Monthly Archives: January 2020

Carabao Cup review – Villa shock Leicester as citizens progress with defeat

Two titanic tussles, two deserved winners. After three hours of action in each semi-final, we finally know which two sides will contest the first domestic cup final of the English league season and it will be Aston Villa who face Manchester City on Sunday, March 1st.

Aston Villa 2-1 Leicester City (3-2 on aggregate)

The first semi-final to be decided took place at a pulsating Villa Park. With the sides level after 90 minutes at the King Power Stadium, it was the visitors who got off to the brightest start, with James Maddison at the heart of several intricate moves. Twice, Maddison was the architect of the shot at the end of those moves, but he was denied superbly on both occasions by Ørjan Nyland in the Villa goal.

Inspired by their goalkeeper’s ridiculous resolution between the sticks, Villa went up the other end and scored with their first attack, Jack Grealish managing to squeeze the ball out to Matt Targett, who fired an unstoppable rocket past the despairing stare of Kasper Schmeichel in The Foxes goal.

Super Bowl Odds: San Francisco 49ers Game Props

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Super Bowl 49ers Game Props

In Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers will attempt to join the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers as the only franchises with six Super Bowl titles. The Niners were the NFC’s top seed this season and also were when they won four of their previous five championships. That Sunday’s game is in Miami may bode well as the Niners are 2-0 in the two Super Bowls they have played in south Florida.

San Francisco had one of the NFL’s best defenses in the regular season, ranking No. 2 in total yards allowed and No. 1 against the pass. That unit also had five touchdowns during the regular season (none in the playoffs). The Niners are given an over/under of 1.5 total defensive/special teams touchdowns in the Super Bowl with the under a heavy -2000 favorite. Keep in mind there has never been a punt-return touchdown in a Super Bowl.

Super Bowl LIV: How the lines are changing from an inside perspective

The betting public has had a week and a half to consider their wagering opportunities on Super Bowl LIV, and plenty has been wagered so far. While the odds of the biggest lines haven’t changed much, some of the deeper cuts have seen plenty of movement, and we got some insight from our Bodog insider on where the action is.

When we first looked at the moneyline, spread and total, Kansas City was a 1.5 point favorite. That hasn’t changed much at all. The line has stayed steady at KC -1-.5 since we opened after the NFC Championship game,” our insider said. “Betting is split 50/50 so far on the point spread and ML (KC -120/SF EVEN). The O/U has moved from 53 to 54.5 with 82% of bets so far on the over.”

Where the real line movements are happening is on prop bets and specials, and the Chiefs star player is a big part of it. “Mahomes is the most popular player with the most money bet on to win MVP (+115) and the largest bet disparities between passing and rushing yards O/Us,” our insider revealed. “80% of all money is on o305.5 Passing Yards and 90% of all money is on o31.5 Rushing Yards. The liabilities on various Mahomes player props mirrors the liabilities we would have for college basketball and even some NBA game lines.”

But the fun lines, and the ones seeing the biggest shifts, are in the special props, and the one that almost always results in nail-biting is the national anthem. “The national anthem by Demi Lovato opened at 1m58s but with 90% on the over on that, 75% on the over of new price, 2m0s, we finally settled on the current price of 2m4s which has received balanced betting action,” he told us.

Super Bowl Odds: Kansas City Chiefs Game Props

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The Kansas City Chiefs will own the honors of longest stretch between Super Bowl appearances when they take the field Sunday for Super Bowl LIV in Miami against the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs played in Super Bowl IV, the last before the AFL/NFL merger, and won their only title by beating the Minnesota Vikings.

The Chiefs are 1.5-point favorites and also are 0.5-point favorites for every quarter as well as the entire first half. That they lead after every quarter is +260 with no at -370. They are given an over/under of 27.5 points scored, with the over a -135 favorite. Kansas City scored 51 and 35 points in its two playoff wins and has the most electric offense in the NFL led by QB Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and receiver Tyreek Hill.

Who scores the first touchdown of Super Bowl LIV? Kansas City running back Damien Williams is the +650 favorite. He’s -160 to score a touchdown at any time, followed by Kelce and Hill (both -150). To score two or more touchdowns, Williams is the +325 favorite.

EPL Gameweek #25 preview

The last-minute faxes lay silent. The final checks and fitness tests are complete. Contracts and bonuses have been approved. From here on in, every Premier League is stuck with the men they have in their squad. There are no more ins and outs, with the January transfer window closed for business.

Some clubs have signed bug money players, such as Manchester United, who forked out an initial £46.5m on Sporting Lisbon’s playmaker, Bruno Fernandes. Others snapped up loan deals praying they’ve got a hungry player rather than a hungover one.

Arsenal grabbed a central defender in Pablo Mori, Newcastle took Spurs’ Danny Rose and Kyle Walker-Peters ended up swapping North London for Southampton. We’re about to find out how shrewd all those deals are, and there are some spectacular fixtures that take place in the last weekend preceding the winter break.

Leicester City vs. Chelsea (Saturday 1st February, 12:30 pm GMT kick-off)

Scout Gaming enters into an agreement with vivagol.com (Bet Entertainment Technologies)

Scout Gaming Group has entered into an agreement with vivagol.com to deliver the company’s Daily Fantasy Sports platform.

The agreement gives vivagol.tv and vivagol.com full access to Scout Gaming’s DFS platform enabling them to offer a complete Daily Fantasy Sports solution to all its customers in the international market. A free-to-play version will be integrated for the Brazilian market initially, with the target to integrate real money gambling at a later stage.

Scout Gaming’s platform is expected to be integrated into vivagol.tv and vivagol.com product offering during the first half of 2019. Bet Entertainment Technologies hold a b2c license in Malta awarded by MGA last year and has rapid growing operations in South America.  The group is also active in Portugal with bet.pt, but currently the regulation doesn’t mention Fantasy Sports betting.

“I’m pleased to reach a deal with the group of the market leader in Portugal with Bet.pt, they have in very short time-frame been able to establish a leading position in the Portuguese market, and they will surely perform well in the whole South America”, commented Scout Gaming CEO, Andreas Ternström. 

BlueRibbon Software joins hands with Pariplay to offer a bespoke playing experience

Malta, 31/1/2020 – B2B marketing platform provider BlueRibbon Software has entered into a strategic partnership with Pariplay.

Building on its reputation as a leading content aggregator, the multi-channel gaming powerhouse Pariplay in association with BlueRibbon, will use the BlueRibbon Player Engagement Platform on top of its Fusion content aggregation platform.  This addition allows partner operators working with Pariplay the ability to create bespoke, content-agnostic jackpots across global regulated markets. This move is set to substantially boost the user experience for Pariplay’s players, as it adds a new level of excitement and anticipation during game play while ensuring a sustainable competitive edge for its operators.

Packaged in a seamless overlay, the BlueRibbon Player Engagement Platform, enhances player loyalty and brand differentiation, giving Pariplay operators the capability to create bespoke player solutions tailor-made to their objectives. This partnership solidifies BlueRibbon as a pioneer in creative gaming solutions through its product-agnostic, real-time gamification tools, confirming the value of BlueRibbon products in being instrumental in the next generation of engagement.

“Pariplay is one of the leading gaming solution providers in the industry and we at BlueRibbon are excited to partner with such an industry innovator. Our unique player engagement platform will furnish Pariplay and its operators with the tools to create and control intuitive gaming experiences, bettering their play and player engagement,” say’s Amir Askarov, co-founder and CEO of BlueRibbon

How operators can grow revenues with zero spend on customer acquisition

This is a guest contribution by Mikael Hansson of Enteractive. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

The global online gambling industry has been riding a wave of tremendous growth over the past few years, but that wave looks set to crash down on the sector in 2020.

While opportunities remain, it is undoubtedly tougher for operators to engage new players, ensure those already signed up remain active and push their wider businesses forwards.

In the U.K., for example, the Gambling Commission continues to require more of operators when it comes to responsible gambling and protecting players.

Knock, knock, who’s there? Woohoo. Woohoo Who? The new RNG games provider taking India by storm

Woohoo’s approach doesn’t pretend to be a ‘revolution’ or reinventing the wheel as so many press releases for gaming companies claim but what they can show is success. Success in a key market and, as a result, are now looking to replicate the same strategy used in the lucrative Indian market across the globe.

Woohoo Games, Head of Business Development, Ed Whittington explained: “The key strategy was two-fold; to keep the design of the games free from regional nuances and to ensure a simple and familiar UX for the player that is much more sophisticated than most RNG games in the global market.”

He continued: “Like many countries India is a place where regional differences are very marked. It is, therefore, seemingly better to have very clean, uncluttered looking games rather than trying to create a different look and feel for each province, which can have huge differences ethnically, linguistically and culturally.”

“However, the games themselves are the real heart of what we offer. We feel that many RNG games have a very dated and cluttered look and feel. We have taken a more modern approach and leveraged UX and UI best practices adopted by well-known global brands outside the industry that players will be familiar with. This allows for the games to be easily adopted and the focus to be on the play itself.”

Game Payment cashless App secures Tier 1 UK bank approval ahead of ICE London debut

One week ahead of its debut appearance at ICE London the Game Payment Technology (GPT) cashless payments App has confirmed a payment acquiring agreement with one of the top three UK acquirers. This concludes months of intensive work led by the payment’s team from GPT’s JV partner, Polar Moment and represents the first such deal with a Tier 1 UK bank for cashless gaming in pubs and other venues.

GPT Director John Rozek believes the agreement represents a major endorsement of the cashless payments solution which has been under development since Summer 2019.  He stated: “As we anticipated, we have secured card processing services with one of the top 3 UK acquirers – a nationally recognised brand. This is a testament of the acquirer’s confidence in GPT’s business plans including the product, the financial structure, the skills within our team and our ability to professionally manage a gambling e-wallet.

He added: “Financial directors understand the expectations and obligations a Tier 1 acquirer demand and it will give potential customers both here and internationally huge confidence in GPT. It is a major achievement and one which demonstrates that we are a professional payments organisation, respected in both the gaming and payments sectors, and able to manage the complexities of a gaming e-wallet service. It confirms we are ready for real players to start enjoying playing without cash in their local pub!”

The four month process involved scrutiny of the GPT business and financial plans, confirmation of Directors backgrounds and experience in both the gaming and payments sectors, risk assessments, compliance reviews as well as anti-money laundering and counter terrorism policies control and procedures. Rozek concluded: “Of course it’s fantastic to have secured a Tier 1 acquirer ahead of ICE which represents the last hurdle before we go live. It will provide visitors with great confidence in the GPT brand as well as the strength of the infrastructure and the people behind it.”

SIS joins the All-in Diversity Project as a founding member and participant

SIS (Sports Information Services) joins forces with the All-in Diversity Project. The project is an industry driven initiative to benchmark diversity, equality and inclusion for the betting and gaming sector.

Friday 31st January 2020: We are proud to announce that SIS (Sports Information Services) has signed up to partner with the All-in Diversity Project and will serve as an integral part of the initiative both as a Founding Member and Participant.

As part of SIS’s commitment to help drive the diversity and equality agenda within the gambling industry, the partnership will help facilitate the conversation on diversity and equality in the betting and gaming sector, thereby striving to make the betting and gaming industry more inclusive and attractive for everyone.

For SIS, which operates a business with employees representing more than 12 nationalities, diversity and inclusion remains a priority area to continue to develop the business for the future.

Meet the First Participants and Sponsor of Ukrainian Gaming Week 2020

On March 11-12, Smile-Expo will hold a major gambling event – Ukrainian Gaming Week.

The exhibition will bring together representatives of Ukrainian and foreign companies offering advanced goods and services for the gambling industry. Participants will include software developers and providers, hardware manufacturers, gambling operators, service and payment system designers, financial and marketing companies, law firms, etc.

The event will feature a conference involving Ukrainian government officials and international experts. Besides, there will be an awarding ceremony for prominent gambling companies according to UGW.

Exhibitors of Ukrainian Gaming Week

GrooveGaming jazz up North and South American prospects with Jazz Gaming Solutions

Aggregator GrooveGaming continues a juggernaut of alliances and partnership announcements with the news of a major deal to drive growth in Latin America on the back of a tie-up with established South American specialist Jazz Gaming Solutions, 34-year veterans of the Americas market.

With over 427 million people making up the continent, and around 320 million eligible to gamble, South America is attractive to the online gaming industry with pioneers like GrooveGaming making the leap to market development through this strategic content partnership with journeyman Jazz Gaming Solutions.

In only 3 years GrooveGaming has built a mighty aggregation of top igaming software providers in the industry, with diverse content ranging from slots, online casino and live casino, to poker and table games. As an aggregator of choice for some of the biggest names in the business, GrooveGaming recently went live with EveryMatrix, iGP, Digitain, ALEA and Quickfire, amongst others, and with over 2500 casino games alone available on the platform, the GrooveGaming value-proposition continues to go from strength-to-strength.

GrooveGaming has significantly grown its presence in 2019 across key global markets and important regulated jurisdictions over the past several months through partnerships with major online gambling operators. GrooveGaming has carved out a significant space within Europe’s regulated gambling markets, and a recent announcement about a new partnership with Super Spade Games has given a boost to its Far Eastern ambitions, while this deal with Jazz Gaming Solutions bolsters its growth prospects in the Latin American market.

Microgaming agrees new content supply deal with GVC Holdings PLC

Isle of Man – Microgaming has announced the signing of a new major casino software agreement with GVC Holdings PLC, the global sports-betting and gaming group.

Throughout 2020, Microgaming’s industry-leading casino offering will go live with an additional selection of GVC’s major online gaming brands, including Coral.com, Galabingo.com, Galacasino.com, Ladbrokes.com and Betdaq.com.

The agreement follows on from a deal penned in 2017 between the two gaming firms that saw Microgaming’s award-winning content be made available through GVC’s bwin, partycasino and partypoker gaming sites in regulated markets such as Spain, Italy, Belgium and UK.

GVC will now be able to further enhance its existing casino offering and provide its players with access to Microgaming’s portfolio of exclusive content, including Immortal Romance, Thunderstruck II, Jurassic World, and Lara Croft® Temples and Tombs, in addition to top-performing partner games.

SiGMA Roadshow in Taipei sets the stage for Asian markets

SiGMA Group has announced its first Roadshow event for 2020, to take place in Taipei, Taiwan, as the Malta-based global events firm opens doors to the Asian market for global brands from across the iGaming, blockchain and emerging technology sectors.  Confirmed for the 14th and 15th April, the two day event is aimed at forward-thinking western brands keen to expand in the Asian market and make introductions with local operators and affiliates focused on driving Asian traffic.

This deal-making event is an exclusive opportunity for operators and suppliers to make connections and provide rocket fuel for their business interests in the Asian iGaming sector, which has seen rapid growth as 2020 gets off to a great start. The SiGMA Roadshow in Taipei will be a matchmaking hothouse for those looking to crack the Asian market.

Held at a luxury hotel in Taipei, activities will include top-notch conference content focused on affiliation, marketing and SEO in Asia, alongside the chance to network and make deals with European operators and suppliers eager to tap into Asian markets.

Eman Pulis, Founder and CEO, SiGMA Group, is excited about the forthcoming event, sharing, “We’ve never seen more interest in the Asian iGaming markets than right now. As SiGMA responds to calls for greater synergy between western iGaming brands and new Asian markets, we’re seeing what amounts to a gold rush in the region.  With this event as an exclusive forerunner to our super expo in Manila, June 8th to 9th, we’re sure that the Taipei early birds will be emerging ahead of the pack!”