The final defendant in the massive Legendz online sports betting bust that took place in 2013 (see previous reports) was sentenced by an Oklahoma federal judge this week. Bartice “Luke” King (46) escaped jail in a sentence which apparently handed down a milder punishment than the prosecution had expected as presiding U.S. District Judge Stephen …
The rise of eSports, and the gambling that increasingly is associated with it, is a cause for concern at the UK Gambling Commission, the GambleAware charity and ESIG, a nascent eSports self-regulatory body, according to a report in The Telegraph newspaper. Quoting growth figures from the latest IHS Markit study (see previous report) the newspaper …
A study by IHS Markit reports that in 2016 global viewership figures for eSports events rose by 19 percent to 6 billion hours, and forecasts that the eSports video market is expected to deliver US$1 billion in advertising revenues by 2020. According to the research outfit’s eSports and the Future of TV report, online video …
Games developer Pariplay has announced that it has signed a content provision agreement with South Africa-facing lottery firm Lottostar and will supply instant win games through the Pariplay Fusion content network. Content to be supplied includes the new branded title Atari Asteroids, which was released earlier this year. LottoStar players will also be able to …
Irish entrepreneur Dermot Smurfit’s move into the United States land casino market with his GAN simulated online gambling product continues to deliver rewards, with his latest announcement advising that he has gone live at the Winstar World Casino. “This partnership reinforces GAN’s U.S. market position as a B2B enterprise software provider to brick and mortar …
Michelle Minton of the Competitive Enterprise Institute has published another factual analytical assessment of the current situation regarding the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) 2011 opinion that the Wire Act of 1961 applies only to sports wagering. Minton delves deeply into the original motivation for the Act, its subsequent interpretation, and the possible …
The latest (April) numbers from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement flag another successful month for online activity, which generated $20.8 million in revenue, bringing to $550 million total online revenue since the state legalised internet casino games and poker in 2013. More than $83.6 million in total tax revenue has accrued to the …
The Swedish gambling group Cherry announced Friday that it has signed an agreement to acquire a 25 percent interest in gaming technology company, Highlight Games Limited, with an option to acquire a further 26 percent. Highlight Games offers a unique and patented product, together with multi-year rights to use footage from historical football matches to …
Alongside its Q1-2017 results, Pokerstars parent group Amaya revealed that change is in the air in Montreal, with plans to change the Amaya brand name to “The Stars Group Inc.” and move to Toronto. The changes are subject to shareholder approval, and are part chief executive Rafi Ashkenazi’s efforts to transform the online gambling company …
Major online gambling operator Gaming Innovation Group has advised its marketing affiliates that effective May 15 it will no longer accept Australian online punters. The decision applies to popular online casinos like Guts, Betspin, Rizk Casino, Thrills, Kaboo, and SuperLenny and is understood to be related to forthcoming law and regulatory changes imposed by federal …
Barcelona-based online and social games developer Zitro has celebrated the third anniversary of its video bingo involvement by revealing that more than 1.67 million unique registered users play Zitro video bingo games in over 194 countries worldwide. The company has also announced the launch of two new games, Hot Dice and Fire Bingo, to its …
The Fortuna Central and Eastern Europe-facing online and land betting group has reported another strong quarterly performance, particularly in online gambling operations. The Q1-2017 results include: * Overall revenue up 12.2 percent y-o-y to Euro 42.7 million; * Overall handle grew 20.1 percent to Euro 302.2 million; * Operational and pay-out costs higher, reducing EBITDA …
A disgruntled online punter who has been waiting since March this year for a withdrawal of GBP 245,000 from internet bookie SeanieMac has gone public through the Guardian newspaper, retriggering concerns expressed last year that the UK Gambling Commission-licensed betting company may be in financial difficulties. The punter, who is considering his legal options to …
Delhi police have reported the arrest of a six-person online gambling ring alleged to have facilitated bets on IPL cricket matches. The arrests took place at the Shahdara Farsh Bazar, and included the seizure of documentary, telecommunications and computer evidence, a spokesman revealed. The spokesman said that a routine police patrol unit received information from …
The recent agreement between federal, state and territorial governments in Australia on the imposition of a point-of-consumption tax on online gambling (see previous reports) was in the headlines again Thursday when the Victoria provincial newspaper Herald Sun reported that the state government stands to take in A$150 million when the new tax is implemented. Our …
The latest figures from the Spanish online gambling regulator show that despite a cutback in marketing by operators, the market continued to deliver 20 percent revenue growth in Q1-2017. Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) statistics highlighted total online gambling revenue of Euro 122.7 million – up 20 percent year-on-year, although slightly lower than …
Online gambling white label casino provider EveryMatrix has announced the relaunch of the K8 casino website in the U.K. market, widening the scope of this popular Asia-facing operation which sponsors Premier League football club West Bromwich Albion (see previous reports). Formed in 2015, K8 has developed rapidly and earlier this year integrated not only the …
Online and instant win games supplier IWG has announced the launch of Mayan Games, an ancient civilisation-themed game in which punters hunt for hidden treasure in three separate games: * In Mayan Bonus, players seek treasure by matching Mayan artefacts to reveal a prize and collect a golden ball. Each golden ball collected remains between …
The Estonia-based Coingaming Group, which operates bitcoin betting brands BitCasino.io and Sportsbet.io, has appointed former William Hill plc executive Richard Walsh as its new managing director. Walsh spent more than 20 years at William Hill in a variety of senior management positions, and has relocated to the Coingaming Group’s headquarters in Tallinn, where he will …
Microgaming has been named the winner of The Spark Award 2017 for its Idea Factory initiative. The Spark Award celebrates organisations that experiment with ways of working differently. Previous winners include GCHQ and Places for People. The accolade is a part of Spark the Change, a global movement dedicated to empowering people and building happier …
Cherry Group’s online gambling games development subsidiary, Yggdrasil has followed the parent group’s published Q1-2017 results (see previous report) with a detailed breakdown of its own numbers, flagging the following highlights: * Revenues for the period increased by 134 percent year-on-year to SEK 33.3 million (Q1 2016: 14.2); * EBITDA for the period increased to …
The Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB), the gaming regulator in the Canadian province of British Columbia, has approved NetEnt Americas as supplier to the only licensed gaming and lottery operator in the province, British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC). BCLC is a Crown corporation owned by the province of British Columbia, whose revenues go towards …
The Italian regulator’s intention to issue 120 new online gambling licenses last year continues to attract the interest of operators despite the delay in calling for applications to operate in this successful market. The fact that Italy is reportedly in talks with other European regulators on player pool sharing for online poker has only heightened …
Brazilian political moves to expand gambling possibilities (including online) may have been bogged down by debate for the past two years, but the gaming potential of this vast country has clearly not escaped the attention of US land gambling barons. Local media reports indicate that Las Vegas Sands, Red Rock Resorts, Caesars and MGM International …