front-runner in the coveted WSOP Player of the Year (POY) race.

The highest ranked Australian in the Global Poker Index (GPI) had a great week winning the $10,000 Razz Championship for $265,138, and bubbling the final table of the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event.

Looking at the Top 10 it seems Obst’s primary challenge will come from Mike Leah, John Racener, and the only man to win the thing twice: Daniel Negreanu.

Canadian Gaming Summit 2017 recap and Calvin Ayre first appearance in years

Representing the growth of the gaming industry in Canada, the 21st Canadian Gaming Summit has taken off mighty and strong with its 2-day conference at the beautiful Vancouver Convention Center.

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Poker routines episode #3: Bryan Paris

In Episode #3 of Poker Routines, Lee Davy speaks to the online MTT Wizard, Bryan Paris, to break down the habits and routines of a husband, father, and professional poker player.

The first time I met Bryan Paris was a tad awkward, to say the least.

I was working at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) as a Live Reporter, and let my inferiority complex get the better of me when I misheard Bryan talking to someone at the table.

I acted like a dick.

Football sponsorships selling like hotcakes as new seasons loom

The English Football Association may not want any betting sponsorship money but the rest of the professional football world appears only too happy to pick up the slack.

We begin with English Premier League mainstays Manchester City, who have just come to terms with UK-licensed K8.com on a new official Asian Betting Partnership. The multi-year deal, which gets underway with the start of the 2017-18 EPL season, adds to the K8 Group’s EPL portfolio, which includes a shirt deal with West Bromwich Albion.

Sticking with the EPL, AFC Bournemouth have inked a two-year shirt deal with Asian-facing operator M88, whose parent company Mansion was Bournemouth’s previous shirt sponsor. Convenient, that. Bournemouth is coming off its best-ever season in the EPL, while M88 has now gone nearly two years without having its player agents busted by Vietnamese authorities. Synergy!

Downgrading to UK football’s second tier, mobile casino operator LeoVegas has inked a two-year shirt deal with Championship side Brentford FC. LeoVegas replaces 888 Holdings’ sportsbook brand 888 Sport as the Bees’ shirt sponsor for their final two seasons at their longtime but decrepit home field of Griffin Park before the team shifts to Brentford Community Stadium in 2019.

Japan, Philippines mulling limits on locals in casinos

Legislators in both Japan and the Philippines are separately considering new limits on local residents’ ability to patronize local casinos.

This week, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the panel of civil servants advising the Japanese government’s development of secondary casino legislation had proposed using the nation’s new national identity card system to monitor Japanese citizens’ individual visits to the nation’s as-yet unbuilt integrated resorts.

The report suggested that requiring Japanese citizens to present their My Number identification cards to enter casinos would allow the government to cap the number of times any local resident is allowed to enter a casino within a given time period. The report indicated that the government plans to impose both weekly and monthly caps on casino entry, although how high each of those numbers would be has yet to be decided.

The card system will also allow casino operators to prohibit access by underage gamblers as well as problem gamblers who either self-exclude or have been excluded at their family’s request. The government is keen to show the public that it’s doing all it can to mitigate the potential negative aspects of casino gambling as it fine-tunes its regulatory regime.

Kambi inks betting tech deal with Colombia’s Corredor Empresarial

Online sports betting technology provider Kambi Sports Solutions has become the latest European operator to strike a deal to enter the Colombian market.

On Thursday, Kambi announced it had signed a contract with Corredor Empresarial S.A., the umbrella organization of Colombia’s major ‘games of chance’ and lottery operators, to be the exclusive supplier of sports betting technology to Corredor Empresarial’s land-based and online channels.

Kambi’s technology will power Corredor Empresarial’s new sports betting brand, BetPlay, which the Colombian company will make available both online and via the 25k retail points of sale that make up the Chance Game operations scattered across the country’s 32 provinces.

Kambi CEO Kristian Nylén expressed delight at partnering with Colombia’s “market leader” and said the new pact “demonstrates our strength and capability in the region.” Nylén said Kambi hoped to build on the partnership and “expand our footprint in the Latin American market.”