Monthly Archives: January 2018

Pragmatic Play bolsters management team with Summerfield hire

Experienced igaming executive joins as CCO

Malta, 17 January 2018: Multi-award-winning slot developer Pragmatic Play has strengthened its executive team with the appointment of Melissa Summerfield as Chief Commercial Officer.

Summerfield joins from Microgaming, where she served as VP of Operations for Gibraltar, Spain and Latin America, holding responsibility for commercial strategy and operational growth.

Beginning her career in the gaming industry 15 years ago with BetVictor, she played a key role in establishing the operator’s casino offering.

Morgan Stanley outlook fuels Macau casino stocks rally

The bulls came charging at Macau casino stocks after international brokerage Morgan Stanley painted a rosy picture of the former Portuguese enclave’s gambling industry.

The Financial Times reported that Morgan Stanley’s 2018 outlook for Macau has stoked bullish sentiment among investors, pushing the shares of Macau casino companies up by more than 2 percent.

In its note on Tuesday, Morgan Stanley predicted that lower tier Chinese cities will provide the needed fuel for Macau’s casino market in the coming years as residents become more eager to travel.

Cities in China are classified based on their economic development, local gross domestic product, advanced transportation systems and infrastructure, as well as historical and cultural significance. Examples of ‘tier one’ cities are Beijing and Shanghai.

Casino Cosmopol selects Playtech as systems partner for complete casino management solution

IGS awarded contract following best-in-class approach to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and data protection regulations

London: January 17th, 2017 – Swedish casino operator Casino Cosmopol has selected Intelligent Gaming Systems (IGS), a Playtech company, as its System Partner to deliver a complete casino management suite including slots, tables, poker, visitor registration, cash desk and business intelligence capabilities.

Casino Cosmopol is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AB Svenska Spel that operates four international casinos in Sweden. Together the casinos employ more than 1,300 people and enjoyed more than one million visits in 2016. As with all Svenska Spel entities, the profits from Casino Cosmopol go directly to the government treasury and are distributed to a range of good causes.

Per Jaldung, CEO of Casino Cosmopol, said IGS was awarded the contract of System Partner following a competitive tender process. “As a public-sector organisation, Casino Cosmopol applies the Public Procurement Act and our major investments are subject to a competitive procurement process. We specified detailed requirements for a system to connect our gaming, business and compliance operations, with a focus on AML and GDPR.

ORYX onto a winner with Wunderino content deal

January 17th 2018 – ORYX Gaming has integrated and launched a wide selection of proprietary and third-party content onto Wunderino online casino. The deal includes some of the most popular games from GAMOMAT and Kalamba Games.

Free rounds, Re-pick bonuses, Missions, Achievements, Red Hot Firepot and Golden Nights side bet jackpot features promise plenty of action and big wins for Wunderino players. These will be accessible for players on mobile, tablet and desktop.

Tobias Carlsson, CEO of Wunderino said: “We’re thrilled to have ORYX added to our product portfolio and to introduce games from popular providers such as Gamomat but also exciting up and comers like Kalamba Gaming.”

Matevz Mazij, ORYX Gaming CEO said: “Wunderino are a superb casino brand with big plans for 2018. Our portfolio has a proven track record of excellent results and we are excited to welcome another partner onboard.”

R. Franco Group nominated at Global Gaming Awards London

17 January, 2018 (Madrid, Spain) – The R. Franco Group has been nominated for the casino supplier category at the upcoming Global Gaming Awards London.

The supplier is nominated in the particularly competitive casino supplier category, which judges excellence in land-based provision over the past 12 months.

The R. Franco Group was selected by an industry-expert nomination panel drawn from across a broad spectrum of disciplines and areas of expertise. The process is adjudicated by KPMG Gibraltar.

The winner will be announced at an exclusive ceremony at London’s Hippodrome Casino on 5 February.

Smile-Expo to organize Blockchain and Bitcoin Conference Thailand in Bangkok

On March 6, 2018, Bangkok will host a major international conference dedicated to blockchain, cryptocurrencies and ICOs – Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Thailand.

The conference is aimed at cryptocurrency investors, blockchain startup representatives, developers, marketing specialists, lawmakers, lawyers, financial experts and advisors engaged in the cryptocurrency and ICO sector.

Participants will discover the current condition of the cryptocurrency market, blockchain trends, ICO aspects and investments in tokens.

The conference will reveal the following issues:

ThePOGG releases affiliate program value report 2017

ThePOGG.com is proud to announce their affiliate program value report for 2017. The purpose of the report is to share with the webmaster community and gain an insight as to which affiliate programs perform the best and ones that are below average. These numbers are compiled from the statistics and revenue data from ThePOGG for the entire year of 2017. Although exact figures of Clicks, FTDs and revenue are not shared, the data is compiled to show the average player value.

“For years now it’s frustrated me to see every affiliate program claiming that they’re the “highest value” program on the market. While ThePOGG.com is not the largest affiliate in the market the levels of traffic we’re sending are now large enough that we can see trends starting to appear. The more I dug into the numbers the more interesting this became – seeing which programs are converting well and which are delivering good value. I hope other affiliates will find this information as interesting as I have.”  Duncan Garvie from ThePOGG.com 

The report includes a Reliability score which the higher the number, the more reliable the data is due to the sample size of data from ThePOGG. For Reliability scores of 1 and 2, these are considered low meaning the sample size isn’t enough for a program to be considered to be high or low performing.

Programs with Highest Average Player Value

Pennsylvania casinos set new revenue record, no thanks to slots

Pennsylvania casinos set yet another gaming revenue record in 2017 despite the second straight year of declining slots revenue.

Figures released Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board show the state’s 12 brick-and-mortar casino licensees generated combined gaming revenue of $3.226b in 2017, up a mere 0.4% from 2016’s total of $3.213b, which was up 1.25% from 2015’s $3.173b.

While the margin may have been miniscule, the 2017 total marks the third straight year the figure has grown, and the seventh straight year that total revenue has exceeded $3b. The state’s share of this bounty amounted to $1.33b, thanks to its nation-high slots tax rate of 56%.

The state’s slots revenue closed out 2017 on a positive note, rising 1.2% in the month of December, but the annual total came in at $2.336b, representing a 1% decline from 2016, which also experienced a mild year-on-year slots shortfall.

Golden Nugget casinos launches one of a kind, enhanced loyalty program

24K Select Club Members Now Accumulate Comps at Five Casinos and can use them at over 600 Landry’s, Inc. Restaurants Nationwide.

Houston, TX (January 17, 2018) – Today Golden Nugget Casinos announced that 24K Select Club members across its five casinos in Las Vegas, Laughlin, Atlantic City, Biloxi and Lake Charles, can now earn Comp Dollars and Tier Credits in one account, and redeem Comp Dollars across any of its casinos and over 600 restaurants coast-to-coast. As Comp Dollars and Tier Credits accumulate in a centralized account, members will be able to earn rewards and qualify for higher tiers faster than ever. Each tier level includes more benefits, access and rewards. Members earn Comp Dollars and Tier Credits by playing slot machines or table games.

24k Select Club is the only casino loyalty program that offers its members the freedom and convenience of earning comps at the Golden Nugget Casino Hotel location they prefer to play, and letting them redeem them at the Golden Nugget Casino Hotel, at any Landry’s location at home or anywhere throughout the country. With the vast selection of brands–from casual dining at Saltgrass Steak House, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Claim Jumper Restaurants and Rainforest Cafe to the fabulous waterfront locations of Chart House, the unique Aquarium Restaurants and fine dining options like Mastro’s Restaurants, Morton’s The Steakhouse, The Oceanaire Seafood Room and Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse, this program enables its members to enjoy a variety of dining, entertainment, hospitality and gaming experiences across the county like no other.

Plus, 24K Select Club members can now view their casino account on the go! Members who download the Golden Nugget Mobile App will have 24/7 access to view their Comp Dollars, Tier Credits, Slot Point balance, Tier Level status, special offers across all Golden Nugget Casinos and receive mobile-only bonus. Easy, one-touch access to promotion and event details have never been easier.

The Book Of Magic Deluxe casts a scintillating spell in Wazdan’s latest slot

Tuesday, January 17, 2018, Malta – Wazdan, the major casino games producer with products covering slots, table games and video poker has just launched the new version of Book of Magic Deluxe, a popular slot filled with spells written down on its pages that invigorate 5 reels and 20 paylines to win amazing prizes, together with a release of Magic Fruits 4 Deluxe that brings the Wazdan game portfolio to well over 100 casino-friendly titles.

Players will be immersed in spells cast by a wily wizard whose magic creates free spins in Book of Magic Deluxe and unique Wazdan features, Volatility Level, Energy-Saving Mode, Double-Screen and Unique Gamble Feature enhance the newly released Deluxe game for operators and players alike.

Wizards, castles, owls, cobras and old books abound. The old magic book being the most important symbol in Book of Magic Deluxe. It not only awards scattered prizes when at least three symbols appear anywhere on the reels, but it also triggers 10 Free Spins if at least three symbols appear on the reels. That’s not all! This symbol is also ‘Wild’ and can replace all other symbols on the reels both in the main game and in the Free-spins mode.

“Book of Magic” has just about everything for a top performing video slot while the latest Magic Fruits 4 Deluxe hits the market just ahead of ICE with an exciting $20,000 jackpot, the classic fruit-themed slot with a colourful background filled with animated images of mouth-watering fruit images and relaxing soundtrack. The reels of the game are filled with the images of various fruit including watermelons and lemons, accompanied by standard slot symbols like bells and 7s.

Extreme Live Gaming partners with the iForium Casino platform

Extreme Live Gaming, part of the NOVOMATIC Group, has once more extended its reach and reinforced its provision of content to its clients and the Live Dealer sector by partnering with iForium on its Gameflex platform for the provision of its Roulette, Blackjack and Baccarat games.

Utilising this patented extraordinary technology Extreme has combined its unique and innovative interface with the established Novomatic heritage to provide its Operators across the globe with a unique and exclusive games.

Extreme Live Gaming’s founder and CEO Darwyn Palenzuela, commented: “I am delighted that we have added iForium as a Platform partner. Extreme’s aim is to deliver our key difference of Extraordinary technology, Expert dealers and Extra personal service to the industry and it’s customers. In partnering with iForium we can take a further huge step in achieving this through their quality and distribution capabilities”

Phil Parry, Iforium CEO, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Extreme Live Gaming to our Gameflex platform. They offer an exceptional product which I’m confident will be widely adopted by our operators. The addition of Extreme Live Gaming will complement our already strong live dealer vertical and it will bring further diversification to the content available within Gameflex.”

Pokerstars Festival London sets £500,000 main event guarantee this January

Three PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship Platinum Passes worth $30,000 each also to be won

ONCHAN, Isle of Man – January 17, 2018 –  PokerStars Festival London returns to The Hippodrome Casino in London’s West End from January 22-28, 2018. The event is the first PokerStars Festival stop of the year with many more yet to be confirmed across Europe.

POKERSTARS FESTIVAL LONDON SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS

PokerStars Festival London boasts a seven-day schedule consisting of 10 tournaments, including the £500,000 guaranteed PokerStars Festival Main Event (£990 buy-in, January 24-28). Schedule highlights are as follows:

US sports betting outlook to heat up ICE London 2018

Gambling operators are now taking a second look at the U.S. market especially after the reactions of a majority of the Supreme Court (SC) justices have given them a renewed sense of hope that the country will finally lift the long-standing ban on sports betting.

Or are these justices just bluffing during the hearing of New Jersey’s historic case? Truth be told, the fate of U.S. sports betting won’t be known until the high tribunal gives its final judgment in June.

Industry leaders, government regulators, and analysts will try to take a look at the different scenarios of the high tribunal’s ruling in this year’s edition of ICE London, which will be held in ExCeL, London on February 5-7.

Delaware Rep. Helene Keeley, Becker & Poliakoff shareholder Dan Wallach, and Princeton Public Affairs Group William Pascrell, III will give their insights on how the U.S. verdict on New Jersey’s case might impact on the timeliness, frameworks, stakeholders, and politics of sports betting legalization and regulation.

Can sports books survive a 1% tax on handle?

The post originally appears on http://www.gamblingandthelaw.com/ and we republished with permission.

I revised my analysis of the impact that the proposed 1% on bets would have on sports book operators: Impact of a 1% Tax on Sports Betting to include the actual official numbers filed by Nevada’s licensed sports books. I used these to calculate the impact of the 1% fee on a hypothetical book in Indiana. But the figures also allowed me to calculate some interesting numbers for the sports book currently operating in Nevada, which I do not believe I have ever seen published before:

The most recent official figures show that for the 12 months ending in November 2017 there were 195 sports books in Nevada. They won a total of $233,299,000. Dividing the total win of approximately $233 million by the number of sports books, 195, means the average Nevada book wins about $1.2 million a year.

The reported win percentage was 4.82%, higher than the 4.16% hold I used in my impact report. But this includes an increase in parlay cards and parimutuel bets, where the house keeps a much larger share. Still, using the reported hold of 4.82% means the average sports book in Nevada accepts almost $25 million a year in bets ($1.2 million divided by 4.82%).

Jags, Vikes looking to snap skid for road teams in conference title games

The Jacksonville Jaguars (12-6) have never been to the Super Bowl. The Minnesota Vikings (14-3) are 0-4 in the big game and have not played for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in more than 40 years.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Both the Jaguars and the Vikings are road teams that will also be trying to break an eight-game losing streak for visitors in conference title games, going 0-5 against the spread in the previous five as well heading into Sunday’s action.

Jacksonville undoubtedly has the more difficult road, going through Foxborough against the New England Patriots (14-3), who are playing in their seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game. The Jaguars are listed as 9-point underdogs and have lost the past seven meetings with the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots straight up, going 2-5 against the spread in those games

MGM Resorts’ landowner wants to buy Caesars’ landowner

The company that owns the land under MGM Resorts casinos wants to merge with the company that owns the land under Caesars Entertainment casinos, and it doesn’t care who knows.

On Tuesday, MGM Growth Properties (MGP) – the real estate investment trust (REIT) that MGM Resorts spun off when it needed some quick cash in 2015 – went public with its desire to acquire VICI Properties, the REIT that emerged from the messy three-year restructuring of Caesars Entertainment.

Apparently, MGP’s private lust for VICI has gone unrequited, or, as corporations say about reluctant suitors, VICI has “elected not to engage in meaningful discussions.’ As a result, MGP has publicly declared its willingness to acquire 100% of VICI’s outstanding shares “in an effort to engage and move forward quickly to consummate a transaction.”

The all-stock deal would value VICI shares at $19.50 apiece and would leave VICI shareholders owning 43% of the combined company, while MGM’s economic ownership would fall to 41%. The combined company would control 32 properties across 11 states. MGP claims the deal would create “the largest triple-net lease REIT and a Top-15 public REIT in the [resource management zone] by enterprise value.”

CT Lottery holds do-over raffle drawing

The Connecticut Lottery Corp. held a do-over drawing Tuesday morning to partially correct a $1.375 million blunder that happened Jan. 1, when nearly half of the eligible tickets in the New Year’s Million-Dollar Super Draw game — 100,000 out of the 214,601 sold at $10 each — were excluded from the drawing.Connecticut, Winning Ticket Announcement, Error, Technology, Computerized Drawings, Raffle, Drawing