The Gauselmann Group’s Austrian sports betting subsidiary Cashpoint has acquired the Danish sports betting operations of German operator Tipico.

The deal will see Cashpoint build on its Danish presence by adding three sports betting shops in the Copenhagen region and a fourth in Odense on the island of Fünen. The addition boosts Cashpoint’s retail presence in Denmark to five proprietary shops and one franchise shop, in addition to the company’s Danish-licensed online gambling business.

Niko Steinkraub, managing director of Gauselmann’s sports betting division Merkur Sportwetten, said the Tipico deal was “an important element of our expansion strategy in Denmark.” This strategy involves Cashpoint operating both its own retail outlets as well as franchised shops and kiosks.

Steinkraub said the integration of the Tipico shops into the Cashpoint business structure took no more than a few days, and all 22 Tipico staffers who manned the shops have been retained. Tipico is controlled by private equity group CVC Capital Partners, which also holds significant stakes in UK operator Sky Betting & Gaming and Italy’s Sisal Group.

UK-listed gambling operator Ladbrokes Coral credited strong digital growth for overcoming its weak retail operations in the first half of 2017.

Thursday saw Lads Coral issue its interim results for the six months ending June 30, which were largely in line with the earnings preview it issued last month. Year-on-year comparisons are complicated by the fact that Ladbrokes and Gala Coral Group were standalone entities before last year’s merger, but pro-forma revenue inched up 1% to just under £1.2b, while earnings were flat at £211m.

Digital revenue hit £374.5m, up 17% from the same period last year. Sports betting stakes rose 23% (34% if you factor out last year’s Euro 2016 impact), while revenue gained 25% to £180.7m. Digital gaming revenue rose 11% to £193.8m, driven by a 15% rise in sportsbook-led brands on increased cross-sell.

Lads Coral credited multi-channel as a key component of digital growth, accounting for 53% of Coral.co.uk net revenue and 36% of Ladbrokes.com revenue. Over one-third of active customers at Eurobet.it were initially acquired via the Italian brand’s retail outlets.

American investor Alan Patricof has made his first bet on bitcoin.

Patricof is the founder and managing director of venture capital firm Greycroft Partners, which announced on Wednesday a $2 million investment into Kenya-based blockchain payments platform BitPesa.

BitPesa said Greycroft is the lead investor in the follow-up to its Series A funding round. The start-up said with a majority of its existing shareholders topping up and the addition of a new investor, Plug and Play, BitPesa has raised $10 million to date.

Greycroft’s investment may be modest in size, but the involvement of Patricof, who is considered to be one of the early pioneers of the venture capital and private equity industries, can be considered significant. Greycroft already has investments in fintech companies like Venmo, Acorns and Braintree, as well as in fantasy esports start-up AlphaDraft, but this is the first time that Patricof and his firm has ventured into the cryptocurrency space.

Macau casino investor Success Universe Group Ltd. was in a losing streak during the first half of the year, with revenues declining while losses ballooning.

In a disclosure to the HongKong Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Success Universe reported a 67 percent net loss during the January to June 30 period. The company said its net loss sagged to HKD21.1 million (US$2.7 million) in the first six months versus last year’s HK$12.6 million (US$ 1.62 million).

The only silver lining for Success Universe is the fact that the net loss for the first half of the year is lower than the 563 percent net loss they posted during the January to June 2016 period.

Success Universe attributed the firm’s lackluster business performance to the decrease of the Group’s shared profit of the associates relating to Ponte 16. Data provided by Success Dragon showed that its share profit plunged 32 percent to HKD7.2 million (US$920,098) in the first half of 2017.

The UK Gambling Commission has slapped online bookmaker 888 Holdings Plc. with a record £7.8 million (US$10.01 million) for failing to stop problem gamblers using its services.

In an announcement posted on its website on Thursday, the British gambling watchdog has found 888 liable for allowing over 7,000 customers who have chosen to self-exclude from their casino, poker or sports betting platform to be able to access the firm’s bingo platform via technical failure.

Sarah Harrison, chief executive at the Gambling Commission, pointed out that the hefty fine is a reflection of “the seriousness of 888’s failings to protect vulnerable customers.”

“The 888 sanction package will ensure those affected don’t lose out, that the operator pays the price for its failings via a sum that will go to tackling gambling-related harm, and that independent assurance will be given to see that lessons are learnt,” Harrison said in a statement.

Yesterday, August 30th 2017, marked my eight year anniversary with Calvinayre.com, the most exciting ride I’ve been on (and still going strong!) in my 38 years of life.  I was reminded of the date by LinkedIn and the outpouring of messages from my contacts, kindly wishing me congratulations for the accomplishment and good luck ahead.

As I reflect upon my eight years with CalvinAyre.com, I’m so thankful for the universe’s delivery of what truly is my dream job.  As you know, thanks to CalvinAyre.com, I have traveled the world, interviewed countless senior level professionals, famous athletes and celebrities, obtained British citizenship, made new friends across the globe and for all of this I’m beyond grateful.

While I could write an entire novel about my experiences while working for CalvinAyre.com, today I’d like to highlight something special for each year I’ve been with the company, likely some events and mentions you remember or have experienced yourself.  I hope you enjoy a quick trip down memory lane with me and here’s to many more years to come!

2010: Ante-up for Africa 2010

Net profit of HongKong-listed casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. (GEG) rose by 81 percent in the first half of the year as lady luck continues to smile upon its over-all gaming operations.

GEG announced before the HongKong bourse on Thursday that the firm posted HKD4.63 billion (US$591.7 million) profit, compared to nearly HKD2.56 billion (US$327.13 million) in the prior-year period.

Its revenue likewise grew 12 percent to HKD28.5 billion (US$3.64 billion) year-on-year while its adjusted EBITDA was up 37 percent to (U$830.6 million).

“During 1H 2017, GEG experienced good luck in its gaming operations which increased Adjusted EBITDA by approximately $20 million,” the casino operator said in its financial report.

A mini round up of the action from the World Series of Poker Circuit events in Foxwoods, and Hollands Casino, Rotterdam.

It was a case of third time lucky for Jeremy Meacham as the 30-year-old professional poker player won the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Main Event in Foxwoods, Mashantucket, Connecticut on Tuesday night.

486 players created a prize pool of $729,000, and the $156,735 banked by Meacham was the largest of his career, and he was amongst the leaders from the very off.

Meacham was the chip leader at the end of Day 1A and also began Day 3 in the same position. The only time he lost grasp of the top spot was at the end of Day 2 when he finished second to Galen Hall, and there is no shame in that.

PokerStars continues their Robin Hood approach of robbing the rich to give to the poor by amending the rules governing online satellite qualification to live events.

I’ve only qualified for one live event via an online satellite. It was a $1,075 No-Limit Hold’em side event at the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) in London.

This was before I developed the chimerism of being a poker writer and poker player. Back then, I was a starstruck fan fortunate to end up on the same table as Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Davidi Kitai, and Liv Boeree.

The excitement of flicking cards into the muck with the best in the business, coupled with the possibility of bagging a life changing score, made me want to play in more. So I moved from Betfair to PokerStars and began trying to qualify for the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event.

Poker Central and PokerGO continue to provide punters with a steady stream of original content with the creation of a reality TV show called Major Wager, featuring the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiari, and Samantha Abernathy.

My lad is fascinated by a YouTube channel where people bathe in glue, staple their foreskins to the inside of their thighs, and all manner of bizarre self-mutilative practices. Impaling a scrotum on a chopstick is not my idea of fun, but what do I know? When I was his age, we only had three TV channels.

Of course, it makes sense, the dare and double dare has been a part of the draconian drill of childhood for generations. If you refuse to be involved, you are a sinner, and you will burn in hell.

So, when I entered the beehive of the poker world, I wasn’t surprised to see a few of these damaging stings in amongst all the honey. Professional poker players play a game of cards for a living, how close to your childhood do you want to get.

A new kid is walking towards our block. Her name is Cash Poker Pro, and she is promising to change the world of poker, by removing the problem of money as we know it.

The world of poker is changing.

Not my words, but the words of a very confident group of young men and women working for Cash Poker Pro, a subsidiary of Tavaron Media.

Cash Poker Pro is more commonly known for the work it does in the brick and mortar casino industry where it supplies casinos with electronic poker tables featuring Hold’em, Omaha, Draw, Stud, and Mixed Games, but it’s about to make a splash in the world of online poker.