The Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports that since Russia banned gambling in all but four remote regions of the country in 2009, its enforcement officials have shut down 61,000 illegal operators, many in the Moscow area. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office released the statistics Wednesday, revealing that the owners of underground gambling parlours have …
Britain’s Culture Minister, Helen Grant, says that bookmaking firms must release a fixed-odds betting terminal for research purposes after allegations that they have been reluctant to do so. The machines, usually based in High Street betting shops, have become something of a political football as anti-gambling action groups, media outlets and opposition politicians have weighed …
Former Betdaq owner and Irish gambling entrepreneur Dermot Desmond (63) has sold off his IIU Nominees company’s 25 percent holding in online payments processor Optimal Payments for GBP 146 million, adding to his reported wealth as Ireland’s seventh richest businessman of Euro 1.4 billion. Press material from Optimal reveals that IIU Nominees Limited successfully sold …
Scientific Games Corporation has signed a contract to implement and support a Central Monitoring System for the New Mexico Gaming Control Board. The contract calls for Scientific Games to provide its SGVideo Gaming Central Monitoring System which will enable the regulator to monitor and control licensed video gaming terminals, located in five racinos and up …
BetSoft Gaming has announced the launch of its latest 3D slots addition, a 5 reel, 30 line game titled Good Girl, Bad Girl, claiming that this is the first time in the industry that dual math models have been used in a single game. Good Girl, Bad Girl is designed to make the most of …
In Illinois the crisis around renewing a law to permit online horse race wagering has again been averted at the eleventh hour after state lawmakers approved an extension in time to allow horse racing tracks to keep their racing schedules intact for 2014. The publication KSDK reports that the renewal measure passed the Senate 47-4 …
A 2010 federal bust for organising online gambling in New England is still creating headlines as a growing number of defendants in the case agree to a group guilty plea. Increasing the interest level in the case is the much-reported element where enforcement officials dug up the back yard of one defendant and found a …
With opposition members of parliament become increasingly critical of the delays in its implementation, it looks as if the Irish tax on online betting may at last be activated in 2014. The Irish newspaper The Independent reports this week that the Betting (Amendment) Bill 2013 has continued to grind its way through the Dail with …
Casinomeister, an online gambling information site that has an active player database as one the industry pioneers, has released its fifteenth Awards list, delivering accolades and brickbats in a wide range of categories. 32Red plc again took triple honours for “The Best Casino of 2013 – Global”, “Best Casino Group – Global”, “Best Customer Service …
Casual games producer Big Fish has reported its 11th year of record growth raking in $266 million in gross revenue which was driven largely by its mobile free-to-play games such as Big Fish Casino. “We exited 2013 by successfully transitioning our company into a mobile free-to-play games company, exiting the year with a run rate …
Malta-based online gaming firm Interwetten has reported a 7 percent increase in revenue despite serious external challenges. The company said the 5 percent sportsbetting tax on turnover imposed by Germany, regulatory constraints in Spain, the forced market exit in Greece as well as a lack of a major event in sports had a serious effect …
BIGMAN Entertainment, a start-up social game developer, has launched a new casino game on Facebook. BIGMAN Slots, presently only available in Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, Singapore and United Arab Emirates, provides social gamers a new venue with themes such as Luxe Lane and Twin Peaks. A BIGMAN Class separates players based on ranking and the …
A new branded casino game based on the popular television drama “24” is set to be unveiled following a deal between iSoftBet and Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products. The game incorporates the exploits of heroic Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer and features the series’ distinctive audio effects and visual elements. “This unique partnership with …
Sports betting and technology firm Offsidegaming has expanded its existing partnership with Worldstar Betting in Uganda. The company has developed a specific version of its mobile website that supports Opera Mini, a browser that is used on over 2000 million mobile devices in the region, a statement said. “We were really surprised by the volumes …
Indonesian National Police General Sutarman said Wednesday that police have identified and blocked 146 online gambling accounts detected during routine monitoring. “All the gambling accounts were blocked and we are continuing to investigate. Of the total, 96 accounts were fictitious with some using fake addresses, while the remainder are unknown,” Sutarman told attendees during a …
Playtech has partnered with games developer Casino Technology for the provision of five popular game titles which will be rolled out across all Playtech platforms during 2014. Playtech will showcase the games through its retail subsidiary Videobet at the ICE Totally Gaming exhibition. Shay Segev, chief operating officer of Playtech said: “As a proven games …
Jonathan Bryden has been appointed as Pari Mutuel Urbain’s (PMU) head of International Corporate Development. Bryden will oversee the coordination of international B2C projects for PMU which are not limited to but include the creation of subsidiaries, exploring foreign equity investments and licencing opportunities. Within the International division, Bryden will explore, evaluate, select and integrate …
The Alderney Government has appointed Lord Faulkner of Worcester as the new Chairman of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission and Christopher Moger QC as a new member. The Commission comprises three members who are appointed for a term of five years. Lord Faulkner, a current member, of the commission will succeed John Godfrey who retires …
Betclearer Ltd trading as Bet Butler has been challenged before the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on whether their claim of offering the best price on their “How it Works” page was misleading. Bet Butler said while it aimed to provide the best available price to its customers through comparison, they could provide no documentary …
UK online gaming and betting operator Betfair has taken on a suite of Quickfire, powered by Microgaming, casino and mobile content for integration into its betfair.com operation. Quickfire’s volume and quality of content impressed Betfair along with the commitment to deliver new games on a rolling basis said Niki Longmuir, Product Manager at Betfair. “We …
Michael de Jong, finance minister and minister responsible for gambling in the Canadian province of British Columbia, announced Tuesday that the University of B.C has chosen Luke Clark from the UK’s University of Cambridge as the first director of the Centre for Gambling Research. The centre was established last February with a $2-million grant from …
The currently struggling Spanish online gambling market could see further declines if the opposition Spanish Socialist Workers Party should come to power. The party has presented a non-legislative proposal aimed at reducing accessibility to online gambling and prohibiting the offering of VIP bonuses and other player incentives, which it claims contribute toward the dangers of …
Massachusetts State Lottery officials asked lawmakers Tuesday to pass legislation enabling the agency to experiment with online gaming operations, the Boston newspaper Sentinel & Enterprise reports. A bill filed by Democratic Party Senator Jennifer Flanagan, has the support of state lottery officials and seeks to permit the Lottery to conduct an online lottery. “We are …
High 5 Games will be using the ICE show in London next week to stage the European launch of its “Vault” remote gaming server, which comes packaged with nearly 100 of H5G’s most successful slot games from all mediums. Anthony Singer, CEO of High 5 Games, said Tuesday: “Vault will only carry H5G’s top hits …