Australian land and online gambling group Tabcorp is likely to be in a stronger online position once the federal government implements its new and tougher Interactive Gambling Act amendments (see previous reports) and has embarked on an initiative designed to boost its player base. Local media reports indicate that the Aussie betting giant has begun …
Forbes magazine has joined other publications in flagging a possible attack on US online gambling during the closing weeks of the current Congress….the so-called “lame duck session” where last-gasp attempts are made to drive bills through the federal legislature, often on the coattails of unrelated appropriations bills. The highly respected publication carried an article this …
The usually well informed Washington freelance journalist Beth Johnson has joined other warning voices in sounding the alert that another attempt to federally ban online gambling in the United States is shaping up in Congress and may be attempted during the last-gasp lame duck session just before that institution adjourns for the year. Johnson says …
The newly merged Ladbrokes Coral online and land gambling group may be about to put the cat squarely among the Australian pigeons, according to reports in the Mail of Sunday, which claims that the UK corporate is planning to make an “audacious” bid for Aussie gambling giant Tabcorp. Our readers will recall that Tabcorp is …
International online lottery company ZEAL Network SE has announced the formation of a new wing titled ZEAL Investments which will provide financial and other support to interesting start-ups with commercially disruptive ideas in the business. In a statement this week ZEAL said that its objective is to help unearth new lottery business models and to …
Hit hard by the Chinese government’s now 18-month-old anti-corruption ‘suspension’ of online lottery sales (see previous reports), the Hong Kong-based online lottery firm 500.com appears to be diversifying to survive. Media reports from the region Friday indicate that the company has made an acquisition move on a social poker platform enterprise, acquiring a 51 percent …
Clive Hawkswood, the outspoken chief executive of industry trade body the Remote Gambling Association, expressed frustration this week at what he termed the “consultation overload” created by government in seeking opinions on various gaming-related issues. Addressing the organisation’s agm, Hawkswood said: “At times, we’ve been dealing with six different consultations all at the same time …
David Baazov’s multi-billion dollar attempt to acquire the Amaya online gambling group (see previous reports) continues to intrigue. On Friday Baazov filed an amended advisory on his offer with the Securities and Exchange Commission confirming that financing from KBC Aldini Capital Limited originally included in his offer is not available (see previous reports), but added …
Friday’s meeting in Melbourne of Australian state and federal ministers under the chairmanship of federal Human Services Minister Alan Tudge (see previous report) concluded in support for the wide-ranging tightened control of online gambling across the nation. Ministers supported a federal plan for a ban on credit betting and a nationwide self-exclusion system for wagering, …
The eSports furore earlier this year over gambling with skins obtained from Valve’s Steam site and wagered online through third party sites (see previous reports) culminated in a class action against Valve which has been dismissed by a federal judge in the Western District of Washington. However, the position of the Washington State Gambling Commission …
A new company has listed on the Australian Stock Exchange at 3 cents a share with a mission to develop a subscription-based eSports gaming platform and take advantage of the booming market for the genre, which it claims is currently worth A$1.6 billion. eSports Mogul founder Gernot Abl has already raised A$7 million from investors …
Swedish gambling group Cherry announced the launch Friday of a new fully independent gaming technology B2B business area called XCaliber, which it described in a company statement as a centre of technical gaming innovation and services. XCaliber will help Cherry to sell its gaming platform and technology to partners and operators, creating further shareholder value …
The South Australia Treasurer, Tom Koutsantonis, will take his controversial new betting tax proposal a step further today (Friday) when he briefs a meeting of federal and state ministers in Melbourne chaired by federal Minister for Human Services Alan Tudge. The meeting will also consider responses to illegal offshore wagering being offered in Australia, and …
Opera, the Norwegian browser developer, has announced that it is to shut down its Russian office at the end of November, citing poor revenues from the operation. However, there may be deeper reasons for the rather hurried exit. The local new agency RIA Novosti published a speculative piece suggesting that the company may have been …
Australian reports Friday indicate that Tabcorp has purchased a 10 percent stake in Tatts as the two companies further develop their planned “merger of equals” (see previous reports.) ASX filings show that Tabcorp entered into a cash-settled equity swap which gives it rights to 147 million shares in Tatts Group, or around 10 percent of …
Russian regulatory interference in the form of a mid-2016 site block imposed by Russian internet regulator Roskomnadzor has prompted social sports betting network BettingExpert to fold its tents and depart come the end of November, according to a Twitter advisory Thursday. The tweet did not specify in detail the company’s reasons for departure, saying only …
UK virtual sports technology and content provider Inspired Group, in collaboration with Hong Kong-based Paradise Entertainment and its subsidiary LT Game, will spearhead the introduction of virtual sports in Macau casinos between the second and third quarters of 2017, the companies confirmed this week. The exclusive deal was announced earlier this year (see previous report) …
Media reports from the Philippines Friday have recorded the arrest of more 1,200 Chinese nationals suspected to be working illegally for online gambling operators at a resort and casino complex north of Manila. Philippine immigration chief Jaime Morente told local reporters Friday that the documents of the 1,240 Chinese nationals arrested Thursday were being checked …
Kambi and Apuestas Internacionales, which has 17 casinos in operation under the brand “PlayCity”, have signed an agreement for Kambi to be the exclusive supplier of sports betting services for the PlayCity land and online casinos. The deal follows a successful ‘proof of concept’ trial period in which Kambi deployed its retail offering in two …
For the second time in as many weeks, the Cyprus Police have mounted a raid on an illegal gambling venue providing both land and online gambling services. The operation was again centred in Paphos, where a police raiding party entered an establishment to find card tables and other evidence of gambling, together with twelve computers …
Changes are ahead as the UK National Lottery switches focus to the increasingly popular digital platforms, with plans to discontinue the Saturday night live television draw on the BBC – a fixture for the past 22 years – in favour of presenting the results on the iPlayer digital platform. The move, scheduled for early next …
The Chinese official news agency Xinhua reports that a 47-year-old Chinese man identified only as Zhou appeared before a court in the Zhejiang province Thursday charged with operating a cross-border illegal online gambling ring which allegedly had 2.04 million players on its books and generated 400 billion yuan in wagers since opening in June 2012 …
RedZoneSports, a new online sportsbook, may be UK-based, but it has a strong US focus, offering wagering on major US events in addition to European fare. “At Redzone we love all sports but we have a particular soft spot for all things American, and especially NFL,” said Stephen Baumohl, vice president of trading at RedZoneSports …
NetEnt’s latest online slot has gone live with licensees, billed as one of the developer’s biggest in-house creations to-date, delivering an animation-heavy production with mass audience appeal. The 5×3, 30-line game is set in an age where rulers spend their days waging war over lands and treasure. After years of conflict, just three warlords remain …