Monthly Archives: May 2019

Evoplay Entertainment crowned Spinnovator of the Year

Sprinkle slot recognised as industry’s leading innovation at Prague’s Spinnovation iGaming Summit

Malta, 10th May 2019 – Evoplay Entertainment, the game development studio, has cemented its reputation as one of iGaming’s pioneers after its 3D / VR slot Sprinkle was recognised as the leading innovation at Prague’s Spinnovation Summit.

The summit, dedicated to highlighting true innovation in the industry, culminated with the Spinnovator of the Year awards – with finalists selected by an expert panel to reflect the most inventive game mechanics, themes and ideas.

Evoplay Entertainment’s second 3D slot will soon be available on general release. By creating Sprinkle, it has responded to a new generation of players’ demands for more immersive, innovative gameplay.

Walt Power denies being ousted at South Shore over The 13

Walt Power may have been removed from his position as CEO and executive director of South Shore Holdings Limited (SSH), but now he is fending off reports that he had been ousted from the position because of the setbacks and delays at the company’s signature project, The 13.

On May 3, it was announced that Power had been removed from his position and placed into a non-executive director role. Instead of three people running the operation, it was reduced to two. Power had been with SSH since February 2013, serving in some of its most important roles with the company, including senior vice president of operations and the chief operations officer of SSH’s casino.

Yet, The 13 became such a burden on the company, which may have forced the former CEO out of his position. This project was first proposed in 2012 but was not completed until August of last year. The plan was to make this the epitome of luxury for the rich, providing the ultimate hotel and luxury suite experience. However, the long delays led to a $55.38 million loss in the first six months of last year. According to reports, that was 18 times the losses the company had faced from the same period of time in 2017.

Power and South Shore Holdings have denied that this move was one that should be construed as disciplinary in nature.Power explained to Inside Asian Gaming (IAG) that the move was mutual, and something that both parties had agreed upon:

Is Australia still a good market for the operators?

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

When thinking about gambling markets, Australia might not be the first place that comes to mind. It’s easy to think about Las Vegas, Malta or even Macau when the word gambling comes to mind, but Sydney? Probably only Australians themselves think about this city during a gambling discussion.

But, as it turns out, the Australian gambling market has been quite the for the last couple of years in the region but has been suffering big hits to its revenues at the end of the 2010s.

All of this begs the question. Is Australia still a viable market for operators? Can profit still be made here? Let’s find out.

SIS expands LatAm footprint with Caliente partnership

Friday 10th May 2019 – Leading multi-channel supplier SIS (Sports Information Services) has signed a multi-year deal with Caliente (Hipodromo De Agua Caliente), a tier-one operator in Mexico, to roll out its Spanish Greyhound Channel.

SIS will provide the Mexican operator with live pictures and data for greyhounds, into retail outlets within Mexico, and territories in South America such as Honduras, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Panama & Venezuela, as well as territories within the Caribbean.

The Spanish Greyhound Channel will provide over 33,000 races a year, with 53 meetings every week from British tracks – featuring Central Park, Crayford, Doncaster, Harlow, Henlow, Hove, Monmore and Romford, as well as Irish racing from Cork (Currahean Park), Waterford, Kilkenny, Limerick, Mullingar, Tralee and Youghal.

Victor De La Feunte, Risk Management and Business Development Director at Caliente, said: “We’re thrilled to agree a deal to take SIS’s Spanish Channel, which provides our customers with the best greyhound racing from the UK and Ireland.

The Mouthpiece: A sea change for seabiscuit?

Thoroughbred racing and legal sports betting.

“[H]e who lives must be prepared for changes.”

Goethe

It wasn’t supposed to happen. Not once in 145 years has there been a claim of foul that stuck against the winner of the Kentucky Derby. This time, 2019, things were very different. There was a protest, and the Churchill Downs stewards disqualified the apparent winner, Maximum Security. They gave the win to the place horse, a long shot named Country House. Worse yet, the owner of Maximum Security publicly appealed the ruling. And lost. Veterans of the thoroughbred industry were mortified. If the Kentucky Derby stands for anything, it is for horse racing as a class act. The image of the Sport of Kings is not well-served by squabbling in a tone better suited to a small claims court.

Bryn Kenney sets his sights on the All-Time Money lead after Triton win

Lee Davy catches up with Bryn Kenney during the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series at Montenegro to talk about his win in Montenegro, his pursuit of the All-Time Money list and more.

Bryn Kenney’s not the guy you’re going to catch during the break for a quick chat about life. It’s smoke and chill time. Unlike the trains that are down the road in Podgorica Rail Station, Kenney doesn’t have to start on time. So, with ten minutes to go before the HK$1,000,000 buy-in Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Main Event in Montenegro, I grab the opportunity to speak to the most recent Triton champion like a hungry kid snatching raspberries off a bush.

We take a pew on the veranda of the Maestral Resort and Casino. It’s too cold for the short sleeve shirt I wear. Some nutter is swimming in the cold Adriatic Coast. Kenney sits next to me, also in short sleeves, but he one-ups me with shorts and sandals.

“The sun is shining on me,” Kenney tells me when I complain about the temperature.

UFC 237 Betting Preview: Saturday Odds and Trends

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Not all that long ago, UFC president Dana White didn’t believe in having women fight in his organization.  However, the sensation that was Ronda Rousey changed all that.

Rousey has long since retired from the sport and now women headline UFC cards once in a while. That is the case this Saturday night from Brazil when Rose Namajunas puts her strawweight title on the line against top challenger Jessica Andrade. Not often a champion is a betting underdog but Namajunas is even-money and Andrade is at -130 odds.

If it seems like the UFC is in Brazil often, that’s because it’s true. That country is perhaps more MMA-crazy than even the United States and many legends of the sport are from Brazil. The 27-year-old Andrade (19-6) is from the country. She began her career at bantamweight but is 6-1 since moving to strawweight. That loss was to former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a title fight at UFC 211. Andrade has won three in a row since, finishing off Karolina Kowalkiewicz last time out at UFC 228 by first-round knockout with one devastating punch.

Tom Horn takes home two trophies at Baltic & Scandinavian Gaming Awards

Malta, 9th May 2019 – In another sign of its success and recognition by the industry experts, Tom Horn Gaming took home two awards, Best Online Casino Innovator in the Baltics and Rising Star in Baltic Online Casino Technology, at this year’s Baltic and Scandinavian Gaming Awards in Vilnius.

Tom Horn faced off stiff competition for the awards in the form of a strong line-up consisting of the industry’s best software providers.

Through its strong and well-developed concept of gaming products and advanced solutions, the supplier has had an impressive journey in the past year. Its impact is strong both in the Baltics and internationally and these awards are yet another acknowledgment of the company’s growing global footprint.

The Baltic and Scandinavian Awards 2019 were announced at the Mare Balticum Summit at the Radisson Blu Royal Astorija Hotel in Vilnius.

Betsoft Gaming shortlisted by G2E for Best B2B Digital Product Solution Award

8/5/2019 – Valletta, Malta – For the second year running, Betsoft Gaming’s comprehensive suite of content and support systems has been nominated in the Best B2B Digital Product Solution category at the G2E Asia Awards. The company emerged top of this category in 2018.

A long-running institution in the Asian iGaming and casino industries, the G2E Asia Awards span twelve key categories. A panel of more than 50 independent industry experts are tasked with shortlisting and selecting winners in each category. Their decisions are made on the basis of global commercial performance, content quality, technical excellence, support for new and emerging regulated markets, and other important factors.

This year’s awards ceremony will take place on 21st May 2019, at a gala dinner hosted at luxury hotel The Parisian, in Macao. The judging criteria centres on discovering “the most outstanding digital platform for the iGaming sector”. Over the last 12 months, Betsoft has further extended its creativity and scope of product that earned it a winning level of “trust and respect […] within the industry,” according to Andrew W. Scott, Chairman of the 2018 G2E judging panel.

As well as its powerful, proven Casino Manager platform, Betsoft’s nomination is also supported by the continued growth and innovation seen across its signature Slots3TM game series. In 2018, Betsoft released more than ten marquee titles – from fresh takes on traditional slots, to character-driven games with captivating themes – as well challenging the definition of RNG gaming with the all-action, multiplayer shooting experience Max Quest: Wrath of Ra.

Bet2Day signs contract with your acquisition partner iConvert

Bet2Day is to deploy iConvert’s customer-centric acquisition platform that empowers marketers to increase their conversion rates, recover abandoned pre and post-registration players, and drive customer loyalty. This comes in tandem with the launch of their new brand BetToday after the two companies agreed to a deal.

Lasse Iversen, founder at Bet2Day, said: “As a totally new brand, we are striving to deliver a superior customer-driven experience to markets all over the world.”

“This means rapidly growing into new markets with a mobile-first approach. Using iConvert we can do just that, focusing on communication with potential players before the CRM cycle to streamline the acquisition process.”

“This will allow us to maximise every new customer registration, delivering an engaging experience right at the start of our relationship with customers. As we look to build on our initial success, keeping our strong FTD figures is critical, so we are really excited to implement iConvert to deliver these acquisition KPI’s for us,” said Iversen.

partypoker LIVE move into the US with MILLIONS Vegas ‘Special Edition.’

partypoker LIVE will have a brand presence in Las Vegas during the 50th Anniversary of the World Series of Poker, after partnering with ARIA Resort and Casino for a special edition MILLIONS Vegas.

If you want to wear the crown, it’s part of your sovereign duty to climb off your throne and meet your people. When it comes to the pecking order of live tournament operators, partypoker believes they wear that crown, and they are ready to meet their people.

It’s a critical year for partypoker’s MILLIONS armada. They’ve pumped up the buy-in to $10k and made each event a freezeout – both risks. The people will vote with their feet.

Laurels are not made to be rested upon, not in these parts. After a successful debut in South America, it’s time for partypoker to aim their ring towards the mouths of the North Americans, to see how many will kneel and kiss.