Monthly Archives: May 2020

ePL Invitational won by James Maddison in fantastic final

A sensational final two days of action brought the ePL Invitational 2 Tournament to a close as Leicester City’s James Maddison ensured that the title of ePL Champion remains in The Midlands for a second successive event.

The original ePL Invitational was won by Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Diogo Jota, of course, after he sealed a memorable final with a golden goal winner. There was no need for a golden goal in the final this time, but plenty in the rounds before as Maddison sealed what, at points before his coronation, seemed the most unlikely of victories.

The Quarter-Finals

In the quarter-finals, Maddison’s crusade to make the semi-finals was almost over before it began. The mini midfield maestro was 2-0 deep into the first half against in-form Michael Obafemi of Southampton, only for a goal back on the stroke of half-time from Jamie Vardy to put Maddison back into firing range of the Saints player. Mind games were tense, with Maddison promising that he was ‘living rent-free’ in the head of his opponent and an equalizer from Maddison’s own in-game character proved pivotal. Maddison took the lead through Iheanacho, and while Obafemi equalised to take the match into ‘golden goal’ territory, it was Maddison himself who won it just eight minutes into that golden goal game.

$1 million online charity poker tournament ‘Stars CALL for Action – Powered by PokerStars’, brainchild of Hank Azaria and Andy Bellin, reaches capacity as A-list stars flock to the online felt

Stars of stage, screen, sports and music have come together and filled every seat in Stars CALL for Action – Powered by PokerStars, an online charity poker event conceived and brought together by actor Hank Azaria and journalist, author, and screenwriter Andy Bellin.

The event takes place this weekend (May 9), and the latest celebrities to join the line-up are Neymar Jr, Lisa Kudrow, Liam Payne, Jack Black, Aaron Paul, Casey Affleck, Macaulay Culkin, Gabriel Macht, and Mike Tindall

The special online poker tournament is raising vital funds for relief efforts during the current global crisis and will be hosted at PokerStars and broadcast live on Twitch, Facebook and YouTube on May 9 at 2pm ET.

Poker fans can also place a bet on which celebrity they think will take down the tournament in a special PokerStars Sports market. Professional poker player Erik Seidel is the 10/1 favourite, with Don Cheadle the top celebrity at 25/1. All money bet on the market will be donated directly to Care International.

Tony Ferguson is The New Face of KamaGames’ titles

Dublin, 8th May 2020 – Leading social casino games developer KamaGames has signed an advertising deal with MMA superstar Tony Ferguson.

As of today, Ferguson will represent the face of Pokerist, Blackjackist and Roulettist, along with other high-profile KamaGames social casino titles. Ferguson’s image will now be utilised across the company’s advertising promotions, in-game content and events.

KamaGames has witnessed a notable intersection between those who engage with casino-style table games and sports fans. This crossover is evident in the resounding success of KamaGames’ Social Sports Betting feature, where players wager on live sporting events using their in-game chips.

Currently, MMA stands as one of the most popular sporting categories, worldwide. Each year, millions of fans are drawn to the sport and KamaGames is confident that, through this deal, the company will be able to tap into this significant audience base.

Landmark moment as Swintt is awarded MGA B2B license

Malta-based game provider Swintt are delighted to announce that it has received regulatory approval for a B2B Supplier license from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).

The license allows Swintt to distribute their game content to their existing, and future, list of Malta-licensed partners. Operators including Wunderino, Hero Gaming, Rabbit Entertainment, Rootz, Suprnation and Twin will be among those launching Swintt games imminently.

Swintt’s portfolio of games will be among those soon launched, including the popular land-based games which are widely anticipated from the industry. ‘Master of Books’, ‘Fresh Fruit’ and ‘Perseus’ are among the land-based classics popular in Germany and beyond which will be launching into the online casino industry for the first time.

Commenting on the license, Swintt CEO David Flynn said: “Obtaining the MGA B2B license just after our first birthday marks a huge moment in Swintt’s history as we move into new markets and take our games online with some of the biggest and best operators in the industry.”

Teams of the Century: Manchester City 2013/14

When anyone mentions a Manchester City team winning the Premier League, the first thought to come to mind is often the pirouetting figure of Sergio Aguero slamming home the winning goal in the 2012/13 season. The bedlam of Mancini’s side achieving their first title in the Premier League era and first title of any kind in decades was groundbreaking for the club as a whole.

In many ways, however, the 2013/14 Premier League title victory was a greater achievement. Under a new manager in Manuel Pellegrini, City triumphed against adversity time and time again during the season and with a twist in the tale, managed to lift the Premier League title.

The season began with the biggest change having taken place just across the Manchester ship canal, with the retirement after a quarter of a century of the most successful British manager of all time – Sir Alex Ferguson. In his place, David Moyes was brought into start what was supposed to be a new dawn of dominance for Manchester United under a passionate, hard-working Scottish boss. It didn’t work out like that at all, with United thrashed 4-1 at The Etihad Stadium by City just four games into the League campaign.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcpgNaQDo7c?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

China lottery sales rise; record fine for gambling payment firm

China’s lottery sales picked up in March after retailers launched phased re-openings and Chinese authorities have imposed a record financial penalty on an online gambling payment processor.

Figures released Saturday by China’s Ministry of Finance show lottery sales of RMB10.5b (US$1.5b) in the month of March, a 70% decline from the same month last year but up dramatically from just RMB1m in February as retailers slowly resumed operations after their lengthy COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

Total sales over the first quarter of 2020 were down 64.5% to RMB37.7b, with sports lottery sales (RMB19.65b, -65.7%) somehow managing to maintain their lead over the rival welfare lottery (RMB18.05b, -63.2%) despite the mass cancellation of major sports events.

Beijing’s lottery operators reopened this week after a 105-day long closure, making it the last region in China to relaunch operations. Early reports indicated that sales have been slow, but retailers are hopeful that the resumption of Germany’s Bundesliga season later this month will help draw sports lottery customers back to the shops.