Australian racing and sportsbetting firm TopBetta Holdings’ change of ownership heralds in a new era starting with a name change to The Betmakers Holdings. The Australian firm was acquired by fantasy sports firm PlayUp for AU$6 million (see previous report).
South African entertainment supplier Sun International’s new mobile-responsive online sportsbook Sunbet, in partnership with Bede Limited and Kambi Group, was designed by Vegas Kings, specialists in sportsbetting UX/UI design. Sunbet offers a number of features and rewards including action bets – a first in South Africa, an increase in live in-play betting opportunities as well as cash out. “We were asked not …
The saga of Kenya’s punitive 35 percent tax rate on operators and 20 percent tax on punter winnings continues as parliamentarians on various committees differ, it appears from local media reports over the weekend. Our readers will recall that taxes were hiked from 7.5 percent to an across the board 35 percent of GGR at …
In its latest anti-gambling crusade, the Daily Mail newspaper in the UK reports the formation of a new problem gambling action group titled Gambling With Lives and publicises its demand that government impose a 1 percent mandatory problem gambling levy calculated on gross profits on all UK licensed online gambling operators. The new body was …
Online and land gambling group Betfred has posted a decline in operating profit for the FY ended September 2017, dropping from a profit of GBP 32.4 million in the preceding year to a loss of GBP 13.4 million, and attributing the slide to goodwill impairment on digital assets, rising costs and higher taxes. The loss …
Daily fantasy sports US market leaders FanDuel and DraftKings accounted for 98 percent of sector activity in the first month of licensed operations in Pennsylvania, generating adjusted revenue after distributing winnings of $673,013 and $632,008 respectively The strong start saw overall DFS revenues of $12.4 million generated by the five leading companies, with DRAFT trailing …
Online bookmaker Betway has inked an agreement to become a founding sponsor of Brazilian eSports brand MIBR. The company is already a sponsor of top eSports professional team Ninjas in Pyjamas and is a founding member of the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC). MIBR, newly acquired by global eSports organisation Immortals, has secured a number of …
One constant element in the evolution of the international online gambling market has been the repeated attempts by the government of Antigua and Barbuda to pressure the US government into honouring dispute judgements passed by the World Trade Organisation in the islanders’ favour. Our readers will recall that following questionable US bans on Antigua’s nascent …
The Vietnamese police report the dismantling of an illegal online sports betting enterprise which operated via a Philippines gambling website and generated US$26 million in just over a year of operations. Four individuals have been arrested in connection with the bust and have admitted involvement, and others are under investigation, according to the police. Investigators …
Problem gambling charity GambleAware has appointed top British creative agency M & S Saatchi to develop its new safer gambling advertising campaign, scheduled to run for two years at a cost of between GBP 5 and GBP 7 million. The award of the contract was made following a competitive pitch, independently facilitated by ISBA. Saatchi …
The Addison Global Group has announced the soft launch of its first brand, a mobile-first sportsbook powered by SBTech and licensed in the United Kingdom. On Friday Addison chief executive Juergen Reutter unveiled MoPlay.co.uk, saying: “We are not attempting to break through the World Cup noise; instead our marketing approach will focus on the new …
The UK football club Preston North End has announced that from summer this year Unibet will be its official betting partner following the signing of a two-year agreement with the option of a further year. The deal includes brand presence on the team’s training strip. A Preston North End spokesman said of the deal: “Following …
Spanish sports betting and gaming technology provider Optima’s chief executive Jacob Lopez has been awarded Business Excellence recognition by the widely read Madrid-based gaming magazine Azar. Making the award, Azar president Manuel Ortega saluted the key role played by Lopez in building Optima from a small company with just 12 employees in 2012 to a …
The Stars Group has released more detail on its proposed public share offering (see previous report), revealing Friday in a market update that it has set $38 per share pricing for the common shares, and has secured underwriters to purchase 17 million shares. The company reports that a further 8 million shares were sold by …
Two NetEnt progressive slots, Arabian Nights and Mega Fortune Dreams, have recently delivered major jackpots totalling Euro 5.5 million to two lucky players, the company announced Friday. Mega Fortune Dreams paid out over Euro 4.25 million to a player in Belgium on Tuesday 12th June from a bet of Euro 1 at Unibet online casino, …
The Mississippi Gaming Commission approved the state’s sports betting regulations Thursday, setting in motion a 30-day implementation window that will ultimately allow the state’s 28 land venues to offer sports betting by the third week in July. The regulations at present cover only land-based wagering, with some on-premises mobile wagering permitted, and operators will be …
Patagonia Entertainment has signed a content agreement with virtual sports provider Kiron Interactive to integrate a wide selection of its titles onto the Patagonia iGaming platform. This latest content partnership means Patagonia’s Latam-facing clients will gain access to Kiron’s extensive portfolio of 17 virtual sports and racing games; included in the initial roll out are …
Zeal Group subsidiary Lottovate has launched a new lottery titled Raffld and targetting the millennial demographic in the Netherlands, which makes up 25 percent of the nation’s population. Research has indicated that the demographic are not keen on traditional lottery action and, according to Zeal, 62 percent play the traditional lottery only twice a year …
West Virginia land casino operators are waiting the green light from the Secretary of State following the approval this week of the state’s emergency sports betting regulations. State lottery officials hope that the formalities can be completed in time for punters to bet on the upcoming NFL season, with operators permitted to offer both mobile …
Daily fantasy sports and high taxation were among criticisms levelled by Penn National Gaming in its response to a consultation on online gambling launched by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board following the recent passage of state legislation legalising online gambling in the state (see previous reports). Among the points raised by the land and online …
The early hours of Thursday morning saw the end of this year’s session of the New York legislature, allowing the state’s 213 lawmakers to head home without deciding to legalise online poker or sports betting. For the online poker lobby it was a bitterly disappointing third year in which the Senate appeared willing but the …
With sports betting now the centre of attention in the United States following the recent Supreme Court strike down of the restrictive PASPA, a new study carried out by Ipsos at the request of the Fantasy Sports Association has concluded that most fantasy sports players are likely to place bets on sports events in the …
HBG Gaming has become the first Italian online gambling operator to achieve licensing in the Colombian market following the approval of its HBG Latam subsidiary by regulator Coljuegos. HBG Latam received a five-year licence to operate under its AguiJuego brand, which has yet to go live operationally. HBG is also involved in the retail gambling …
The Isle of Man-based lottery betting business Annexio has launched its new flagship consumer brand LottoGo.com, replacing the company’s World Lottery Club product. Annexio founder and director Tom Brodie said in a statement Thursday that LottoGo.com will replace the World Lottery Club brand developed over the past six years and which is currently experiencing record …