The Australian state of Victoria, along with New South Wales the country’s most populous, is reportedly considering a significantly lower point of consumption tax on internet gambling firms than that declared by other states. Although Victoria and New South Wales have both committed to introducing the tax, they have not yet announced whether they will …
Experienced i-gaming manager Richard Clarke, who has worked for brands like Link2Win, Soho Gaming and VSoftCo, has joined former Carnaby sales and distribution CEO Sean O’Kelly in setting up a new i-gaming film rights company titled Skyrocket Entertainment. Unveiling the company in Cannes this week, the duo said they were selecting film rights for use …
The Portuguese online gambling market showed improvement year-on-year in Q1-2018, although it lagged behind the Q4-2017 results. Highlights of the performance published this week by regulator Serviço Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ) included: * Revenue up Euro 2.5 million to Euro 33.8 million; * Government reaped a tax harvest of …
Italian market statistics for April were published Friday, showcasing a weaker performance in sports betting and the following highlights: * Total sports betting turnover down almost 5 percent y-o-y at Euro 955 million; * Betting revenue down 2 percent at Euro 146.5 million; * Online betting revenue up 3.7 percent at Euro 58.7 million (year-to-date …
The Spanish online and land gambling group Codere has posted a dismal set of Q1-2018 results, blaming adverse foreign exchange rates and a drop in LatAm business for its misfortunes. Highlights of the quarter included: * Net profit down 70.3 percent y-o-y at just Euro 800,000 (Q1-2017: Euro 2.7 million); * Operating revenue down 5.4 …
Long but interesting and detailed read on the Malta online gambling sector and attempts to infiltrate it by mafia-associated individuals and organisations in Italy. This is the work of Project Daphne, a consortium of 18 news organisations from 15 countries, including the Investigative Reporting Project Italy (IRPI), and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project …
The BBC reported Friday that three actors from the reality television series Geordie Shore are being investigated by UK advertising watchdog the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on suspicion of promoting gambling websites on their social media accounts without making their affiliation with gambling companies clear. Gary Beadle, Scott Timlin and Aaron Chalmers have been named …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GRlkvyv0hs Philippines-based online gambling games developer SA Gaming has released its latest game, a five-reel mobile product titled Dragon 8 developed in HTML5 and compatible with iOS and Android platforms. SA Gaming have opted for a simple yet classic approach in designing the game, which includes Wilds and Scatters, along with up to 1000x Multipliers. …
Swedish online gambling group Global Gaming has bolstered its talent pool with three key hires from Gaming Innovation Group (GiG). Duncan Snaith has joined as head of development; Josie Cassar as head of payments and Shireen Haddadeen as head of CRM. The company said Friday that the appointments will help it build on the growth …
Yesterday’s reports that West Virginia has agreed to pay an “integrity fee” to US sports leagues in the event that it is able to offer sports betting by the US Supreme Court (see previous report) has been followed by denials that any such agreement was reached. Earlier this week, state governor Jim Justice convened a …
Moving with extraordinary speed for politicians, the federal Australian House of Representatives voted for an amendment to the Interactive Gabling Act Thursday that makes the operation of “synthetic” lotteries (bettng on lottery results) illegal. Initial reports indicate that both government and opposition legislators voted for the ban. The amendment has been referred to the Senate …
The advent of distributed ledger and blockchain technology across the gambling industry caught the eye of Forbes magazine this week, which published an interesting article suggesting that sports betting firms could do away with centralised house processing, increasing available cash for distribution among players and promotions. The article details a company working with the concept …
Reacting to recent claims by regulators and politicians in the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and Germany that loot boxes in its Star Wars Battlefront II, Overwatch and Fifa 18 games constitute gambling (see previous reports), the chief executive of Electronic Arts, Andrew Wilson, came out fighting this week, and pledged to continue offering the accessories crates …
Toronto listed The Stars Group has published its Q1-2018 report, highlighting: * Group revenue up 23 percent year-on-year at $393 million; * PokerStars subsidiary reported revenue up 12 percent at $245.9 million; * Online casino and sports books revenue up 55 percent at $134.5 million; * Corporate net earnings of up $9 million y-o-y at …
Land casino magnate and anti-online gambling campaigner Sheldon Adelson has made another large donation to the House Republican Congressional Leadership Fund, according to the Washington DC publication Politico, citing confirmation from two senior House Republicans. The contribution will be publically revealed in the Fund’s campaign finance filing this month, ahead of the November elections, Politico …
Online gambling games developer Greentube invites players to visit the fascinating world of ancient Japan in its new slot Asian Diamonds, a five reel, thirty pay-line game with a Geisha theme. The aim is to line up five identical symbols from left to right across win lines. A minimum combination of two or three matching …
Pragmatic Play is taking players on a journey across the African savanna in Great Rhino, a feature-rich online slot showcasing nature-themed symbols across a 3×5 reel format. When two full stacks of rhinos appear the Super Respins mode is triggered, with rhinos stampeding across the screen and awarding players with a pool of three respins. …
Online slots specialist Play’n GO is taking no prisoners with the latest addition to its games portfolio, an updated slot titled Cops‘n’Robbers. This five-reel, nine-line game is set in a high-security jail and tasks players with outrunning law enforcement in order to crack open a vault and make off with the money. The updated version …
Betting firm Unibet has announced its extended platinum sponsorship of one of the world’s most arduous and respected cycle races, the Giro D’Italia which in its 101st outing this year starts in Israel and races through to Italy in 21 stages over 24 days. The event is expected to attract a live audience of more …
Live dealer casino Codeta has announced the launch of a new feature titled Skill Score that ranks players based on their table game performance, and places them on a leaderboard so they can see how they compare with their rivals. A player’s Skill Score is determined by the two factors that have the most impact …
Online slots and table games provider Habanero is giving players the chance to prove their pedigree with the launch of its latest title, Fortune Dogs. The slot’s canine theme features a bulldog, police dog, Pinscher and white French Poodle among its aptly-themed symbols, and players are tasked with filling the dog’s bowls with golden paws …
Norway’s opposition coalition of political parties has managed to make good on its pledge last month to pressure government to impose DNS blocking of foreign unlicensed competition to the state owned gambling monopolies Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto (see previous reports). This week the coalition pushed its proposal, which includes provisions to prosecute marketers of …
Finnish state-owned gambling conglomerate Veikkaus has posted its Q1-2018 report showing a marginal 1 percent decline in sales at Euro 805.6 million but revenue up 2 percent at Euro 256 million. Drilling down into the numbers reveals that lottery and keno sales rose 4.2 percent to Euro 303.5 million; sports and race betting revenue slipped …
Positive Senate vote follows House approval, but a referendum will be required in terms of the state constitution. Members of the Louisiana Senate voted 21-15 this week to exempt fantasy sports from the definition of gambling, ratifying House Bill 484 which passed the House last month on a 67-23 vote. The approved bill now goes …