Swedish online gambling firm Cherry has named Alexander Pettersson (32) as group chief financial officer with immediate effect. Pettersson succeeds Fredrik Burvall who assumed the position of acting chief executive officer of Cherry in December 2015 (see previous report). Prior to his appointment, Pettersson worked within strategy and sales at Betsson and as an auditor …
Live dealer technology provider Ezugi has inked an agreement with Racing Card Derby to distribute the latter’s Knockout Baccarat side-bets game. Knockout Baccarat is popular in the Asia-Pacific region and offers additional bets for baccarat players to increase their potential winnings, by betting on the winning totals. Under the terms of the agreement the games …
Baccarat lived up to its name as the game for ultra-high rollers this weekend when a Hong Kong player won a world record of one hundred million Hong Kong dollars (around US$ 12,890,500) at the World Series Baccarat Championship. Lin Haisan will feature in the Guinness World Record annual book in two categories once the …
Last year’s debacle at the South African National Gambling Board (see previous reports) was under the microscope again this week at a further parliamentary portfolio committee hearing addressed by Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies, who is now in possession of a forensic report on the irregularities which occurred during the tenure of the …
The Atlantic City bankruptcy court hearing scheduled for today (Monday) on the sale of the Revel complex has been postponed indefinitely. The Associated Press news agency reports that Judge Gloria Burns agreed to the postponement after an approach from the interested parties requesting only a brief hearing regarding professional fees. The main, and now postponed, …
China’s biting drive against corruption among the elite has impacted not only land casino performances in Macau, but the island’s general economy, illustrating graphically the importance of diversification in place of too great a reliance on gambling businesses. Official figures show that in Q4 last year the drop in visitor spending and gambling revenues caused …
UK online bookmaker Skybet has become the subject of negative publicity, presumably after aggrieved players approached the Daily Mail newspaper with complaints that the betting company was not honouring its advertised odds. Over the weekend the newspaper published communications and online graphics substantiating its claim that Skybet briefly advertised odds of 25/1 for a Paris …
The interactive division of Italian gaming technology and lottery provider GTech made a useful contribution to its fourth quarter results released this week, showcasing overall interactive revenue of Euro 28 million – up 7 percent. American and International interactive contributions were both up strongly, whilst interactive product sales soared almost three-fold to Euro 1.7 million. …
Zynga’s mobile social game ‘Hit It Rich! Free Casino Slots!’ was the subject of an assessment this week that also illustrated the potential of mobile social gaming in the publication Seeking Alpha. The assessment quoted current numbers from the independent monitor Statista which showed that the Zynga offering, developed by subsidiary Spooky Cool Labs, is …
Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, an arch conservative who is rapidly becoming notorious for his introduction of the Adelson-inspired Restoration of the American Wire Act, has disappointed the American Conservative Union, which voiced criticism of the politician this week. But the Union was more concerned with the intrusion of RAWA on states’ rights than its …
Atlantic City bankruptcy court Judge Gloria Burns finally decided Friday not to approve the sale of the Revel building to Florida property developer Glenn Straub, despite his being the firmest offer on the table at present, and his commitment of a deposit and escrow funds worth a total of $82 million for the sale (see …
Inspired Gaming as announced that its Virtual Sports online product, including horse racing, greyhounds and virtual football, has now gone live across 80 Italian websites serviced by Italian platform and content provider Microgame. The two companies inked a partnership agreement in 2013 that has seen Inspired provide Microgame’s retail subsidiary Pianeta Scommesse with earlier Virtual …
Poland’s originally rather authoritarian approach to the regulation of online gambling has seen some useful and pragmatic amendments following European Commission opinions on compatibility with EU law, and the enabling legislation has now been approved by the Commission. One of the main changes is that international operators are no longer required to set up a …
Iowa residents will soon have far more clarity on the legality of daily fantasy sports betting following the approval of bill SF166 by the state Senate on a 32 – 16 vote this week. The bill now moves to the state House of Assembly. The Des Moines Register reports that Congress exempted fantasy gaming as …
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 …