Monthly Archives: March 2019

Gateway Casinos acquires Chances Signal Point

Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd. continues its march across Canada, grabbing more casinos every chance it gets. Its latest acquisition comes through Chances Signal Point, a casino in Williams Lake, that the company officially took over as of March 1. Hopefully, it’s learned its lesson from 2018 and will be able to avoid another worker’s strike.

According to a recent press release by Gateway, “This strategic acquisition marks the next milestone in Gateway’s growth strategy which has seen the company expand their footprint and product offering across Canada. Guided by a strategy to create gaming properties that offer community-centered entertainment with a variety of gaming and culinary options, Gateway is excited about the potential of this opportunity in the Cariboo region of the Central Interior of British Columbia.”

Gateway is now the proud owner of 27 properties across Canada, mostly in British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta. It has 8,658 employees and they all are apparently excited about the acquisition. Tony Santo, Gateway’s CEO, explained, “Everyone at Gateway is very excited to welcome Chances Signal Point and their team to the Gateway family. We look forward to bringing our unique entertainment offerings to Williams Lake.”

Across its portfolio, Gateway offers 448 table games – of which 49 are poker – 13,887 slots, 561 hotel rooms and 85 restaurants and bars. It first launched 27 years ago and has continued to take Canada by storm.

Belle Corp posts record revenue in 2018

Recent gambles by Philippine-based Belle Corp look to be paying off, as the company announced on Monday that they recorded record revenues for 2018. This came on the strength of their casinos, which saw a drastic increase in profits.

According to documents filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company saw its annual increase rise by 10% to a total of PHP 3.6 billion ($69 million USD). The total amount of consolidated revenue also saw a dramatic increase of 6% to a total of PHP 8.5 billion ($160 million USD).

The dramatic increase in total revenue came as a direct result of gaming earnings. According to the report, Belle reported an increase of 23% in terms of its gaming revenue from the City of Dreams Manila casino.

This was not the only area where they saw a dramatic increase, however. The real estate arm of Belle Corp also reported an increase of 9% in revenue from 2017, going from P3.1 billion ($59 million USD) to P3.4 billion ($65 million USD). A huge portion of this revenue came from the leasing of land and buildings that were part of the Manila Melco Resorts and Entertainment project. This was an increase of 6% over what the company raised in 2017.

Red Tiger goes live with BetVictor

Leading operator rolls out slots and Daily Jackpots

Malta, 5th March 2019 – Customers at BetVictor now have access to slot titles and Daily Jackpots from award-winning casino software provider Red Tiger.

The jackpots, with in-game panels showing the amounts tick up, have proven to be hugely popular across the industry, with players able to see which ones will pay the most via a handy widget.

Gavin Hamilton, CEO of Red Tiger, said the deal was another significant step as it looks to partner with the most important operators in markets around the world.

Your gateway to Africa’s Gaming Market – 2019 African Gaming events

4 March 2019, Johannesburg, South Africa

With Africa’s combined gambling market size projected to reach over of $37 Billion the need for all stakeholders in the gaming sector to stay up to date with cutting edge technological advancements, marketing techniques, best practice and regulatory changes becomes even more imperative.

Eventus International summits and exhibitions have a longstanding reputation for bringing together the biggest stakeholders in a market together to discuss the future of the gaming sector. Here’s a little taste of what’s to come this year.

BiG Africa Supershow 2019

Pariplay partners with Save the Rhino International

Gaming technology firm will contribute to rhino conservation charity, helping protect endangered species 

5th March 2019 – Pariplay Ltd., a gaming technology company serving iGaming operators, land-based casinos and lotteries, has announced a ground-breaking partnership with Save the Rhino International, a UK-registered charity celebrating its 25th anniversary. Centering around Pariplay’s latest and most exciting flagship game Rumble Rhino, 10% of all Pariplay profits originating from the game will be donated to Save the Rhino International.

Through this collaboration, the two organizations are demonstrating a shared commitment to the conservation of multiple populations of endangered rhinoceros located in Africa and Asia.

The unveiling of this partnership is timed in conjunction with SRI’s 25th anniversary celebration. In that remarkable stretch of time, the charity has been working towards its vision to protect all five species of rhinoceros in the wild for future generations. With assistance from various partners, the non-profit organization raised more than £2.7 million in the last financial year, funding projects including educational activities, established conservation programmes and community-led initiatives.

iGaming provider WeAreCasino partners with Wiraya to deliver the best in player experience for operators

Stockholm, Sweden 5th of March 2019, international game provider, WeAreCasino has signed a partnership agreement with Wiraya, combining superior casino games with Wiraya’s Mobile Customer Activation solution.

“This is really exciting news for WeAreCasino, it allows us to offer operators the very best in user experience throughout the player lifecycle, from initial gameplay, through to regular interactions with customers.” Says Marko Jelen, WeAreCasino’s Director of Sales.

“Operators are finally recognising the benefits of focussing on customer experience, looking at the entire player lifecycle to address the challenge of customer loyalty and increased lifetime value. That’s why it’s so exciting to be partnering with WeAreCasino as together we can offer leading brands the best in engaging communication with players and leading gameplay.” Says Hampus Lindberg, Wiraya’s Commercial Director for iGaming.

WeAreCasino offers innovative and unique games for some of the leading operators in the industry, and have strong ambitions to become one of the world’s largest online casino gaming provider. Offering a selection of innovative tools for the gaming industry, WeAreCasino has built an impressive range of fully integrated APIs to complement their core product offering

Big Ten in Tuesday College Basketball odds spotlight

Believe it or not, college basketball’s regular season concludes this week, with the major conference tournaments next week (some mid-major tourneys are this week) and then Selection Sunday on March 17.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The Big Ten regular-season title is a three-school race between Michigan State, Michigan and Purdue – the Spartans and Wolverines could decide things Saturday night in East Lansing. First things first for No. 9 MSU as Tom Izzo’s club hosts Nebraska on Tuesday. Sparty doesn’t want to get caught looking ahead to its bitter rival.

Michigan State was a 2-point favorite when it visited Lincoln on January 17 and won behind a career-high 29 points from All-American point guard and potential Big Ten Player of the Year Cassius Winston, and 15 points and 10 rebounds from Nick Ward; Ward is currently out injured and not expected back Tuesday.

Saipan okays junkets, waives Imperial Pacific’s bankroll rules

Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) has three more junket options after local gaming regulators approved more VIP gambling promoters.

Late last week, the Commonwealth Casino Commmission (CCC) approved provisional licenses for three junket operators – Bula Mula LLC, High Tides LLC and Stellar Paradise LLC – to start steering high-rolling gamblers to the VIP rooms at IPI’s Imperial Pacific Resort casino, the only gaming venue on the island.

If those names sound familiar, they were among the four companies the CCC identified last September as having already secured license approval. According to the Saipan Tribune, all three junkets approved last week were represented at the CCC hearing by the same lawyer, Michael Dotts.

Despite this approval, it may be some time before the impact of these new junkets can be felt, as CCC exec director Edward Deleon Guerrero said the three companies had yet to complete their documentation requirements and are still setting up local bank accounts and other operational box-ticking.

Microgaming donates £30,000 to four charities as part of its 2018 Gift of Giving campaign

ISLE OF MAN – Microgaming, through its CSR initiative PlayItForward, has donated £30,000 between four charities as part of its 2018 Gift of Giving campaign.

Gift of Giving provides key customers and contacts of Microgaming with the opportunity to vote for one of several charities in their region. In lieu of Christmas gifts, £30,000 is split equally between four global regions: Isle of Man, UK and Europe, Africa, and Rest of the World.

Running in December 2018, the sixth annual Gift of Giving took total donations through the campaign to £180,000.

In the 2018 campaign, the charities that received the highest number of votes in each region were Heroes on the Water (Isle of Man), Teenage Cancer Trust (UK and Europe), Save the Rhino International (Africa), and Médecins Sans Frontières (Rest of the World).

Pinnacle becomes Official Betting Partner for ECS 2019

Pinnacle has agreed a deal with FACEIT to become the Official Betting Partner of the Esports Championship Series.

London, March 4, 2019 – Online bookmaker Pinnacle.com has signed a deal with the leading competitive gaming platform and esports production company FACEIT.

The announcement coincides with FACEIT revealing the 16 teams that will be invited to the Challenger Cup, which has been renamed to the Pinnacle Cup as part of the partnership.

Pinnacle will act as the Official Betting Partner for ECS throughout 2019. The partnership will include real-time odds support, and will continue throughout the Regular Season and the Finals. Pinnacle also believe this partnership will help them build on their unique content offering and bring a new level of insight to the esports community.