Greek gambling monopoly OPAP posted a 16 percent drop in its third quarter 2011 net profit results due to reduced spending by recession-hit customers said a Reuters report. “What they say about poverty boosting gambling is a myth,” said Kyriakos Toptsidis, head of OPAP’s sales agents. “When people do not have enough to eat, they …
Veteran online gaming software developer Cryptologic is in the swing this month with three new game releases and a revamp of its mini-baccarat game on the back of posting improved third quarter 2011 results. “Battle for Olympus”, a Greek God-themed 50-payline slot, awards a top prize of 6,000 coins and features a bonus game in …
The mysterious arrival of Liberty Slots.com, which carries familiar Vegas Technology games and a very similar look to an English Harbour operation before that company’s withdrawal from the market has been intriguing online punters who were spammed by the new site recently. This week some answers surfaced on various message boards when a company representative …
The UK Government’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s fifth gambling inquiry is due to reconvene tomorrow (Tuesday, November 22, 2011) at 10h30 in Westminster, London. The gambling enquiry announced in May 2011 was initiated to revisit the effectiveness of the implementation and operation of the Gambling Act 2005 and included the following topics for discussion: …
Paris-based casino operator Partouche is reportedly the first operator to launch an online casino into the Belgian online gaming market. The company is already firmly established in Belgium operating four terrestrial casinos that claim a 40 percent market share. The launch of its online offering partouche.be in Belgium follows the liberalisation of the online gambling …
The political repercussions of last weekend’s “Sixty Minutes” program on political enrichment by using non-public information are rippling outwards, according to the latest media reports from the United States. In the latest development, Rep. Barney Frank has written to Rep. Spencer Bachus, one of the politicians named in the Sixty Minutes expose and the current …
Jiri Hosnedi only joined the lottery division of eastern European gambling group Fortuna Entertainment in June this year as operations and IT director, but already he has been promoted to general manager w.e.f. December 1st, according to a statement this week from the company. He is to replace Martin Illner, who is departing for personal …
The International Association of Gaming Regulators has elected its first woman president in Susan Hensel, the director of licensing for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Hensel takes over from outgoing president Serobi Maja, who is the chief executive officer of the Limpopo Gambling Board in South Africa. Gaming regulators in both the United States and …
Sky Betting and Gaming’s online betting division Sky Bet launched a new Sky Bet podcast as an added service to its customers this week. Sky Bet’s podcast features each weekend’s forthcoming sporting action previewed by their top tipster as well as drawing on Sky Sport’s top pundits expert sporting opinions. The podcast can be listened …
Niall Wass, Betfair’s chief commercial officer for the past eight years, is reported to be leaving the online betting exchange following the appointment of Paddy Power’s chief operating officer Breon Corcoran in the position of chief executive. Industry sources intimate that Wass was understood to be the strongest internal contender for the top job and …
MatchMove Games, a provider of online gambling games to the Southeast Asia market, has signed a licensing agreement to take Mahjong Time games on board its wide inventory of gaming entertainment. The agreement provides tournament style multiplayer mahjong to over a million players from all of MatchMove’s allied portals, including Yahoo Southeast Asia, Okezone, and …
With 2011 drawing to a close there are management moves afoot at Mfuse, Centrebet and Bwin.party digital. Starting at Mfuse, marketing ace Andrew Pegler is leaving the mobile technology company after just seven months in the business development director hot seat. According to his Linked In profile, Pegler set up his own mobile consultancy a …
Regardless of criticism from the European Commission, the government of Cyprus appears hell-bent on introducing draconian new measures against online gambling operators – surprising in a state that has long been a haven for the genre. The Cyprus Mail reported Thursday that a new law is being discussed by government and parliament which could see …
Shanghai City Police have detained eleven people for allegedly running an illegal internet gambling ring utilising overseas servers. The main suspect, surnamed Xu, is accused of setting up a gambling website and promoting gambling in Mahjong parlours in the Yangpu District in Shanghai, China said a report in the Shanghai Daily. A police raid resulted …
The witness panel has been published by the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade for its second congressional hearing to be held on Friday, November 18, 2011 titled “Internet Gaming: Regulating in an Online World”. The panel contains an eclectic mix of interested parties that include U.S. House of Representatives Frank Wolf, John Campbell …
WMS Gaming has developed and launched an Old World Roman-themed online slot dubbed “Kingdom Of The Titans”, exclusive to its operational website Jackpot Party.com. Featuring gladiator helmuts, laurel wreath’s, Grecian urns and salvers, this game’s “Spinning Streak” feature is triggered on every line win, where fifteen reels spin but winning symbols hold while the others …
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power plc released an update for the trading period 1 July to 14 November 2011 showing continued robust growth in both online and mobile. Highlights include: – UK and Irish Online – An increase in sportsbook stakes of 31 percent – Gaming/B2B revenues up by 33 percent – Proportion of active sportsbook …
Plus-Five Gaming has launched a new white-label mobile and online casino at Betsphone.eu for Swedish operator Final Piece Gaming. Betsphone.eu offers customers a smartphone solution utilising Cozy Games content of a range of slot and video poker games, blackjack and roulette on iPhone and Android platforms. The online casino carries a broad games portfolio from …
Paddy Power plc has acquired Bulgarian games developer CT Networks Limited (Cayetano) for an undisclosed “capped” consideration that will be determined primarily by the firm’s performance over the next few years. Cayetano, headquartered in the Isle of Man, specialises in games development for the online and mobile gaming markets utilising its Bulgarian-situated team of software …
Andrew Black, the co-founder of betting exchange Betfair, has sold shares worth about GBP 1.5 million less than a week after the company announced it has found a new chief executive, reports The Guardian newspaper. “The sale is thought to have been triggered by Black subscribing to a share issue at Hyrodec Group, an Aim-listed …
Whilst gambling is apparently not the most popular activity with Kazakhstan politicians, one bookmaking company in the eastern nation and former satellite of Russia, OLIMP, appears to be prospering, and this week signed up with global sports betting supplier BetGenius. Reportedly the largest bookie in the country, OLIMP has inked an agreement to license the …
The online mahjong software developer Mahjong Logic appears to be on a roll this week – only days after signing up 66mahjong,com as a customer the company has inked a supply deal with Bodog88. Jonas Alm, chief exec at the Isle of Man-based Mahjong Logic says that he is pleased to have such a recognisable …
The major European online gambling group Unibet has inked an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares of French company Solfive SAS, owner of SPS Betting France SAS. Under the trademarks EurosportBet and EurosportPoker, licensed by the company Eurosport, Solfive operates a range of gambling and betting products such as sport betting, live betting, …
Exhibitors from 51 different sovereign states have already taken exhibition stand space at the 2012 ICE Totally Gaming expo scheduled for late January 2012, the organisers report. Outside host nation the UK, Malta tops the international league table of represented countries with 32 exhibitors, followed by the USA (21), Austria (15), Germany (14) and Italy …