Tag Archives: i-gaming

Wynn v. Chanos slander suit dismissed with prejudice; Wynn gets Girls Gone Wild cash

Wynn Resorts casino magnate Steve Wynn’s defamation lawsuit against hedge fund manager Jim Chanos has been dismissed with prejudice.

Wynn filed suit in September following comments Chanos made at a panel discussion at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism last April. Chanos, who manages the Kynikos Associates fund, told attendees that he’d reduced his holdings in Macau-based casino firms – including Wynn Macau – over fears that Macau’s junket industry left such companies open to potential violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

In December, US District Judge William Orrick dismissed Wynn’s suit, saying Chanos’ comments couldn’t be construed as suggesting Wynn had violated the FCPA. Wynn subsequently revised his lawsuit but Orrick wasn’t swayed, issuing a judgment on Tuesday saying anyone “need look no further than the transcript” of the event” to conclude that Chanos’ comments “do not amount to a statement of fact, but rather an opinion that is not actionable.” Adding insult to injury, Orrick ordered Wynn to pay Chanos’ court costs.

In a more positive development, Wynn will see a little more scratch from his pursuit of gambling debts owed by Joe Francis, the former ‘brains’ behind the Girls Gone Wild (GGW) soft-core porn company.

GGW filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2013 to protect its assets from court judgments giving Wynn permission to take the assets as partial repayment of Francis’ unpaid casino markers. Wynn was also awarded hefty judgments after winning defamation suits against Francis.

Last April, the GGW brand was sold for $1.8m to a Liquidity Capital-led investment group. On Monday, a bankruptcy court ruled that the proceeds of this sale will be divvied up between GGW creditors, including Steve.

Meanwhile, Francis and his girlfriend Abbey Wilson have an April 2 hearing in a federal court to determine if they should go to jail for failing to turn over two luxury cars belonging to the GGW estate. Francis has claimed that a Mexican strip club owner took the vehicles as compensation for several GGW promotions that never materialized.

Scientific Games expands in Canadian market; launches online Rainbow Riches Bingo

Gaming and lottery technology supplier Scientific Games Corp. announced its partnership with the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC), expanding its position in Canadian market.

Under the deal, Scientific Games will provide ALC with its Sciplay iLottery and AEGIS NGS lottery gaming systems as well as operational monitoring and maintenance support starting in mid-2017.

“We are delighted to continue innovating with Scientific Games to bring entertaining lottery games to Atlantic Canadian players through technology that both serves us today and leads us into the future,” said Brent Scrimshaw, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Lottery Corporation. “Our conversion to the AEGIS NGS and Sciplay systems will provide ALC with the opportunity to securely and responsibly grow through traditional retail channels, and now mobile, internet and emerging channels.”

ALC operates on behalf of the Canadian government in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador and Prince Edward Island. The five-year contract, which can be extended up to 15 years, will see Scientific Games’ gaming technology presence to 70% of provinces and all three Canadian territories— Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon.

Scientific Games has provided iLottery and internet-based loyalty solutions to 20 World Lottery Association members since 2001 while Sciplay system is being implemented in Arkansas, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, and most recently, North Dakota.

“ALC will be well-positioned to become an industry leader in multi-channel player engagement and promotions that can successfully grow their business,” Senior Vice President, North American Lottery Systems for Scientific Games Pat McHugh.

The implementation is expected to begin this month, with the conversion to the new system in 2016.

Tropicana revenue gains; Borgata eyeing expansion; AC to host Arena Football

The Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City has posted an impressive 24% improvement in net revenue in 2014.

According to the company’s annual reports to investors, net revenue in 2014 reached $303.08 million, a steady improvement from the $244.7 million it earned in 2013, largely tributed to an increase in gambling revenue amounting to $55.2 million.

Tropicana’s operating profits posted small gains, amounting to $12.4 million in 2014 compared to $11.19 million in 2013. The property tax refund from Atlantic City with $31.7 million helped the Tropicana, giving owner Carl Icahn some measure of relief after five casinos in Atlantic City shuttered their windows last year. One of them, the Trump Taj Mahal, is expected to be added to Icahn’s portfolio, at least depending on the outcome of bankruptcy court proceedings currently underway for the property.

Meanwhile, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa—another one of Atlantic City’s casinos that are still standing—has announced plans to expand its business, including the development of an outdoor entertainment venue to host concerts and festivals and a new, state-of-the-art nightclub.

Plans for this expansion have now been set into motion after the casino operator received preliminary determination of eligibility from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) to use around $14 million of its “current and future funds on deposit with the CRDA generated from its Investment Alternative Tax payments.”

Part of this investment will go in the development and construction of the Borgata Festival Park and the new nightclub.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to enhance and grow our already tremendous entertainment offerings through funding by the CRDA and a wonderful partnership with Live Nation,” Borgata President and CEO Tom Ballance said in a statement. “Upon our entry into the market in 2003, Borgata set the bar for entertainment and nightlife in Atlantic City, so it is only appropriate that we raise it yet again with the addition of these two substantial projects.”

Net Ent appoints Jenny Rosberg to Board of Directors; online casino games go live on Full Tilt

Swedish online gambling technology provider Net Entertainment (Net Ent) appointed NASDAQ Senior Vice President Jenny Rosberg to the board of company directors.

The Nomination Committee proposed Rosbergs’ election as well as expanding the number of its existing board members to eight directors, re-nominating Vigo Carlund, Fredrik Erbing, Mikael Gottschlich, Peter Hamberg, Michael Knutsson, Pontus Lindwall and Maria Redin.

”Jenny Rosberg has more than 25 years of operational experience from senior management and board positions in the financial services and technology sector. With her international perspective and valuable experience from capital markets and transaction-intense industries she will bring great competence to the Board. I look forward to working together with Jenny to continue to strengthen NetEnt´s position as a leading provider of digital entertainment”, says Vigo Carlund, Chairman of the Board at NetEnt.

Rosberg is the founder of ROPA Management Ltd. Prior to founding ROPA, she held top executive positions with NASDAQ for almost eight years.

Net Ent casino games go live on Full Tilt

A selection of Net Ent’s game portfolio has gone live with online operator Full Tilt brand, following an agreement between the two companies in April 2014.

Full Tilt has completed the integration process and has made a selection of Net Ent’s online casino games available to its customers.

Springfield mayor signs casino ethics ordinance; Wynn buys extra land for Mass. casino project

The city of Springfield in Massachusetts has finalized a new set of casino ethics rules that will impose a ban on elected officials and top city administrators from receiving any benefits from MGM Resorts International’s casino for a period of three years after leaving office.

The new ordinance, signed by Mayor Dominic Sarno after recently being unanimously approved by the City Council, specifically laid out that the mayor and councilors of the city are also barred from holding any direct or indirect interest in the MGM casino nor can they be employed by the same casino for the aforementioned period of time after they have left their respective offices. Likewise, city department heads and their top aides also face a similar ban, except that theirs only lasts for two years after leaving their respective city jobs.

In addition, the city of Springfield has also established a Casino Liaison Office in accordance with the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act. Part of the office’s duties include coordinating correspondence between employees of MGM Resorts International and numerous city offices, specifically in times of immediate concern, including issues that will likely arise during the construction of the $800 million integrated resort and casino.

The Casino Liaison Office will only hold office through the grand opening of the resort, which is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2017. The office of Mayor Sarno has already tabbed Springfield’s Chief Development Officer Kevin Kennedy to oversee the office. Kennedy will be flanked by James M. Hannifin and retired director of the Department of Public Works Al Chalk and attorney

“Due to the size and complexity of this multi-million dollar project, it is imperative that the City provide a direct point of contact as we move forward with the realization of this tremendous economic development project for the City of Springfield,” Sarno said in a statement. “Both Al and Jim have direct knowledge of the development process and will be instrumental in making sure that when issues arise they can be dealt with directly and in a timely manner to ensure this project stays on track.”

Meanwhile, casino license holder Wynn Resorts has added another 1.75 acres to its planned casino site after purchasing the land adjacent to its 33-acre Wynn Everett site from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for $6 million.

The completed transaction for the extra slice of land now allows Wynn to move forward with the development of the property, so says Wynn Everett President Robert DeSalvio. The site preparation and remediation is expected to begin later in the year as pre-construction soil boring continues on the site.

Content Marketing Tip of the Week: Paid Content Seeding

theMediaFlow Managing Director Nichola Stott gives an overview on Paid Content Seeding in this edition of CalvinAyre.com’s Content Marketing Tip of the Week.

If you’re struggling to gain traction with a new content strategy, using social media to seed your content pieces is a great way to get the ball rolling, increase your readership and also grow your social communities whilst you’re at it.

There’s an awful lot to learn about specific social platforms that permit sponsored content in order to get the best results but as an introduction here’s a couple of my best tips for Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook – use psychographic targeting.  Select your target audience details and refine by thinking a) what kind of person would enjoy this content and b) what interests would this person have? Are they a Breaking Bad fan? What sports do they like? Target the typical interests of the typical person you want to reach for the best chance of success.

Twitter – use the option to target followers of accounts like you (or the Twitter feed you would most like to be). Kind of a similar principle as above and works on the sort of Amazon “those who bought “X” also bought…” suggestions. Targetting likeminded accounts in this way should increase your chance for both engagement and followers.

Melco Crown to delist from HKSE on July 3; Genting HK buys Crystal Cruises

Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. is expected to withdraw its listing from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) on July 3, 2015, the company said in a filing to the HKSE.

The operator filed an application stating its voluntary withdrawal from the exchange in January 2015. Melco Crown shareholders will convene in a general meeting on March 25, where it will vote on the proposed delisting. If that ends up according to plan, the company will then seek approval from the exchange’s listing committee for the delisting.

The decision to delist from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was brought about by what Melco Crown describes as a lack of “appropriate opportunities to raise additional equity in Hong Kong” and the limited volume of trading its shares has had on that exchange.

The company added that maintaining the listing in the HKSE “requires additional ongoing regulatory compliance obligations and such requirements involve significant additional costs and administrative burden.” The company plans to focus on retaining the primary listing of American depository shares (ADSs) on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange.

If everything goes according to plan, Melco Crown shares in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will have its last trading day on June 29. Once it has delisted from the exchange, existing Melco Crown shareholders will have the option of either keeping the Hong Kong-issued shares or convert them into ADSs, with the company covering the costs of the proceedings.

Meanwhile, Genting Hong Kong has bolstered its presence in the high-end cruise market after purchasing Crystal Cruises from Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha in a deal worth $550 million. The deal, which is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2015, will be financed with existing cash and bank loans.

“Crystal Cruises offers the epitome of luxury cruising and the service standard that all other cruise lines aspire to,” Genting Hong Kong Chairman, Chief Executive and acting President Lim Kok Thay said in a statement.

Interview with John Pappas of Poker Players Alliance

Becky Liggero talks John Pappas of Poker Players Alliance as he shares what he learned at the G2E iGaming Congress and gave an update on federal online poker legislation.

Becky Liggero: I am here with John Pappas, executive director of Poker Players Alliance (PPA).This is the day of iGaming Congress. So, John, tell what have you observed today so far in the Congress. What have you learned?

John Pappas: Well it’s always great to be here as a kind of a representative of the player community. I think it is important that we have a presence here and have a voice here to interact with the companies in iGaming space and this is really the biggest gathering of iGaming companies. One of the biggest gathering of the iGaming companies in the United States. So it is important that we’re here. the panels have been excellent talking about everything from importance of knowing your customer and the trials and tribulations that players have to be able to deposit money to the site and all that goes into it is something i thought was very valuable to listen to and follow up to those people that run the panel. A lot of what happens here, happens outside of the panel, in the hallways here in the discussions that you have and how often is it that i gotta sit and talk with New Jersey regulators and California regulators alongside with heads of poker room for bwin and or for Partypoker or for PokerStars. So this is a great place for us to be. to be able to have the perspective of the players.

Becky Liggero: We know that regulations here in America for online gambling is obviously a big topic. What do you think is what were going to see in 2015 for new states jumping on board.

John Pappas: a few states that jumped out to everybody and that’s Pennsylvania and California are the two that are on the tip of my tongue, take New York will be on the shortlist as well as Illinois. You know it’s a struggle. It’s a long, slow process here in the US. And quite frankly, what I’ve always seen is it usually takes few legislative sessions for something like this. So in California, we’ve had multiple legislative sessions plus we have tribal issue that’s overhanging everything. In Pennsylvania, we had some bills introduce last year, some hearings and discussions. I think we’ve passed critical hurtle allowed one legislative to go by and now i think in 2015, we’re gonna see more bills to be introduced, more hearings and i believe there will be some votes in Pennsylvania on legislation. Which way they go right now is hard for me to say. I’m leaning to Pennsylvania state to legalize internet poker and internet gaming broadly.

Becky Liggero: I remember in the past we’re always pushing for Federal online poker. Can you give us an update on what’s happening on a federal perspective.

John Pappas: Federal bill is something i think everybody in the conference would support because of the harmonizing of multiple states. the idea of 50 different states, 50 different regulatory regimes is still very problematic for the industry, very problematic for the players but that’s what we have because we have congress that’s unlikely to pass a bill that’s licensing and regulating internet gaming nationwide. Given that, we still have a congress that could do something very bad.We’re standing here at Sands Expo and the owner of this casino is also one of the biggest opponent of online gambling. He’s been spending a lot of money in the upcoming election to ensure that he gets people in congress to support his issues. Maybe some all sort of things but internet gaming being one of them.That’s a real threat. I would put it probably below 20% right now that i’ts going to happen. That’s too high of a risk for us to just kind of sitting back and hope that it does not happen. We’re gonna be very engaged over next several months to make sure on a Federal level they do no harm. I don’t think they can do any good for us and at the minimum they can do any harm.

The Secret Blackjack Ball: A Night at the World’s Most Exclusive Gambling Club

This is a guest contribution by Michael Craig, an author, journalist, and lawyer. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

Food, Drinks, Geniuses, Fake Names, Gossip, Introductions, Reunions, a Hall of Fame Induction, an Undisclosed Location, Competition, and – of Course – Gambling

One night a year, the best blackjack players in the world convene for the Secret Blackjack Ball. Gambler, author, and consultant Max Rubin has been organizing the invitation-only gathering since 1997. Like millions of lovers of blackjack, casinos, and secret meetings, I regretfully missed out on the 2014 Blackjack Ball. It took place at an undisclosed location in late January, leaving the rest of us to piece together what happened from tidbits leaking online, my brief correspondence with Mr. Rubin, and discrete comments from some past and current attendees.

Invitation to the Ball

Nineteen years ago, Max Rubin started the Blackjack Ball in his home. “It was a way,” he explained, “for players from different blackjack teams and solo players to get together and a place to hang out.” Part of the Ball’s unique charm from the beginning was that many of its members had never met.

By 2004, the Blackjack Ball became too big for Max’s home. Attendance at the Blackjack Ball is by invitation only, and the current secret location seats only 112 (including guests). There are literally hundreds of bona fide professional gamblers vying as plus-ones or campaigning Max to get on the list. “It’s fun being a very popular guy one night a year but I still haven’t figured out how to say ‘No’ to a lot of really nice folks without sounding like an arrogant a-hole.”

Max has a special place in the Blackjack world: legendarily generous host, organizer and secret-keeper, and supposedly the only attendee of the Ball who has “crossed over” to work for the casino industry. (I’ve been told that other attendees have consulted for casinos in some capacity.) Mr. Rubin consults with Barona Casino in San Diego, which, in addition to offering some excellent blackjack rules, has a wall commemorating members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame.

The Grinder Launches Last Longer Betting Site Blast Longer

Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi is the face of a new last longer betting site called Blast Longer, a desktop and mobile app that allows players to create last longer bets whilst playing in online tournaments.

Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi is probably one of the greatest networkers in the poker industry.

Seriously, this man sits down at a poker table wearing more patches than an inner tube that sleeps on a bed of nails. The Grinder is that good I wouldn’t put it past him to get the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling to put him into the World

[Image Credit: PokerNews]

Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP).

His latest venture is called Blast Longer. Our man is pictured on the front of the website looking very Dan Bilzerian (minus the naked boob-jobbed ladies and goat), and the premise is a very simple one. It’s a site that allows online poker players to engage in last longer bets.

The website is currently in beta status. When you login it shows you a list of supported networks. PokerStars, Full Tilt, partypoker, iPoker, Ongame and Winamax.fr taking center stage.

Pennsylvania gets new poker-only online bill; RAWA House hearing postponed

Pennsylvania has a (sorta) new poker-only online gambling bill, courtesy of Rep. Nick Miccarelli.

In case you’re wondering, no, this is not another flip-flop on the poker-only/poker-and-casino legislation filed (and re-filed) by Rep. John Payne. Miccarelli’s HB 695 is a warmed over version of the HB 2297 he introduced in the previous legislative session.

Like Payne’s legislation, HB 695 would restrict online gambling to the state’s existing gaming licensees, licenses would cost $5m and operators would be taxed 14% of gross gaming revenue. Unlike Payne’s legislation, Miccarelli’s legislation includes a strict ‘bad actor’ clause barring casino operators from partnering with online operators that accepted wagers from US residents post-UIGEA.

RAWA HEARING POSTPONED

Meanwhile, the federal legislation that would scupper any and all intrastate online gambling will not have a hearing this Thursday after all. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations had scheduled a Thursday morning hearing to discuss the Sheldon Adelson-supported Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA).

However, the Poker Players Alliance broke the news on Tuesday that the hearing has been postponed, apparently due to the possibility of a “significant snow event” in Washington (or because Adelson expects to be too partied out after his BFF Bibi Netanyahu’s whirlwind tour of the town this week). No replacement hearing date has been announced.

Before the postponement was announced, an unofficial list of witnesses due to testify at the hearing had circulated, and it seems RAWA supporters had stacked the deck against the chance of balance, evidence and/or sanity having a seat at the table.

Interactive Articles, Game Theory and Gut Instinct With Builtvisible

Interactive Articles, Game Theory and Gut Instinct With Builtvisible Video

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Adjarabet Gets a Babelfish Makeover

The Georgian online gambling firm Adjarabet has become the first operator to migrate its poker offering to the Microgaming network via the brand new Babelfish API.

Georgia is in the news a lot lately.

I’m not talking about the women who had her execution postponed because her deadly dose of poison looked a little too cloudy, preventing her from becoming the first female to be executed in the state in 70-years. I’m talking about the country with a population of 5 million people, who seem to have a soft spot for playing poker.

A few weeks ago, I brought you news of a partnership between the World Poker Tour (WPT) and one of Georgia’s top gambling firms, Europe-Bet.com; and I can now bring you more Georgian gambling news after Adjarabet became the first online poker room to use Microgaming’s Babelfish API.

Adjarabet was founded in 1998, and they advertise the brand as the ‘Georgian market leader in poker, casino, sports betting and skill games.’ At the beginning of the month, Microgaming unveiled detailed of their new ‘Babelfish’ technology, and promised to unveil a big signing in the coming weeks.

Are Adjarabet that big signing?

“We were looking for a partner to help us grow and improve our poker offering; when Microgaming presented Babelfish we knew it was exactly what we needed,” commented Alastair Ives, Head of Poker at Adjarabet. “The Babelfish API allows us to offer a product that is completely tailored to our customer base, eliminating the pain of migrating to a new software provider. We are very happy with how the process has been handled and with the results of the migration so far.”

PokerStars Servers Crash and Bighusla Shows That Spin & Go’s Can Be Beaten

PokerStars upset a few of their customers when an unexpected two hour outage froze screens across the world, and a player by the name of Bighusla has shown that Spin & Go’s can be beaten. 

As I pulled sleep from my eyes my phone was bouncing by the side of the bed like a happy little dog.

“Have you heard?”

“PokerStars has crashed.”

“Nobody knows what’s going on?”

It was a mate of mine. And yes he did send me three different SMS messages, when one would have sufficed. He is an open loop kind of guy. We’re both X-Files fans, but whilst my only interest is Gillian Anderson, he is a real bone fide conspiracy theorist.

I leapt out of bed, removed my old man pajamas and searched the Internet for the news story of the decade. Had the Iranians decided to wipe the Adelson slate clean by invading PokerStars?

Ihre Consulting hired by Bonnier Gaming to assist with Affiliate Management

Bonnier Gaming has instructed Ihre Consulting to assist them with growing their affiliate program within the European market.

Bonnier Gaming brands include Redbet.com, Vinnarum.com, Whitebet.com, Mamamiabingo.com and Bertilbingo.com.  Their portfolio is extremely attractive and offers something for almost all igaming affiliates. Key markets include the UK, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Germany and Poland,which is where the strategic partnership with Ihre Consulting is formed.

Ihre Consulting have been in business over 4 years, working with operators and affiliates to partner them together in mutually beneficial deals. We are now a market leader of third party networks and affiliate management services, with a key strength within Scandinavia, and with Germany, UK, Canada and Australia closely behind.

Edward Ihre commented: “Working with Bonnier Gaming is a great partnership for us. They have great product lineup with multiple brands on offer, enabling us to work closely with them to provide key partnerships with affiliates within in these areas. Their target markets are ones we are strong in, and we are extremely pleased to be working with the Bonnier team”.

KristoferBergdahl, Head of Aquisition from Bonnier Gaming quoted: “Working with Ihre Consulting was a natural choice for us. Their strength within Scandinavia and Germany enables us to raise our exposure within these key markets.  Our flagship brand Redbet is an extremely attractive product and we are excited to take this brand to the next level. ”

Bonnier Gaming Affiliates are certified on AGD and GPWA. They have casino, poker, sports and bingo brands available for affiliates to promote, with live dealers provided by Evolution and NetEnt. Brands are available in SEK, EUR and NOK currencies as well as 5 languages. They have the UK and Malta licenses and are available on the mobile.

Affiliates can earn up to lifetime commissions with no negative carryover by promoting one or more of Bonnier Gaming’s products. Contact Ihre Consulting directly to discuss the rates available (as well as more customized deals and promotions) .

Hooters Poker Room Closes in Las Vegas

Hooters Casino Hotel in Las Vegas has closed its poker room, making it the 13th Las Vegas casino to do so in the past two and a half years.

A few years ago, during a trip to Las Vegas, a few friends and I decided to spend a bit of quality time in Hooters. I won’t beat about the bush. We thought it would be a great idea to play poker in front of a dealer with huge knockers.

We didn’t stay long.

We didn’t go back.

There were no Hooters. We felt robbed. Everything was under lock and key. I don’t even think we saw cleavage. But that’s not the reason we left. The casino was tiny. The atmosphere was morgue like. There was no poker room.

So I was a little shocked when I read on USPoker.com that Hooters had closed its poker room. According to John Mehaffey the room consisted of two tables that held a $1/2 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) cash game at 2pm every day. It must have been held in the toilet. We never went to the toilet. Like I said, there were no Hooters.

According to statistics compiled by Mehaffey, Hooters poker room is the second to close this year (The Linq closed in January), and the 13th Las Vegas poker room to close since 2012. That takes the overall number of remaining Las Vegas poker rooms to 39.

Pinnacle Sports’ new owners unveil regulated market expansion strategy

Online sports betting operator Pinnacle Sports’ new owners have unveiled their plans for world domination.

One of the oldest and most celebrated of online bookmakers, Pinnacle announced last month that unidentified parties had taken a “controlling interest” in the Curacao-licensed outfit. On Tuesday, Pinnacle revealed that the deal had been consummated in August 2014, although the exact identities of the new ownership remain a mystery. For what it’s worth, the legal firms that advised the new owners on the sale were based in Ireland and the UK.

In a statement, Pinnacle CEO Paris Smith claimed to be “extremely excited” to be working with the new owner(s) on a “shared vision” that includes “significant product enhancement and expansion into regulated territories.” Smith promised “cutting-edge” new products were being readied for the “concerted drive into new global markets.”

Customers will hope the new owners have extra deep pockets, as governments in European regulated markets tend to view online gambling operators as piggy banks. So costs will go up and margins will go down. But Smith assured customers that “the fundamental principles that make the brand so unique will not be compromised.”

Pinnacle appeared to be taking a shift away from regulated markets last year, withdrawing from the UK market before the Sept. 15 deadline for new licensing imposed by the UK Gambling Commission. The year before that, Pinnacle returned the online gambling license it had been issued by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC).

Both of those moves followed Pinnacle being named in a late-2012 indictment by US authorities that linked the site to an illegal messenger betting ring connected with former Cantor Gaming VP Michael Colbert. Pinnacle withdrew from the US market in 2007 but introduced new IP-blocking of US accounts following the indictment. Members of Pinnacle’s previous ownership named in the indictment have since seen their charges either dropped or drastically reduced.

Pinnacle’s new strategy may see it eventually welcomed back into markets that had previously blacklisted the site, including Bulgaria, which tagged a scarlet letter on Pinnacle in July 2013. Russia, which blacklisted Pinnacle in March 2014, is reportedly planning to institute a legal online sports betting regime this June, although who gets to participate remains murky. In case it needs saying, American bettors aren’t advised to hold their breath for a return of Pinnacle to US shores.

China online gambling bust; Korean site orders DDOS attacks on competitor

Authorities in China have broken up an international online gambling operation based in Hunan province.

China’s official press agency Xinhua quoted Chinese police saying they’d detained 19 individuals following a two-month investigation. A further eight individuals have been targeted for arrest over their roles in the operation of the Shenbo Sun City website, whose servers were based outside the country.

Police said the operation earned a profit of RMB 1.4b (US $$223m) between May 2013 and Oct 2014. Police have frozen approximately 1,000 bank accounts across China containing around RMB 200m. This marks China’s second major bust of 2015, having taken down a similarly large operation in Shandong province in January.

Over in South Korea, authorities have arrested two ‘cyber security experts’ accused of targeting an online gambling site with distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks. Intriguingly, the hackers were hired by another illegal online gambling operator intent on eliminating his competition.

The Korea Times quoted the National Police Agency saying a man named Yang, the owner of an online security company, was paid a hefty KRW 1b (US $911k) since May 2014 to target the online gambling operator’s competitor on multiple occasions. Neither site operator was publicly identified by police.

On Sept. 25, Yang reportedly hacked into 12k computers and commanded them to spam the targeted site with messages in order to crash its servers. Yang told police he’d agreed to don the black hat because his legal sources of income were “unstable.” Police are continuing to investigate to determine what other DDOS attacks Yang and his henchman might have launched.

Macau casino revenue falls 49%; Neptune profits “more disappointing” than hoped

Macau casino gambling revenue tumbled 48.6% to MOP 19.5b (US $2.44b) in February, the ninth straight month of revenue decline in the world’s top gambling hub.

Year-on-year comparisons were always going to be dodgy, given that February 2014’s MOP 38b figure was Macau’s all-time peak month. But this February’s decline marked the lowest monthly total since 2011 and the single biggest year-on-year decline since Macau began issuing public stats on its gambling revenue over a decade ago. Still, analysts had feared the decline could hit 53.5%, so, er, yay?

February’s decline is doubly depressing given the bump that casino revenue traditionally receives from Lunar New Year celebrations. But the Macau Government Tourist Office reported that new year visitor levels fell 2.4% from 2014 and average occupancy rates in the crucial Feb. 18-24 period fell nearly seven points to 87.5%.

VIP gamblers tend to give Macau a wide berth during the new year celebrations in order to avoid crowds. While exact details won’t be released until later this month, Wells Fargo Securities suggested VIP revenue declined 56% in February while mass market revenue fell by one-third.

NEPTUNE OPTIMISTIC DESPITE TWO YEARS OF DECLINE

Further evidence of the increasing paucity of Macau VIP gamblers was revealed in junket operator Neptune Group’s H1 profits, which fell 17.3% to HKD 292.6m ($37.7m) in the six months ending Dec. 31. The company, which controls an estimated 15% of Macau’s VIP gaming market, said the decline was “more disappointing than we expected” and that Macau’s VIP gambling slump was “worse than we first anticipated it as an intermittent pattern.”

Neptune warned that unless the situation reversed itself soon, “it may deter some investors from investing in new capital and expansion in this industry.” Junket operators are already facing a liquidity crunch due to Beijing’s crackdown on corruption, visa restrictions and other factors that resulted in 34 junket operators closing their doors in 2014.

Paddy Power posts record profits thanks to boost from Australia

Irish betting operator Paddy Power posted record profits in 2014 thanks to a strong performance by its Australian online division. Paddy’s group revenue rose 18% to €882m in 2014, while profit before tax rose 21% to €167m.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup helped boost Paddy’s turnover to a record €7b although the company says hold was negatively affected by sports results that had “more ups and downs than Taylor Swift’s love life.” Paddy said there were three separate weeks last year in which nearly all the favorites won, causing bookies to pay out “gazillions” on accumulators.

Paddy’s online operations (including Italy but excluding Australia) saw sportsbook turnover rise 25% as the ranks of online customers grew 21%. But sportsbook revenue rose just 7% to €194.2m as hold dipped one point.

Mobile was again a star performer, responsible for 55% of online revenue. Mobile turnover grew 38% to €1.6b and Paddy says 77% of sportsbook customers made a mobile transaction in December. Paddy suggested mobile betting adoption is now “not far behind using it for setting up one night stands on Tinder!”

Online gaming and ‘other’ revenue rose 18% to €140m despite only 6% growth in active customers. Gains in casino, bingo and B2B offset a decline in poker. Mobile gaming revenue rose 58%, representing 40% of overall online gaming (rising to 45% in December).

Paddy lags its competitors in gaming revenue per active customer, but is taking steps to remedy this “historic under penetration.” Paddy credited its Bulgarian game development base for providing it with new proprietary content, including the Santa’s Spins product, which “beat every game ever launched on the site for month one revenue.”

Paddy’s Italian-facing site saw revenue rise 85% but the division posted a net loss of €14.7m as overall market growth remains “slower than expected.” Paddy says it will complete a review of its Italian operation over the coming months to “position our business better for this market reality.”