Another influential US state official has voiced concerns that the Restoration of the American Wire Act proposal currently before a Congressional committee poses a major threat to both existing and future state lottery ticket sales and should not be approved. Arthur Gleason, CEO of the Kentucky Lottery, has reason to be concerned – his organisation …
A tough legal fight is shaping up in a Chicago court this week following the filing of a case in which New Jersey-based games developer High 5 Games claims that International Game Technology violated numerous conditions of a licensing agreement and failed to pay the company royalties on 81 different game titles. Court documents suggest …
The attempted sale of the two-year-old Revel Casino Resort building in Atlantic City, built at a cost of $2.4 billion but now on the bankruptcy block for around $82 million (see previous reports) was subjected to a further delay Thursday as Judge Gloria Burns declined to rule immediately on the issue. Florida developer Glenn Straub …
Online and land gambling group Paddy Power has awarded a major advertising creative contract worth GBP 20 million to the London agency Beattie McGuinness Bungay following a competitive pitching process. BMB won the account over M&C Saatchi, Grey London, Enter and Fold7, according to a report in the marketing publication The Drum this week. In …
UK games developer Jannio Limited has released six new games via the Gibraltar-based Odobo Marketplace platform, airing the latest version of its Sports Shotz line, an innovative mix of dice action and in-play sports betting. The first of the six new titles to go live (at Betfair) is Sports Shotz Tennis, but the five other …
Billionaire US investor Carl Icahn has achieved control of Atlantic City land operation Trump Taj Mahal following the approval of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan for Trump Entertainment Resorts by a Delaware bankruptcy court this week. The approval follows a deal struck between Donald Trump and Icahn allowing Trump Entertainment to retain the Trump name …
The disclosure by the Italian financial police earlier this week that it was investigating a Euro 300 million possible tax evasion case against Amaya Gaming – Pokerstars subsidiary Halfords Media Italy (see previous report) created international ripples that negatively impacted the group’s share price, driving it down a significant 8 percent at one point. Whilst …
The Chinese central government’s directive to provincial heads to review and clampdown on internet lottery sales earlier this month (see previous reports) was motivated by some operators failing to register all their ticket sales, a financial services company surmised this week. North Square Blue Oak focuses on the Asian markets and issues impacting them, and …
The unedifying experience of watching Sen. Lindsey Graham badgering and trying to put words in the mouth of US Attorney General aspirant Loretta Lynch on her attitude toward the interpretation of the Wire Act recently (see previous reports) spawned an unfortunate corollary this week when Nevada Sen. Dean Heller weighed in on the confirmation process. …
The controversial Restoration of the American Wire Act bill is now scheduled for a March 26 hearing before a Congressional committee following its postponement earlier this month due to inclement weather. The Poker Players Alliance tweeted the news late Thursday, quoting multiple political sources who said that the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland …
The latest official numbers from Atlantic City show that despite there being only eight land casinos left in the market, revenues continued to decline in February and were down overall by 14.8 percent compared to the same period last year. Casino win in February was $178.4 million, prompting officials to attribute the drop to the …
This week saw the market capitalisation of the major land gambling companies in Macau fall below the $88.5 billion benchmark, with revenues declining as a result of a slowdown in China’s economy and the influence on the mindset of China’s wealthier classes of the severe corruption and extravagance clampdown by the government. That’s remarkable because …
The much-delayed online gambling legalisation legislation in the Netherlands (currently bogged down in the lower house of the Dutch parliament while politicians argue) could be further postponed following the resignation this week of its prime driver, State Secretary for Justice Fred Teeven. Dutch media reports indicate that Teeven decided to step down for unspecified political …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhfjsa1FmU4 Since November last year, when Swedish developer Quickspin put the preview teaser up on Youtube, fans of the company’s innovative games have been waiting for the launch of “Journey to the Centre of the Earth”, and this week the game made its real-money debut on several online casinos. Quickspin says the game is inspired …
Online and land gambling content developer BetConstruct has launched its new Game Store service allowing independent developers to publish their games on the company’s platform. A company spokesman said Thursday that the new product allows game developers the opportunity to turn their creativity and technical expertise into hard cash and earn royalties from any and …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrUPRVtvxSw Bookmaker William Hill plc’s recently rebranded betting company acquisitions in Australia are to receive a GBP 5 million marketing boost this year as the operation Downunder continues to deliver good results. Flighting this week for the first time is the group’s Aussie television advertising campaign developed by Sydney agency Clemenger BBDO and titled “It’s …
The Swedish online gambling software provider Net Entertainment has reviewed its next major branded online slot, a 5-reel, 4-row, 40-line game with a Universal-licensed theme based on the Dracula legend. The game includes what NetEnt describes as a brand-new Bat feature, Free Spins, stacked symbols, Stacked Wilds, and regular Wild symbols.
Police in San Jose, CA. launched raids this week on twelve internet cafes in the city suspected of offering illegal online gambling facilities. The raiding parties were supported with search warrants and operated under the coordinated “Operation Omni” umbrella, supported by federal agents of the FBI. FBI special agent Greg Wuthrich confirmed to local media: …
US gambling group Scientific Games Corporation posted its Q4 and FY 2014 results Wednesday, reporting that the integration of recently acquired Bally Technologies, Inc. is on track. The numbers for the 2014 fourth quarter and full year include the results of operations of Bally for the 40 days following the closing of the acquisition on …
Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz, who is spearheading this year’s reintroduction of the Adelson-inspired Restoration of the American Wire Act, displayed either arrogance or ignorance earlier this month in discussing the online gambling banning measure with lottery officials from a number of states. The discussion reportedly took place in a conference call that involved twenty state …
It’s still early days, but an Indiana bill, HB1270 which seeks to legalise internet betting on horse races, is moving forward in the state Senate. HB 1270 passed the House 81-15 late last month and was referred to the Senate (see previous report). On Wednesday the bill passed the Senate Public Policy Committee on a …
Interactive sports betting and gaming software provider SBTech has been awarded a remote gambling license for the supply of gambling software in the UK market by the Gambling Commission. Itai Zak, chief executive officer of SBTech, said: “The UK market is an important key market for the company and the licences will allow us to …
Novomatic-owned GreenTube has acquired US-based mobile social casino gaming company AbZorba Games LLC for an undisclosed consideration. AbZorba Games develops social casino and multiplayer games based on a proprietary gaming platform. It has a robust B2C mobile casino brand and delivers B2B white label turnkey solutions to a range of partners. Its product range includes …
Bitcoin-only Betchain Casino has integrated a selection of BetSoft Gaming and Amatic Industries games following content deals announced this week. A portfolio of 152 Amatic Industries’ popular land-based games, adapted for online, and BetSoft Gaming titles will be on offer following the deal. “Once we felt that we had a solid foundation to work with, …