Monthly Archives: January 2019

iSoftBet launches ‘In-Game’ real-time cross-platform gamification and previews three smash hit slots at ICE 2019

Scan QR code on official iSoftBet ICE bags at show entrance to be in with a chance of winning latest Bose headphones

22nd January, 2019: iSoftBet, the market-leading online and mobile casino software provider, is showcasing a host of new products at ICE 2019 including ‘In-Game’, its ground breaking real-time, cross-platform gamification layer, plus smash-hit slots that are set to take the market by storm.

In-Game is the latest innovation by iSoftBet adding configurable, real-time, cross-platform gamification tools to its popular suite of games including third-party titles available on its Gaming Aggregation Platform (GAP). Operators across all regulated markets will be able to use this cutting-edge tool to engage and motivate their players and boost loyalty rates.

In-Game allows operators to activate a series of easy-to-use, configurable and automated gamification tools that significantly enhance the player experience. This includes jackpots, leaderboards based on achievements or points, or rewards in the form of cash bonuses or free rounds, across not only any iSoftBet game, but also more than 3,000 slot and table game titles provided by its 50 game partners on the GAP platform.

Bet.works appoints former Sbtech executive Marc Brody as senior vice president of business development

22 January, 2019, Las Vegas, Nevada: Bet.WorksTM, a US-based iGaming and sports betting technology platform supplier, announced today the appointment of Marc Brody as Senior Vice President of Business Development.

Marc is a veteran sports executive with over 20 years of experience and a proven track record in partnerships for companies in sports, media and gaming, including the NBA, Perform Group, BWIN.Party Digital Entertainment and most recently SBTech.

Marc will be responsible for defining opportunities for growth across the US and overseeing the company’s business development and account management teams.

David Wang, Bet.Works CEO, said: “We are delighted to have Marc join Bet.Works as he is highly regarded in the industry as a business development expert and has signed and managed numerous high-profile US sports betting technology contracts, including deals with the NBA and NHL.

Over 100 million online casino transactions exposed

An online casino group based in Cyprus and the Caribbean island of Curaçao left information on 108 million bets exposed on its server, before it was taken down.

ZDNet reported that the Elastic Search server, used by websites for indexing and search purposes and typically installed on internal networks, had been left without a password, allowing for the data to be leaked.

Security researcher Justin Paine had come across the exposed server, by which he determined that the data was from an online betting group handling multiple websites. The games included “classic cards and slot games,” among other types, according to the article.

Among the domains named were kahunacasino.com, azur-casino.com, easybet.com, and viproomcasino.net, owned by several companies, some housed in the same building in Limassol, Cyprus. Others were operating under the same license number issued by the Curaçao government.

Change in shareholders at PMG A/S

The four-leaf clover that has been PMG Group for the last 5 years became a three-leaf clover this January with existing shareholders Dennis Dyhr-Hansen, Morten Marcussen and Mikael Strunge entering into an agreement with Michael Finderup to take over shares in the group.

PMG Group, a Copenhagen and Malta based digital marketing group with assets such as Matching Visions, Power Media Group, Rvnue, SportsInnovation and Voonix in the portfolio, has announced that the group is slimming down its ownership circle going into 2019.

Dennis Dyhr-Hansen, board member of PMG Group and Matching Visions CEO said: “Michael Finderup vacated his operational position in the company in early 2018 and has been working on projects outside PMG. That situation combined with a different view on how the company should move forward on a strategic level lead to a discussion about a potential buyout during the fall of 2018. We are all satisfied with the agreement and are separating amicably as friends.”

Michael Finderup has been an instrumental part of building up PMG Group. He has been leading the way on several projects within the group and many of his ideas and concepts are an integrated part of the group’s DNA to this day.

Tom Horn Gaming pens SBTech deal

Award-winning igaming software supplier Tom Horn Gaming has signed a casino content distribution agreement with SBTech, the award-winning sports betting and gaming technology supplier to leading operators across more than 20 regulated markets.

As part of the deal, SBTech’s platform partners have gained access to Tom Horn’s collection of best performing immersive video slots which players can now look forward to selecting on SBTech’s newly-launched casino hub.

The partnership with SBTech aligns with Tom Horn’s long-term strategy to join forces with industry leaders and expand its reach in regulated jurisdictions across the globe.

Commenting on the agreement, Ondrej Lapides, CEO, Tom Horn Gaming, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have signed a partnership deal with SBTech. Partnering with them will allow us to distribute our gaming content to even more operators and players in regulated markets. I’m positive we will grow our business to its maximum potential with SBTech and their extensive customer base will definitely appreciate our cutting-edge content.”

2 months to go – BiG Africa Supershow 2019

22 January 2019, Johannesburg, South Africa – Last week, we concluded that the gambling industry in Africa is big business. According to ventures Africa, the combined size of the gambling industry in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa was projected to be worth a staggering $37 billion in 2018.

One of the great things about the African market is that it’s mostly African companies who have the majority market share, showing a clear link that, African punters are more likely to support local operators which in turn means maximum returns for the African economy.

Africa, just like any market, requires intense evaluation and research in order to gain and retain market share. That’s exactly what the BiG Africa Supershow offers delegates and attendees from across Africa and the world. The topics have been designed to effectively explore the biggest challenges and opportunities in the African market.

Spotlight on Content

Super Bowl 53 opening odds and trends

Rumors of the New England Patriots’ demise were greatly exaggerated. Coming off a regular season where it looked at times like the Pats’ dynasty was going to end, they are back where they usually are this time of year, the Super Bowl. Early action on Tom Brady and company has the Patriots listed as 3-point favorites against the NFC champion Los Angeles Rams.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta is on Sunday, February 3, exactly 17 years to the day that Brady and head coach Bill Belichick won their first Super Bowl title to kickstart this dynasty. On February 3, 2002, in New Orleans, the Patriots were heavy underdogs to Kurt Warner’s St. Louis Rams but won 20-17 on a last-second Adam Vinatieri field goal. The 16 seasons between matchups is tied for the longest among the seven matchups that featured at least twice in the Super Bowl. Brady had made just 14 career starts back then.

That was the first of five Super Bowl rings for Brady and Belichick and this is their ninth trip together. New England is just 2-5 against the spread in its past seven Super Bowl matchups. It is the third franchise in league history to make at least three straight, joining the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins – both also AFC East teams. Brady and Belichick are trying to become the sixth former MVP and head coach combination in the four major North American professional sports leagues to win six titles together. The last to do it? The Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson.

GalaBingo.com raises more than £200,000 for charity partner 52 Lives

The UK’s leading online bingo brand, GalaBingo.com, has announced it is extending its partnership with UK based charity, 52 Lives for a further two years.

52 Lives was launched in 2013 and aims to change a person’s life every week by spreading kindness and generosity. The charity has already supported thousands of people across the UK.

GalaBingo.com, which first partnered with the charity in 2016, pledged to donate a minimum of £52,000 to the charity per year but has so far raised a staggering £218,818.

GalaBingo.com has raised funds by hosting 52 Lives charity games every day at 7:30pm, with an additional three on Sunday nights. Anybody over the age of 18 is welcome to play, with tickets costing 25p or less. 100% of the profits from these games go to the charity, alongside additional player donations, with more than £218,000 raised to date.

Aussie Millions update: Ring wins for Muhammad Asad and Justin Liberto

The Aussie Millions is punching people in the stomach and hugging the life out of them in equal measure this week, and in today’s update, we bring you news of the winners of Events #1 & #3.

Melbourne’s Aussie Millions is the fillet steak right now. Every other tournament in the world is either peas, mushrooms or chips. Between now and the first week in February the Crown Casino is under the spotlight, and its opening song was as loud as you can get.

Event #1: AUD 1,150 No-Limit Hold’em Opening Event is a record breaker after 1,752-entrants made it the largest $1k event ever held in the Summer Hemisphere. The top prize went to Jason Pritchard. The ANTON Championship ring went to Muhammad Asad.

The Sydney resident came from behind to bank $158,344 after carving out a three-handed deal with Pritchard and the UK’s Matt Edwards. Although Asad would later tell PokerNews that he wasn’t a fan of the deal because he felt confident enough to win it, he entered negotiations as the man with the lowest chip count.

Ben ‘Spraggy’ Spraggs on the poker journey, keeping it real and more

Lee Davy sits down with the PokerStars Ambassador, Ben ‘Spraggy’ Spraggs, to talk about his experience at the PokerStars Player’s No-Limit Hold’em Championship, his relationship with his Twitch stream and much more.

[Image credit: Carlos Monti]

PokerTube, which is like PornTube, but about poker, and not porn, recently published an article titled PokerStars Sponsorship Changed: And For The Worst! The author claimed that back in the day online poker rooms sponsored players because they were one of the elite, with no gimmicks whatsoever, and that these days, PokerStars are hiring Twitch streamers as the new figureheads, and it’s no secret, nor an insult to point out, that most streamers are not at a level that is truly inspirational to ambitious new players.

The poker world has changed.

Booming Games launches on Coolbet

Malta-based slot supplier Booming Games has launched its portfolio of slot games on Coolbet. Booming Games’ slot portfolio comprises of more than 40 HTML5 slot games including popular titles like Booming Seven Deluxe, Sugar Skulls, VIP Filthy Riches and latest release Boomshakalaka.

“We are excited to launch our portfolio on a leading operator like the Coolbet and further increase the reach of our games to players” said Frederik Niehusen, Chief Commercial Officer at Booming Games.

Booming Games will showcase their upcoming titles Show me the Mummy, Cheeky Monkeys, Crazy Bananas and Stellar Spins at ICE Totally Gaming stand N3-336.

The post Booming Games launches on Coolbet appeared first on CalvinAyre.com.

Multilotto strengthens its executive leadership team

Online lottery betting company sees the appointment of former Chief Financial Officer, Christian Hellbjer as CEO after the departure of Thomas Biro, and the appointment of Mark Knighton as Head of Operations.

Christian Hellbjer has been named Multilotto’s new Chief Executive Officer after the departure of Thomas Biro who served as CEO for the past 7 years and has seen the company’s impressive growth journey from a messenger service to an established online lottery betting service with licenses in the UK, Ireland, Malta and Sweden.

After completing his studies at Lund University, Christian joined The Multi Group as Financial Controller. He quickly rose through the ranks to become the company’s CFO strengthening not only the senior management team but also structuring and streamlining the financial processes within the organisation. Talking about his new role as CEO, Christian says: “It’s an honour for me to take over the role of CEO and I am very excited to have the opportunity to guide the Multilotto team to the highest levels and continue building on our strong foundations.”

2019 also sees the appointment of Mark Knighton as Multilotto’s new Head of Operations.

partypoker release KO and Powerfest series info; Stars $25m Turbo plans

A combination of online tournament details including Pokerfuse declaring guarantees and dates for partypoker’s KO Series and Powerfest and PokerStars announcing a $25m GTD Turbo Series in February.

Everyone is watching to see what partypoker does next after a year that saw them host the richest-ever online tournament, but nobody is watching them closer than Pokerfuse.

Michael, Nick and the team have announced spare rib details of two of the three mixed grills that partypoker hope to serve during your Q1, 2019 sitting, including dates and guarantees.

The first big series for partypoker in 2019 will be The Knockout Series. The tournament series that fits the slipper designed for the pinkies of Progressive Knockout Tournaments (PKOs) runs February 3 – 17, and according to Pokerfuse scribe, Anu Arora, the team has hacked $5m off the draft guarantee, with $15m now up for grabs.

PokerStars reduces Sunday Million buy-in to $109; tonkaaaa chop

PokerStars has reduced the $215 buy-in Sunday Million to $109 in a bid to attract more players, and Parker “tonkaaaa” Talbot chops the final $215 buy-in event for the most significant score of his career.

Are you the type of person who spends $20 on a manicure or $200?

Seth Godin teaches that marketing changes your pricing, and pricing changes your marketing.

Back in 2006, when PokerStars created their flagship $215 buy-in, $1m guaranteed Sunday Million tournament the poker landscape was very different. The $215 price point was at the high end of poker tournaments, especially a weekly event, but today, with the PokerStars High Roller Club offering buy-ins of $530, $1,050 and $2,100, that ground is adequately covered.