Monthly Archives: May 2018

Translating the World Cup into success

This is a guest contribution by Andrew Morgan. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

The World Cup will be the betting event of the year and provides operators and affiliates with a huge opportunity to engage new and existing consumers. Most will now be putting the finishing touches to their battle plans as they look to leverage the global nature of the tournament and deliver high-value content to bettors in markets all over the world.

But to succeed, they will have to overcome many hurdles, including creating unique content that spans both desktop and mobile, as well as translating said content, all while fending off stiff competition. It’s a tough task, but with such a huge prize on the table, operators and affiliates will want to rise to the occasion and get their hands on the trophy.

Tough competition:

Esports Playing Its Hand at 2018 World Series of Poker with UMG Big Stage for Competitive Gaming

Esports, meet poker. Along with the 78 bracelet events and millions in cash, this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) will give esports a significant presence at poker’s flagship event in […]

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Portugal relies on online casino growth as sports bets flatten

Portugal’s regulated online gambling market relied on its online casino vertical to provide a year-on-year boost in the first quarter of 2018.

Figures released Friday by the Serviço Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ) regulatory body show the country’s seven licensed online gambling operators generated combined revenue of €33.8m in the three months ending March 31.

The sum is €2.5m higher than the same period last year, but €2.7m lower than the market reported in Q4 2017. Portugal launched its regulated market in May 2016 and has since issued five online sports betting licenses, seven online casino licenses and one online poker permit (the latter to The Stars Group’s PokerStars brand).

The government’s share of this pie amounted to €11.2m, roughly one-third of the total. It’s worth reminding everyone that Portugal taxes its online sportsbooks at an average rate of 12% of betting turnover, not revenue, which has contributed to the regulated market’s inability to ‘channel’ punters to locally licensed sites.

Las Vegas casino workers could walk off the job June 1

Las Vegas casinos could face a customer service nightmare this summer if unionized casino workers hit the picket lines.

This week, the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 announced that their roughly 50,000 members will hold a vote May 22 on whether to walk off the job anytime after midnight on May 31, when their current contract with local casino operators expires.

The workers occupy a variety of frontline roles – including housekeeping staff, cooks, kitchen staff, porters, bartenders, food and beverage servers, etc. – at 34 different Vegas properties, with MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment among those operators that would be most affected.

Suffice it to say, these workers’ absence – or their temporary replacement by scabs unfamiliar with the nuances of their duties – would be noticed by the throngs of demanding tourists who descend on Vegas during the busy summer season.