Caesars Entertainment’s IPO launch of 1.81 million shares at $9.06 each met with impressive success on the Nasdaq exchange this week, resulting in an 80 percent bonanza for the company as the stock climbed as high as $17.90 (valuing the company at $2.24 billion) before settling back into the plus $16 range. The company, then …
Betfair is trying its hand at comedy, hiring a team of writers to create content for its @Betfairpoker Twitter feed. Described as something of a social experiment, the media strategy focuses more on comedy than on poker itself, but it has boosted the brand’s social currency, claims head of central online marketing, Ben Carter. The …
The UK Football League’s exclusive data distributor, SIS, has in collaboration with Contagious Sports launched a new pool-based game which will for the first time allow bettors to bet into an in-running pool on live football matches to win jackpots. The Contagious Sports-developed game follows a simple format with each selected match split into 40 …
Vernon’s recently launched British-facing online casino and poker room Vernons.com is launching an extensive television and social media campaign to capture a bigger slice of the market by creating brand awareness. The company, better known for its “The Football Pools” will air its first television campaign this week on Sky, ITV4, Dave, FX, DMAX, Discovery …
A bill covering the taxation of offshore bookmakers introduced by Conservative MP Matthew Hancock was heard in the House of Commons earlier this week and has been given a second reading scheduled for March 30, 2012. The bill looks to the reform of the UK Gambling Act 2005 and proposes that all bookmakers servicing the …
Online gaming company Betclic has filed a claim of unfair competition against Pari Mutuel Urbaine (PMU) with the French Competition Authority, according to French journal Les Echos. PMU currently dominates the horse race betting sector in the French market with an 85 percent share according to French regulatory authority ARJEL, followed by Zeturf holding 10 …
The UK Gambling Commission has censured Simon Cowell’s Red or Black television gameshow for “glamorising” betting. Representatives from the Commission reportedly met with ITV Heads late last week to discuss concerns over the show making gambling look too easy. Unnamed sources claim that the regulator has requested that contestants “demonstrate some degree of skill to …
The Argentinian online gambling software developer Leander Games is enjoying a successful 2012 so far; last week it was awarded the Casinomeister accolade for best games provider in 2011, and on Tuesday it announced a supply deal with the UK-based online casino in the Sky group, SkyVegas. Two of the games to be supplied are …
Online gambling group 888 Holdings plc posted an impressive set of Q4-2011 results Tuesday, highlighting: * Group revenue US$91 million (Q4 2010: US$71 million), an increase of 28 percent year-on-year and 6 percent increase on Q3 2011, led by B2C Poker and Casino, beating the previous records set in that quarter * Revenue B2C US$79 …
Jdigital, the newly launched Spanish Association of Digital Play (la Asociación Española de Juego Digital) has estimated that the Spanish online gambling market based on gross gaming revenue (GGR) in 2011 has increased by 20 percent exceeding Euro 370 Million. Future revenues look bright based on the association’s belief that the market will reach Euro …
The Isle of Man-based Conister Bank has announced the launch of the Island’s first ever e-gaming dedicated banking product, created specifically for the Island’s e-gaming operators, with the approval of the local Gambling and Supervision Commission (GSC). The bank can accept gaming operators’ funds and place these on a fiduciary service with other banks. The …
International online gambling group Betfair has announced that it is to bow to court decisions in South Africa declaring online gambling illegal by cutting off South African online punters from February 14. From that date, the betting company will block SA-based IP addresses, Betfair public affairs manager Tom Tuxworth has announced. “Our Web site is …
UK television viewers do not want to see smoking, payday loans, prescription drug, gambling, cosmetic surgery or injury lawyer advertisements on their television screens during commercial breaks, a YouGov.co.uk survey has concluded. The 1732 television audience sample rated what they do and don’t want to see on their TV screens: – 79 percent say that …
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and French online gaming regulatory authority ARJEL have entered into an agreement following a meeting held in Lausanne last week that involved 50 representatives from various sporting bodies, regulatory authorities, betting operators, Government officials and Interpol . The outcome of this the third meeting of the Working Group on Irregular …
Rival Gaming has released its newest slot offering, an African-safari themed 5-reel, 25-payline slot dubbed “Wild Safari”. This slot has two sets of reels, each with its own iconography. The first set depicts safari tools such as binoculars, flashlights, bug spray and a camera’, while the second depicts the wild animals that Africa is famous …
It could be awhile yet before Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, joins sisters British Columbia and Quebec in offering online gambling to its residents. The news emerged this week that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, which is charged with organising the proposed new provincial venture into internet gambling, has extended its deadline for supplier …
The Turkish government may have clamped down on internet gambling by its citizens, but it’s still a popular pastime according to new police reports. The weekend newspaper Sunday Zaman reports online gambling remains in demand, with police estimates that over 500 000 Turks gamble on more than 400 illegal offshore websites and internet cafes. “Contrary …
The US Department of Justice has again demonstrated its penchant for timing, using copyright laws to take down 16 online sports live streaming websites just hours ahead of Sunday’s Superbowl championship final in the USA. The man behind the Black Friday online poker prosecutions, Preet Bharara, is understood to be the lead prosecutor in the …
Soon Maryland residents won’t have to go to the gas station or convenience store to buy lottery tickets, NBC Washington reported this week, explaining that the state lottery is planning to introduce an online ticket and gaming system by 2013. Officials told the broadcaster the different games and drawings that will be included in the …
US-friendly and proprietary software-powered Slotland has announced the debut of a new no-download slot titled Double Luck, boasting that players can achieve up to 32x winnings. The 5 reel, 9 pay-line game has a Gamble feature in addition to its apparently very generous multipliers, and players are provided with a bonus meter to keep track …
The game builders at Dutch online gambling software developer Sheriff Gaming have been burning the midnight oil; it appears from new game details revealed by the Eindhoven-based company this week. Company spokesman Eric Roskamp said that in January alone 15 new, animated and individually themed 3D games were released to licensees, capping a total of …
There are a growing number of reports that the UK online casino Sky Vegas is confiscating player winnings on Euro accounts due to an alleged “fundamental technical malfunction”. Players have received the following company statement: “We are sorry to inform customers that due to a fundamental technical malfunction with our Treasure Island game, winning pay …
Tom Tuxworth, public affairs manager for the listed British online betting group Betfair, told a South African parliamentary portfolio committee studying the possible legalisation of online gambling that prohibition only drives would-be internet punters to offshore and unregulated websites. ITWeb reports that Tuxworth quoted numbers from H2 Gambling Capital and Gambling Compliance, indicating that online …
A compulsive online gambler who stole almost GBP 400 000 from her employer was sent to jail in Norfolk, UK this week after a judge criticised her for stealing not only the money but “a part of a decent man’s life.” Suzan Smith, 53, admitted stealing GBP 398,651.26 from Graham Wuyts and Co Accountants in …