Ending the week on a threatening note Friday, the UK Gambling Commission issued a statement advising that it is investigating 17 of its licensed operators for “failings” in anti-money laundering and responsible gambling policies, advising that five of these may have their licenses reviewed. The Commission does not name any of the operators, but the …
Gambling revenues in Nevada dipped 2.3 percent year-on-year in November to $909 million, also down on the numbers for the preceding month (October 2017: 988.7 million). Reporting on the activity, the Nevada Gaming Control Board blamed most the decline to the Strip casinos, where table win fell 16.8 percent y-o-y to $215.6 million, with blackjack …
Belgian online casino StarCasino.be’s slogan ‘La Sensation de Gagner’ (The Sensation of Winning) certainly did not apply this week when the company’s promotional posters were pulled by public transport operator Stib following a barrage of feminist complaints on social media. The cause of the furore was the promotion’s depiction of an attractive young woman scantily …
It appears that Illinois is about to join around 10 other US states in preparing legislation to allow sports betting in the event that the US Supreme Court rules in favour of New Jersey and against the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (see previous reports). State lobbyist Steve Brubaker tweeted Thursday that a …
London based creative advertising agency Isobel has won the GBP 5 million Gala gambling group advertising account following a four-way competitive pitch against BMB, Fold7 and George & Dragon. Our readers may recall that Gala Leisure was bought for GBP 241 million by private equity company Caledonia Investments from Ladbrokes Coral in 2015, and the company …
The launch of the Polish state’s monopoly on online gambling via Totalizator Sportowy has encountered delays regarding the selection of suppliers, and implementation could be postponed as long as the third quarter of 2018, according to some reports. Deputy Treasury Minister Piotr Walczak revealed this information in response to a freedom of information request from …
Swedish online gambling games developer Yggdrasil has released details of a new content agreement with Danish operator bet25.dk. The brand, which is operated by Ecosys A/S, will gain access to Yggdrasil’s full portfolio of slots, including Vikings Go Berzerk, along with a collection of in-game promotional and social sharing tools. Yggdrasil CEO Fredrik Elmqvist said …
Pixel.bet has announced the launch in beta test format of its new eSports betting platform, allowing fans to bet on international competitions. The company says that it will offer markets on competitions featuring major games like ‘Dota 2’, ‘Counter Strike’ and ‘League of Legends’, initially in the European Union, but later in other regions. Company …
It seems from a report in the Dallas News this week that US federal officials can seize your inheritance, even where the deceased testator was not charged with any crime. The report references litigation launched by Linda Hodges to reclaim around $4 million seized by the feds from her bank accounts last year following the …
Martin Lapadú, the head of the Public Prosecutor’s Officer in Buenos Aires, Argentina, continues to make waves in his drive against what he believes to be illegal online gambling in some provinces. Whilst national politicians wrestle with the intricacies of regulation and licensing, Lapadú has been enforcing the suspension of domains, freezing bank accounts and …
The government of Israel has settled a claim by Britain’s GBI Racing for GBP 5 million after the country banned horserace betting, resulting in the early termination of a contract between GBI and the Israel Sports Betting Board that was due to run through 2018. It could have been a lot more expensive – the …
As Dutch lawmakers continued their glacial progress towards a regulated and licensed online gambling industry this week (see previous reports) the national regulator reported an important judicial decision restraining its efforts to penalise payment processors servicing illegal unlicensed operators. Kansspelautoriteit took on CURO Payments in the case, and achieved some success last November when the …
Fortbet, the majority shareholder in Eastern European online and retail gambling group Fortuna Entertainment with a 79.8 stake in the company, is planning to acquire the remaining shares to ensure a takeover, and then delist the gambling group, according to a Reuters report Wednesday. A subsidiary of Czech investment giant Penta Investments, Fortbet has revealed …
Lottery and instant win platform provider Twelve40 has agreed a deal to supply its instant win portfolio to online operator Sekabet. Twelve40’s entire selection of games, including Pumpkin Master, Hidden Hoard and Popping Candy, are now live across the operator’s online offering. The deal continues Twelve40’s strong commercial momentum, having penned agreements to integrate VSoftCo …
Highlight Games has entered an agreement to integrate its flagship Soccerbet Italia product with Eurobet. The product harnesses years of real-life Serie A action, and will be made available to customers of the Italian operator across retail, online, and mobile channels from mid-2018. Soccerbet Italia is currently undergoing extensive player-testing to optimise the full product …
Multi-channel casino and sports betting platform provider Digitain has penned a deal to integrate a full portfolio of virtual sports, slots and table games from 1X2 Network. Operators using the platform will now have access to hit games that include Iron Dog Studio’s Neon Jungle, Leap Gaming’s Instant Racing and 1X2gaming’s Gods of Olympus and …
After protracted negotiations with gaming and anti-trust authorities in Australia, Austria, Switzerland and Canada, the Czech lottery giant Sazka has revealed that it intends to buy an additional 23.04 percent of the shares in Casinos Austria AG, taking its shareholding to 34.04 percent. Szaka already holds an 11 percent stake following share buys by its …
Developer Patagonia Entertainment has signed an exclusive agreement with online gambling operator NetBet to provide its localised video bingo content and third-party games. The deal will enable NetBet to deliver exclusive video bingo solutions for its new casino launch in the LATAM region via an iSoftBet integration of the bingo content onto the NetBet platform. …
Gibraltar, home to many of the world’s online gambling operators, has announced that new legislation on crypto-currencies went into effect on January 1 2018 with the goal of protecting consumers and the jurisdiction’s reputation through a stringent licensing system. The regulation targets blockchain technology, ensuring that companies storing and transmitting value are licensed and monitored …
The Argentine government delivered a nasty surprise for the new year to offshore digital service providers – including online gambling – in the form of new legislation imposing Value Added Tax (VAT). The move did not surprise analysts monitoring the government’s intentions, who noted on December 8 that plans were progressing in the Argentine Congress …
Getting 2018 off to a fast start are reports that Better Collective and Blueprint Gaming have both secured acquisition deals . Online gambling games developer Blueprint’s acquisition of omni-channel gaming provider Games Warehouse from the Harbour Group is being hailed as a major boost for the UK developer’s operations. Games Warehouse is based in Derby, …
The Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico, a body funded by Indian tribal casino operators in the state, has commissioned a study on problem gambling which will be carried out by the independent Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, according to local media reports. The study is believed to be the first of its kind …
It did not take long for SportsPesa CEO Ronald Karauri to carry through on his threat to discontinue sports sponsorships following his company’s challenge last week to the Kenya government’s imposition of punitive tax increases. The increases raised gambling taxes from 7.5 percent to 35 percent. Added to the African country’s 30 percent corporate tax …
Several mainstream media outlets in the UK have reported over the past two days on the possibility that the long-established and internationally respected Bank of England could launch its own cyber currency as early as this (2018) year, an event likely to have a major impact on both the crypto-currency and banking sectors. A Bank …