While Valtteri Bottas claimed the win at the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix, it was the actions of his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton prior to the race that were talked about.
The six-time world champion has been vocal in his call for diversity in Formula One, and before the race took a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Hamilton had called out his fellow drivers to show their support, but not all were willing at the Austrian event.
End Racism.
One cause. One commitment.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
The coronavirus has forced every sports league in the world to adjust its schedule in one way or another and has led to some very unique circumstances. The NBA sending 22 teams to a “bubble” in Orlando, for example. The NHL choosing 24 teams for the Stanley Cup playoffs in two hub cities. Major League Baseball staging its shortest season in more than a century. NASCAR having races on back-to-back days at the same track.
The PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic was scheduled to tee off this week from Silvis, Illinois, which is right on the border with Iowa. That tournament is annually known as being played the week before the British Open with the winner earning the final spot in that major tournament. John Deere Classic officials also charter a plane for any players who compete in their tournament and then have to head overseas. They do that not just out of the goodness of their heart but to try and lure a better field.
The John Deere is also arguably the “folksiest” event on Tour. Some PGA Tour courses have incredible amenities as they cater to the super-rich. Not TPC Deere Run, as it’s true Middle America. Finally, the John Deere Classic only makes a profit with fans in attendance. It’s the biggest event of the year in that area of the country by far.
The Gold Coast Titans have made the richest contract offer in the history of the competition to boom Brisbane Broncos young gun David Fifita. The Broncos forward has struggled with the decision, changing his mind several times as the Titans offered a massive $873,562 USD per season to switch to the Broncos local rivals.
The Gold Coast Titans, have been desperate for a franchise player and see Fifita as the fish they have been chasing. The Broncos forward is a franchise player and viewed as one of the best young players in the game.
Fifita is expected to sacrifice at least $350,000 USD per season to remain in Brisbane.
Under siege, Brisbane Broncos coach Anthony Seibold is uncomfortable with the contract drama over his young star being played out in the media. “I don’t think it is fair to talk about whatever is bubbling away behind the scenes with regards to money, most clubs have a committee. In the old days, the coach ran it and had someone looking after the numbers. Some clubs might go rogue and make crazy offers to young players but you don’t know what every club is working towards or what they have in their cap,” Seibold said.
PrizePicks is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator that has essentially flown under most radars until now. It is now looking to make a splash in the sports gambling industry and the timing could be good, provided the major sports organizations in the U.S. can get going. A number of investors apparently agree, as the company just wrapped up a round of funding that saw it collect $850,000 to help its expansion, and which attracted interest from one of the most well-known names in poker, Phil Hellmuth.
The funding round was led by Parlay Capital Holdings and saw participation from AMJ Ventures and the 15-time World Series of Poker winner known by many as the Poker Brat. Hellmuth, who didn’t specify how much he invested, said of his decision to get involved, “I absolutely love the core business model of PrizePicks and the team behind the game. I’ve been around this industry for decades, and I’ve never been more impressed with an emerging operator’s fundamentals and potential for growth.”
While commercial endeavors of all types are suffering from the coronavirus pandemic, sports gambling and related activity have been able to figure out how to keep their heads above water. DraftKings recently went public and has had substantial success ever since. From a March low of $11.17, it is now trading at $33.10, and investors have to be pleased with the results.
PrizePicks first started to emerge in 2014 as the SidePrize alternative product, which allowed fantasy league members to offer skill-based side bets. There were some initial issues, thanks to the close-minded attitude of New York lawmakers, and changes to the operational model were needed. That led to the eventual launch of PrizePicks in 2018, which has been building up steam ever since.
GVC Holdings is doing a little housecleaning, especially at its properties in the U.K. BETDAQ, Coral and Ladbrokes are expected to be reviewed more closely in order to curtail unnecessary expenses, and the restructuring process has already begun. According to an announcement issued by GVC, the gaming operator is parting ways with affiliate marketing company Oddschecker as of today.
The decision was made, in part, over the company’s desire to trim excess expenses, but also because it apparently couldn’t reach an amicable pricing strategy with Oddschecker when it came time to renew the agreement. GVC said in a statement, “We would like to wish Oddschecker the best of luck and thank them for the positive relationship we’ve enjoyed over the years we’ve worked together. Sadly, we couldn’t agree commercial terms to renew the relationship, so as of the 9th July our U.K. Digital Brands will no longer feature on the service.”
GVC is probably also looking at the bigger picture and considering the fallout that’s coming from a shift to how gambling is managed in the U.K. Regulators and lawmakers in the country are cracking down on virtually anything and anyone tied to the industry, and more controls are expected to be put in place. Ultimately, especially on the heels of the coronavirus pandemic, that means reduced revenue for everyone.
Oddschecker still has a lot of support and, while it will feel the sting, should be able to bounce back with relative ease. The entity is an asset belonging to Flutter Entertainment and has a global footprint that includes several high-profile clients. The company’s CEO, Toby Bentall, issued a statement in response to the breakup, explaining, “It’s disappointing to no longer be working with Ladbrokes, Coral and Betdaq. However, Oddschecker needs to maintain a careful balance between serving its users with the best odds and offers whilst ensuring its business relationships are of sufficient commercial viability to allow investment in the market-leading products and technology expected of the U.K.’s number one odds comparison site. Oddschecker sincerely hopes to work with Ladbrokes, Coral and Betdaq again in the future.”
It’s bad enough that everyone has had to deal with the turmoil caused by the coronavirus this year, but things might be getting worse. An even larger threat looms, at least for football fans, as the Ivy League announced yesterday that it is canceling all sports for the fall – including football. That means nothing coming out of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton or Harvard until sometime next year.
Some may think, “Well, it’s just the Ivy League,” and not think twice. However, this is potentially setting a precedent that could be followed by other leagues, such as the NCAA. At schools like Clemson and Alabama, several players have already been diagnosed with COVID-19, and the thought of canceling sports has to be on the universities’ radars. It’s probably worth pointing out that the NBA talked about halting its basketball action after just one player – Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz – tested positive. When a second Jazz player, Donovan Mitchell, tested positive, as well, the show was over.
The NCAA would prefer not to call off any season – college football is worth around $2 billion a year in broadcasting rights. On top of that, there are ticket sales, merchandising, sponsorships and much more, all of which could be impacted. According to Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, “We certainly are watching closely as Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NBA are doing things, and likewise we’ve certainly got to keep a close eye on what other colleagues in other conferences are doing. But their circumstances are a little different than ours. Their locations are in places that are different than ours. We’re certainly going to pay attention to it, but I don’t know that it’s determinative, necessarily.”
The NFL is already on the ropes, even if it isn’t yet down for the count. The Hall of Fame Game has already been called off (they assert it’s just “delayed,” but a full-year suspension is a cancelation) and concerns over how the league will address players’ health are leading to some ready to sit out this season. A recent push by owners to have players agree to salary reductions only makes the matter more disconcerting.
In the fast moving world of gambling, sometimes you might miss news that could be important to you. To make sure you’re all caught up on gaming industry news, be it online or brick and mortar, we’re rounding up the some of the announcements and partnerships from the last week that you might have missed.
Don’t miss out on all of the latest announcements. Our Press Release section is updated constantly.
Booming Games arrive at Twin
Malta-based slot supplier Booming Games is now available on the Twin brand. Booming Games’ slot portfolio comprises more than 60 HTML5 slot games including popular titles like Booming Seven Deluxe, VIP Filthy Riches, Gold Vein, Danger Zone and latest Show Master. Booming Games release up to two new games per month that will be available to all brands. Soon to be released are Burning Classics and Howling Wolves.
Pieces of the Ganapati puzzle are starting to fall into place, and somehow, they continue to raise more questions than answers. The once promising B2B games supplier has now fully gone private and has strong connections to an office in Taiwan recently raided by police.
The company’s connection to Gamatron continues to raise serious questions. As we noted previously, both companies list many of the same games, and Gamatron does not any real details about it’s leadership on its webpage. We asked Ganapati about this when we previously looked into this but received no response.
Now, the connection between the two companies is becoming more convoluted, and potentially problematic for Ganapati. A tipster has informed us that Ganapati developed games are being advertised on casino sites as Gamatron games. A notable example is Pacquiao One Punch K, a game Ganapati CEO Juliet Adelstein previously spoke with us about as an exciting new partnership for the B2B company, appearing as a Gamatron game on Betrnk.
And now a Taiwan raid continues to add new links between the two companies. First reported by United News, a Gamatron office has been raided by Taiwan police for running a gambling operation. Located in Neihu Science Park, the same location Ganapati’s website notes it has an office, a 45-year-old man identified as Kinoshita (likely Hayato Kinoshita) was arrested, and equipment was seized. A 24-year-old man named Terai was also amongst the arrests.
It was the story of 2014, and had nothing to do with poker apart from the man at the centre of the scandal. Phil Ivey, one of poker’s most popular and well-respected players, was being sued for $9.6 million by the Borgata after an edge-sorting drama that not only had the hallmarks of a classic movie but would eventually be turned into one.
Poker is often referenced in popular culture. We call politicians on their bluffs, mention that the buck stops wherever we choose and praise or criticize those in the public eye for having a good pokerface. But when CNN reported on the Phil Ivey and Borgata scandal, it really did feel like poker had made it all the way to the mainstream headlines of the day.
So the conclusion of a case that cause ripples throughout the poker industry is huge news, and has emerged after six years of disagreements that have polarized poker fans.
It’s not the first legal case within poker to have reached its conclusion during the worldwide lockdown, with the Mike Postle case dismissal showing that perhaps the best time for cases to be swept under the carpet of poker’s history books is during a global pandemic.
This week is a recap of Royal Delta’s victory in the July 20, 2013 Delaware Handicap (G1) at Delaware Park. The recap, written by Linda Dougherty, ran in the July 27, 2013 magazine issue. It carried the headline “Royal Delivery.”
How is your marriage doing? Are things going well? Not fighting on the weekends, and no strange texts coming in at all hours of the day? Have you ever wondered if you might have found the happiness you were looking for, or were people placing bets on how long you’d last as soon as your partner said “I do?”
If they were serious about those bets, the book makers at MyBookie.ag are ready to offer them competitive lines for their action. Using their Divorce Bet tool, any anxious individual can answer 30 questions and get odds for if they are in a solid relationship, or one call away from divorce court. And then for comparison, they’ll let you know how your doing compared to some famous celebrity couples.
The questions asked are both personal and timely. Does your partner more frequently say ‘I Love You,’ or ‘I Hate You?’ Have they gained any weight lately? Do you have children? What are the ways coronavirus has affected your life and relationship? Have you tried anything kinky in bed lately, or taken advantage of PornHub’s free Premium offers?
While they don’t tell you exactly how each answer affects your odds (and I’d really love to know if my preference for handcuffs in bed made a positive difference in my love life), they do provide a final break down of a percentage chance that you’ll need a divorce and betting lines.
One down, two more to go. Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment are a step closer to becoming the single largest casino operator in the US after meetings held yesterday in Nevada. The potential merger between the two companies has been waiting on approval in Nevada, New Jersey and Indiana – the last three states on the list – and received the thumbs up by regulators in the Silver State yesterday.
In an announcement made by Eldorado yesterday, it confirmed that both the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) and the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) had said yes to the merger, a decision that didn’t come as a surprise to anyone. It was previously forecast that there would be no more hurdles after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) gave its approval last month, and the three remaining states to sign off on the deal were thought to have been waiting for that decision before moving forward.
New Jersey is expected to give its position on the merger when regulators meet on July 15. As was the case with Nevada, no major obstacles are expected in the Garden State. Indiana, however, might cause an issue, albeit only a slight one, as some regulators there have already put up a little resistance. They have asserted that there is a lack of horseracing experience, even though Eldorado is behind tracks in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Just this week, the Indiana Horse Racing Commission (IHRC) reiterated its concerns, asserting that it cannot give an “enthusiastic or unqualified recommendation” and adding, “Additionally, it is unclear to Commission Staff that [Eldorado] would remain as committed to horse racing if Indiana Grand and/or Hoosier Park are affected by economic downturn or fall short of expected revenues following the table game build-out.”
Las Vegas – Today, the American Gaming Association (AGA), with partner Reed Exhibitions, formally announced the cancellation of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), the gaming industry’s top global event. The show’s organizers are committed to facilitating economic, education, and networking opportunities for the global gaming industry through a series of virtual G2E events throughout the rest of the year to better reflect the current environment. G2E was scheduled to take place October 5-8, 2020; the next in-person edition of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) will take place October 4-7, 2021 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.
“In light of continued uncertainty around a viable marketplace at a physical G2E show, global travel restrictions, and currently unknown guidance on large public gatherings this fall, we have come to the unfortunate conclusion that we simply cannot hold an in-person G2E this year,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “Health and safety have always been our top priority and the uncertainty created by the ongoing pandemic makes this the prudent decision ahead of critical deadlines for exhibitors planning to participate.”
For 20 years, G2E has welcomed nearly 30,000 attendees annually from across the globe, including executives representing key industry partners such as the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, as well as the world’s top casino operators, sports betting companies, and FinTech and digital payments facilitators, among others.
“We arrived at this decision after thoughtfully engaging with national, state, and local public health authorities, as well as exhibitors and buyers who have shared industry observations and priorities. Ultimately, it became clear that proceeding with an in-person gathering simply was not feasible,” said Hervé Sedky, Reed Exhibitions Americas President.
In the absence of in-person iGaming affiliate industry events since iGB Affiliate London in February, operators and affiliate managers have had to work extra hard to bring on new affiliates to promote their brands. Luckily, there are platforms out there such as “Engage” that can do all affiliate scouting work for them, digitally.
Engage was designed with the straight-forward vision of connecting iGaming operators and affiliates, a tool that first came to market back in February, Business Operations Manager Neil Walker explained.
“We had this idea about producing a product that would help affiliate programs identify affiliates when they’re searching Google”, he said.
The goal of Engage is to save affiliate mangers time. Rather than providing affiliate managers with loads of data to then be analyzed, Engage collects the data, crunches it and delivers each bespoke opportunity while also providing information on competitors.
Spurs point guard Patty Mills has made the bold decision to donate his entire NBA salary to the Black Lives Matter movement in Australia. The Australian guard is putting his money where his mouth is, and donating the entire salary from the remaining eight games in Florida to social justice causes in Australia. Mills will donate $1.45 million to the Black Deaths in Custody and The We Got You campaign.
When allies who stand up and speak out against racism, although a small gesture, this is one of many actions that have a tremendous impact on the person being targeted because they feel the support. It can also make whoever racially vilifies that person reconsider own behavior. pic.twitter.com/MqH3Fc1CqX
— Patrick Mills (@Patty_Mills) July 7, 2020https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Mills has been an outspoken ambassador for social justice issues in Aboriginal communities in Australia.
North Carolina Education Lottery becomes latest U.S. state lottery to integrate industry-leading iLottery platform with payment gateway.
Houston, Texas. July 7th, 2020 – Paysafe, a leading specialized payments platform, has expanded its partnership with NeoPollard Interactive (“NPi”), the leading provider of the most profitable iLottery programs in North America. Through this partnership, NPi’s technology leverages Paysafe’s proprietary payment gateway to power the iLottery services offered by the North Carolina Education Lottery.
Paysafe and NeoPollard Interactive first partnered in the U.S. market in 2014 to provide the Michigan Lottery with a comprehensive 360° iLottery and payments solution. In addition to the Michigan Lottery and the North Carolina Education Lottery, NPi and Paysafe’s milestone partnerships include contracts with the Virginia Lottery and the New Hampshire Lottery.
Following a competitive procurement process, the North Carolina Education Lottery partnered with NPi to successfully convert its previous digital offerings to a fully integrated omnichannel digital engagement solution. This technology solution includes Pollard Banknote’s playON® player engagement platform, a full-featured mobile application, and NPi’s NeoSphere player account management system, which leverages best-in-breed payment technology from Paysafe.
The Australian sporting world was in mourning with the news that snowboarder Alex Chumpy Pullin had died on the Gold Coast. The 32-year-old, known as ‘Chumpy’ passed away on July 8 in a freak drowning accident while spearfishing at Palm Beach. It’s believed that Pullin suffered from a shallow water blackout.
A shallow water blackout is a term that is caused by a lack of oxygen following a breath-hold, causing a loss of consciousness underwater. It can affect anyone and occurs when chemical sensors in the body are triggered.
According to Royal Life Saving Australia, shallow water blackout is caused by a swimmer reaching the urge to breathe while underwater.
“Normally, when a swimmer is trying to stay underwater for as long as possible, the ‘breakpoint’ forces the swimmer to surface and take a breath, If a person is submerged and the ‘breakpoint’ is reached whilst the mouth and nose are still underwater, the irresistible urge to take a breath occurs, and water is inhaled into the lungs. This prolonged period may not occur before the oxygen sensor comes into play and the drowning person may lose consciousness underwater.”
The showpiece event of a sports-mad Melbourne, the AFL is set to move the Grand Final outside of Victoria for the first time in the competition’s history. The six-week COVID-19 lockdown implemented across Victoria has forced the hand of AFL bosses, and the league has begun discussions with several venues outside of Melbourne for the showpiece event.
Melbourne has entered a six-week lockdown, with concerns now being aired that the decider would be played at an empty Melbourne Cricket Group (MCG) if the game went ahead in Melbourne in October. 1991 was the last time that the Grand Final was moved from the MCG. West Coast and Hawthorn played the decider at Waverly Park, with the MCG undergoing renovations at the time.
Sydney has emerged as the dark horse to host the showpiece event, with ANZ Stadium emerging as a shock candidate to host the 2020 Grand Final. ANZ Stadium the only ground in the country able to match the 100,000-seat capacity of the MCG, but is currently in the midst of renovations and unable to host fans in Sydney.
Leading AFL journalist Caroline Wilson believes Sydney will get the nod:
Operators can now offer all players access to a network of 120+ professional counsellors in real time via video call
Thursday 9th July 2020
Residential gambling addiction centre Leon House has launched AnonyMind, the UK’s first CQC and RET registered online gambling treatment platform.
A Gambling Commission report in December 2019 found that 1.5% of people aged 16+ in England are classified as problem gamblers whilst in a YouGov survey commissioned by charity GambleAware, it was estimated that up to 2.7% of adults in Great Britain – nearly 1.4 million people – had a gambling problem.
Italy’s online gamblers were preoccupied with ping-pong during their pandemic lockdown, according to a local operator.
New data issued by Italian gaming operator Lottomatica’s so-called Lottomatica Betting Observatory showed that table tennis accounted for over half (52%) of wagers made on Lottomatica.it during the COVID-19 shutdown of Italian retail operations. Ping-pong, led by the Liga Pro and Setka Cup, claimed five of the lockdown’s top-10 betting markets.
Despite the shutdown of Serie A, the English Premier League, Bundesliga et al, football still claimed a 34% share of lockdown betting, thanks mainly to those asymptomatic all-stars in the Belarusian Premier League. Volleyball was well back in third place with 5%, narrowly beating out tennis and basketball (4% each), while all other sports combined for just a 1% slice of the pandemic pie.
In demographic terms, the lockdown punter was overwhelmingly male (90%) and neatly split between the 25-40 age demo (42%) and those aged 40-55 (41%). Sadly for anti-gambling types, the lockdown proved not to be a great spoiler of youth, as those in the 18-25 age group accounted for just 6% of pandemic wagering, around half the 11% claimed by those in the 55+ demo.