Industry observers have for some time been predicting that major media companies will become a growing and influential force in the online gambling industry, and it certainly appears from recent deals between Internet betting firms and major newspapers and television stations that this coming about.
The UK’s largest online and land gambling group Ladbrokes looks set to enter the newly liberated French market for the first time in its century-and-a-quarter corporate history.
The Vienna-listed online betting giant Bwin is planning to restart its French online gambling services as soon as the recently passed liberalisation legislation (see previous bulletins) has been implemented and licensing is opened, reports the newspaper Die Presse.
The European Gambling and Betting Association, home to many of Europe’s largest online gambling groups, reported this week on recent research into payback percentage, carrying an interview with Dr Jonathan Parke, senior lecturer from the University of Salford.
The third oldest newspaper in the United States, the Philadephia Inquirer, has entered into a business agreement that will see it using modern fantasy sports betting technology to boost revenues.
Online sports betting is once again under the spotlight in New York following police raids that have culminated a prolonged investigation by Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and his now experienced enforcement team.
The Grand Prive online casino group’s woes seem to keep mounting. Following a bitter two year war with disgruntled affiliates and an abrupt move over the holiday weekend to a new software provider the beleaguered casino group has now had its Kahnawake licence suspended.
The Calgary-based online gambling software provider Chartwell Technology has announced the appointment of Andrew Pegler as Sales Director for its wholly owned subsidiary, Chartwell Games (International) Ltd.
At least two legal experts have expressed doubts about the prospects for success of Kentucky’s latest legal wheeze trying to wring money from Full Tilt Poker and other online poker operators.
Online gambling company Betclic, a subsidiary of the French Mangas Gaming group, has signed a two season shirt sponsorship deal with the top Italian football team Juventus.
The Latin American online gambling operator Vision Media has become the first company in the region to order a white label sports book from OddsMatrix.
The two-year attempt by the state of Kentucky to seize 141 international online gambling domains appeared to enter a new phase last week as news broke of a fresh angle being taken by the state’s hired lawyers.
Despite determined left wing political resistance, the French National Assembly has passed a bill to legalise online gambling and open up the French market to international operators. Virtual poker machines and games of chance are not included in the law because they are considered too addictive to be legalised.
The Goa Herald reports that nine companies have so far responded to the Goa government’s tender process aimed at introducing an online lottery to the former Portuguese enclave on the west coast of India.
Widespread holiday weekend reports that New Hampshire governor John Lynch may be considering online gambling licensing to close state budgetry gaps appear to have alarmed the incumbent, who seemed to be backing away from the possibility on Monday, according to reports in The Union Leader publication.
The chairman of the feisty Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, Jo Brennan Jnr., has encouraged New Jersey politicians to legalise online sportsbetting in the state as the legislature conducts hearings in order to hear opinions on the issue.
The latest attempt to introduce land casino gambling to Massachusetts – a law that includes bans on Internet gambling – has been approved by the House Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies in a 12 in favor, two opposed, and five abstentions vote, and now progresses to the House Ways and Means Committee, …
One of the Internet gambling industry’s most respected pioneer software companies, Boss Media, was this week awarded the eCOGRA software certification following a rigorous on-site review.
Details have emerged on last week’s story regarding the software switch made by the much-criticised Grand Prive online casino group. Updates on the story carry the surprising revelation that the group’s previous longtime software provider, Microgaming, was apparently not informed of the intention to change and was abruptly denied access to the online casinos concerned.
Speculation and hopes that the latest Massachusetts legislative proposal aimed at introducing two land casinos would not outlaw online gaming in the state were dashed when it was introduced by House Speaker Robert DeLeo.
What happens to old online casinos that die off? Their brands are often picked up by new owners, and sometimes it’s a great improvement.
Hawaiians with a yen to gamble refuse to be frustrated by island bans, reports the Financial Post in an interesting article over the weekend. Instead, large and growing numbers of them head off regularly to Las Vegas.
The Nashua Telegraph reports that New Hampshire state governor John Lynch is considering the intra-state legalisation of online gambling as one option to close the budget gap currently facing the New England state.
The Las Vegas Convention And Visitors Authority’s latest visitor profile research has shown that the average gambler budgeted $481 per trip last year compared with $532 in 2008 and more than $555 in 2007.