Monthly Archives: June 2017

What’s the changing scenario for sports betting in Africa? BtoBet’s chairman discusses its vision at WRB Africa in Nairobi

Kenya, different from other African countries, represents the place where mobile betting has seen the most expansion and it’s important to understand the dynamics of the move from Retail to Mobile in this area to know what will soon happen in other countries on the continent.

Alessandro Fried, founder and chairman of BtoBet has participated in WRB Africa in Nairobi on 7th June to share his point of view about the change that African Sports betting is living through today. Taking the mobile business process in Kenya as a case history is crucial to understand the direction that several other areas in the country will follow. In this regard, Fried highlighted:

“Kenya confirms an unprecedented number of mobile users, with 83% of mobile penetration and where Smartphone diffusion is the highest in the country – 60% of mobiles used in the country are smartphones. The large use of mobile payment transactions, for any kind of payment (not only for betting) have pushed the development of very advanced mobile payment methods.”

Download here the complete interview to Alessandro Fried at WRB Africa.

SIS CEO announcement

June 2017 – SIS (Sports Information Services) today announced that CEO Gary Smith has decided to leave the business to pursue other opportunities after almost five years in charge.

Chairman Roger Devlin commented: “The Board would like to thank Gary for his dedicated service and contribution to SIS. During his tenure SIS managed to secure both the RMG Horse Racing and Irish Horse Racing Rights. Gary will provide consultancy services for a short period to ensure a smooth transition during this change in leadership.

“Richard Ames has been appointed the new Chief Executive with immediate effect. Richard re-joined SIS as Interim Product Director in November 2016 and has extensive experience in the Betting and Gaming sector, having previously worked at Ladbrokes for eight years, and most recently was CEO at Hornby.

“I am pleased to have secured someone with Richard’s experience of the industry to take over the role.”

Lieutenant Governor visits flourishing eGaming company to learn about the lottery business

The Lieutenant Governor Sir Richard Gozney was given an insight into the fast-moving world of the Island’s eGaming industry last month when he toured Annexio’s Lord Street offices to find out more about the lottery betting services company’s operations on the Isle of Man.

Left to right: Sebastien Jeanneau, Paul Telford, Hazel Boswell, Hazel Ebbutt, Lieutenant Governor, Jayne Simpson and Tom Brodie

Guided on his visit by Annexio founder Tom Brodie, Sir Richard met staff from all areas of the business and learned more about how the company offers players a chance to bet on the outcome of some of the world’s largest lotteries, with the potential to win huge cash prizes equivalent to the lottery jackpots.

Using an insurance-backed business model, Annexio operates online under a number of brands to recruit players directly and also provides white-labelling services to other providers. Sir Richard learned that the US Powerball and Euromillions lotteries create the biggest surge in interest with peak betting time occurring on Friday evenings and the hours before each draw.

Bitcoin price recovers after sharp $300 drop

After topping $3,000 for the first time, the price of bitcoin has abruptly dropped more than $300.

The digital currency climbed to a new all-time high of $3,012.05 on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) on Sunday, but fell to a daily low of $2,650 several hours later. On Bitcoin.com, the cryptocurrency also dropped from a high of $2,975.06 to $2,676.93, while on Bitstamp, the digital currency slid to $2,480.03 from a high of $2,980.

The decline, however, was short-lived as BPI data showed the prices returning to under $2,900. And even with Monday’s decline, bitcoin continues to be more than 250 percent higher in valuation this year. The cryptocurrency first powered through the $2,000 barrier in May, and since then, bitcoin’s steady advance to record territory continues.

BTC VIX, organizer of bitcoin trading forum Whale Club, told CoinDesk, the price fluctuation could indicate “standard technical divergences—we made a higher high on less volume and waning momentum.”

Star quality: Pragmatic Play wins prestigious B2B award

Pragmatic Play, one of the fastest growing providers of mobile and desktop digital casino games, has won the Software Rising Star category at this year’s EGR B2B Awards.

After accepting the award at the gala ceremony in London, Yossi Barzely, Head of Business Development at Pragmatic Play, said: “It’s a real honour for us to win this prestigious accolade, our focus is to deliver state-of-the-art products, with first class service, which can only be achieved by having a great team of people.

Being chosen as the Software Rising Star winners, and to be shortlisted in the Innovation in RNG Casino Software and RNG Casino Supplier categories, is indicative of our commitment to our clients and our progressive roadmap for the company’s future.”

The EGR B2B Awards gala presentation evening was held on June 6th at The Hurlingham Club, London.

PokerStars join Discord; Eric Hollreiser features in AMA

PokerStars has moved the conversation to Discord, a free to use voice and text chat service for gamers, and Eric Hollreiser stars as the first of many employees to host an Ask Me Anything session.

Lately, I have been thinking about marketing more than I think about sex, and I have come to a pretty solid conclusion – you have to change how people feel before we hope to influence their actions.

Of course, this makes sense.

Our feelings and thought lubricate action, so that’s where we should begin.

Unibet react well to fault; Jorstad 24hr Twitch stream & Pomroy promoted

Unibet reacted well after a technical fault prevented players from adding on during a €50k GTD competition designed to celebrate half a billion hands; Espen Uhlen Jorstad completes a 24-hr Twitch marathon; David Pomroy gets a bump.

In 2014, Unibet decided to leave the Microgaming Poker Network (MPN). There were no spasms of anxiety, only confidence – in the team, the product, and a thorough understanding of their customer.

Three years later and their parent company The Kindred Group picked up the award for Innovation in Poker at the EGR Operator Marketing and Innovation Awards, not bad when you consider the vast monolithic facades they are in competition against.

But that wasn’t the only thing going on in Unibet Towers this week. The online poker room celebrated dealing half a billion hands by hosting a €50,000 GTD online tournament, the highest in their history.

Tyler Smith Wins Historic PLO, Mercier Busts Twice Defending Lowball Title, and Who Wants to Be More Than a Millionaire at WSOP?

Only one bracelet was handed out on Sunday, Day 12 of the 2017 WSOP. It came in the biggest non-hold’em tournament field in history. Meanwhile, Jason Mercier’s remaining hopes for defending […]

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Alex Lim: Asia casinos eyeing to host eSports events face policy issues

In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Stephanie Raquel, International eSports Federation Secretary General Alex Lim discusses the future of eSports betting in Asia.

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WSOP Review: impressive turnout for $565 PLO as Tyler Smith takes gold

A cash game specialist from Mississippi has taken down the first Pot-Limit Omaha event of the summer, and it was a whopper. And the MILLIONAIRE MAKER also draws a large crowd.

credits: WSOP

There were times during the $565 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha event where Tyler Smith felt like he was in a war.

“It was a minefield,” said Smith.“Unwinnable.”