Swedish online gambling games developer Quickspin has advised that its latest game, Sakura Fortune, will be released April 11 to licensees. The Japanese-themed slot (“sakura” is the revered cherry blossom of that nation) boasts five reels and 40 pay-lines, with a slew of features that includes three bonus opportunities. The game will be released simultaneously …
Marketing affiliates working with Playtech-licensed online casinos this week reported receiving notifications that all Marvel-themed games and related promotional material and branding are to be withdrawn at the end of this (March) month. The William Hill notification advised: “Playtech will be removing their Marvel-branded games on March 31st. That means starting April 1st, we can …
Optimistically paving the way for a possible shift in the current ban on Chinese online lottery sales, the Hong Kong-based lottery tech company AGTech has reached agreement with the Alipay Lottery Channel which could see it operating the channel in return for a fifty percent share in the revenue generated. However, the deal is contingent …
HB3067, an online gambling legalisation proposal filed in the West Virginia House by Delegate Shawn Fluharty earlier this month (see previous report) has already encountered opposition at committee stage, according to local media reports. The bill, which has five co-sponsors, faces two challenges, one political and the other a shortage of time. The political problem …
The Romanian government has replaced Odeta Nestor as head of its National Gambling Office (ONJN) with Dan Iliovici, previously the executive director of Rombet. Appointed by the Romanian prime minister, Sorin Grindeanu, Iliovici holds the equivalent status of a secretary of state, Romanian press reports note. Valentin Korman has been appointed Vice-President of ONJN, answering …
This year should see the final payment in online gambling group Amaya’s 2014 $4.9 billion purchase of The Rational Group, and the Bloomberg business news service has interviewed CEO Rafi Ashkenazi (42) on plans beyond that. Ashkenazi, who replaced the trouble-prone former CEO David Baazov when the latter stepped down a year ago, has reportedly …
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s news that the New Zealand government is planning a point-of-consumption tax on online race wagering (see previous report) the Australian media reported Friday that similar discussions are being developed by the federal government in Australia. Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison confirmed to The Australian newspaper Friday that state and territory …
Last week’s strategy shift by Tabcorp to speed up its proposed A$11 billion merger with the Tatts group (shifting the approval process from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to the Australian Competition Tribunal – see previous reports) has triggered opposition to the merger by corporate rivals led by CrownBet, according to Australian media reports …
For the first time in eleven years, the online gambling information website Casinomeister.com has been relaunched. Founded in 1998, this is the first relaunch since 2006, revitalising the enterprise and adding additional security and content. Casinomeister is now using encrypted hypertext protocol, ensuring that the login information for the thousands of members is safer, with …
Australian player SS gave his or her finances a welcome boost on March 11 with a major jackpot hit of $296,202.50 whilst playing the Playboy slot on the Casino Mate online casino website. Unfortunately, the casino report on the big score was so intent on hyping up the casino that it gave little further detail …
Gambling group Betsson has issued a statement on its proposed acquisition of NetPlayTV as announced in February this year (see previous reports), advising that NetPlay shareholders have approved the deal, and setting out a timetable for completion. The offer is still subject to the High Court of Justice sanctioning the offer, and certain other conditions …
International Game Technology has announced that its subsidiary, IGT Global Services Limited has signed an agreement with the New Zealand Lotteries Commission to provide a Remote Game Server system and Instant Win content to the New Zealand market. IGT, as legacy GTech, has provided lottery equipment and services to Lotto NZ since the lottery’s inception …
Using its recently acquired and still relatively rare new Malta skill games licensing, DraftKings launched DFS operations in beta mode in Germany Thursday, offering a wide range of US and European sports, eSports and mixed martial arts action. In a press release, DraftKings international exec Jeffrey Haas welcomed Germans to the new site, noting their …
New Zealand’s minister for horse racing, Nathan Guy, has indicated that government is planning changes to the 2003 Racing Act, apparently in an effort to shield the local New Zealand Racing Board from competitive international operators. Reports suggest that a point-of-consumption tax on international operators is being considered, along with a royalty fee for their …
Upstate New York casino resort operator Turning Stone has launched its GAN-powered online social casino on desktop and mobile devices. Punters can play Turning Stone Online Casino for free and win virtual chips, and also purchase additional chips and earn TS Rewards points, which can be redeemed for on-site purchases at Turning Stone and at …
Sachar Gaming, an online gambling operator which runs the KhelPlay Rummy.com website, has been awarded the first multi-game online gambling licence issued by the Indian provincial regulatory jurisdiction Nagaland. The licence enables KhelPlay Rummy.com to additionally offer games like poker, rummy, quizzes, auctions, binary options, virtual team selection games and virtual sport fantasy league games. …
Speaking at the ASEAN conference earlier this week, the Administrator of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority online gambling licensing organisation, Jose Mari Ponce, suggested that a meeting by officials of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and CEZA could help to develop harmony in licensing fees and regulations in order …
The UK-based eSports tournament platform and creator of the eSports Championship Series (ECS), Faceit has confirmed that it has inked a multi-year deal with Youtube for the live streaming of ECS contests, now entering a third season. It appears that Faceit’s two-season ECS streaming romance with Twitch has been abandoned in favour of the Youtube …
Online Gambling group GVC Holdings plc has announced the appointment of Will Whitehorn to the company’s board of directors as Senior Independent Director. Whitehorn is the Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director at Stagecoach Group plc and is an independent Non-executive Director of Purplebricks Group plc. He is also a member of the First Minister …
Online gambling group GVC Holdings plc announced its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2015 Thursday, reporting a pre-tax loss of Euro 138.6 million, compared with a Euro 25.5 million profit the previous year, on revenue up to Euro 823.3 million from Euro 246.5 million. The company flagged the following highlights: Financial highlights …
British MP John Whittingdale’s warning earlier this week that UK bookmakers should brace themselves for FOBT staking limit restrictions (see previous report) has been echoed by the respected Fitch Ratings organisation, which said in a statement Wednesday that retail betting shop operators like Ladbrokes and William Hill could be particularly hard hit if staking limits …
The acquisition of the ComeOn! online casino gambling group by the Cherry Group (see previous reports) has been followed by a statement today (Thursday) that the integration project between Cherry iGaming and ComeOn!, will assume the brand ComeOn! with effect from April 1 2017. The statement notes that branding the company ComeOn! will re-emphasise its …
The Chibeasties are back with the launch Thursday of Yggdrasil Gaming’s new slot sequel, Chibeasties 2. Following the success of the original Chibeasties game, Chibeasties 2 sees the cute creatures returning to the magical forest. The game features four different game modes in four different realms – Expanding Realm, Spreading Realm, Teleporting Realm and Mirroring …
Christian Gruber, managing director of Frankfurt-based Tipico Deutschland Marketing & Vertriebs GmbH has resigned his position to pursue new career challenges, effective April 15, 2017. Gruber, who has held the post for the past three years, headed up the Tipico group’s strategic communication, the sportsbook operator’s sponsoring partnerships as well as brand communication and retail …