Tag Archives: i-gaming

Totowinbet Launches Affiliate Programme with Income Access

Affiliate programme for multi-vertical iGaming brand to be powered by Income Access acquisition-tracking platform  

Montreal, QC. February 11th, 2015 – Totowinbet, a Malta-based and regulated online gaming brand offering players sports-betting, casino, poker and other games, has announced that the company has launched an affiliate programme with Income Access, a technology and digital marketing services provider for the iGaming sector. The new Totowinbet affiliate programme will be managed using the award-winning acquisition-tracking software of Income Access.

Launched in 2013 and since enjoying strong growth in popularity, Totowinbet, which is regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority, offers players a cross-vertical online gambling experience. The brand’s sports-betting offering features multiple sports, including soccer, tennis, basketball, Formula 1 motor racing, rugby and ice hockey. The Totowinbet website also features sophisticated live-betting functionality for major sporting events.

In addition, the brand offers players a wide array of online casino games. The Totowinbet casino boasts a full suite of slots by industry-leading content providers NetEnt and Betsoft as well as a wide range of table games, including both American and European roulette, Baccarat and an array of different versions of online poker, all of which are powered by the brand’s proprietary poker platform, Mythospoker. The experience of a real-world casino floor is brought to life for players by Totowinbet’s Live Casino, which features live-dealer versions of Texas Hold’Em, Blackjack and roulette among other games.

To celebrate the launch of the new Totowinbet affiliate programme on the Income Access platform, which has won the Best Affiliate Software eGR B2B Award for the last two years straight, the brand has announced a special affiliate promotion. All new affiliates will receive a special flat 50% revenue share deal for their first three months with the programme, which provides affiliates with dedicated, 360-degree support from the moment they register.

After affiliates’ first three months with the programme, the commission structure reverts to a standard tiered revenue share model. Commissions vary between 35% and 55%, depending on which Totowinbet offering – sports-betting, casino, poker or games – the affiliate is promoting and the amount of revenue they refer each month.

“We’re excited to partner with Income Access for the launch of our new affiliate programme,” said Jack Frost, Affiliate Manager at Totowinbet. “The Income Access software is incredibly reliable and ahead of the curve when it comes to player acquisition via the affiliate channel, especially when their new mobile-tracking solution comes into play.”

Tribes seek online poker consensus at Western Indian Gaming Conference

California’s divided tribes attempted to find online poker consensus at the 20th annual Western Indian Gaming Conference (WIGC) on Wednesday. The two main sticking points remain whether or not the state’s racetracks should be allowed to add poker to their current online advance deposit wagering sites and similar concerns over the participation of so-called ‘bad actors,’ i.e. PokerStars.

As detailed earlier this week by Pechanga.net’s Dave Palermo, there are three factions squaring off in California’s online poker octagon. There’s the Morongo and San Manuel bands of Mission Indians, who want Stars in and are supporting Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer’s AB 167 legislation.

Opposing them is the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, who want to exclude both Stars and the racetracks. They support Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s AB 9 legislation.

Sitting on the fence are the Pala Band of Luiseño Indians (already offering online poker in New Jersey), the United Auburn Indian Community (who have a deal with Bwin.party digital entertainment) and the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians (who have partnered with Caesars Interactive Entertainment). Rincon councilman Steve Stallings told Palermo he thought “the bad actor language will be less of an issue than the tracks.”

Rincon attorney Stephen Hart followed up on this thought at the WIGC. Pechange.net editor Victor Rocha (@VictorRocha1) quoted Hart saying that (a) the racetracks needed to be included in any bill to assure it getting past their powerful lobby in Sacramento, and (b) the concept of ‘bad actors’ didn’t apply if the company was under new ownership and management, as in the case of Amaya Gaming’s acquisition of Stars last June.

The Press Enterprise quoted Rincon chairman Bo Mazzetti telling attendees that “there will be some things we don’t like” in any compromise legislation but there had to be “a lot of give and take on all our parts” if the tribes were ever going to clear this hurdle. Morongo chairman Robert Martin echoed Mazzetti, saying “there has to be compromise or it won’t get done.”

Morongo attorney George Forman said there were ways to allow Stars to participate in California’s regulated market while still excluding truly bad actors. Forman suggested crafting the legislative wording to specifically exclude operators with ‘continuing problems.’ Frankly, we’re hoping this results in the creation of a sliding scale of thespianity, ranging from Daniel Day Lewis (888poker) all the way to Keanu Reeves (Lock Poker). And the online poker license goes to…

Chinese Teenager Chops Off Hand to Cure Online Gaming Addiction

A 19-year old resident of Nantong in Jiangsu, China, took the rather extreme step of severing his left hand at the wrist after becoming addicted to video gaming.

Here’s a secret.

I used to be addicted to pornography.

Notice the use of past tense in that sentence?

I have not watched pornography for over a year now, and I won’t go into great detail as to how I cured my addiction, but I will tell you one thing. I never considered chopping off my cock as a way of dealing with my problem.

A Chinese teenager known only as Little Wang (which is what I would have been called had I chopped off said cock), has reached worldwide infamy after severing his left hand, at the wrist, in a bid to cure his addiction to online gaming.

According to press reports, Little Wang’s mother – who we will refer to as Mummy Wang, as she wanted her identity kept a secret – said that Little Wang was a ‘smart boy’ (I think we will withhold judgment on that one). She told reporters that she went into his bedroom to find a note that read:

Global Poker Masters to Live Stream on Twitch

The Global Poker Masters will be streamed live on Twitch, after the pair shook hands on a groundbreaking deal for poker.

Do you know what Twitch is?

No?

Do you have a teenage kid?

You need worry no more. They are not watching porn. They are not watching ISIS Thanksgiving Turkey cutting videos. The videos that your son or daughter plays repeatedly on their phone are probably coming from Twitch.

Twitch is a live streaming video platform that is so powerful Amazon paid $970 million to acquire it in 2014. It originally started out in life as Justin.tv, and was created by Justin Kan and Emmett Shear, two people who are now incredibly rich, after creating a product that received 100 million monthly viewers earlier this year, broadcasts 11 million videos per month, and is more of a Mummy or Daddy to your kids than you will ever be.

It’s also going to be the home of the Global Poker Masters (GPM) thanks to the foresight and genius of Alexander Dreyfus.

Confessions of a Poker Writer: My Nominations for the GPI European Poker Awards

Lee Davy continues his confessions series by breaking down his reasoning behind his nominations for the 2014 Global Poker Index European Poker Awards.

I am proud to announce that I have been asked to join a select band of people who will create the initial short list for the 2014 Global Poker Index (GPI) European Poker Awards.

I didn’t cast a vote in all of the categories. I found some easy, others hard, some received one vote, others two, and here most of them, laid out, just for you.

Breakout Player of the Year

There were four people who immediately sprung to mind when considering my vote in this category: Martin Jacobson, Jack Salter, Simon Deadman and Mustapha Kanit.

The inclusion of Jacobson might seem strange to some of you. He was already established as one of the best in the business, well before his $10m win, but he fitted the category criteria perfectly. In the end I left him out, instead voting for him in the ‘Tournament Performance of the Year’ category.

Simon Deadman was the other player to miss out by a worm’s testicle. His consistency, throughout 2014 was outstanding, but I thought Kanit’s two titles at the Aussie Millions, and Salter’s performances in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final, and the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific (WSOP-APAC) just edged him out.

Trump Taj Mahal fined a record $10m for willfully violating Bank Secrecy Act

Atlantic City’s beleaguered Trump Taj Mahal casino has been hit with a record $10m penalty for serious lapses in its anti-money laundering (AML) protocols. The fine was issued after the Taj failed to file about half of its required reports on currency transactions and suspicious activity, even after Internal Revenue Service examiners repeatedly raised concerns about the lapses.

The record fine was issued in January but only came to light as part of the Taj’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. A filing with the Delaware bankruptcy court listed the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as an unsecured creditor, meaning the feds are likely to collect only pennies on the dollar – perhaps less than $50k – when the Taj finally sorts out its tortured finances.

FinCEN told the Taj it was under investigation in April 2014 over transactions that occurred between 2010 and 2012. The IRS had told the Taj that some of their customers’ names didn’t match their listed social security numbers, yet the Taj neglected to follow up on this warning. The Taj also failed to monitor and report when gamblers pumped more than $10k per day into slot machines.

The Bank Secrecy Act requires casinos to keep track of all transactions over $5k. Lately, FinCEN director Jennifer Shasky Calvery has been reminding casinos of their obligations as “complex financial institutions” and wondering why, when casinos make liberal use of ‘big data’ to target customers with tailored promotions, they can’t seem to file paperwork that doesn’t earn them any profits.

The Taj is the latest casino to get out its checkbook (albeit the rubber kind) to make nice with federal authorities. In 2013, Las Vegas Sands paid $47.4m to avoid criminal prosecution over its dealings with a Mexican casino whale/alleged meth dealer. More recently, Caesars Entertainment announced it was under investigation for money laundering lapses at its Caesars Palace property and Wynn Resorts is believed to be under investigation for undisclosed shenanigans.

Marcel Luske and The Fight Against Fraud in the Poker Industry

Former PokerStars Team Pro, Marcel Luske, intends to tighten up security in the poker industry and will use his new company Fortified-ID Holdings limited and their nonClonableID product to achieve their goal.

“U really think there is no fraud in the poker industry? R U 100% sure?”

Those are the words painted onto the Facebook wall of Marcel Luske.

Fortunately, for the Flying Dutchman the overwhelming answer from the poker community will be “Yes, Marcel, we are 100% sure that there is fraud in the poker industry.”

Sad, but true.

Since being dropped by his long-term sponsor, PokerStars, Luske has found plenty of time to continue his work to create nonClonableID technology to help improve security for online and live poker tournaments and cash games.

Whether it’s Finnish players having their laptops tampered with in Catalan hotel rooms; Danish players having Trojan horses fitted into theirs, or idiots trying to inject hundreds of thousands of fake chips into a live tournament and then trying to flush them down the toilet. The counterfeit industry is a big one.

Ireland online betting tax nears finish line; tobacco-style bet slip warnings rejected

Ireland’s proposed online betting tax appears to be finally making progress toward becoming law, four years after it was first announced. Last week, Finance Minister Michael Noonan told opposition members that the Betting (Amendment) Bill would at long last enter the committee stage in Ireland’s upper house this week. On Wednesday, Noonan lived up to his word.

The bill seeks to extend the 1% tax on retail betting turnover to the online realm, meaning all Irish-facing companies would be required to pay the tax on wagers placed by Irish punters. Online betting exchanges like Betfair would pay 15% tax on profits generated from Irish wagers. The government hopes the tax will raise an additional €25m in annual revenue, €6m of which will be redirected into the country’s racing industry.

The legislation has taken a long and winding road to get this far, most recently being held up by the European Commission over concerns that operators on the continent would find their access to the Irish market restricted. But the EC-imposed standstill period has finally expired, paving the way for Irish legislators to actually get around to enacting the damn thing. Noonan said the tax would be implemented as soon as the bill is approved.

While debating the bill, members of the Seanad rejected a proposal to include tobacco-style warnings on betting slips and online betting sites. Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell had put forward a motion calling for all betting slips and adverts to carry the following language:

“Gambling has been shown to be addictive, causing financial loss and damage to interpersonal, working and family relationships.”

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and Craughwell’s proposal was narrowly defeated on Wednesday by a vote of 22 to 19. Unfortunately, the language may yet surface when the government gets around to modifying the Gambling Control Bill.

A spokesman for the Irish Bookmakers Association told The Journal that the group wanted “all our customers to enjoy having a bet, understand what they are betting on and how to identify signs that their betting activity may be becoming a problem for them.”

Russia seeks new ways to block access to internet sites it doesn’t like

Russia is seeking ever more restrictive ways of preventing its citizens from accessing forbidden internet sites, including online gambling operators. At a Feb. 5 appearance at the Infoforum 2015 national IT security conference in Moscow, a top Russian official declared war on anonymity over the internet, including the use of the Tor network and virtual private networks (VPN).

Leonid Levin, chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Information Policy and Communications, told Infoforum attendees that the government should consider methods to block the use of anonymous technology in order to help impede access to “forbidden” information. Among the categories of sites not currently finding favor with Vladimir Putin are online gambling sites, access to which Russian internet service providers were ordered to cut off years ago.

Roskomnadzor, the state agency that regulates internet use, has reportedly agreed to Levin’s request. Roskomnadzor issued a statement calling the challenge “difficult, but solvable,” although few tech observers give them much chance of eradicating Tor, which was developed by the US military before being declassified and turned loose for commercial purposes in 2002. Silk Road, the infamous online bazaar for all sorts of illicit activity, operated via Tor.

Russia’s Safe Internet League, whose members include state telecom outfit Rostelecom and other major mobile providers, issued a statement supporting the ban, saying online anonymity allowed “offenders of all kinds to hide their intentions from the state and use it to commit crimes.”

Russians looking to circumvent their country’s draconian online gambling ban have used VPN to access sites like PokerStars, which remains wildly popular in Russia despite its presence on Russia’s blacklist. While Russia has made strides toward implementing a legal online sports betting market, the prospects for online poker and casino authorization seem as bleak as ever.

In December, Roskomnadzor was given new powers to block restricted sites without a court order. Failure to comply with these new rules could leave violators liable for fines of either RUB 500k (US $7,700) or three-years income derived from Russian citizens, plus the option of a two-year, all-expenses paid trip to the gulag.

All this leaves Canada’s Amaya Gaming – Stars’ new owner – in a pickle. While Stars pulled out of numerous grey- and black-markets following last summer’s Amaya takeover, most of those markets were piddling in terms of contributions to Stars’ overall revenue. Russia, on the other hand, reportedly represents a significant chunk of Stars’ revenue pie.

Unibet numbers way up in 2014 after Kambi Sports Solutions sale

Online gambling operator Unibet enjoyed healthy gains in 2014, although the numbers were artificially boosted by the sale in May of its Kambi Sports Solutions division. Full-year revenue rose 16% to £312m while earnings and profit after tax doubled to £115.7m and £93.4m respectively, although £35.3m of this came via its Kambi sale.

For the three months ending Dec. 31, revenue was up a more modest 5% to £78m, while earnings fell 6% to £18.9m and profit fell 8% to £13.5m. Unibet cited below average sports betting margins and unfavorable currency exchange rates for the shortfall while insisting revenue would have risen 16% had average currency exchange rates not gone south.

Sports betting accounted for 39% of group revenue in Q4, with revenue rising 7% from Q4 2013. Casino and games garnered a 52% share (revenue +12%). Q4 saw Unibet’s poker product deal its hundred millionth hand since it relaunched as a network-independent standalone site, but the vertical’s revenue fell 28%, representing just 2% of the overall pie.

Nordic markets accounted for 49% of Q4 revenue, with Western Europe contributing 40%, Central, Eastern and Southern Europe adding 8% and ‘Other’ (which includes Australia) responsible for the remaining 3%. The Nordics’ share was basically flat, while Western Europe was up 18%, the rest of Europe fell 3% and Other fell 21%.

Live-betting’s share of total sports betting stakes rose from 43.5% in Q4 2013 to 47.5% last year, while pre-game stakes fell to 52.5%. Overall stakes rose 18% year-on-year to £459.6m. Mobile wagering accounted for 43% of sports betting revenue and Unibet’s active customer ranks grew 10% to 570k in Q4.

Unibet CEO Henrik Tjärnström said trading in the first five weeks of 2015 had seen average daily gross winnings revenue improve by 5% over the same period last year. The company has also assumed full ownership of real-money social casino operator Bonza Gaming after taking a 45% stake in March 2013.

KAMBI ENJOYING LIFE ON ITS OWN

Social & Mobile Gambling Conference 2015: How to build the business of future?

A modern person spends more and more time on the Internet, and therefore the business is gradually moving to the Web. Gambling is a vivid example. Visiting the Social & Mobile Gambling Conference, you will learn about the current state of social and mobile gambling and the prospects of the industry. This is the first event in the Russian Federation on mobile and social network gambling.

Online gambling is among the most profitable and promising internet business industries. Why? Everything is simple. Gambling is one of the oldest human passions and the Internet is a world of endless possibilities and in addition the best trading platform.

Every day a lot of people spend their free time in the web and they all want to have fun, experience emotions and try their luck. So, provide them with such opportunity, and at the same time earn!

Learn how to put this idea into practice visiting the second in a row, but still the only one in Russia conference on mobile gaming industry Social & Mobile Gambling Conference. The event will be held on March 12, 2015 in Moscow.

Come to the event and you will

learn what trends prevail in the industry of online gambling today and what will be popular tomorrow;

understand how to start business in the industry;

Use Branding to Smash Competitors and Stick Your Voice in Everyone’s Head

“Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising”  –  Mark Twain

I am going to come right out and say that it is crucial to brand well. Like really, really crucial. This might sound trivial, or even stupidly obvious to some, but it has to be said. So many times I have heard ‘that’s just branding’ or ‘branding has no value’ or similar nonsense while negotiating. Folks probably say this because at times, especially to the not so tech savvy, it can be hard to measure.

There is a reason people pay so much to have commercials on TV, or have felt on a poker table. Branding helps sell.

The point of branding is to interact an impression on the customer. This impression is usually based on an interruption but not exclusively.

There is branding and there is re-branding. Both are mission critical to a successful business. Some brands sell themselves, some brands need a little push.

The Brand

For the new business, it is crucial to understand how to brand it. There is a plethora of good advice on the web with a few easy searches. I recommend doing this before jumping in full steam ahead.

Social Media Tip of the Week: Image Based Social Media

The Media Image  Head of SEO and Social Darren Sheffield gives an overview on two image based social media platforms in this edition of CalvinAyre.com’s Social Media Tip of the Week.

Pinterest and Instagram are two social media platforms that marketers often overlook due to usage being dwarfed by Facebook and Twitter. However the reduced organic reach of Facebook on top of restrictions in advertising mean they should be given much more prominence.

Pinterest

We regularly see higher conversion rates than Facebook and Twitter for our gambling clients. One thing that is very important to remember is the user demographic on Pinterest – it has a 70% female user base and much of the content posted is accordingly female focussed.

Some further demographic information on Pinterest

Instagram

This has become a very effective tool in the marketing of gambling based content especially if the brand is looking for exposure as opposed to hard conversions. Instagram is strongly based in the usage of hashtags – it’s how users arrange content and place their post firmly in a wider conversation.

DraftKings partners with Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors

Daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings has added two more California teams to its growing list of partnerships in the NBA. Shortly after announcing a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, DraftKings has struck separate deals with the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors. The deal with DraftKings is the first venture of the Vivek Ranadive-owned Kings into the world of daily fantasy sports whereas the partnership with the Warriors is the second of its kind for the team after striking a similar arrangement with PlayMLF back in November 2014.

As part of the operator’s partnership with the Sacramento Kings, DraftKings will enjoy sponsorship treatment on a number of the team’s brand platforms, including Kings.com’s Blog Central, game previews and postgame recaps. The deal also includes DraftKings info-graphics being prominently featured on the Kings’ digital network, as well as a commercial spot on the team’s KHTK Sports 1140 AM broadcast and integration of DraftKings signage at the Sleep Train Arena and the team’s dedicated website, Kings.com.

“DraftKings provides an interactive and captivating platform for consumers that enhances a fan’s ability to become involved in the sports world,” Kings President Chris Granger said in a statement. “As we approach the next era of fan engagement, in which fantasy sport represents an area of tremendous potential, we believe this partnership is the perfect opportunity for us to break barriers and transform the fan experience.”

Not content with just signing up two California teams (the Clippers and the Kings), DraftKings went ahead and scored the signature of a third team from the state, namely the Golden State Warriors. Unlike its sponsorship set up with the Kings, DraftKings’ deal with the Warriors involves an official sponsor title for the fantasy sports site on the team’s Slate Night events, which will feature the team wearing special dark uniforms during the game. As such, the Warriors’ next Slate Night will be advertised as “presented by DraftKings.” In addition, the two sides have also agreed to engage in cross-promotional sales and marketing endeavors designed to promote each other.

“As we continue to look for ways to further engage our fans, partnering with fantasy sports leaders like DraftKings makes perfect sense,” Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Rick Welts said after announcing the deal. “We are excited to partner with a well-respected and innovative fantasy sports leader and be one of the first teams in the NBA to officially partner with DraftKings.”

With the addition of the Kings and the Warriors into DraftKings’ growing list of NBA partners, the two teams join the Clippers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Houston Rockets, and the Boston Celtics as partners of the growing fantasy sports site.

Slot Legislation in Connecticut will not happen in 2015

Connecticut state Senate Majority Leader BoB Duff announced on Monday that a proposal to legalize slot machines outside tribal casinos has been denied.

“While this will be a difficult budget season, Connecticut’s economy continues to recover,” Duff said. “The unemployment rate is down, and we continue to grow jobs. Former Speaker [Jim] Amann’s idea of putting slot machines at off-track betting sites near the Massachusetts border is not the answer, and any expansion of gaming needs to be done in consultation with the tribes.”

Prior to Duff’s announcement, two spokesperson from two Indian casinos-Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes-told The Hartford Courant that Amann’s proposal would violate their revenue-sharing compacts with the state.

Under a 25-year-old deal crafted by ex-Gov. Lowell Weicker, Jr., the tribes have the exclusive right to operate slot machines in Connecticut. In return, the casinos have agreed to pay 25% of their slot revenues to the state.

Connecticut’s tax revenue from casinos has decreased in recent years as gambling opportunities expand in other states—Massachusetts and New York will have new casinos in the next few years. To address this new competition, former House Speaker James Amann and some legislators pushed for a plan to allow slot machines at the off-track betting parlors at the Bradley Teletheatre in Windsor Locks, Sports Haven in New Haven, and Shoreline Star in Bridgeport.

Amann said that he respects Duff’s decision but the battle is not over, and he will continue conversations about the bill because the stakes are high.

“It’s premature at this point. There’s a lot of interest in the bill. It’s a win, win, win for everybody. I respect the senator’s decision as a leader, but I think he’s wrong not to look further into it. In Massachusetts, they want to clean our clock,” Amann said.

Paradise expands to handle Chinese influx; Incheon plans fourth resort casino

South Korean casino operator Paradise Co Ltd says it will expand its gaming operations due to increased demand from Chinese gamblers. The $26m expansion will add 26 new gaming tables, bringing the company’s total table tally to 252.

Paradise’s expansion will double the size of the gaming area at its Jeju Grand Hotel casino, while expanding the gaming floor space at two of its other four properties. Paradise is South Korea’s top foreigners-only casino operator, controlling nearly half the country’s international market. The country’s most successful casino remains Kangwon Land, the only one of South Korea’s 17 casinos that accepts locals.

Paradise vice-chairman Lee Hyuk-Byung told Bloomberg that the company’s casinos weren’t full on weekdays, but “from Friday afternoon to Sundays, it’s fully packed and very crowded.” Lee said Chinese gamblers accounted for 67% of Paradise’s high-rollers and 77% of its mass market customers last year, up from 46% and 50% respectively in 2010.

Paradise was among the South Korean casino operators whose share prices took a tumble in December after Chinese government officials criticized Jeju as a “new haven” for Chinese gamblers. More recently, China warned international casinos to stop luring their citizens to gaming emporiums.

Lee said Paradise didn’t directly market to Chinese gamblers, but relied instead on “word of mouth.” Regardless, Paradise investors relation official Hyejeong Shim said the company had yet to see any negative impact as a result of Beijing’s fearmongering.

INCHEON AIRPORT TO HOST AREA’S FOURTH INTEGRATED RESORT

Paradise has teamed with Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings to build the $1.7b Paradise City integrated resort on Yeongjongdo island in the Incheon Free Economic Zone. On Tuesday, Incheon Airport official Lim Byung Kee announced the development of a $4.6b tourism project to be modeled on Genting’s Resorts World Sentosa integrated resort in Singapore.

US watchdog eyes 300 investors who profited from Amaya’s PokerStars deal

A US financial industry watchdog is investigating Amaya Gaming’s purchase of PokerStars in an effort to learn who may have profited from advance knowledge of the $4.9b deal.

On Tuesday, Canada’s Globe & Mail newspaper printed a front-page story detailing a probe by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) – a US-based self-regulatory body that oversees brokerage firms and exchange markets – into some 300 investors who made “huge gains” buying “large volumes” of Amaya stock prior to the company’s announcement last June that it was purchasing PokerStars’ parent company, the Rational Group.

CalvinAyre.com was the first to break the news that Amaya and PokerStars were discussing a deal, which prompted Amaya to issue a note to the markets two days later. The stock had enjoyed a significant rise over the preceding weeks, suggesting certain insiders understood that a major deal was imminent.

The Globe said FINRA’s 300-strong list of profiteers was “believed to be the largest group of investors ever singled out for investigation by regulators for inquiries.” Traditional investigations of this type generally involve no more than a few dozen trades. The Globe claimed FINRA’s list included “many prominent Canadian brokers, money managers, hedge funds and business executives,” plus other numbered or shell companies. A Globe source said they’d “never seen a list like this before.”

FINRA’s investigation is separate from the insider trading investigation launched in December by Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), Quebec’s financial market watchdog. That probe targeted Amaya, Canadian investment bank Canaccord Genuity and the Montreal brokerage office of Manulife Financial Group.

The Montreal-based Amaya issued a statement saying it was cooperating with FINRA’s “requests for information.” Amaya said such requests were “routine and a matter of course for regulators including in the US … following a merger.” Amaya said these requests “do not necessarily lead to an investigation” and that the only current investigation Amaya was aware of was the AMF’s.

Routine or not, this is not the kind of publicity Amaya would like just now. Amaya is believed to be in the final stages of investigation by online gambling regulators in New Jersey and is also desperately trying to convince California that its acquisition of the Rational Group has expunged PokerStars’ alleged ‘bad actor’ taint.

FansUnite Launches New Analytics Platform for Sports Betting

Increase your returns by leveraging our site to crowd source handicappers’ picks.

Vancouver, February 5, 2015: Darius Eghdami, CEO of FansUnite, has been bringing more transparency to the field of sports handicapping for the past 4 years. FansUnite continues to push out new features that enable users to improve their returns by following top betting pro’s and analyzing their own betting patterns and results. FansUnite rolls out their much-anticipated PickTracker software today. This feature will enable users to analyze their betting history by allowing the user to view historical data and break down their past picks by sport, league, or bet-type and helping the user to look critically at their own betting patterns.

The idea behind FansUnite was originally conceptualized when Darius was a casual sports handicapper. He realized that in an industry where sports betting enthusiasts were often willing to invest in costly monthly subscriptions to follow a handicapper’s picks, it was relatively easy for these “professionals” to hide their comprehensive records because they would only selectively show their winning results to reflect their success. This slanted portrayal of “success” obviously put potential subscribers at a huge disadvantage when choosing whom to follow, as there is little transparency and resulted as the impetus behind FansUnite.

Unlike traditional handicapping sites that offer insight into the general consensus of picks, the FansUnite platform is based on the notion that bettors no longer need to blindly follow “pros” because they can further research the historical data of the handicappers they follow in order to gain greater access and insight based on real analytics.

FansUnite continues to evolve and produce more tools to improve the handicapping model to provide their user base more and more information. Every pick on the site goes through their proprietary algorithm to determine whether the pick is a “Pro Pick” based on factors such as the success and history on that sport and the teams involved. The FansUnite platform is attracting “pros” and their top handicappers are proving to be 10% more successful than the industry average. As an example, if you had bet $100 on every FansUnite NBA Pro Pick in January 2015, the profit would have been over $19,000.

Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, FansUnite specializes in crowd sourcing of handicappers’ picks to earn you more money. With a social aspect behind making your picks, the tight-knit FansUnite community is in it to “beat the books” together.

About Darius Eghdami

Kara Scott and Giovanni Rizzo Join Tilt Events

Kara Scott and her husband Giovanni Rizzo have announced a new relationship with the Italian poker industry event organizer Tilt Events.

It’s been a fast-paced, frenetic, firecracker of a 2015 for Kara Scott. The year started with the sad news that her five-year relationship with partypoker had ended, and it’s rolled on with the much more upbeat story that she has joined the Italian poker industry event organizer Tilt Events.

Scott revealed the news on her Cardrunners blog, and she’s not the only addition to the team. Former partypoker Team Pro, Giovanni Rizzo, will also be joining making them the only married couple to represent the same brand as professional poker players.

“Giovanni and I will be joining their team, being involved all the way from the early dreaming stages to the fine detail execution of the Tilt Cup events as well as bringing back – and this is REALLY exciting – the Venice Poker Festival for the end of 2015! We’re both energized to work hard, listen and help create tournaments that are the kind of events that we as players would love to attend.” Wrote Scott.

Scott was a former guest on my Life Outside of Poker show where she spoke about the difficulties in learning the Italian language. Not only does she live in Italy, but she now works in an Italian company. One imagines her learning curve has shortened incredibly.

This is me learning just how many verb tenses there are in Italian. pic.twitter.com/9IME0v2p4j

— Kara Scott (@KaraOTR) January 22, 2015

Public to decide Pitch ICE winner as voting commences

The Pitch ICE stand at this year’s show.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015 (London, UK) – Voting has opened at www.GamCrowd.com/PitchICE  to determine the inaugural winner of Pitch ICE.

Presented by GamCrowd and Clarion Events, the competition saw start-ups showcase their ideas in front of attendees during 15-minute slots at ICE 2015.

Videos of the pitches have been published and the concept which attracts the most votes before the deadline on Friday, February 20, will gain entry to the GamCrowd Incubator service. The program is designed to help start-ups secure investment, fill skills and expertise gaps, and provide valuable introductions to operators in the industry for testing and distribution.

“From journalists to investors to suppliers to operators, the feedback from Pitch ICE has been extremely positive. It has given priceless exposure across the industry to everyone who took part,” said GamCrowd CEO Chris North.

“The competition demonstrated that our sector is a hotbed of fantastic ideas – the level of innovation guarantees that deciding on the Pitch ICE proposition with the greatest potential is going to be tough,” North added.

Pitch ICE entries cover a wide range of real-money and social gambling products across verticals including sports betting, casino, poker and lottery.