Online gambling tech outfit Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has teamed up with data provider Betgenius to supply sports betting technology to operators in regulated markets.  

The new strategic partnership of GiG and Betgenius will offer licensed sports betting operators a fully integrated sportsbook and platform solution employing GiG’s platform and Betgenius’ end-to-end live data, trading and risk management services.

The partnership’s division of labor will see GiG responsible for supplying the platform, technical architecture and front-end development, while Betgenius will handle day-to-day sportsbook management operations, including customizable pricing for both pre-match and in-play wagering.

The partners say their new relationship will be “fully operational” by the end of this month. The partners claim to have already reached a tentative platform and sportsbook software agreement with “a major LatAm operator,” who will reportedly sign on the dotted line this month for a three-year revenue-sharing deal.   

The Netherlands’ regulated online gambling market launch will be delayed by two months due to complications arising through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last Friday, Sander Dekker, Minister for Legal Protection of the Ministry of Justice and Security, sent a letter to the Dutch parliament’s lower house explaining that the Remote Gambling Act (RGA) is now expected to take effect on March 1, 2021, two months later than planned.

Since the government has previously stated that the regulated online market launch would occur six months after the RGA took effect – in order for the Kanspelautoriteit (KSA) regulator time to vet online license applications – the most recent launch timeline of July 1, 2021 will now be pushed back until September 1.

Dekker said this delay “creates more space for all parties to prepare” for the regulatory shift to a competitive online gambling market. This includes all operators ensuring that their systems can connect to the CRUKS centralized register of gamblers who want to self-exclude from licensed sites.

Mike Sexton, legendary poker player, ambassador and Hall of Famer, has died aged 72. A hero to many, an inspiration to those closest to him and a much-loved father and friend, he was, to many, the greatest advocate for poker the game has ever had. 

Having been diagnosed with prostate cancer recently, Mike Sexton was under in-home hospice care at the end, surrounded by family and friends, including the ‘First Lady of Poker’, Linda Johnson, who broke the news of his passing on Sunday night on Twitter, to a plethora of personal tributes that spoke volumes. 

Mike Sexton passed away peacefully at home earlier today surrounded by family members. He appreciated all the wonderful comments and farewells from poker players all over the world. Service details are forthcoming. For now, please keep his family in your thoughts as they grieve.

— Linda Johnson (@FirstLadyPoker) September 7, 2020https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The airborne cattle cars currently known as airplanes could get a new makeover. A concept of a new, completely different type of airplane has been tested with great success, and, if introduced, would give air travel an entirely new look. The “Flying-V” makes substantial changes to the design of an airplane, making it more fuel efficient and potentially offer – unlike many of today’s aircraft – actual legroom. 

Airplanes have had basically the same form for the last 75 years – only minor changes have been made as technology improved. Now, the Flying-V is rewriting the book on airplane design. It puts passengers and cargo in the wings (yes, the same wings where the fuel is found) of a V-shaped vessel. Initial prototypes led to the creation of a three-meter scale model that has already had successful tests, and which will lead to even bigger prototypes being built. 

The aircraft was designed by researchers with the Netherlands’ Delft University of Technology with help from KLM Airlines. KLM is funding the project, which also has support from engineers with Airbus. As with virtually any new innovation, there were initial complications that made the Flying-V project difficult to get off the ground – literally – but the successful completion of a launch over the summer shows that the problem has been overcome. 

Not only does the Flying-V reduce fuel consumption by around 20% – and that’s only with existing protypes; it could be even more – there is the interior of the cabin that is improved by better use of the aerodynamic shape of the craft. So much more room becomes available that it would be possible to include facing seats separated by a flip-up table and even sleeping compartments. That can become especially beneficial for long-haul, intercontinental flights, which is precisely the type of air travel that prompted the design.

For the most part, sporting events have returned, but the year 2020 will never have had it’s Summer Olympics. But according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), we won’t go more than another year without the Tokyo Olympics, regardless of what the Covid-19 pandemic does next.

IOC Vice President John Coates told the Associated Foreign Press the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be the “Games that conquered Covid.” He concluded that no matter what, “It will take place with or without Covid. The Games will start on July 23 next year.”

The game’s have been loaded with meaning from the start, originally seen as a tenacious comeback from another disaster. “The Games were going to be, their theme, the Reconstruction Games after the devastation of the tsunami,” Coates said, referring to the Tsunami that destroyed so much of Japan in 2011. But the focus is now on the latest disaster. “Now very much these will be the Games that conquered Covid, the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Simply put, there’s too much money in the games to cancel them entirely, so Coates statement isn’t shocking. The IOC has already put forward a fund of $650 million for postponement costs, and another $150 million to help Olympic federations make it to next year.

Martin Wachter has been very successful in the gambling industry, having founded GoldenRace and leading it as CEO. But that’s not why our Becky Liggero Fontana wanted to chat with him on this week’s episode of The Long Con. Instead, they discussed just how he got into such tremendous shape over the past few years, and how you can do it too.

If you’ve known Wachter for some time, you will remember the days when he wasn’t rocking those great looking abs. “I always tried to do sports and I was always into fitness, but based on the travel, it was always very difficult,” he admitted. “In a normal year, I do 160 flights, so it was always difficult for me to do something. I had an accident two years ago on skiing, I was in a bad shape, I started to limp for a year. I visited a few doctors, but I didn’t take too much care about myself. And it happens one day, I went to the gym and one of my friends, close friends, he came to me and he told me, ‘Listen Martin, what’s happened to you?’ When I say what do you mean, ‘Did you watch yourself in the mirror?’ I say yeah, why? ‘You got fat.’”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dveyfoC8P7I?feature=oembed]

That was a turning point, and Wachter decided something needed to change. “So I was looking around, I checked a few diets, I went a little bit in Keto, saw a lot of fat,” he said. “I thought it’s maybe also not the best. And finally, I found something, it’s called intermittent fasting. So it’s a clear decision, you have a window where you eat, you have a window where you don’t eat. And I started to do this, and started also to do some gym. It was in May last year and within 10 months, I lost 20 kilos and I start to feel really good.”

The likely future Prime Minister of Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, is shaping up to be a huge friend to the casino industry. Japan’s likely next leader has signaled his support for Integrated Resorts (IR), while Osaka’s leadership have declared him a friend in their quest for casino gambling as soon as they can get it.

In remarks to a local TV station, Suga emphasized the non-gambling elements of IRs as a reason to push ahead. “I think that IRs are indispensable for our tourism promotion efforts,” Suga said. “Although people tend to focus only on the casinos, the government intends to promote IRs as places with various facilities and hotels where families can come and stay during international conferences.”

Suga still has to participate in a leadership race to replace outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who declared he can no longer lead the country due to health issues. But with most of the party supporting his candidacy, it’s unlikely he should have any problem securing the top job.

He did not, however, go into any discussion about the current IR timeline. Several cities and prefectures have put their own IR processes on hold as the national IR Basic Policy still isn’t completely figured out. Opposition groups are using this pause to start their own opposition efforts, pushing for publicity campaigns and recall efforts to stop their respective cities from winning one of the three IR bids.

This has been a turbulent year for the AGEM Index, the tracker of a handful of gaming equipment suppliers’ stocks from around the world. It’s gone down 70 points at times and up 20 points at others as the coronavirus pandemic has continued to hammer away at most industries, including gambling. It now appears, however, that the index is starting to recover and, while it isn’t yet ready to challenge the levels seen a few years ago, things might be looking up. The AGEM Index gained more than 15% from July to August, and is also slightly better than it was a year ago. 

The provider of the index, the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM), provided an update as September rolled around, showing that, as a whole, the stocks included in the index improved by 61.16 points, or 14.5% over July’s figures. The total now sits at 482.02 points, which was a direct result of “global markets continued to trend positively.” Out of the 13 companies tracked by the index all but three saw improvements in their stock prices last month. 

Konami Holdings Corp. out of Japan was one of the big winners, seeing its stock increase 27.1% in just one month. A few important advances made by the company this year most likely attributed to the improvement – it signed an exclusive gaming deal with Resorts World Las Vegas in February and, last month, started rolling out, through its Konami Gaming arm in Vegas, a new cashless option that allows gamblers to participate in their hobbies using nothing more than a smartphone. In addition, a new video slot offering, All Aboard, has become a hit with casinos and their patrons since it was introduced about two months ago.

As big as Konami’s improvement was, it wasn’t the best found in the index. TransAct Technologies, a company involved in casino technology and food safety equipment, was happy to watch its stock increase 53.3% from July to August. It appears that the company has figured out how to better manage its money, as it had reported earlier this year that its 2019 revenue was 90% lower than it had been a year earlier. 2020 hasn’t been too much better, as the company stated last month that its second-quarter net revenue dropped 53% year-over-year. However, despite the hit, TransAct was able to report a gross profit margin of 43.3% for the period. 

This year and next are expected to see a lot of mergers and acquisitions in all aspects of the gaming space. The tie-up between Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment in the casino segment was most likely the most prominent, but others are coming, as well. According to Casino.org, while no official announcement has been released yet, daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators Monkey Knife Fight (MKF) and FantasyDraft have closed a deal to become a single entity. This reportedly makes MKF the third-largest DFS operator in the US, right behind DraftKings and FanDuel. 

How the deal was worked or how much it’s worth isn’t provided, but FantasyDraft clients have already received notice about the acquisition. An official statement is expected to be released tomorrow, September 8, but MKF founder and CEO Bill Asher told Casino.org, Our acquisition of FantasyDraft is a natural fit for Monkey Knife Fight because of its size and reputation within the DFS industry. We are making aggressive moves to gain market share and influence in the space.”

MKF, which is based out of California, has quickly spread to offer its services to 37 states, as well as DC and Canada. FantasyDraft, headquartered in North Carolina, is “the fourth-largest DFS platform,” according to Asher, and the merging of the two entities produces a major entity that has the potential to threaten the control held by DraftKings and FanDuel. However, if other states decide to follow New York’s view on DFS, everyone could be in trouble. An attempt by the Internal Revenue Service to try to place additional taxes on the activity could hurt, as well. 

As has been seen time and again, and a point many large companies, for whatever reason, never seem to be able to grasp, is that a virtual monopoly will always be broken. DraftKings and FanDuel have been able to control the market because of their size and they may have thought they were impervious. However, both have seen DFS fans jump ship for other operators offering what DFS fans consider to be more favorable conditions. For example, DraftKings holds contests that allow up to 150 participants, and the regular sharks have repeatedly been able to stay on top. However, FantasyDraft limits its contests to just 20 participants and MKF has implemented alternatives that provide DFS fans with alternatives that can’t be found on the leading platforms. 

Who’s your favourite videogame character? Until recently, these characters might have progressed from classics like Super Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog to the modern-day heroes, your latest Fortnite skin or Call of Duty’s Soap McTavish.

It might soon be Thor or Spiderman.

The influence of Marvel Comics on Esports cannot be underestimated. The recent Fortnite battle where no-one can claim a victory royale, the dispute between Apple, Google and Epic Games, is still raging, but Epic Games introduced an entire Season of Marvel-themed Fortnite skins in order to put pressure on players to either change platforms or complain to their mobile provider.

With in-game quirks such as Dr. Doom’s Mystical Bomb, and characters such as Iron Man, She-Hulk and Wolverine all available, the season has been hugely popular. So what are the chances that Marvel-themed Esports push open a new era of Esports professional play?

A fortunate late victory was sealed by Raheem Sterling’s penalty as England stuttered in their Nations League opener at the Laugardalsvöllur Stadium in Reykjavík.

The Nations League may not be a priority to England, but this was still the first match of a long campaign of International games. What previously might have been a series of friendlies building up to either European Championship or World Cup qualifiers is instead a chance to seal a play-off place for major events in the Nations League, though this year’s competition has needed to be altered given the Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent postponement of Euro 2020.

The chance, then, to win a trophy is everything and England, second-favourites in a group also featuring competition from World Cup 2028 enemies Belgium and Denmark needed to start their Nations League campaign with a victory in Iceland.

In truth, Gareth Southgate’s men made a lot harder work of the result than they needed to, although that also owed a little to a twitchy linesman.

Betting on the Kentucky Derby was down by more than half from the previous year as the race went on without fans in the stands and without Nevada bookmakers contributing to the pari-mutuel pool.

Betting operator Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) reported betting handle of $79.4m on Saturday’s 146th running of the Kentucky Derby, around 52% of the record $165.5m bet on 2019’s event. Handle on the overall 14-race card was down nearly 49% to $128.3m, the lowest total since 2002.

CDI blamed the decline on the fact that COVID-19, which kept the race from observing its traditional May timeline, also kept the stands at the Churchill Downs track free of spectators, who wagered $21.3m on-site at last year’s race. Betting also slowed due to Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law being an overwhelming betting favorite, although rival Authentic ended up claiming the crown by 1.25 lengths.   

2020’s handle also suffered from a lack of Nevada bettors adding their wagers to the pari-mutuel pool. On Thursday, EPSN reported that Nevada sportsbooks were balking at CDI’s demands for a 5.5% charge on all wagers on its races, up from the previous rate of 4.5%, while seeking a 10.25% take on Derby weekend action.

Greek lottery and betting operator Intralot continues to bleed red ink following the loss of some significant contracts and a much-derided US sports betting presence.

Figures released Friday show Intralot generated revenue of €168.2m in the six months ending June 30, a 55.5% decline from the first half of 2019. Gross profit fell 60% to €30.6m, earnings slid 54.5% to €26.7m and the company booked a net loss of €42.6m versus a comparatively paltry loss of €13.7m the previous year.

Intralot blamed the decline on this spring’s suspension of its Bulgarian client’s operations, the 2019 loss of a major Turkish contract, social unrest in Chile and the general negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on retail operations and major league sports. The net loss came despite significant declines in operating expenses, including a 44% fall in selling costs.  

Intralot was keen to switch the spotlight to its US-facing operations, which saw revenue rise by 15.2% to €62.2m (although the wider ‘Americas’ segment saw revenue fall 13.2% to €88.7m). However, the US gains were largely due to a new lottery contract in Illinois rather than the company’s fledgling sports betting operations.

US sports betting operator DraftKings has launched an Ireland-licensed online sportsbook through its new in-house SBTech platform provider.

This week saw the soft launch of Sportsbook.draftkings.ie, which is operated by Crown Gaming Malta Ltd under a remote bookmaker’s license issued by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. The site marks DraftKings Sportsbook’s first launch outside the company’s US base.

For the moment, the site is a pure sportsbook with a few local options thrown into the mix (Gaelic football, hurling) but the site reportedly plans to launch an online casino in due course. That’s technically not permissible, given Ireland’s demonstrated inability to update its prehistoric gambling legislation, but everybody else does it, so why not?

The site is powered by SBTech, which DraftKings acquired this year ahead of its initial public offering. The site is also a test of DraftKings’ ability to shift its betting operations from its current platform provider Kambi, which will officially sever ties with DraftKings in another year or so. Fingers are likely crossed for no ‘cyberattacks’ of the kind that knocked some SBTech clients offline for several weeks this spring.