Monthly Archives: April 2019

Tom Horn in the category finals of the Baltic and Scandinavian Gaming Awards

Malta, 10th April 2019 — Tom Horn Gaming is thrilled to announce that it has been shortlisted for Baltic and Scandinavian Awards 2019 (BSG Awards). The supplier will be up against industry heavyweights in the three B2B Baltic categories, Best Online Casino Provider, Best Online Casino Innovator and Rising Star in Baltic Online Technology.

The mission of the BSG Awards, presented by the European Gaming Media and Events during the Mare Balticum Gaming Summit, is to recognise the unique and resonant nature of the European igaming industry, with a focus on Scandinavia and the Baltics. The companies, who have made it through to the category finals of this prestigious competition were selected through the online voting process that ran between 1st and 31st March 2019.

Commenting on the shortlist, Ondrej Lapides, CEO at Tom Horn Gaming said: “ It is a real thrill to have been recognised for products and solutions we provide in the Baltics. We were the first provider to supply online casino content in Lithuania and we are still leading the way in delivering exceptional video slots and helping our partners in the region grow together with us. The calibre of the competition is extremely high and we’re in a very good company with some of the industry’s biggest names.”

Now in its second year, the summit and the awards offer great challenges for industry professionals, providing a platform for competition, networking, meetings, exchange of views and awarding the best. The ultimate winners will be decided by the summit attendees on 9 May 2019 in Vilnius.

ORYX confirmed to speak at the 11th i-Gaming Forum, Stockholm on 11th April 2019

Malta, 10th April 2019 – ORYX Gaming is set to discuss the potential of the newly-reformed Swedish market and the advantages of regulated jurisdictions at the 11th consecutive i-Gaming Forum in Stockholm.

ORYX Gaming, a member of Bragg Gaming Group (TSXV:BRAG), has vast experience in newly regulated markets and is in a strong position to assist partners in expanding their content in these jurisdictions.

The turnkey solution provider is renowned for its rapid and seamless integration, and is fully compliant with major regulated jurisdictions, including Spain, Romania, Schleswig Holstein, Croatia and Colombia, and also meet all the requirements of the new Swedish regulation that entered into force on January 1, 2019.

Jan Ridenfeldt, Business Unit Director at ORYX Gaming, will speak on a panel on Thursday 11th April, discussing the impact that the Swedish re-regulation will have on business and opportunities that the new environment can offer suppliers.

ORYX confirmed to speak at the 11th i-Gaming Forum, Stockholm on 11th April 2019

Malta, 10th April 2019 – ORYX Gaming is set to discuss the potential of the newly-reformed Swedish market and the advantages of regulated jurisdictions at the 11th consecutive i-Gaming Forum in Stockholm.

ORYX Gaming, a member of Bragg Gaming Group (TSXV:BRAG), has vast experience in newly regulated markets and is in a strong position to assist partners in expanding their content in these jurisdictions.

The turnkey solution provider is renowned for its rapid and seamless integration, and is fully compliant with major regulated jurisdictions, including Spain, Romania, Schleswig Holstein, Croatia and Colombia, and also meet all the requirements of the new Swedish regulation that entered into force on January 1, 2019.

Jan Ridenfeldt, Business Unit Director at ORYX Gaming, will speak on a panel on Thursday 11th April, discussing the impact that the Swedish re-regulation will have on business and opportunities that the new environment can offer suppliers.

Alvin Chau ready to loan Suncity as much as $192 million

Suncity Group Holdings reported a weak 2018 earlier this month as it struggles to find a solid footing. Despite an increase in revenue of 45.5% year-on-year, it got a raw deal over the exchange of convertible bonds and derivative instruments, ultimately resulting in the company having to report a loss of $217.5 million after having been on the plus side for 2017 with $29.35 million. Now, the company’s chairman may come to the rescue and issue a substantial loan to the company to help it right the ship.

According to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Suncity revealed that Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, the company’s chairman, has agreed to provide a loan of about $192 million to the company. That loan would come through Star Hope Ltd., an entity that Chau owns completely. The deal would see an unsecured loan provided to Suncity for a maximum period of three years, with Chau earning 3.5% annually on the loan.

The money will give Suncity a lot of breathing room, according to the filing. The company said that it will be able to “continue to diversify its businesses to tourism-related real estate in Asian countries and seek opportunities on the provision of consultancy services to hotels and integrated resorts.” It added, “The Group aims to build an integrated tourism-related platform with equity investments in integrated resorts and the provision of tourism-related services to integrated resorts within the Asian region. The Directors (excluding Mr Chau) consider that the Facility will strengthen the financial position and provide additional working capital to the Group.”

Last year, Suncity took a 34% stake in Hoiana, an integrated resort located in Vietnam. That move followed a number of delays as the company sought to secure the deal. It also purchased 3.29% of Summit Scent, the Hong Kong-listed company operating the Tigre de Cristal IR near Vladivostok, Russia. Suncity now is looking to expand into Cambodia and has signed an agreement to participate in a casino in Sihanoukville in that country.

Ohio gets another sports gambling bill as the previous one still isn’t moving

For the second time in as many months, a sports gambling bill has been introduced to the Ohio legislation. The first, Senate Bill 111 (SB 111), appeared on the surface to cover all the necessary bases, but has yet to find its footing and hasn’t been put before any committees. The new bill hopes to ensure the subject doesn’t die and is a variation of a sports gambling bill recently approved in West Virginia.

The bill was authored by Representatives Dave Greenspan and Brigid Kelly. Since Greenspan’s a Republican and Kelly’s a Democrat, the lawmakers hope the bipartisan support will keep the political infighting to a minimum. The bill would authorize in-person bets at casinos and racinos, as well as at centers run by and for veterans and fraternal organizations. Revenue generated by the state from the 10% tax placed on the activity would be used to cover education programs and for running the sports gambling program.

Lawmakers believe that Ohio could benefit by as much as $30 million each year from legalized sports wagers. Greenspan thinks the number could be higher and that it could be at least twice that amount.

SB 111 has “kind of slowed down,” according to one of its authors, Senator John Eklund. He added, “But I’m hoping that sometime in the very near term we’ll have the bill assigned to a committee and commence hearings soon.”

Delta Corp gets off to a good start in 2019

Delta Corp, one of the most successful gaming operators in India, has started 2019 strong. According to its recent financial report, it saw an increase in income of 18.7% year-on-year, reaching $32.4 million across the quarter. This was propelled by a strong performance in its casino operations, which was up by 21.1% to about $27 million.

While the numbers were slightly lower than what had been reported for the fourth quarter of last year, they were still a solid indication of forward movement. Online operations increased by 11% year-on-year to $5.6 million and the company’s revenue from hospitality and other operations increased 7.9% to $3.5 million.

Net revenue at Delta Corp. increased 19.1% for the period, closing at about $29.5 million. This helped propel first-quarter profit to $8.22 million compared to the $6.56 million from a year earlier.

According to Grant Govertsen with Union Gaming, the company will continue to strengthen its position. He asserts that the company’s stock remains a “buy,” but clarifies, “We have trimmed our forward estimates to reflect some near-term disruption (one of the Goa boats going into drydock soon), as well as the effect of tough comps. Our estimates remain modestly above consensus.”

The annual Global Gaming Expo Asia event is quickly approaching

The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia event is right around the corner, but it’s not too late to prepare to attend. The three-day event runs May 21-23 at the Venetian Macao in Macau and, if this year is anything like what was seen last year, it’s going to be another record event.

G2E Asia routinely sees attendance by more than 95% of all Asian casino operators. It’s the largest single location to explore the latest technology in the gaming and entertainment markets and is also a unique opportunity for professionals to network and develop greater insight into what is happening in the industry.

Last year, G2E Asia 2018 was also held at the Venetian Macao.  It received around 15,000 international visitors – 30% more than in 2017. It has become the go-to event due to the exclusive focus on the gaming industry and the ability to attract top-level professionals to lead talks on what is going on in the industry.

This year, some of the professionals lined up to speak include Daisy Ho, the chairman and executive director of SJM Holdings Ltd., and Paulo Martins Chan, the director of Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

The EGBA thinks Portugal should reconsider its gambling taxes

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) believes Portugal’s gambling tax policies are “discriminatory.” It is lobbying for the country’s government to make changes to the policies, arguing that the tax on online gambling has resulted in grater player channelization.

Currently, according to Portugal’s’ gambling laws established in 2015, online sports wagers are taxed anywhere from 8%-16% and online casino gaming gross gaming revenue (GGR) is taxed between 15%-30%. The EGBA believes a better option would be a flat tax calculated against the GGR.

In a statement from the past Monday, the group stated, “EGBA urges the authorities to apply equal taxes across all online gambling products – and based on gross gaming revenue (GGR). This will ensure the regulated Portuguese market becomes more attractive to players – because a sensible taxation level will lead to better priced betting odds – and pull into the regulated market more of the 75% of Portuguese players who are now playing on websites not regulated in Portugal.”

It adds, “The current online gambling law in Portugal rightly allows multiple online gambling operators to obtain a license and provide their services to Portuguese citizens who wish to place a bet online. In the online environment this is the best way to ensure that Portuguese players can play on licensed and regulated gambling websites – and that is why 25 EU member states have now adopted this model.”

EveryMatrix’s API bet pays off as CasinoEngine remains platform of choice for industry

The credentials of the number one casino integration and productivity platform from EveryMatrix, CasinoEngine, have been underlined by the company’s sustained signing of new casino partnerships and game vendors for the solution including 46 new companies in the last 18 months. Stian Hornsletten, CasinoEngine CEO and EveryMatrix co-founder, explains the platform’s popularity with large nationwide operations and innovative startups alike and how its responsible gambling focus is set to be a hit across Italy, Spain,Sweden and beyond…

How has CasinoEngine benefited your business so far and in what way do you plan to further develop the product?

We witnessed first-hand how many operators struggled in their efforts to offer players’ personalized experiences, mainly due to their platforms’ technical or operational limitations to quickly react to market changes, responsible gaming requirements or players demands.

CasinoEngine is much more than just an integration layer and our overall vision is to create value-added services around aggregation and generate maximum value from each player. The combination of tools, services and deep integration is what makes up the product. Improving operational efficiency while offering endless possibilities in term of player experience, is exactly what CasinoEngine is offering to its clients.

ONE: Roots of honor press conference highlights

The stars of ONE: ROOTS OF HONOR came out to a packed Press Conference to discuss their upcoming matchups this Friday night, 12 April at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.

In the main event, reigning ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen takes on former titleholder Narantungalag Jadambaa. In the co-main event, ONE Strawweight World Champion Yosuke “The Ninja” Saruta takes on local hero Joshua “The Passion” Pacio in a highly-anticipated rematch.

About ONE Championship

ONE Championship (ONE) is the largest global sports media property in Asian history, and the largest producer of millennial live sports content in Asia. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE is the Home of Martial Arts, and is the world’s largest martial arts organization, hosting bouts across all styles of martial arts such as Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate, Kung Fu, Silat, Sanda, Lethwei, Mixed Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do, Submission Grappling, and more. ONE hosts the biggest sports entertainment events across Asia, featuring some of the world’s best martial artists and world champions on the largest global media broadcast in Asia. ONE eSports, a subsidiary of ONE Championship, runs Asia’s largest global eSports Championship Series with some of the biggest blockbuster game titles in the world. In addition to its digital platforms, ONE Championship broadcasts to over 2.6 billion potential viewers across 140+ countries with some of the largest global broadcasters, including Fox Sports, ABS-CBN, Astro, ClaroSports, Startimes, Thairath TV, Skynet, Mediacorp, Great Sports, Tencent, Star TV, Mediaset Italia, ProSiebenSat.1, Dubai Sports, Turner Sports, and more.

Lyubomira Petrova (Chief Marketing Officer at UltraPlay) to highlight the state of eSports at MARE BALTICUM Gaming Summit 2019

Vilnius – 10 April 2019 – Betting on eSports is growing faster than eSports itself and what was once an informal system of wagering conducted primarily between friends and acquaintances is quickly evolving into an industry where hundreds of millions of dollars are risked on an annual basis by millions of players emerging from all over the world.

With that rapid growth naturally comes quite a great deal of adoption by large gaming operators who are always looking for quality providers and not the mention experienced eSports product providers.

For the past couple of years UltraPlay built enough competence and experience to claim its leadership role in eSports.

Lyubomira Petrova is the Chief Marketing Officer at UltraPlay and has been with the company for a few years now, learning and experiencing what eSports is all about.

ARC and Ladbrokes Belgium sign longterm agreement

Ladbrokes Belgium has contracted to take Arena Racing Company’s (“ARC”) European Racing Channel (ERC) into its network of shops in Belgium.

The agreement enables Belgium’s biggest retail betting shop operator, to now showcase all UK horseracing and BAGS greyhound racing to a growing audience across Belgium.

“We are committed to offering our customers live events of the highest quality and this new agreement with ARC ensures we now can offer all UK horseracing and BAGS greyhound racing together with Australian, South African and North American content. This will be available in all our shops and on our betting terminals to cement our place as market leaders” said Ladbrokes Belgium’s Managing Director, Yannik Bellefroid.

ARC’s Director of International Markets, Antony Hopkins, said: “We are delighted that Ladbrokes Belgium has committed to show the European Racing Channel across their retail estate in Belgium. This will give them access to our quality UK and international thoroughbred content and they will receive all BAGS greyhound content which provides the reliability and margins that are so important for operators and their customers.”

Better Collective tops EGR Power Affiliates 2019 list for the second consecutive year

For the second year in a row, Better Collective ranks as No 1 in EGR’s prestigious Power Affiliates 2019 list.

As the first company within the iGaming industry, Better Collective, the world’s leading developer of digital platforms for bookmaker information, iGaming communities, and betting tips, has been ranked at the top of EGR’s Power Affiliates 2019 list for the second consecutive year. The list is picked by a panel of experts that has looked at criteria such as business and commercial success, M&A activity, and regulatory and compliance procedures.

Jesper Søgaard, Co-founder and CEO of Better Collective, said: “Last year, we were very honored to top the prestigious EGR Power Affiliates list. Being ranked as No 1 once again makes me extremely proud, and I see this as a true testament to the fantastic team at Better Collective that each day continues to deliver on our vision to empower iGamers through transparency and technology.

“Our ambition is to continue to grow and be the frontrunner in the industry – topping this list again is, without a doubt, a seal of approval that we are on the right track”.     

FeedBACK Casino affiliate site launched by online casino trailblazers

FeedbackCasino.com allows players to apply filters in order to compare online casinos and benefit from online community feedback and reviews

10 APRIL 2019, Barcelona, Spain – The innovators behind SlotsMillion, LadyLucks and Casino Lemonade have unveiled FeedBACK Casino, marking the industry’s first online casino comparison website.

Founded on a “find and compare” principle, Feedbackcasino.com allows visitors to identify preferred online casinos by applying different filters, such as payment methods, software and types of games.

Up to three online casinos can be compared side-by-side before the chosen website is selected, with a Trust Flow feature showing members’ average scores for each destination.

UltraPlay and SickOdds to head esports panel at AffiliateCon Sofia

UltraPlay’s Dragomir Ivanov will be joined by SickOdds Co-founders Tom Wade and Nick Pateman for an insightful esports panel at AffiliateCon Sofia.

On Wednesday 15 May, UltraPlay Esports Head Trader Ivanov will utilise his extensive experience with the operator and discuss how to engage with esports bettors.

Joining him on stage will be Wade and Pateman, who founded esports betting website SickOdds in 2016, envisaging a day betting revenue from the vertical would surpass that of traditional sports.

AffiliateCon Founder Julian Perry said: “There is no denying esports is a very important part of gaming and we are delighted to welcome Dragomir, Tom and Nick as expert speakers on the subject.

iGaming Academy launches suite of us sportsbook elearning courses

In a first for the iGaming industry, iGaming Academy is proud to announce the launch of a suite of eLearning courses designed for the US Sportsbook market.

Its headline course in US Online Sportsbook explores the burgeoning multi-state US online sportsbook market and shares key success factors in running a sportsbook online in the USA. Including regulatory information on New Jersey, West Virginia, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Nevada, the module provides a high-level overview on online sports betting in the US and the key fundamentals that underpin a successful online sportsbook.

iGaming Academy’s US Online Sportsbook eLearning suite is completed by a range of US focused eLearning courses on:

Responsible Gaming

The Masters 2019 betting preview

To some sports bettors, the official start of spring is when Major League Baseball begins. To golf fans, though, especially those in cold-weather locales, the end of winter is when the Masters annually tees off at Augusta National in Georgia. That happens starting Thursday, with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy the +700 favorite.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The Masters is the most prestigious of golf’s four Grand Slam events, with the winner receiving a garish but coveted green jacket. It also annually has the smallest field because it’s by invitation only – no Monday qualifying or playing in some sectional to get in like the U.S. Open. The Masters, also the only slam held annually at the same course, hasn’t had a field of triple digits since 103 players teed up in 1966. There are 87 players this year.

McIlroy is favored even though he has yet to win at Augusta as he looks to complete the rare career Grand Slam. He has finished Top 10 at Augusta each of the past five years. He was in position to win the green jacket with a big lead while teeing off on the back-nine Sunday in 2011 but imploded and finished shooting an 80 to plummet to 15th. McIlroy is having a fabulous year on the PGA Tour, yet to finish outside the Top 10 and with a win at the Players Championship.

EPL week 33 review: Chelsea moves into third after West Ham win

Week 33 of the English Premier League is now history after Chelsea racked up the final win of the weekend beating West Ham at Stamford Bridge to climb into third.

The Chelsea crowd decided to give Maurizio Sarri a break on a night that saw his side move into third in the English Premier League (EPL) table after recording a third successive victory.

At this point in the season, only Liverpool and Manchester City have more points. Yeah, Arsenal and Spurs both have a game in hand, making the move potentially fleeting, and yes, Chelsea has put in some dismal performances this season.

But.