Paul Phua, the Malaysian high roller gambler and businessman who was arrested last year on charges of illegal sports betting whilst the World Cup football was in progress, is off the hook at last. Almost a year on, and after two court actions which federal prosecutors lost due to the tainted nature of the state’s …
According to a CNN Money report, Chicago has introduced a new 9 percent tax on city residents who use internet services such as Netflix, Spotify and online gaming. The city expects the change to generate an extra $12 million annually. The report reveals that last month Chicago’s finance department amended the established amusement tax to …
Last month’s announcement that China’s National Audit Office had discovered that 16.9 billion yuan raised through China’s lotteries in November and December last year had been embezzled or misused (see previous report) has been followed by the launch of a five-month improvement campaign by the Welfare Lottery – the nation’s biggest. Launching the campaign, China’s …
Online and land gambling group Paddy Power’s “guerilla marketing” tactics paid off with plenty of publicity this week amid the political furore in UK politics over immigration. Tongue in cheek, the gambling company picked up on the strong opinions around a sensitive subject, and generated a promotion designed to attract attention and publicity. It certainly …
Media reports in Australia that the federal police are enquiring into the legality of William Hill and Ladbrokes in-play betting offers have been rejected by the Australian divisions of the two companies. Our readers will recall that local media reported that following a complaint, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) had referred the enquiry …
Gambling games developer Zeus Services’ partnership with Bet Logic has paid off with a contract to supply keno software content to betting shops managed by Nigerian sports betting operator Parkn Bet. Parkn Bet is a subsidiary of Champions Bookmakers Nigeria Limited and has more than 150 shops across the African nation. Anthony Zlatanos, chief executive …
The Swedish online gambling group Cherry AB announced Thursday that it has acquired 71 percent of the shares of the Malta-based company Almor Holding Limited, an online casino business specialising in German-speaking markets. The effective date of the acquisition is July 1 2015 and Cherry AB will consolidate Almor within its group accounts from July …
Two online gambling operators, Tipico and TLCBet, have confirmed football sponsorships with British and German clubs this week. Malta-based Tipico has entered a four-year partnership as official betting partner to Bayern Munich, boosting the operator’s Bundesliga presence (Tipico already sponsors Hamburger SV and FC Hoffenheim) TLCBet, which targets Asian markets where UK league football continues …
Online gambling group Bet365, whose owners, the Coates family, also own and sponsor the Stoke City football club in England (see previous reports) have agreed to the temporary removal of the casino logo from the club’s strip whilst the top team is playing in the 2015 Barclays Asia Trophy tournament in Singapore. The move is …
Details of a narrowly averted $32 million cheating attempt associated with a PR stunt to sell the most expensive cocktail in the world were exposed by insiders to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper this week. The newspaper takes its readers back to 2013 when Crown Casino in Australia mounted a PR exercise based on a …
Sports betting in Canada has reportedly been shelved as the Canadian Senate adjourned for the summer without a third reading or vote on private member bill C-290 (see previous reports). The bill, which seeks to amend the criminal code to allow single-game sports betting, has been kept in protracted limbo in the Canadian Senate following …
Stockholm-headquartered entertainment firm Modern Times Group (MTG) has acquired a majority stake in German-based eSports company Turtle Entertainment who operates under its ESL brand. The acquisition expands MTG’s eSports interests, a market it is already present in with its Viagame platform along with sports coverage across its TV channels. MTG is acquiring the 74 percent …
Holland Casino’s interim chief executive officer Willem-Jan van den Dijssel will leave the company under a cloud for using his company credit card for personal expenses and making the repayments late. van den Dijssel admitted to the oversight saying due to his negligence he would step down as of August 1, 2015. Holland Casino’s Supervisory …
Bitcoin operator Cloudbet will acquire Curacao-licensed BetVIP’s customer base following the suspension of its operations earlier this month. Under the terms of the agreement, Cloudbet has committed to reimbursing BetVIP customers in full with immediate effect and without restriction. “Acquiring the BetVIP player base brings relief to BetVIP players who have been waiting several weeks …
The UK Gambling Commission has written to a number of unlicensed Bitcoin operators who are offering their services in the UK market. The authority clarified that it considers Bitcoin to fall under the category of “money’s worth” saying any operator offering the facility requires an operating licence and without which they are operating illegally.
Playtech’s chief operating officer, Shay Segev, has moved to the Gala Coral Group as chief strategy officer after a nine year career with Playtech which included a relatively brief spell as CEO of Retail operations. Reports in May this year on his appointment as the head of Playtech Retail revealed that the division relies on …
188BET has announced the appointment of experienced marketer Karl Riley as head of marketing in Europe, Latin America and the UK. Riley holds a Bachelor’s Degree, Business Studies and Finance, and a Masters Degree, Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, obtained between 1995 and 1999 from the Liverpool John Moores University. His previous management posts have been …
The online gambling-savvy Michelle Minton, who has consistently published factual and positive articles and papers on the industry and its technologies, wrote in The Hill blog this week that the lobbying battle for and against Sheldon Adelson’s Restoration of America’s Wire Act has intensified in Washington DC. RAWA supporters have bills in both the House …
Social gaming firm Akamon Entertainment and bingo product and services provider Zest Gaming have agreed a content distribution deal that will see Zest’s new online video bingo titles deployed via Akamon’s gaming platforms. Luca Figerio, group president for Zest said: “This agreement reflects one of our main strategic goals, to bring our video product, with …
Playtech subsidiary TradeFX Limited has entered into a share acquisition agreement with Ava Trade, an online B2C CFD broker, for a $105 million consideration. Completion of the Transaction is conditional on approval from Playtech’s shareholders and relevant financial services regulators. “The acquisition of the Ava Group is another important milestone in Playtech’s strategy to expand …
Paddy Power plc has confirmed the resignation of Nigel Northridge as Chairman of the Board and the succession appointment of Gary McGanneffective today, July 1, 2015.
English Premier League football club Aston Villa has entered into a co-exclusive betting partnership with Betfair and bet365. The deal, in which both firms will feature on the club’s LED screens and interview backdrops, represents a “significant commercial increase on last year’s betting partnership” a club statement revealed. Charlie Wijeratna, Aston Villa’s chief commercial officer, …
The Done brothers-founded UK online gambling group Betfred delivered an 18-month report ending September 2014 showing a turnover of GBP 13.2 billion and gross profit of GBP 593 million, up from GBP 362 million 18 months ago. During the period, Betfred said it had contributed GBP 37.7 million to racing and GBP 158.7 million to …
The Romanian gambling authority Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri (ONJN) has begun issuing its first provisional online gambling licences. First concession holders were named as StanleyBet UK, NetBet and Winmasters who have the green light to offer online gambling in the newly regulated market.