Rumours that the UK government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which oversees the activities of the UK Gambling Commission, is to be closed have been denied by a department spokesman this week. Giving voice to the rumours recently, the publication Intergame reported that possible homes for the Gambling Commission should the DCMS be disbanded …
The Wall Street Journal reports that the social networking giant Facebook will go public on 18 May, describing the upcoming IPO as “one of the most highly anticipated tech initial public offerings since Google went public in August 2004.” Company officials, possibly including founder-owner Mark Zuckerberg, are set to start the investor roadshow next Monday, …
Online gambling software group Playtech plc continued to deliver a strong performance throughout the first quarter of 2012, the company’s Key Performance Indicators published Wednesday show. The numbers cover the three months ending 31 March 2012, and reveal financial highlights: * Gross income up 90 percent to Euro 88.4 million, (Q1/2011: Euro 46.6 million) and …
Cash-rich Chinese mainland visitors kept the momentum going in Macau which according to the regions Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau yielded a 21.9 percent rise in gambling revenues during April of 25 billion patacas ($3.13 billion). The former Portuguese enclave’s latest results appear to have been positively affected during the month by the opening of …
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has blamed human error and apologised after retweeting a Twitter users objectionable request following the distressing attack Bolton Wanderers’ Fabrice Muamba faced during a FA Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur last month. The insensitive Twitter comment requested betting options on player heart attacks during the Premier League battle between Manchester United …
Bundesliga football club Borussia Dortmund has signed up with German sports betting operator Oddset Deutschland Sportwetten GmbH in a long term sponsorship deal that includes both online and land marketing and publicity provisions. Starting with the new season, Oddset advertising will appear inside Dortmund’s 80,000-seat Westfalenstadion, and the partners will collaborate on new-media initiatives. Erwin …
The online scratchcard and instant win game developer Neogames has launched a new soft game addition to its inventory with the introduction of ‘Quick Play’, an offering especially suited to the lottery sector. Based on classic quick draw games found in national lotteries worldwide, the game takes the genre to a new level, because every …
Earlier this year online and land gambling group Paddy Power outlined its plans to expand into the Italian market, which it had been monitoring for some time . In a follow up deal this week GameAccount has announced that it has signed a multi-year renewal agreement that includes support for Paddy Power in its Italian …
Betfair co-founder Mark Davies and his wife Miranda, in their capacities as trustees of the Giselle Davies Family Trust and the Davies Family Trust, will have their day in court on July 8 in London in a GBP4 million suit against legal firm Speechly Bircham. The claim, filed last August alleges negligence and/or breach of …
Canadian software development company FlyCow Games Inc. has announced that in just three months its flagship social casino game application, CasinoZone (https://apps.facebook.com/casinozone), has surpassed 200,000 total player installations. With over 130 proprietary casino games, CasinoZone’s owners claim that it is the largest casino offering on Facebook when compared to leading competitors who have fewer than …
William Hill plc’s live dealer service from Evolution Gaming’s studios in Estonia is to be expanded with the addition of a dedicated VIP facility. The addition will create the sumptuous ambience of a land casino Salle Privee as a backdrop for live dealers, and will provide players with live roulette, Blackjack and Baccarat all streamed …
After weeks of stalling on player pay-outs with excuses of technical glitches , the Purple Lounge online casino and poker room has at last deigned to communicate with its players, although the content revealed little that is not already known and stalls for a further 7 days. In a website notification and an email to …
Four men have been charged following an investigation into an online gambling operation run under the name of Lincoln International Internet Sensations LLC, in New Haven, Indiana reports the News-Sentinel newspaper. Robert Townsend, a state gaming control officer has submitted court documents revealing that he visited the operation on several occasions between August 1, 2011 …
California’s attack on the restrictive sports betting federal Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) continues to advance with the news that the state’s Senate Governmental Organizing Committee has voted unanimously (13-0) to approve the measure and send it to the full Senate. SB1390 seeks to allow sports wagering at horse tracks, card rooms, Indian casinos …
Brian Mattingley, chief executive of online gambling group 888 Holdings plc expanded on 888’s US ambitions in an interview with the poker information site Poker News Monday, saying: * The company’s decision to reverse out of the US market in the wake of UIGEA had been the right strategic move, although it had initially halved …
The Italian regulatory body l’Amministrazione autonoma dei monopoli di Stato (AAMS) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Anti-Mafia Directorate (Direzione Nazionale Antimafia or DNA) undertaking a long term view in the combating of illegal gambling operated by organised crime syndicates. The MOU, valid for five years with an option to …
A list of the 1000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, published by the British Sunday Times on an annual basis, again contains a healthy component of online gambling executives despite recessive times. Valuations, based on estimates of the minimum worth of Britain’s richest, are undertaken at the beginning of each year. The …
Online gaming software provider Microgaming will launch an entertaining 5-reel, 243 way video slot “Untamed – Bengal Tiger” and five other flash games in the coming month. Along with “Untamed – Bengal Tiger”, a new 5-reel, 20-payline slot titled “Around the World” will challenge players to explore the globe and collect treasures along the way. …
Tabcorp will expand its streaming media and integrated betting applications on a global basis following significant deals with Akamai and Kit Digital which will enable the company to deliver live races over the web and to mobile tablet devices as well as providing integration with Sky Racing’s live betting system. Brendan Parnell, chief operating officer …
Bookmaker and Tote-owner Betfred is focusing on expansion in its online business and considering a move into Eastern Europe, says co-founder and boss Fred Done. Done, who made the comments after accepting The Business Desk’s North West Ambassador Award at the North West Business Masters Award ceremony, also spoke of his desire to move Betfred’s …
A new online progressive slot game from Playtech “Everybody’s Progressive” offers players an opportunity to win offline as well as online if they had played a minimum of Euro 50 in the preceding 24 hours. The games Mystery Progressive Jackpot feature pays out 70 percent of winnings to the player, whether they are online or …
Rossi McKee, the founder and honorary member of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Gaming Association gave his views on Bulgaria’s new gambling law in an interesting interview with YogoNet this week. The law, promulgated in its publishing in the Government Gazette at the end of March 2012, makes provision for the regulation of online …
The Irish Central Bank has lifted its April 5th suspension on financial spread betting firm Marketspreads after investigating its capital adequacy and audit opinion issues. The issues in question are believed to have covered the period immediately before Marketspreads’ current owners bought the business from its previous shareholder, Worldspreads plc, reports the Irish Times. In …
Sheldon Adelson, a Republican Party supporter and land gambling tycoon who has been a consistently vehement opponent of internet gambling legalisation in the USA in any form, reiterated his opposition to the pastime in a Las Vegas Sun article this week. Adelson, who heads the giant land gambling group Las Vegas Sands, told the newspaper …