Monthly Archives: February 2018

DraftKings wants a piece of sports betting market

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) giant DraftKings is waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court’s go-signal before it finally decides to jump over the fence into the greener side of sports betting.

Recode reported that DraftKings, which has been trying to distance its offerings and its business from gambling, is now creating a sports betting product just in case the high tribunal rules that the federal ban on sports betting is unconstitutional.

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins hoped that his new venture will be up and running in time for the legalization of sports betting across America. In an interview with Recode, Robins expressed confidence that legal sports betting in the U.S. is “going to happen,” and that “it is just [a matter of] when.” He kept mum on what DraftKing’s new product will be.

Should the SC decides to strike down the controversial Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 this year, Robins pointed out that DraftKings will be prepared.

Genting Hong Kong trims losses in 2017

Casino operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd. has narrowed its consolidated net loss for 2017 after disposing its stakes in cruise operator Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Ltd. (NCLH) and The Star Entertainment Group.

In a disclosure to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Genting placed the company’s consolidated net loss for 2017 between $240 million and $270 million. The estimated loss for this year was lower than the $537 million net loss it posted in 2016.

The figures, however, did not include the data from Manila-based casino partner Travellers International and Hotel Group Inc., which operates the Resorts World Manila casino resort in the Philippines. Genting is set to announce its audited consolidated results for the year 2017 in March 2018.

Genting attributed the improvement of the company’s net loss by disposing its shares in NCLH and The Star.

Jesper Jensen: Sports betting industry is missing out on big data

In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Stephanie Tower, Jesper Jensen of iGaming Asia explains the importance of big data for sports betting operators.

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Jon Spinks online poker winnings surpass $3 million mark

One of the benefits to playing poker online is that it doesn’t require players to even put their pants on. One particular player who has enjoyed playing from the comfort of his sofa is Jon Spinks, and he’s had a great deal of success doing so. So much, in fact, that he has now racked up over $3 million in earnings from his living room. Not a bad way to make a living.

Spinks, who goes by the nickname ‘EMSBas,’ broke the $3-million barrier when he made it to the money in a partypoker Powerfest Event. He only picked up $845, but it was enough to tip the scales. The British player recently pushed himself close to breaking the mark when he pocketed a little more than $25,000 at a partypoker tournament on January 15 of this year.

Spinks is ranked number 55 in the winningest player list for the UK. He plays mostly mid-stakes games and typically finishes with just a couple hundred dollars with an occasional spurt to collect big money. He’s listed on Hendon Mob as having more than $1 million in live earnings which include $275,000 at a partypoker MILLIONS tournament event in April 2017.

Apart from his impressive wallet, Spinks has won the online Triple Crown twice and has several six-figure money wins to his credit. He has also made it to two WSOP final tables. He finished fourth in the $1,500 No Limit Shootout at the 42nd WSOP in June 2011 for $108,000. Just a week prior to that win, he finished in fourth place at the WSOP Seven Card Stud tournament for $35,000.

Tony Dunst bets $14,000 for Pats to win the Super Bowl

Tony Dunst may be able to read the cards well when he’s at the felt, but when it comes to other forms of gambling, he might not want to quit his day job. Dunst recently laid out $14,000 for the Patriots to beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl 2018, which seemed like a pretty safe bet considering the odds given to the Pats. In the end, it just wasn’t meant to be.

Dunst made the bet at the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas, and posted his ticket on his Instagram account. Despite placing the bet on the Pats, he was actually pulling for the Eagles—maybe that mixed message had something to do with the loss. He incorrectly assumed that Nick Fole’s performance last week was just a one-off that couldn’t be repeated.

A few poker buddies didn’t share the logic created by Dunst. Noah Schwartz and Bill Perkins both let it ride on the Eagles, wanting to root for the underdog. The Patriots put on a good show, but Schwartz and Perkins had to certainly be happy to see the ball bounce to the ground in the end zone as the clock expired, giving the Eagles a 41-33 victory over the Pats.

The 34-year-old professional poker player from Madison, Wis., is ranked 258th on the US All Time Money List, and 3rd for Wisconsin. To date, Dunst’s earned just shy of $3 million in live earnings, with a best cash win of $700,000 that he earned for his second-place finish at the 2016 Aussie Millions Poker Championship in Melbourne, Australia, two years ago. Shortly after that runner-up finish, he placed first at the 47th WSOP $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament in Vegas. He pocketed $339,254 with that win.

SIS continues greyhounds expansion internationally with Danske Spil deal

5th February, 2018 – SIS (Sports Information Services), a leading supplier of products and services to the retail and online betting markets, today announced a deal with Danske Spil to provide its new Greyhound Service in a Watch & Bet format.

SIS will provide the Danish bookmaker with its new and improved SIS Greyhound Service, and as part of the agreement SIS will supply live pictures, commentary and data for British & Irish greyhounds for retail and online.

The announcement follows the recent deal with William Hill who were the first bookmaker to take SIS’s Greyhound Service in a Watch & Bet format, and deals announced late last year with four Spanish bookmakers, with SIS now supplying 90% of the Spanish retail market. In addition, all UK major bookmakers have broadcast SIS’s new greyhound service since 1st January.

SIS Sales Director Sandra McWilliams said: “SIS has produced high quality and reliable content for the betting industry for 30 years and we have now developed an even better greyhound product for the international market.

Esports betting cryptocurrency eGold presale with a breaking record

The online betting solutions provider UltraPlay has announced that the eGold presale tokens were all sold out under 24 hours reaching the hard cap before the end presale date February 8th.

The eGold project dedicated to the global eSports betting sector has successfully reached its presale hard cap of 500 eth giving a 20% bonus to the ICO members. The first stage of the ICO campaign collected around $ 500, 000.

444,444 EGL (10% of the total amount of tokens for sale) were distributed at this stage following the company’s roadmap and vision to provide various incentives to its community.

Mario Ovcharov, CCO at eGold commented: “The presale was planned to end on February 8th but we reached our hard cap so fast on the first day, which made us really excited and proud of our project and our community of supporters. We would like to thank all who took part in our project now. This is a solid proof of the huge potential that eGold holds for the industry and its members. We can’t wait to start the eGold sale which promises to achieve even better results.”

BetConstruct introduces a New Casino Marketing Tool

BetConstruct’s latest addition, Casino Tournaments Management System allows B2C providers to create and publish online casino tournaments within minutes.

Technology Behind

BetConstruct’s Casino Tournaments Management System allows operators to create and hold online tournaments on any games from over 4,500 slots, live casino and virtual games. Using the single management backoffice operators can set up every detail of the tournaments such as the duration, schedule, dynamic prize contribution structure, tournament type, admission type, number of players and much more.

“Engaging casino content is important. To know what to do with the content and how to do that is far more important. That’s why we decided to give operators a tool that will save their time and allow them to focus on the creative aspect,” commented Edgar Mkrtchyan, Product Owner, BetConstruct Casino.

Gamevy pulls out its trump card: so much winning!

This year at ICE, the company who brought you studs in stilettoes and the Gamevy Grannies, are taking things to the next level…

Donald Trump is finally coming to the UK – not because of the Queen or Theresa May – but invited by Gamevy to make gambling great again.

“We called our good friend, Donald Trump,” says Paul Dolman-Darrall, Gamevy’s CEO. “And explained to him that there was a swamp of boring games that needed draining. We explained about the innovations we had planned – the maths, the new mechanics – and how our games make people winners! Because he’s a genius, he grasped it in zero time.”

Trump instantly tweeted his excitement – causing something of a twitter storm amongst those who wanted to deny the crowds of people swarming to ICE to greet the leader of the free spin world.

UltraPlay appoints new leadership

Advanced betting solution provider UltraPlay has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer starting of Q1 2018. The decision was taken by the Management board jointly with Dariy Margaritov, who has successfully led the company since its foundation in 2010 as a founder and CEO. Mr. Margaritov steps down of the CEO position and will continue to provide his profound knowledge and expertise in the gambling and crypto industry as an advisor to the company.

Mr. Mario Ovchar and Mr. Peter Ivanov

Mr. Margaritov will focus on the development of a number of crypto-related projects as well as the implementation of the Blockchain technology in the iGaming industry. Last year, the company announced the Blockchain-based project eGold – an eSports betting cryptocurrency, and its Initial Coin Offering presale, which started on February 1st and already sold out more than half of the presale tokens during the first day of the presale. The crowd sale will be held from February 18th until March 18th.

Dariy Margaritov, founder of UltraPlay said: “Mario Ovcharov is a perfect example of a top manager who has successfully made his career within the company. He brings an incredibly deep understanding of our business, proven track record and strategic approach that will certainly lead UltraPlay to the next successful milestones.”

Malta Gaming Authority to Support iGaming Idol

iGaming Idol announces that they are to double the support from sponsorships in 2018

February 5, 2018: The Malta Gaming Authority has announced that it will be a major supporter for the 2018 edition of iGaming Idol, the competition that recognises top talent in the iGaming industry across the Maltese islands.

Hon. Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Schembri of the Government of Malta addressing the audience at the Grand Master Suite, Hilton Malta at iGaming Idol 2017.

The MGA, which has supported the event since its launch in 2016, is the single independent, regulatory body responsible for the governance of all gaming activities in Malta, both online and land-based.

XCaliber announces Responsive Framework launch

Groundbreaking solution harnesses intelligent data for a seamless customer experience

Malta, 5th February 2018: XCaliber, the B2B gaming technology business area of Cherry AB, has unveiled its new Responsive Framework (code name XCAF), a solution that enhances an omni-channel experience for both operator and end-user with a seamless one-page structure and streamlined data services.

Powered by a modern front-end framework in Angular, and a fully optimised API using GraphQL, the XCAF Responsive Framework allows operators to run custom campaigns across all casino channels tailored to individual customers.

The new technology is highly efficient, using a single lobby with intelligent data to deliver games matched to a customer’s device and preferences, and it enables operators to continuously deliver high quality products from inception to market in less time.

EvenBet signs Digitain deal for poker

5th February, 2018 – Prominent online gaming software developer EvenBet Gaming has announced a new agreement to integrate its state-of-the-art poker product into Digitain’s leading sports betting and casino platform.

The deal equips Digitain – whose progressive footprint has expanded across Europe, central Asia and Africa over the past year – with a responsive and reliable poker solution.

EvenBet’s flagship offering is breathing fresh air into a vertical which had previously been overlooked by many operators. Integrating a sophisticated poker product into any sportsbook or casino generates a proven benefit across a number of KPIs – especially as dependable cross-selling techniques and user-engagement become ever more elusive.

Dmitry Starostenkov, EvenBet Gaming CEO, said: “Digitain has hugely impressed us this past year with its progressive omnichannel solution, and we’re excited to be adding a key cog to facilitate that rise.

Playtech BGT Sports delivers further improvements to SSBTs

Fresh content and new functionality added to comprehensive offering

5th February 2018, London – Playtech BGT Sports (PBS) has announced a number of new developments and products for its market-leading self-service betting terminals ahead of next week’s ICE Totally Gaming exhibition.

The industry’s leading supplier will showcase an improved lottery service at the show, as well as new displays of its goalscorer and ‘OTC’ coupons.

The new lottery service will see greater content available via its Betradar-powered World Numbers Service and 49s products, featuring a further 50 lotteries from around the world coming under the brand.

Win Systems goes live with management tool Winstats

Malta, 05 February, 2018 – Win Systems, the leading technology supplier for the gaming and entertainment industry, has launched Winstats, a unique addition to its established casino management system WIGOS.

The app has been specifically designed to allow for casino management to intuitively track key real-time and historical data on their mobile devices while away from a venue.

At present, there is no other product on the market which combines the functionality and depth of real-time data that Winstats does on a portable device and away from the casino establishment.

Winstats leverages Win Systems’ expertise in data collation and display, allowing users to filter data by both venue and vendor, with output then displayed as interactive charts and reports.

Australia gambling regulator pumps brakes on Bitcoin bets

Australia’s premier online gambling licensing agency is pumping the brakes on its licensees accepting cryptocurrency-based wagers.

On Friday, online sports betting operators holding licenses issued by the Northern Territory Racing Commission (NTRC) received emails alerting them that the NTRC wasn’t down with operators accepting wagers in anything other than fiat currency.

As reported by the Australian Financial Review, the emails declared that the NTRC chairman “is intending to issue a formal communique to all sports bookmakers and betting exchange operators licensed in the NT if currently transacting in cryptocurrency (for example Bitcoin, Ethereum and the like) for their wagering operations to immediately cease and desist.”

The NTRC’s missive appears directly linked to last week’s reports that NTRC-licensed bookmaker Neds had launched Australia’s first Bitcoin-based betting platform. The site accepts deposits and pays out winnings in Bitcoin, but doesn’t allow customers to convert their Bitcoin balance to fiat currency.

Bonomo and Gorodinsky bag US Open wins; Perkins wants Poker After Dark change

Justin Bonomo and Mike Gorodinsky have taken an early lead in the US Poker Open after winning the first two events, and Bill Perkins is boycotting Poker After Dark until they incorporate Twitter into the equation.

Justin Bonomo is fast becoming a masterpiece of living art. The 32-year-old came into the US Poker Open as the early front-runner for the Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year race. It’s not perfect proof of persistence. But he did win $4.5m last year, and the year before that, yes, this man is running hotter than apple crumble.

The opening event was $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em. 68 people entered, and there was only one non-professional seated at the final table. His name was Pierre Nadim. He almost went all the way.

There is a view that the non-pros don’t enjoy competing with the pros at the highest level. It’s one of the reasons the One Drop moved their last million euro event to Monaco and banned them (although a pro won it, go figure).

Aussie Millions round-up: Toby Lewis wins Main Event as Brits prosper

A full round-up of the Aussie Millions festival including a resounding success for the British pros, notably Toby Lewis who walked away with the $1.17m first prize in the Main Event. 

It’s always good to win the Aussie Millions Main Event. It’s even better when you win the biggest Aussie Millions Main Event in history. Toby Lewis has just done that.

A few weeks ago, I sat down with Jake Cody to talk about the British poker boom in the early noughties and pondered why so few of that young crop ended up competing in the highest stakes.

Toby Lewis was one of those on my mind.

EPL review week 26: Huddersfield and Stoke join WBA in the bottom three

Week 26 of the English Premier League sees Huddersfield and Stoke joining West Brom in the bottom three after defeats against Man Utd and Bournemouth respectively.  

Man Utd 2 v 0 Huddersfield 

When Huddersfield won promotion to the Premier League who didn’t expect a swift return from whence they came?

And then they began so brightly.

3 Barrels: WPT heads to New Zealand; Afriat Title #2; NVRFLD raises $1.2m

3 Barrels of World Poker Tour wood including a planned trip to New Zealand, the second title for Eric Afriat, and a tidy sum raised by the WPT Foundation.

Barack Obama is heading to New Zealand. The former US President is best buddies with former Prime Minister, John Key, who currently sits on the Air New Zealand board, so one imagines a free flight is part of the deal.

Pay attention to the dates.

It’s essential.