Monthly Archives: April 2019

China lottery sales decline sharply following positive January

China’s lottery sales have been on the rise, seeing significant profits throughout 2018 and into January of this year, but February proved to buck the trend. According to the country’s Ministry of Finance, China’s lottery sales fell by as much as 8.8% in February, ending the streak of success that the country had seen over the last 13 months.

The truth is that some decline was not seen as a surprise. The increase in 2018 came as a result of the World Cup, which drove overall lottery sales. It was really the sports lottery that pushed revenue to increase by 8.4% overall, with a 37% increase coming from the World Cup alone.

This was the third year in a row that the lottery sales market had increased its revenue. While sports lottery sales drove the rapid increase, there was still a modest increase in the welfare lottery sales as well, which increased by 3.5% over the numbers from 2017.

January 2018 got off to a fast start, once again driven by the sports lottery. The AFC Asia Cup tournament produced 56% of the overall lottery sales revenue, approximately CNY26.74 billion. However, this was not the only driving force. Welfare lottery sales still increased by 9.7% over the sales in the same month of 2017. Of the 31 cities and provinces in China that are authorized to sell lottery tickets, all but a handful reported an increase.

GanaEight Coin’s Hayato Terai on how blockchain brings transparency to iGaming

Much has been said about the benefits that blockchain brings to the gambling industry. The technology doesn’t only make gambling payments easier, it also provides transparency—particularly in iGaming.

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Karin Thunholm takes on CFO role at Casumo

MALTA — Karin Thunholm, with industry experience from Kindred, ComeOn!/Cherry, and Dunder, steps into the role of CFO for Casumo, bringing vast experience in both finance and the gaming industry.

“We’re excited to welcome Karin as a part of the senior management team driving Casumo on its continued, ambitious growth journey,” says Oscar Simonsson, CEO of Casumo.

“I am very excited to work with Casumo. A fantastic company, both in relation to culture as well as accomplishments. I find myself surrounded by highly-skilled, passionate and friendly people who walk the extra mile to deliver. It’s an amazing situation to find yourself in. I am looking forward to being part of taking Casumo to the next level,” says Karin Thunholm.

Thunholm started in iGaming in 2006 and has vast experience from the industry after holding previous roles such as CFO at ComeOn, Head of Finance at Unibet, and most recently, CFO for Dunder. She is taking over from Matthew Borg Manche, who has been with Casumo since the start. Borg Manche is moving into a business development role and remains a company director.

Thunderbite extends agreement with Tipico

Thunderbite extended its existing agreement with Tipico with a long-term deal. The customer engagement specialist will continue to provide the sports betting provider with a range of promotional products during the multi-year agreement. The agreement will also see future releases with new features and bonus rounds to the existing promotional tools.

John Smith, Sales Director and Co-Founder of Thunderbite said: “Having worked with Tipico during the last two years, we are delighted to continue this great relationship. We have seen an amazing set of numbers from the Tipico campaigns with players returning to play and actually excited to be involved in the promotions. We are looking forward to developing even more engaging campaign tools for the Tipico players to enjoy.

Christian Feiner, Head of Customer Retention for Tipico, added: “We are delighted to extend our relationship with Thunderbite. We have made good experiences with the offered products, so it makes sense to solidify our deal with Thunderbite. During the last two years we have seen campaigns performing extremely well.“

About Thunderbite:

EPL week 32 review: Arsenal move into third after Newcastle win

Week 32 of the English Premier League is now history after Arsenal moved into the third position after victory over Newcastle at The Emirates.

Before the season begins, English Premier League (EPL) directors sit in their war rooms, eating caviar, and sipping on drinks containing olives, plotting key performance indicators (KPIs).

At Arsenal, those KPIs have been relatively steady in recent years – qualify for the Champions League, and Arséne Wenger’s failure to do so in the past two seasons is partly the reason why the Frenchman decided to cash in his pension.

A resurgent Liverpool and Spurs have meant its more challenging to squeeze through the Champions League via the front door, but the bookies have made Arsenal the 4/9 favourite to do that after the Gunners beat Newcastle by two goals to nil on Monday night.

Kenya to suspend betting licenses of tax scofflaws

Kenya’s betting operators have been warned that their licenses will be suspended on July 1 if the government determines that they haven’t been paying their taxes.

On Monday, Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i held a meeting with the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB), after which he announced that all local betting operators will have their licenses revoked effective July 1 “unless the holders of those licenses provide proof of their tax remittance compliance.”

Matiang’i said official government figures showed betting operators generated revenue of Sh202b (US$2b) in 2018 but paid only Sh4b ($39.7m) in taxes. Matiang’i plans to introduce a tax compliance bill in parliament in short order and the BCLB has been ordered to draw up a list of noncompliant betting operators.

The Star quoted Ronald Karauri, CEO of Kenya’s leading sports betting operator SportPesa, saying he welcomed Matiang’i’s input and that “a well-regulated industry that adopts best practice is good for government, operators, citizens and all stakeholders.”

Sue Schneider joins SBC as Community Director

Industry veteran Sue Schneider is to join SBC (Sports Betting Community) in a permanent capacity as Community Director as the organisation continues to invest in the US market ahead of this month’s Betting on Sports America conference.

Schneider has been working as a consultant to SBC in establishing the event, which is being held April 23-25 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in New Jersey, as the largest dedicated sports betting industry conference and trade show in the US.

The partnership has been so successful that she will now take up a role developing the SBC community in the US beyond Betting on Sports America. She will be representing SBC at this week’s NIGA conference in San Diego.

SBC Founder and CEO Rasmus Sojmark commented: “We’ve respected Sue and her work for years and bringing her on board to help our first event in the US was one of our smartest decisions. We’re very happy that she’s agreed to join us to help us with our long term ambitions in North America.”

KONECT Games launches Roulette Football, the first Live Sports Game of its kind, in Italy

KONECT Games partnered with Stanleybet to launch Roulette Football, its unique Live Betting Game, in the Italian market.

“We’re delighted to enter the Italian market with Stanleybet, one of the leading bookmakers in Europe.  Since Day 1, Stanleybet believed in what we believe – that our games make a positive difference for bookmakers and their customers.

Stanleybet is a great supporter of the unique sports betting solution developed by our company” said KONECT Games’ Director of Sales Pamela Allmark.  “Italy is one of the most exciting sports markets in the world.  It’s been our focus for quite some time.  Italians are passionate sports fans who enjoy following their favourite teams and betting on sports.

It’s been an incredible journey for our team at KONECT Games.  Our successful launch was made possible by super human hard work and the dedication of our team who kept the faith through bumpy times.  The software team led by Paolo Gazzei worked tirelessly with Stanleybet’s Pierluigi Chiusolo and his integration team to create an engaging and fun experience for their customers.

Tuesday NBA Odds: Marquee matchup in Oakland

Short four-game schedule around the NBA on Tuesday with TNT having a rare doubleheader on the night (no doubt to make up for losing a Thursday one to show NCAA Tournament games).

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The opener features Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder, and NBA bettors no longer have to worry about whether LeBron James will play or not. He won’t, with the team convincing him to shut it down the rest of the way. Might as well considering losing out could increase the Lakers’ draft lottery odds … remote as they are.

James signed with the Lakers likely believing that Paul George would be his sidekick, but the Los Angeles native surprised many around the NBA by not even considering signing with the Lakers as a free agent last summer and re-upping long term with Oklahoma City. George is having his best season and will get some MVP votes, but the Thunder are wildly inconsistent – they are capable of beating anyone or losing to anyone, sometimes both within hours.

Max Quest: Wrath of Ra shortlisted for exclusive Spinnovator of the Year Award

2/4/2019 – Valletta, Malta – After redefining RNG gaming in late 2018, the revolutionary Max Quest: Wrath of Ra, from Betsoft Gaming, has been shortlisted for the exclusive Spinnovator of the Year award.

Alongside 11 other games, Max Quest: Wrath of Ra (hereafter “Max Quest”) has been recognised as embodying the kind of “unique ideas” and “innovative concepts” that the organisers of the upcoming Spinnovation Summit believe will be essential for slots and skill-based games to appeal to the next generation of players.

Taking place on 30th April at a luxurious venue in Prague, Czech Republic, the Spinnovation Summit is dedicated to highlighting true innovation in iGaming. The Summit will feature high-profile keynote speakers from key market segments, and a showcase of the industry’s most innovative games from the last calendar year. The spotlight will be on the Spinnovator of the Year awards – the finalists for which have been selected by an expert panel to reflect the most inventive game mechanics, themes, and ideas the industry had to offer in 2018. An overall winner will be named at the Summit by the judging panel.

A truly game-changing experience, Max Quest reinvents the traditional RNG slot as an interactive, all-action shooting and looting adventure. Set in a sunken tomb beneath the sands of Egypt, the game replaces reels and symbols with maze-like levels, special weapons, and supernatural enemies. Blending the best of social and home console gaming, Max Quest places players in parties of up to six and encourages a unique mix of cooperation and competition; players customise their avatars, earn XP (experience points) as they progress, secure treasure for their personal showcases, embark on quests and even participate in seasonal leaderboards for cash prizes.

WSOPC News: Martin Kabrhel does it again, and Cat Valdes gets the boot

Two World Series of Poker Circuit stories across two continents including Matin Kabrhel winning another title in the King’s Resort and YouTube celebrity Cat Valdes feeling the boot in Bally’s.

Martin Kabhrel may look like a coat rack, but there is also some serious substance.

The Czech all-time live tournament money earner has extended his degree of separation from Martin Staszko by a further €190,000 after taking down the €1,700 buy-in World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Main Event in The Kings Resort in Rozvadov.

Kabrhel’s ability to turn it on when the WSOPC visits this poker-bonkers part of the world is as unnatural as the youth of today knowing how to sharpen a pencil.

Netherlands hits Casumo with €310k online gambling penalty

Dutch gambling regulators have doled out yet another six-figure fine against an unauthorized online gambling operator.

On Monday, the Netherlands’ Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) regulatory body announced it had imposed a €310k penalty on Malta-licensed Casumo Services Ltd for offering online games of chance to Dutch customers despite such activity having yet to earn the legal stamp of approval from the local government.

The KSA’s case against Casumo will read very familiar to anyone who’s read similar penalty announcements over the past few years. Casumo’s website offered hundreds of online casino games, offered live chat services in the Dutch language, and allowed customers to process financial transactions using iDeal, the Netherlands’ leading online payment processing service.

This is the second major fine imposed on Casumo in the past four months. Last November, the UK Gambling Commission hit the operator with a £5.85m penalty for failing to ensure adequate safeguards were in place to protect problem gamblers from self-harm.