One of the biggest booming games of the casino world has made its way to BetConstruct’s Live Casino and is ready to be activated on operators’ websites.
Streamed live from BetConstruct’s dedicated ever-increasing studio the game targets multiple player profiles thanks to the presence of poker-like features such as player options and many side bets. Casino Hold’em will attract players coming for quick gaming rounds alongside the players who are in for a long strategic pastime. In both cases, any operator will find the game to be quite profitable with the scope of other Live Casino games providing extensive betting.
BetConstruct combines knowledge on player preferences and insights with the powerful technology that supports quality streaming to deliver an outstanding product that its Live Casino is. Altogether, this allows the developer to enrich its offering with unique gaming features and promotional tournaments to engage players on a higher level and push its operators to the top charts of the market.
As the world accelerates towards an increasingly digital way of life, adaption remains the ultimate key to success. iGaming NEXT was originally created with the purpose of becoming the industry’s primary content driven conference which focuses on the future of iGaming. However, with the current need for social distancing, the responsibility to lead the shift into the digital age is even greater. Therefore, iGaming NEXT is proud to announce that while its annual dynamic event is to be held between the 29 – 30 September, in its normal format, an online version is to be held between the 4 – 6 May, so make sure to save both dates!
But now, how will this work? Think of what an event supposed to be like. Whatever vision comes to mind, quickly delete, as given the current circumstances, the team behind iGaming NEXT strive to upend the concept, rethinking and repackaging the event, successfully taking this year’s first edition of iGaming NEXT from offline to online. The iGaming NEXT team believe that they have nailed the transition from the physical to the virtual, despite the two serving very different purposes, diverse demographics and requirements.
iGaming NEXT: ONLINE will be a ground-breaking event, not only because of the curated content, but will also serve as a true showcase of the ever-burgeoning power of technology. In one platform, there will be interactive talks and panels aimed to further the delegates’ career prospects, with a roundtable function to connect with other delegates and together discuss various topics. The platform even allows for organisations to live demo their products, while interacting with interested potential clients. An incredible interactive event with endless opportunities to connect with likeminded professionals, regardless of role or status, with a low entry fee which starts at only €19+VAT.
The content is curated to fit all levels of iGaming employees, with a clear focus on personal development in an ever-evolving world. iGaming NEXT: ONLINE seeks to address the rapid changes we are all experiencing, both on an industry as well as on an individual level; How to keep mentally fit while working from home? How to leverage technology to become hyper productive and how will the landscape change after COVID-19? All this and much more will be answered.
• Short-term mitigation plans could shape up a new industry on the long term
As the iGaming industry is adapting to the live sport events shortfall that has now taken the iGaming industry by storm, not everything is doom and gloom. Alessandro Fried, BtoBet’s Chief Executive Officer, discusses the interim measures that operators are adopting to mitigate the gap created in the sportsbook vertical, and how eventually the industry will morph into a more diverse scenario based on the decisions that operators are taking at the moment.
In what way will the current situation impact the industry?
Everyone is expecting live sport events to surely resume shortly. They will be back, and with them the sports betting vertical will pick up where it left and bounce back. At this point in time the Italian top league clubs are all set to resume their training in a couple of weeks, whilst in Germany teams have already resumed with their preparations to final sprint of the Bundesliga.
On April 17, Smile-Expo will hold an online conference for the European market – Betting in face of COVID-19. This event is dedicated to the peculiarities of operating a betting business during the quarantine imposed by different countries because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Best practices of overcoming the crisis, a heated discussion about relevant betting areas and networking in a new format – all of this will be available to the conference audience!
ISLE OF MAN – Microgaming, through its staff-led CSR initiative PlayItForward, has donated £30,000 through its 2019 Gift of Giving campaign, bringing total donations to £210,000 since inception.
Gift of Giving is a seasonal voting scheme giving Microgaming operators and partners ‘the gift of giving’, by providing them with the opportunity to donate to worthy causes in their region.
In the 2019 campaign, Microgaming PlayItForward has donated a share of £30,000 between six global charities. The charities that received the highest number of votes in each region were Save the Children (United Kingdom), WaterAid (Africa), Foodbank Lifeline Foundation (Malta), Childline (Gibraltar), and Unicef (Rest of the World), with GamCare winning the vote in the inaugural responsible gambling category.
John Coleman, CEO of Microgaming, comments: “I’d like to thank all of our customers for their generous votes and for supporting our Gift of Giving initiative for the seventh year running. Involving the wider industry in CSR is important to us at Microgaming, which is why we included the new responsible gambling category – giving back is what we are all about. Well done to the winning charities in 2019’s campaign and we hope these donations will help you to keep doing what you do best.”
Government considers ‘extreme measures’ as activity rises amid COVID-19 restrictions but closures would drive more players to unlicensed sites instead of protecting them
9th April, 2020 – The Swedish government’s threat to temporarily shut down licensed online casinos would have a disastrous effect on the industry and drive thousands more players to the black market, BonusFinder.com has warned.
The minister in charge of gambling policy, Ardalan Shekarabi, this week warned that “extraordinary measures” would be implemented if operators do not take action to slow the increase in igaming activity seen in the last two weeks, as people are told to stay at home because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to new data from Sweden’s gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, there has been a 33% increase in registrations and logins to play online casino games with 17 of the 60 licensed operators in the country in the last 14 days.
In the absence of regular season games, the NBA is staging a HORSE competition between current and former NBA stars, as well as a couple of WNBA stars. The NBA’s Horse Challenge is set-up as a single-elimination bracket where Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young will face off against former NBA Champion Chauncey Billups. The winner of that match-up will face the winner of the battle between former WNBA star from the Indiana Fever, Tamika Catchings, vs. Utah Jazz’s Mike Conley Jr. On the other side of the bracket, current Chicago Bull, Zach LaVine, will play against former Boston Celtics great, Paul Pierce, and current Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star, Chris Paul, is facing WNBA Chicago Sky star, Allie Quigley.
PlaySugarHouse.com in NJ and PA and BetRivers.com in PA are offering all their players a free to play bracket with a $1000 pool on each site for the winners. Players can make their picks starting Saturday morning, April 11, until 7 P.M. Sunday evening April 12th. It works much like a March Madness bracket but with only 8 participants. Players will earn a point for each correct pick in the quarterfinal round, 2 points for each correct pick in the semifinal round and 3 points for picking the correct winner. The winners of the bracket will receive a share of $1000 bonus money.
“We are happy to offer our NBA bettors an alternative while the season is suspended,” said Mattias Stetz, C.O.O of Rush Street Interactive, which operates PlaySugarHouse.com and BetRivers.com. “The NBA has been very creative with this HORSE Challenge and we think our bracket will add some additional excitement for our bettors.”
Quarterfinals will be aired on ESPN on Sunday April 12 between 7 and 9pm ET. The semifinals and Championship game will be aired on ESPN (and streamed on the ESPN app) on Thursday April 16 at 9pm ET.
Indiana’s retail and online sportsbooks were hit hard in the first weeks of the coronavirus shutdown, costing the state an estimated $125 million in wagers in March, according to PlayIndiana. And with no immediate end in sight, the industry will continue to navigate treacherous waters in the months ahead.
“This is an unprecedented stoppage for legal sportsbooks, and there is no playbook for them to follow to help manage the crisis,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayIndiana.com. “Obviously, the sports betting industry is just one facet in a crisis that is affecting us all, too often tragically. But it is a business that employs hundreds in Indiana and generates millions in state taxes. And the bottom line is that there will be no significant relief until the sports world begins to open back up.”
Indiana appeared to be headed for its first month of more than $200 million in bets. Instead, the state’s retail and online sportsbooks collected just $74.8 million in March wagers, down 60% from the record $187.2 million in February, according to official reporting released Thursday. Almost all of the handle was generated before March 11, when the sports world began to shut down.
March’s bets produced $5.5 million in adjusted gross revenue, down 50.5% from $11.9 million in February, and yielded $522,0825 in tax revenue for the state.
The loss of the NCAA Tournament proved particularly damaging. Indiana sportsbooks could have generated more than $50 million in tournament-related wagers, PlayIndiana estimates.
“There is no way to replace the revenue that would have been generated from the NCAA Tournament, which in legal jurisdictions generates more action than the Super Bowl,” said Jessica Welman, an analyst for PlayIndiana.com. “The NCAA Tournament can’t be rescheduled, but professional leagues are beginning to draw plans to begin games again. We still don’t know what that looks like or when it will happen. Whether spectators are there to watch in-person or not, though, online sportsbooks should again be able to attract bettors, which will be welcome news for the industry.”
The silence of sportsbooks could change in a minor way. Sportsbooks are now accepting bets on the WNBA and NFL drafts.
“We don’t expect a lot of betting on the WNBA and NFL drafts, but we suspect that each will draw more interest than either would under ordinary circumstances,” Welman said. “People are looking for some sense of normalcy while they practice social distancing, and the drafts and futures betting is providing at least some outlet for bettors.”
In March, online sportsbooks generated 81.3%, or $60.8 million, of the state’s handle. DraftKings/Ameristar Casino led the market with $33.1 million in bets, down from $74.1 million in February, and generated $2.4 million in gross receipts. Horseshoe Hammond led the retail market with $3.4 million in bets, down from $12.4 million in February. That generated $211,475 in gross receipts.
“Online sportsbooks will bounce back more quickly than their retail counterparts, which face a much more uncertain future as the coronavirus pandemic continues,” Gouker said. “In states where online casino games and poker are legal, such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, casino operators have had a bit softer landing. But Indiana has really borne the brunt of this crisis, unfortunately.”
For more revenue information, visit PlayIndiana.com/revenue.
Slotegrator sales team will attend the online conference, introduce the company’s latest solutions, and share their outlook for the betting industry during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Despite global quarantine measures (or perhaps aided by them), the online gambling sector is still very much open for business. On April 17, the Betting In Face of COVID-19 online conference will be held to help all those in the betting sector who are facing the new challenges that have emerged as a result of the pandemic.
One of the Eurasian market’s foremost software developers, Slotegrator, is sponsoring the event, and its managers are going to participate in online networking activities, including one-on-one meetings, and present the company’s latest products and services that are designed to boost operators’ platforms.
Slotegrator is continuously expanding its portfolio of solutions and products for the online casino industry. Offering a massive variety of different services, the company’s primary focuses are online casino software development and aggregation and the integration of gaming content, data feeds, and payment methods for casinos and betting platforms.
A virtual gambling event BET2020 Online Conference will be streamed on April 9th, 2020 on the Youtube platform and gather TOP industry companies and experts from all over the world.
1 day, 8 hours of useful information based on real cases, 20 speakers together with 2500+ attendees to share with you ready-made solutions!
Advertising and participation in the virtual event – is an innovative way to bring your content to digital audiences as well as to increase your product reach and revenue.
The online format doesn’t limit the number of people by the physical location and keeps everyone safe and healthy.
Global provider strengthens senior management team with latest hire
Tuesday, 07th April 2020: Leading sportsbook and casino platform provider Digitain has named Martin Clarke as its new Director of Product Management.
Clarke brings a wealth of industry experience to his new position, including senior product roles at Betway, Betsson Group and Flutter Entertainment, where he led the redevelopment of Paddy Power’s sportsbook after the company’s merger with Betfair.
Following his previous role as Director of Product at B2B sports betting provider Metric Gaming, Clarke’s new responsibilities will include overseeing the development strategy for Digitain’s award-winning sportsbook and casino platform.
As one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, both in terms of revenue and viewership, the global eSports market continues to generate an enormous profit for the most successful players. Recent years have witnessed a surge in tournament prize pools, which today bring millions of dollars of prize money for the leading esports teams.
According to data gathered by GoldenCasinoNews, the top three esports teams hit over $92 million in overall earnings as of March. With more than $34 million profit so far, Team Liquid represents the leading esports team in the world.
Dota 2 and CS:GO Tournaments Make 80% of Team Liquid’s Earnings
Team Liquid competed in more eSports titles than any other organization. Over the last ten years, its members took part in 1.686 tournaments, winning in various games and disciplines. However, The International 2017 winning, which brought $10.8 million worth prize money, still represents the team’s most significant achievement. Last year, the team won second place at The International 2019.
The Tote is delighted to be working in collaboration with the Hong Kong Jockey Club to offer UK customers new betting opportunities on Hong Kong racing.
Tote customers will now be able to play the Placepot on meetings from the Happy Valley Racecourse and the Sha Tin Racecourse every week. The Placepot covers the last six races on the racecard with races starting at lunchtime in the UK for meetings on Wednesday, usually from Happy Valley racecourse, and from 6am onwards for Sha Tin meetings at the weekend.
Alongside the Placepot, Tote customers can watch live streaming and place race-by-race single leg bets throughout the Happy Valley and Sha Tin meetings, every Sunday and Wednesday, with the Tote’s new blog providing information and tips on the form for each race. Over recent race meetings there have been multi-million-pound race by race pools for Tote customers to bet in to via tote.co.uk.
All the racing is being streamed live on a watch and bet basis on tote.co.uk. This is available to all Tote customers who do not need to place a bet to be able to enjoy the sporting action. All new customers signing up to tote.co.uk will receive a £10 risk free first bet.
Raffle House giving away £10,000 worth of tickets to current competition where £500k property is guaranteed to be won
London: 8 April 2020 – Raffle House is giving NHS workers the chance to win a luxury London apartment for free by giving away 1,000 tickets to its current draw.
As a thank you for the bravery and selflessness of all NHS workers, the house raffle company is donating £10,000 worth of tickets to its July draw, where the property is guaranteed to be won.
This means that an NHS worker could be in with the chance of collecting the keys to the £500,000 two-bed apartment in East London, which will be awarded to one ticket holder come July.
PlaySugarHouse.com is among the first sportsbooks in the U.S. to drop the flag on virtual NASCAR races. The sportsbook has been approved by New Jersey regulators to offer betting on the 2020 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. New Jersey players will now be able to place bets on a virtual auto race and the first race in the series they can bet on is the Toyota Owners 400 in Richmond on April 19.
The Cup Series races are as realistic as can be, featuring real stars of past and present including Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The series of races, which started March 22, are being broadcast on FOX Sports during typical NASCAR broadcast times and have been huge hits drawing over a million viewers to the fierce iRacing competition.
“We are happy to be able to offer such an exciting and competitive entertainment event,” said Mattias Stetz, C.O.O of Rush Street Interactive, which operates PlaySugarHouse.com. “It’s also fun to see how these talented drivers will compare in the virtual world of competitive racing.”
The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is offering exclusive entertainment on the premier motorsports racing simulation; the same one used for years by NASCAR’s biggest stars to prepare for real world race events. This form of virtual sports is different than others because the simulator offers a full NASCAR experience down to the dynamics of the car and the real-life differences between track surfaces being raced on. Ultimately, the eNASCAR iRacing Series offers a competitive edge that traditional console videogames just can’t match.
The virtual racing schedule is designed to follow the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, which had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Along with the Toyota Owners 400, the virtual NASCAR series includes the Geico 500 at Talledega and the Cup Series race at Dover and looks to make virtual stops at fan-favorite tracks from coast to coast.
The show must go on – SiGMA’s inaugural digital conference runs 8-10 June
The COVID-19 pandemic has created mayhem across the world, with events being a prime target. Since the health and safety of our exhibitors, attendees, partners, and employees is of paramount importance, we decided, with a heavy heart, to postpone SiGMA Manila from June 2020 to May 27-28th, 2021.
Rescheduling this inaugural show was the only responsible course of action, enabling us to provide the kind of experience that our customers, partners, and employees expect and deserve, in a safe environment.
In line with our commitment to bringing the key players of global iGaming and emerging tech sectors together, we’ll be hosting SiGMA-ICE Asia Digital in 2020. This digital conference will take place on the original dates, 8-10th June.
Aspire Global´s Annual report for 2019 including the Sustainability report has been announced and is available on the company website.
The newly published annual report for 2019 describes Aspire Global’s investment case, financial performance and future potential including the recent initiatives to expand the B2B-offering. Over the past year, the company took a holistic approach to sustainability, both in terms of operations and reporting, and is proud to present the first Sustainability report according to the GRI-guidelines.
“Aspire Global continued to deliver on the growth strategy in 2019, increasing revenues by 26% to €131.4 million with an EBITDA margin of 16.5%, in line with the financial targets. Having been profitable since the foundation in 2005, in combination with our strong cash position and ability to generate cash, makes us confident about the continued execution of our growth strategy. The acquisition of Pariplay, including the integration of their game studio and game hub, expanded our B2B-offering and reinforced our position in the value chain. We are now well equipped to offer companies everything they need to operate a successful iGaming brand, whether it is a platform, services, proprietary games or access to a game hub. We have it all – as separate units, add-ons or as a complete offering”, says CEO Tsachi Maimon.
The annual report is available to download on the company website following this link
Malta, April 06 2020, Betzest just launched the full suite of BetRadar online Esports content added to their portfolio.
In partnership with BetRadar Betzest expands their offering to players with an opportunity to access BetRadar’s full range of Esports including most popular video games such as Counter-Strike, Dota, LOL (League Of Legends), Motorsport, Overwatch, StarCraft, etc.
Furthermore, Betzest increases their Virtual betting portfolio with a multi-competition that includes Virtual Football Champions Cup, Virtual World Cup, Virtual Football League, Simulated Reality Leagues, as well as Virtual Basketball, Virtual Horse and Dog Racing and Virtual Tennis.
Marius Filip, Founder/CMO at Betzest, said: We are always looking to improve Betzest Sportsbook product for our players. In partnership with BetRadar, we are excited to add an extra dimension to our Esports offering. Highly innovative and entertaining E-Sports video games will add to our customer experience with high-frequency betting opportunities on offer around the clock.
Colorado’s sports betting industry will eventually generate billions of dollars in bets annually, hundreds of millions in operator revenue, and millions in tax revenue, according to estimates by PlayColorado.com, which analyzes the state’s newly regulated sports betting market.
Despite the sports world being indefinitely shuttered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, regulators are preparing for a May 1 launch of online and retail sports betting. When it does, Colorado will become the 18th state to have some form of legal sports betting. And the Centennial State has a bright future, capable at maturity of annually generating as much as $6 billion in bets, $400 million in gross operator revenue, and $40 million in tax revenue, according to PlayColorado projections.
“With a significant base of existing land-based casinos, a regulatory framework that will be attractive to operators, and one of the largest metropolitan markets in the country to draw from, Colorado is well-positioned to capitalize on sports betting,” said Dustin Gouker, chief analyst for PlayColorado.com. “But assuming the industry does launch on May 1, it will be doing so in unprecedented circumstances with almost no sports to wager on. There are some advantages to a forced soft opening, but it also means that it will be some time before we learn with confidence just how Colorado’s bettors will respond to legal sports betting.”
Colorado regulators have been deliberate, opting for a later start date to ensure it gets its regulatory framework right. Its 10% tax on net revenue is comparable to some of the most successful sports betting markets. New Jersey, which is neck and neck with Nevada as the nation’s largest sports betting market, levies a 9.75% tax on revenue from retail sportsbooks and 13% on online sports betting revenue. Indiana, the No. 4 sports betting market in the U.S., taxes sports betting at 9.5%.
In addition, Colorado has avoided some of the pitfalls of earlier adopters, such as imposing maximum bet limits, a decision regulators left to operators.
“Colorado legislators and regulators have made many smart, measured decisions based on input from casinos, operators, and bettors, and that has led to the adoption of an excellent collection of rules and restrictions,” Gouker said. “They have also had the undeniable benefit of seeing what has worked in other states. Colorado’s methodical approach might have been frustrating to bettors by slowing the launch, but there is plenty to be encouraged about. Sports betting operators have inked partnerships and regulators are listening to stakeholders. That will serve Colorado well.”
Until the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, bettors will be limited to futures bets on pro sports and some international sports.
In other states, legal online casino and poker wagering has meant millions in additional revenue for operators and states, helping to bolster bottom lines during a difficult time in the gaming industry.
“There is no question that the revenue from online casinos and poker rooms has helped operators in states such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania weather the shutdowns of land-based casinos and essentially all sports,” Gouker said. “Coloradoans will likely someday decide if and when the time is right to legalize online casino wagering. In the meantime, it has put the right framework in place for its sports betting industry to thrive once sports are played again.”
