Monthly Archives: February 2018

Japan proposes casino entry fee of ¥2000 (US$18.50) for locals

Japan has unveiled details of its plans to impose a casino entry fee that will apply not only to locals but to foreign residents as well.

On Wednesday, Japanese media reported that a task force overseeing the drafting of the Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Bill wants to impose a fee of ¥2k (US$18.50) on Japanese residents wishing to set foot on the gaming floor of the casinos Japan hopes to open five or six years from now.

The fee will be mandatory for all permanent residents of the country, be they citizens of Japan or some other nation. International tourists will be exempt from the fee and casinos will be prohibited from reimbursing gamblers for their fees paid.

The fee is intended to help fund problem gambling mitigation programs, and to monitor Japanese citizens’ casino activity. All local residents will be required to present their My Number identification card before setting foot on a casino floor.

Newly acquired companies save the day for Boyd Gaming

Property shopping has done a lot of good things for U.S. regional casino operator Boyd Gaming, especially in terms of revenue.

In regulatory filing on Wednesday, Boyd posted a record net revenue of $2.38 billion in 2017, helped by its newly acquired properties Aliante, Cannery, and Eastside Cannery.

Boyd’s net revenue figure last year was 8.4 percent higher than its 2016 net revenue, which was around $2.18 billion. Its total adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) also grew by 11 percent to a record $595.6 million compared with $536.3 million the company posted in the prior year.

The casino operator also capped 2017 on a high note, with its fourth quarter net revenue rising 6.5 percent to $590.8 million from $554.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Gambling bill in legislative coma after Florida high school shooting

The Florida high school shooting that left 17 people dead last week has another potential casualty—the state’s gambling legislation.

Florida Politics reported that Florida’s gambling bill is on life support after legislators decided to shelve all pending bills on their desks in order to prioritize a legislative response to the February 14 mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County.

With only three weeks left in the 2018 legislative session, legislators are scrambling to enact a law that will allocate $100 million funding for the state’s mental health screening, counseling and training, and the “hardening” of Florida schools.

After passing the bill, lawmakers will then need to squeeze in discussions on the state budget within a limited time. With their hands full, Florida House Speaker-designate José Oliva is much less optimistic that they will get something done on gambling in the next three weeks.

Senate gives West Virginia sports wagering bill the thumbs up

A bill seeking to legalize sports wagering in West Virginia sailed smoothly in the state Senate.

On Tuesday, Associated Press reported that West Virginia senators approved the state Lottery Commission-backed SB 415, which would allow wagering on both professional and collegiate sporting events in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court (SC) lifts the federal ban on sports betting.

In a 25-9 vote, the state senators decided to send SB415 to the House of Delegates for consideration.

SB 415 would give the West Virginia Lottery Commission the authority to regulate sports betting in the state, including the authorization of online and mobile betting. The legislation required that players be older than 20.

Ganapati PLC appoint new Chief Commercial Officer

Ganapati PLC appointed Robert Dowling as their new chief commercial officer. Robert took over the role on the 1st of February, and will hope to continue to expand and take the company from strength-to-strength in the international gaming market.

Robert brings with him an impressive reputation and a wealth of experience in the gaming and entertainment industries.  After having operated some of Malta’s most established  entertainment brands, Robert decided to make the move to the online world four years ago and hasn’t looked back since.

His success over these past few years as part of the EveryMatrix sales team includes attracting some of the biggest household names in the business and developing a network that is second-to-none.

It was through this network that Robert helped create awareness and recognition for the brand within the Maltese Ecosystem, and he will be hoping to recreate and build-upon this success with Ganapati.

Olympic Entertainment Group selects Playtech as strategic systems partner

Technology will connect 100 casinos in five countries

London: February 21st, 2018 – Playtech has agreed a long-term deal to supply its Neon casino management system to manage Olympic Entertainment Group’s (OEG) international land-based casino operations, further cementing its position as the leading supplier of systems to the European casino industry.

The solution will connect more than 100 casinos in five countries, covering approximately 3,500 electronic gaming machines and more than 150 gaming tables.

OEG is the leading provider of gaming services in the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and operates casinos in Slovakia, Italy and Malta. Listed on the Tallinn Stock Exchange, the group has a total of 117 casinos and employs more than 3,000 employees in seven countries.

Oulala’s Founders nominated for Outstanding Achievement Award

Oulala’s CEO and Managing Director earn nomination for GamblingCompliance Global Regulatory award

London – 21st February 2018 – Valery Bollier and Benjamin Carlotti, co-founders of Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) operator and B2B provider Oulala, have been nominated for the ”Compliance Outstanding Achievement Award” for initiating the process of adequate regulation of the DFS sector in Malta.

The year 2017 was a milestone for the development of fantasy sports in Europe as the long-awaited licensing framework that regulates skill-based games, fantasy sports included, came into force. This was the culmination of a process that actually began five years ago.

”We feel honoured to be among the candidates for a prestigious award which recognises our efforts to have the proper regulation of DFS,” commented Carlotti, the firm’s Managing Director. ”When our game was launched in 2013, there was no skill-game regulation in place in European countries. By default, the game was considered a sports betting activity. It was therefore essential that we aimed for a legal frame from the gaming authorities that was tailored to our specific function. We discussed our sector’s needs with European legislators and, as expected, Malta was the first country to welcome our suggestions.”

Gambling in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria, moderated by Dr. Joerg Hofmann at Prague Gaming Summit 2018

Prague – 21 February 2018 – The most important boutique style gaming conference in Prague is going to welcome leading experts of the online gambling industry on the 29th of March at Andel’s by Vienna House Prague. The second edition of Prague Gaming Summit is gathering new and old faces of the industry in order to highlight the trending topics for the attending delegates.

The key to a successful panel is in the careful selection of the panel moderator. The panel moderator brings the session to life: often selecting and prepping the panelists, determining the format to ensure a lively and informative conversation and having excellent facilitator skills to keep the conversation focused and moving along.

European Gaming Media and Events (formerly know as EEGMedia/EEGEvents) has always searched to find the best possible mediators for the panel discussions and Prague Gaming Summit will continue to bring these quality dialogues.

The latest announced moderator is a familiar face at gaming events and is known for his experience in the industry. Dr. Joerg Hofmann (Melchers Law Germany) is the Immediate Past President of the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL), the pre-eminent global gambling law networking and educational organisation. He has been consistently ranked as a “Leading Individual” in Gaming & Gambling by Chambers Global since 2011 and is the only German Lawyer listed among “Germany’s Best Lawyers” in the category “Gaming Law” by Handelsblatt and BestLawyers since 2014. Joerg is based in Heidelberg/Germany. He frequently publishes articles in international expert’s magazines and periodicals and speaks regularly on international gaming law conferences around the world.

Lightning Box signs unique deal with Incredible Technologies to cross license IP

Sydney, 21st February 2018 – Specialist slots developer Lightning Box has signed a cross-licensing deal with American land-based supplier Incredible Technologies to add an exciting new feature to one of its most popular games.

Astro Cat, the Asian-themed, 5-reel, 1296 ways slot, has proven to be a major hit in U.S. land-based casinos, as well as attracting an army of fans after going online in Europe.

At G2E in Las Vegas last October, it was boosted by Incredible Technologies’ patented Sky Wheel® feature creating “Astro Cat Deluxe” and attracted further success on the casino floor.

Now with this new deal, Astro Cat Deluxe will be made available to Lightning Box’s clients in online real money gaming and social casino.

Nissicasino.com now features online slots from 10+ software providers for Australian, Canadian and UK players

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NBA Western Conference odds: Warriors leading rockets

Everyone presumed that the Golden State Warriors would win the Western Conference for a fourth straight season come April and then beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth consecutive NBA Finals matchup between the teams. The Warriors took two of the first three, including last summer’s series.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Oddsmakers haven’t changed their mind on the Warriors, who again have four All-Stars this season in Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green – the Dubs became the first team in NBA history to have four All-Stars in consecutive years.

Golden State is the -300 favorite in the conference. And why not? The team is loaded and coming out of the All-Star break leading the NBA in scoring, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage, assists per game and blocks per game.

Online poker and cryptocurrency: A match made in heaven

While the future of cryptocurrencies may still be uncertain, one thing is not. There are more cryptocurrency wallets today than ever before, and the number keeps growing. Even Amazon and Dell are getting into the game, and crypto ATMs are popping up all around the globe. The one area where cryptocurrencies haven’t really exploded, at least not as much as in other sectors, has been online poker. It’s a curious phenomenon given the many advantages cryptocurrencies can offer online poker players.

Both cryptocurrencies and online poker are, obviously, created for a digital era. There are no physical exchanges and transactions occur at the speed of light. Both also offer extreme anonymity, in most cases. This is a huge plus for online players, since it gives them the ability to rake in serious amounts of cash without having to report the earnings to the taxman. Bluffing now becomes as important off the tables as on them.

While investors may view cryptocurrency fluctuations as a negative, it could be a positive for online gamblers collecting in virtual coins. A player who wins big online has those earnings multiplied automatically while still lounging around on the couch playing more games. As with direct investments into crypto, the coins can be left in the account and sold when they regain value following a drop.

If a player accumulates a nice bank on, for example, PokerStars, and wants to cash out, it can take up to 72 hours for the money to be deposited into a fiat account. With cryptocurrencies, the coins are almost instantaneously returned when requested. It’s like having an emergency fund at your fingertips at any given moment.

Winamax could jump into Franco-Spanish liquidity sharing by April

French online poker site Winamax is gearing up to join PokerStars in shared liquidity between French and Spanish players.

The operator expects to launch its joint poker rooms within the next two months after getting the stamp of approval from ARJEL, France’s gambling regulator. It only needs one more stamp, this from the Spanish side from its regulatory body, the DGOJ. Once it is received, Winamax will turn on the lights on the virtual tables for Spanish and French poker enthusiasts.

Winamax already has approval in Italy, the third of the four countries in the liquidity sharing pact that also includes Portugal, when it bought the existing license of Italy’s online poker site, bet-at-home. Portugal has yet to approve Winamax’s request, and PokerStars is currently the only site authorized to operate online games in Spain’s western neighbor.

Portugal has let PokerStars be the only operator in the country for the past year, but that is about to change. Last week, the country’s ‘Official Journal’ released technical standards governing how liquidity sharing must operate. This means that locally licensed operators will soon be able to allow their players to join those in the other participating countries. Winamax and partypoker are ready for the trigger to be pulled, but 888poker has been silent on whether or not it will join the festivities.

Kambi’s record Q4 thanks to inept English footballers

Sports betting technology provider Kambi Group closed out 2017 with record quarterly revenue, giving the company “strong momentum” into the new year.

Figures released last week showed Kambi Group (formerly Kambi Sports Solutions) generated revenue of €19m in the three months ending December 31, 2017, one-third higher than the same period one year earlier.

Operating profit nearly tripled to €5m as margins doubled to a borderline obscene 26% and after-tax profit more than tripled to €3.9m.

Kambi CEO Kristian Nylén credited the gains to “an extended run of favorable sporting results, which started in Q3 and continued into Q4 with even greater regularity.” These results were found across all major European football leagues but in particular in the English Premier League, which posted 10 scoreless draws in December alone.

SA-Best poker machine policy is misleading voters

The Gaming Technologies Association today called Nick Xenophon’s SA-Best Party to withdraw its gaming policy after a recent decision in the Federal Court rejected two of the key claims underlying Mr Xenophon’s policy.

In the policy announcement Nick Xenophon committed SA-Best to:

“Making [poker] machines ‘con-free’ by removing misleading and deceptive features such as near misses and ‘losses disguised as wins’.”

Mr Xenophon further claimed that this policy would ensure that Consumers are “protected” and can make “fully informed choices with relevant information”.