Monthly Archives: February 2018

NagaCorp’s 2017 profit jumps as VIP turnover more than doubles

Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp saw its net profits spike by two-fifths in 2017 as VIP gambling turnover more than doubled.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp filed its official 2017 earnings report card, which should earn the operator a gold star from investors. Gross gaming revenue increased 85% to US$926m, earnings rose 25% to $319.7m and net profit improved 39% to $255.2m.

NagaCorp’s flagship NagaWorld property in Phnom Penh got a boost last November from the launch of Naga2 (pictured), which added an additional 1k hotel rooms and 300 gaming tables to the property’s existing elements, and allowed the venue to take advantage of Cambodia’s rising tourism levels.

Tourist visitation to Cambodia was up 12% to 5.6m visitors last year, while arrivals at Phnom Penh International Airport were up 21%. China (22%), Vietnam (15%) and Laos (9%) remain the top three sources of arrivals, and the China figure was up 46% from 2016.

Mastercard to resume payments for Russian-licensed bookmakers

Russia’s biggest sports broadcaster is backing off plans to expand into bookmaking, while Mastercard is back processing gambling transactions for Russian-licensed bookies.

On Tuesday, Russian media outlet Kommersant reported that sports broadcaster Match TV had ditched plans to launch a Match Betting service. The broadcaster, considered Russia’s equivalent to ESPN, launched a tender for a betting technology partner last October, with the hope of launching its betting site in time for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Kommersant explained that the broadcaster’s change of heart came following a change in its upper management, with the new bosses reportedly expressing doubts as to the ability of the new venture to be ready in time for the World Cup kickoff in May.

Another factor may have been Russia’s strict limits on bookmakers’ ability to advertise during sports broadcasts – capped at 20% of the maximum nine minutes of ad time per hour – and the broadcaster apparently felt promoting its own product would limit other bookmakers’ ability to advertise, with a resulting loss in advertising revenue.

France’s online gambling market firing on all cylinders in 2017

France’s online gambling market was firing on all cylinders in 2017, with even the much-maligned poker and horseracing verticals posting positive growth.

Official figures released Tuesday by French gaming regulator ARJEL show online sports betting turnover rising nearly one-third to €704m in the fourth quarter of 2017, while online betting revenue surged 82% to a new quarterly record of €163m.

Total active bettors in Q4 were up one-quarter to 1.12m while active weekly bettors jumped 43% to 393k. However, the Q4 revenue gains were largely credited to a rash of punter-antagonistic sporting results.

Regardless of their cause, the Q4 gains were enough to push FY17 online betting turnover up 21% to €2.5b while revenue gained 35% to €472m. Both of these sums represent new annual records since France launched its regulated market in 2010.

Denmark ISPs ordered to block online gambling domains

Denmark’s gambling regulator has won a court case that will force Danish telecom firms to block 24 unapproved gaming websites.

Last October, Denmark’s Spillemyndigheden regulatory agency ordered local internet service providers to restrict access to 24 online gambling domains that were targeting Danish punters without a Danish license.

The ISPs resisted the regulator’s demands, prompting Spillemyndigheden to go to court to compel the ISPs to follow its orders. The court held a hearing on the matter on January 23, and on Tuesday handed down its verdict, ordering the ISPs to comply with Spillemyndigheden’s demands.

The court order (viewable here, in Danish), notes that most of the offending websites offer gambling products that are under the purview of Spillemyndigheden, while also offering services in the Danish language and accepting Danish currency.

Fusion.bet – An innovative eSports betting platform launches

An innovative and fresh esports betting platform, Fusion.bet, launched on January 24th, 2018. As the esports industry continuously grows more opportunities arise to develop related products and services. Fusion.bet allows esports enthusiasts to make various bets on upcoming and live matches of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Defense of the Ancients 2, Overwatch, Hearthstone, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, World of Tanks, Starcraft 2 and other popular video game titles with the goal of expanding the repertoire in the future.

Fusion.bet aims to develop a greater sense of community among video game enthusiasts and create a professional and safe outlet for betting with a vision of bringing esports to mainstream audiences. Fusion.bet’s core mission has been to provide a safe, reliable, fair, and easy to use betting service for esports fans with the goal of growing the international esports community, adding more excitement to the professional video gaming scene and bringing fans closer to their favorite teams.

Users may use a variety of methods to bet on matches or in-game events – from simple wagers on the winner of a match to complex combo bets on several outcomes all at once. Live games can be easily viewed directly on the main website with continually changing odds as matches progress.

Fusion.bet has established business relations with UltraPlay – an esports odds generating company, providing software for the largest gambling websites. Users are shown live, updated odds as specific events such as kills or objective captures happen in-game, allowing for passionate and quick esports fans to find opportunities and immerse themselves into the world of professional video games. Instant feedback through UltraPlay’s advanced odds platform brings betting closer to a skill-chance game for players when compared to regular gambling.

Zombie Escape sets new virtual reality benchmark for iGaming play

Join Games 2nd VR iGame knocks it out of the park for Players

ICE Excel London Stand N4-320

6th February 2018

Zombie Escape VR was revealed to delegates today at the beginning of the ICE gaming festival in London for the 2018 edition; ICE is the world’s largest gaming exhibition and conference. Zombie Escape VR iGame joins the groundbreaking and award-winning Kleopatra VR in the unique portfolio of innovative 2D and 3D iGames from Join Games VR Studio. Importantly the game reveal confirms delivery of the second part of Join Games’ strategy in its roadmap for Mobile VR iGaming that breaks the industry’s traditional trajectory.

Mare Balticum – The Baltic Sea Gaming Summit announces first batch of speakers

Riga  – 6 February 2018 –The inaugural edition of the yearly event which focuses on the Baltics and the Scandinavian region has already made the headlines on many industry related news portals and the organizers have confirmed that key industry stakeholders are going to attend the event.

The event will be held on the 8th of May at Astor Riga and the organizers would like to extend the invitation for the delegates to join the event and stay on the 9th of May as well, to celebrate Europe Day in Riga.

“Europe Day, held on 9 May every year, celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historical ‘Schuman declaration’. At a speech in Paris in 1950, Robert Schuman, the then French foreign minister, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable.

His vision was to create a European institution that would pool and manage coal and steel production. A treaty creating such a body was signed just under a year later. Schuman’s proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union.”

Stanley Cup odds: Vegas proving themselves as real deal on NHL futures

With nearly two-thirds of the NHL regular season over, the Vegas Golden Knights are legitimate contenders to win the Stanley Cup according to oddsmakers.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Currently sitting as the second choice to hoist the Cup at +650 (bet $100 to win $650), the Golden Knights head into Tuesday’s visit to the Pittsburgh Penguins with a double-digit points lead in the Pacific Division and the best record in the Western Conference.

Vegas is 3-1 on a six-game road trip that includes matchups with teams all in playoff contention. Meanwhile, two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh is starting to pick up steam and chasing the Washington Capitals for the lead in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins are listed at +1200 to win their third Cup in a row and sixth overall along with the Capitals, Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs.

New racing service launches in Africa

Racing World brings comprehensive live and virtual racing offering to Africa

London, February 6 2017 –Kiron Interactive and Phumelela Gaming and Leisure Limited have agreed a partnership to launch a fixed odds betting channel – including top-class live British, Irish and South African horse racing, and virtual racing – in betting shops throughout Africa.

The new satellite channel, named Racing World, will offer fixed odds betting on British and Irish racing (Jumps and Flat), South African racing (Flat) and Kiron’s virtual horse racing products.

The Racing World channel has recently launched, initially with Kings Sports Betting in Uganda, with plans to grow the channel’s reach via new operators in east and west Africa over the coming months.