The Calvin Ayre Foundation has made an investment in Antigua’s future by donating US$200,000 to a fund dedicated to ensuring deserving students receive a quality education.

On Tuesday, Calvin Ayre attended a ceremony at the Island Academy, an internationally accredited school in Picadilly, Antigua. There, Ayre presented Principal Portia Moursy with a check for $200,000 for the Island Academy Bursary Fund.

The Fund allows deserving but financially disadvantaged students to attend the Academy on a partially paid participation fee basis. The Foundation has made education one of its principal areas of focus, and this year’s donation follows a $100k gift to the Island Academy Scholarship Fund in 2015.

Speaking at Tuesday’s event, Ayre offered a personal perspective on the transformative power of education, saying he was a keen student during his school years, and that focus helped take him from a pig farm in rural Canada to the cover of Forbes magazine.

Gaming technology provider IGT and Scientific Games are now in hot water after state lawmakers learned that the Illinois Lottery’s scratch-off game didn’t award all of their grand prizes.

Both legislative parties in Illinois launched a probed on Northstar Lottery Group – which IGT and Scientific Games owns – after daily newspaper Chicago Tribune published an exclusive story on how the privately managed state lottery seemed to have swindled its players.

Last year, Gov. Bruce Rauner gave Northstar the boot, terminating its contract as of Dec. 31, 2016, for failing to meet revenue promises.

The Tribune reported that state Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie. Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills), Rep. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), and Rep. Scott Drury (D-Highwood) called for hearings on how games like the colorfully dubbed “The Good Life” and “Freezing Your Bucks Off” were managed.

Australian betting operator Tabcorp has found itself in hot water over a 2015 promotion that offer rewards to new accounts.

Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court found the gambling operator guilty of three counts of illegally luring punters to open accounts, skynews.com.au reported on Friday. The promotion in question was published in a newspaper and online in August 2015 and offered bonus bets as well as other rewards as inducements, according to the news outlet.

Government outlaws bookmakers to publish ads tempting residents in New South Wales with enticements to gamble or open betting accounts.

Tabcorp, which has denied the offences, will face sentencing in February.

Optimism of casino operators in the Japanese market is at an all-time high after the state parliament has passed a long-awaited law to legalize casinos on Thursday.

In fact, international gaming firms such as Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts and Caesars have expressed an interest in running businesses in Japan as they try to find new markets amid the on-going corruption crackdown in China, including the world’s premier gaming hub Macau.

But experts warned operators to temper their optimism as they raised their eyebrows on the ability of Japan’s casino to attract many Chinese mainland tourists.

While he describes the move of Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to support the legalization of casino to stimulate the country’s ailing economy as “unprecedented,” Gao Hong, deputy director with the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, casted doubt whether these casinos will attract too many Chinese mainland tourists.

Three small barrels of value including an update on the American Poker Awards; Prominence Poker moves onto Steam, and PokerStars removes the fold button.

The third iteration of the Global Poker Index (GPI) American Poker Awards (APA) will take place Feb 23, 2017, at the Sofitel in Beverly Hills, California.

Global Poker League (GPL) sponsor PokerStars will also sponsor the three-hour award ceremony. The event will start at 7 pm with a cocktail reception followed by pigs in blankets served at 8 pm.

888Poker Ambassador, Kara Scott, will make sure everything runs to order. The categories and shortlists are a secret for now. Keep an eye on www.americanpokerawards.com for the updates.

In this week’s Calling the Clock Lee Davy covers the emergence of Virtue Poker; the excitement of luckychewypoker and an update on EuroPoker.

Virtue Poker looks like it’s going to be an attractive alternative for online poker players. The P2P decentralised poker platform is built upon the Ethereum blockchain meaning there is no need for those dreaded payment processors.

Founder, Ryan Gittleson, talked about the online poker industry being stagnant for a decade, and with PokerStars upsetting their top tier players, there has never been a better time to ‘disrupt’ the market.

During the interview we talked about blockchain technology, what customers will say to their friends when they recommend Virtue Poker and much more.

On March 9, 2017 the first large conference for Blockchain developers and businessmen – Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference – will be held in Tallinn. Representatives of leading IT companies, authors of startups and everyone who is interested in Blockchain technologies will come together.

Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference – a net of conferences which comprises Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic – and Estonia. The last event which took place on November 10 in Moscow was visited by the representatives of IBM, Microsoft, Sberbank, “Skolkovo”, Higher School of Economics as well as Russian government.

For leaders of IT industry

Estonia is the leader in IT sphere with Blockchain developments supported on the national level. There is a project aimed at transferring medical charts into Blockchain for data protection and doctors’ quick access to them.

Week 16 of the English Premier League ensures that Chelsea will sit on top of the Premier League this Christmas after their 10th win on the spin; Arsenal loses for the first time since the opening day, and much more.

If history is anything to go by then my prediction of Chelsea winning the Premier League looks likely to come true.

The Blues 1-0 win over a stubborn Sunderland at the Stadium of Light means they will dive underneath the Christmas Tree safe in the knowledge that they lead the Premier League table. And six of the past seven teams to hold that honour has gone on to win the title.

Consistency has been the key for Chelsea in recent games. Antonio Conte has not tinkered with his side in eight of the previous nine games. But the Italian’s hand was forced in this one after Eden Hazard missed the match with an injury. Willian came in, and you hardly missed the diminutive Belgian.

The Indian state of Nagaland has issued its first online skill games license to an online poker operator.

On Wednesday, the Nagaland State Lotteries office awarded an online skill games license to M/s K365 Web Assets Pvt Ltd, which operates online poker and rummy portal Khelo365.com. For the moment, K365’s license only covers its poker operations, which include No Limit Texas Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha games.

Nagaland’s governor signed the landmark Prohibition of Gambling and Promotion and Regulation of Online Games of Skill Act 2016 in April, becoming the first Indian state to formally authorize online games of skill for stakes.

Nagaland began issuing Letters of Intent to would-be skill game licensees in August, with the first LOI going to Club Empire Tech Pvt Lgd. Nagaland has since issued a further 10 LOIs to different companies but K365 was first to get its paperwork past the government inspectors.

The Indian state of Nagaland has issued its first online skill games license to an online poker operator.

On Wednesday, the Nagaland State Lotteries office awarded an online skill games license to M/s K365 Web Assets Pvt Ltd, which operates online poker and rummy portal Khelo365.com. For the moment, K365’s license only covers its poker operations, which include No Limit Texas Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha games.

Nagaland’s governor signed the landmark Prohibition of Gambling and Promotion and Regulation of Online Games of Skill Act 2016 in April, becoming the first Indian state to formally authorize online games of skill for stakes.

Nagaland began issuing Letters of Intent to would-be skill game licensees in August, with the first LOI going to Club Empire Tech Pvt Lgd. Nagaland has since issued a further 10 LOIs to different companies but K365 was first to get its paperwork past the government inspectors.

Indiana commercial casinos channeled their inner soothsayers as they predict a bleak future for the Hoosier State with the opening of Four Winds Casino South Bend.

Citing the findings of Spectrum Gaming Group, The Associated Press reported that Indiana’s tax revenues will drop by more than $350 million in its first five years once South Bend casino open in 2018.

Casino Association of Indiana, which represents most of Indiana’s commercial casinos, commissioned the report to determine the impact of the Four Winds Casino South Bend that’s being developed by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.

Spectrum’s analysis found that the tribal casino, which is expected to roll-out the red carpet in early 2018, could cost Indiana’s 11 riverboat casinos and its two horse track casinos more than $800 million in gambling revenue over its first five years of operation by siphoning away some of their customers.

Indiana commercial casinos channeled their inner soothsayers as they predict a bleak future for the Hoosier State with the opening of Four Winds Casino South Bend.

Citing the findings of Spectrum Gaming Group, The Associated Press reported that Indiana’s tax revenues will drop by more than $350 million in its first five years once South Bend casino open in 2018.

Casino Association of Indiana, which represents most of Indiana’s commercial casinos, commissioned the report to determine the impact of the Four Winds Casino South Bend that’s being developed by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.

Spectrum’s analysis found that the tribal casino, which is expected to roll-out the red carpet in early 2018, could cost Indiana’s 11 riverboat casinos and its two horse track casinos more than $800 million in gambling revenue over its first five years of operation by siphoning away some of their customers.

(Hong Kong) TGG, the world’s pioneer in open platform gaming entertainment technology is pleased to announce the signing of an electronic gaming integration agreement with the global online betting operator – BETEAST.

Under the agreement, TGG will provide customised electronic gaming integration to BETEAST that has offices in six countries and employs over 500 people to deliver sports betting as well as casino and e-sports experiences to over one million customers globally.  The integration agreement will grow BETEAST’s porfolio of slot games for their top-rated real money internet gaming operations while allowing TGG to expand further into internet gaming.

“TGG is proud to partner with BETEAST and supply them with our vast content library,” according to  Raymond Chan, CEO &  co-founder of TGG. He added , “we’re fully confident in our ability to provide a  top selection of games to such a prestigious partner, and work toward enhancing the gaming experience globally.”

BETEAST is an internationally licenced online betting operator and the kit  sponsor of English Premier League side – Swansea City AFC, whose superstars include  Ki Sung-Yueng, who serves as  captain of South Korea’s national squad.  BETEAST’s UK-facing site operates on the TGP Europa platform along with Asian-facing operators TLCBET, Fun88 and 12Bet.

London, December 2016 – Richard Wade, one of the industry leaders appearing at February’s ICE VOX learning programme, has acknowledged the challenge facing the gaming industry if it is to keep one step ahead of cyber criminals.

The Director of Compliance and Responsible Gambling at Rank Group, who is the afternoon chair of the Cybercrime Security and Regulatory Compliance in Gaming stream, believes the industry will see the introduction of more innovative and inventive security features prior to customers entering a gambling site in much the same way as banking and other secure sites protect their clients and stakeholders. He explained: “I can see an increasing demand from customers for operators to go the extra distance in order to protect their sensitive data as criminals become ever more ingenious. Access to gambling sites via finger print touch ID on smartphones in particular can’t be far away and also the use of web photos to prove ID on each visit. These and other innovations to confirm someone is the true account holder, will help operators to prevent fraud and ensure that customers continue to play in a safe and secure environment.”

Turning his attention to ICE Totally Gaming 2017, which will be the biggest on record comprising over 500 exhibitors occupying 41,000 square metres of stand space, he said: “Both the exhibition and the learning programme, now presented under the ICE VOX brand, get better every year. In relation to ICE VOX, I welcome the innovative change of approach to the Cybercrime Conference in particular. New ideas like the World Cafe Roundtables, will allow delegates to get far more involved with the debate, which has to be a good thing.”

The ICE VOX streams for 2017 include: The International Casino Conference; World Regulatory Briefing; Cross-Platform & Multi-Channel Gaming; Modernising Lotteries; Data Science & Personalisation; BetMarkets; Cybercrime Security and Regulatory Compliance in Gaming, and Game Design and Development. ICE offers unique opportunities to engage with the industry’s leading authorities and thought leaders at ICE VOX and then meet with the teams responsible for creating the very latest technologies from a show floor comprising 500+ of the industry’s leading innovators

London, December 2016 – Richard Wade, one of the industry leaders appearing at February’s ICE VOX learning programme, has acknowledged the challenge facing the gaming industry if it is to keep one step ahead of cyber criminals.

The Director of Compliance and Responsible Gambling at Rank Group, who is the afternoon chair of the Cybercrime Security and Regulatory Compliance in Gaming stream, believes the industry will see the introduction of more innovative and inventive security features prior to customers entering a gambling site in much the same way as banking and other secure sites protect their clients and stakeholders. He explained: “I can see an increasing demand from customers for operators to go the extra distance in order to protect their sensitive data as criminals become ever more ingenious. Access to gambling sites via finger print touch ID on smartphones in particular can’t be far away and also the use of web photos to prove ID on each visit. These and other innovations to confirm someone is the true account holder, will help operators to prevent fraud and ensure that customers continue to play in a safe and secure environment.”

Turning his attention to ICE Totally Gaming 2017, which will be the biggest on record comprising over 500 exhibitors occupying 41,000 square metres of stand space, he said: “Both the exhibition and the learning programme, now presented under the ICE VOX brand, get better every year. In relation to ICE VOX, I welcome the innovative change of approach to the Cybercrime Conference in particular. New ideas like the World Cafe Roundtables, will allow delegates to get far more involved with the debate, which has to be a good thing.”

The ICE VOX streams for 2017 include: The International Casino Conference; World Regulatory Briefing; Cross-Platform & Multi-Channel Gaming; Modernising Lotteries; Data Science & Personalisation; BetMarkets; Cybercrime Security and Regulatory Compliance in Gaming, and Game Design and Development. ICE offers unique opportunities to engage with the industry’s leading authorities and thought leaders at ICE VOX and then meet with the teams responsible for creating the very latest technologies from a show floor comprising 500+ of the industry’s leading innovators

Footballtips.com received a “Highly Commended” mention in the Football Affiliate of the Year category at the Sports Betting Community Awards, recognising their superb work in 2016.

The Sports Betting Community Awards recognise excellence in the field of sports betting and every year the very best companies in the industry are identified and praised for their contribution. This year Footballtips.com was not only nominated to receive an award but given a special “Highly Commended” title from the judges.

The awards were held at Chelsea Football Club’s Stamford Bridge Stadium and over 400 industry experts attended a lavish ceremony in the exclusive Under The Bridge nightclub.

The recognition for Footballtips.com was due to their consistently excellent campaigns, particularly those run on their @footballtips Twitter handle during a busy year for football.

Wednesday, December 2016 – ORYX Gaming is spicing up Christmas by introducing the Red Hot Firepot side bet feature to its Gamomat content in HTML5 for desktop and mobile.

Players have a chance to access the jackpot game with every spin placed. The initial jackpot game consists of three ovens which open up to reveal a flame or nothing at all. If all three ovens feature flames, the jackpot level game launches to identify the amount the player wins during this special section of the game.

There is a Win-O-Meter on screen and a 5×1 reel game with symbols 1 to 9 and question marks that transform into any number between 7 and 15. Each time a number stops on a reel the appropriate amount is added to the Win-O-Meter and whichever level is reached is paid out.

Red Hot Firepot  allows for different sizes of bets to be placed, these are pre-set at 0.20 EUR, 0.50 EUR and 1 EUR, where the biggest jackpot with the highest bet yields an impressive 10.000 EUR.

All the fun of the fair with this latest three-reel slot

Reading, December 2016 – Award-winning casino content supplier Realistic Games has hitched a ride on the Big Wheel for its latest slot release.

This three-reel, single win line game offers players nudges as well as a host of Big Wheel features that combine nostalgia with cutting edge technology.

Normal wins are paid on the game’s single win line, whilst the features are activated by landing the ‘Big Wheel’ symbol on the win line of the centre reel only.  Land it above or below the centre reel win line and players have a 50/50 chance of entering the feature.

Calgary, Alberta – December 2016 – ePlay Digital Inc. (the “Company”) (CSE:EPY) PokerVision Media Inc. (“PVN”), a subdivision of ePlay Digital today announced its plans for a multi-platform digital TV channel that will bridge poker, gaming, eSports and sports content with previously unseen levels of interactivity. The new PVN Digital TV channel is expected to launch in Canada during the first half of 2017. The company’s leadership is currently obtaining studio space in multiple cities across the country while finalizing its programming structure and building interactive digital applications for poker, gaming, sports and eSports programming. Master control, broadcast studios and production facilities are already operational in Calgary, Alberta and Toronto, Ontario.

PVN will provide Live Event coverage of premier poker tournaments in Canada and from around the world with new and engaging technology to enhance and gamify the viewers and players experiences. The network will also feature original reality programming, sports handicapping, as well as eSports and gaming shows. “No other TV network in Canada has been created from the ground up with social, mobile engagement, augmented reality, and gamification,” says Jim Nelles, Head of Broadcasting for PVN. “The days of single-screen viewing are gone. Audiences expect great content on a TV screen complemented by interactivity on tablet and mobile. PVN is stepping up to deliver exactly that. We will drive larger and engaged audiences in the face of massive competition for viewership.”

According to Canadian viewing data from Numeris, digital TV viewership has grown by 21.4 per cent since 2013, even while conventional TV viewership has dropped 6.5 per cent. TV viewership is under pressure from online content and services like Facebook and Netflix, however PVN is offering an underserved audience sought-after content which can continue growth in a complex TV ecosystem.

“The television and media industry is rapidly changing and PVN is set to showcase how venues, professional and amateur players, digital and traditional platforms, and advertisers integrate to engage audiences,” says Trevor Doerksen, CEO and President of ePlay Digital.

The Celtic eSports League comprises of some of the best FIFA players in the UK representing eight professional clubs from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and Lee Davy sits down with the founder Geoff Wilson to get the lowdown.

Cristiano Ronaldo recently won the Ballon d’Or for the fourth time. The kids look up to him. They want to be him.

But for how long?

Technology is advancing at a rate of knots never before witnessed in our short tenure in this universe. How long will it be before the thought of sliding around in the mud on a wet Sunday morning in Cardiff will seem as ridiculous as watching movies using an old Betamax?