The Turkish Finance Ministry will privatise all forms of game of chance, Prime Minister Ahmet Davuloglu said this week. But, while privatisation of Sports Toto and the Horse Racing Authority is expected to yield $10 billion for State coffers, the process is stirring up a hornets nest with religious bodies who are opposed to any …
The Netherlands gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit, has imposed a total of Euro 310 000 in fines on the companies behind 7red.nl/.com and royaalcasino.nl/.com for offering their gambling services to the market despite being issued a warning earlier this year. While both sites converted to English language following the warning, they reportedly still continued to target the …
The much anticipated ruling of the court appeal brought by the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) against the British Government’s Gambling Commission was dismissed by British High Court Justice Nicholas Green Friday who said: “Parliament was clearly within its rights to act as it did.” The new Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill, which was …
Ireland’s Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, has announced the appointment of Liam Sloyan as Ireland’s first Regulator of the National Lottery, effective November 17, 2014. Sloyan joins the department from his current position as chief executive and registrar of the Health Insurance Authority where he has played a leading role in the …
Affiliate reports this week suggest that Bet365 is turning away new business from Chinese punters following an in-depth report in UK newspaper, The Guardian (see previous report). Bet365 responded at the time by saying: “In the view of bet365, and its lawyers, Chinese law does not extend to the provision of services into China by …
James Boje has been appointed managing director or Aristocrat’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, subject to regulatory approvals. Boje has held senior executive positions in industries that encompass slot operations, manufacturing, machine distribution, live gaming, lotteries and money handling solutions across European and African territories. He began his career as a slot technician …
Ladbrokes has exited Switzerland, Norway and Hungary following an internal legal and regulatory review. The gambling firm said in order to comply with new UK legislation, expected to come into force on November 1, 2014, Ladbrokes will continue to withdraw its services from “grey markets”. The company has reportedly closed player accounts in those markets …
The Gauselman Group has acquired British gaming software firm Betcom Limited for an undisclosed consideration. Gauselman sees the acquisition as a further important step for expansion in the British market saying its British subsidiary Blueprint Gaming will in particular benefit from Betcom’s development capabilities. Betcom Limited designs and develops games predominantly for the British Category …
Saskatchewan-based Northern Bear Casino suspended its operations this week, two years after its controversial launch. Bernie Shepherd, a former chief of the Canadian White Bear tribe in the Saskatchewan province, launched the online casino in partnership with Geobet in November 2012 despite Provincial Government objections, Shepherd said at the time that he was “exercising his …
Toronto-based Intertain Group Limited (Intertain) has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to acquire the entire issued share capital or all the assets of Dumarca Holdings Limited, the Malta-based parent company of the Vera&John online casino group. Intertain will cough up an initial consideration of Euro 44.5 million in cash and Euro 36.5 million …
A Czech Ministry proposal backed by Deputy Finance Minister Ondrej Zavodsky will reportedly revamp existing gambling law to allow the inclusion of foreign online gambling operators who are currently prohibited by the requirement of having to have a retail presence in the country. According to Reuters, the proposal, which would go into effect in 2016 …
Global law firm DLA Piper writes of a recent Norwegian Government-appointed committee that has been tasked to investigate the viability of repealing its gambling monopoly and opening up the market to a formal licensing process for domestic and foreign operators. The news comes on the back of the Norwegian gambling authority Lotteritilsynet issuing cease and …
Austrian-headquartered software provider SoftSwiss has launched a Bitcoin sports betting exchange described as a breakthrough project and the first offer of its kind. Softswiss’ gaming portal News & Score offers the instant Bitcoin betting exchange without any registration requirements and “perfect anonymity” assured. Players can place bets up to 15 minutes before the sport event …
Betting and gambling software developer Optima IS, has signed two deals with Irish and UK independent bookmaker co-operatives for its Margin Maker 2 (MM2) betting and e-gaming platform for mobile and web. Optima IS will support, develop and launch a full new Margin Maker 2 based betting and e-gaming platform in Q1 2015 for BETPACK, …
Kansspelautoriteit, the Dutch Gambling Authority, has entered into a co-operation agreement with various payment service providers (PSP) to block payments to unlicensed gambling operators who continue to offer their online gambling services in the Dutch market. The co-operation agreement currently includes PSP’s Mollie BV, DialXS BV, BV Sisow, Currence, Mastercard and members of the Payments …
Genesis Gaming has simultaneously launched its latest video slot title “Robyn” on the Quickfire, powered by Microgaming, network in Flash and HTML5. This 5-reel, 243 way video slot centres around the sharp shooting lead character Robyn who uses her skills to shoot Random Target Symbols in the base game. A Wild Arrow free spin feature …
US-based casino gaming firm Gamzio Mobile Inc has relaunched GO-GO Casino on the Facebook platform. Gamzio acquired Go-Go Casino back in May and spent the ensuing months developing updates and creating a new look and feel for the offer. Go-Go Casino offers three major city themed Slots games (New York, Paris, and Moscow) along with …
Microgaming launched its 5×3 reel, 20 fixed payline “Multiplayer Playboy” title this week. The game, which features a classic base game offering Scatters and Wilds with an exciting Multiplayer element, is themed on the iconic Playboy brand. It is a graphic and audio-rich offer that doesn’t disappoint. The social sticky on this game provides players …
Non-Norwegian licences operators offering services in the market have been warned off by the Norwegian Gambling Authority Lotteritilsynet. A number of European operators were sent a communication by Lotteritilsynet that advised increased vigilance and action against companies targeting the Norwegian market following a noticeable increase in marketing and customer acquisition efforts. Some of those operators …
Poker pro and self-confessed professional gambler Phil Ivey has lost the court case he brought against Genting UK’s Crockfords Club in a UK High Court today (Wednesday). Readers will recall Crockfords refused to pay Ivey GBP 7.7 million in winnings following two day’s of playing a Baccarat version called Punto Banco in August 2012. Ivey …
GameSys has expanded its existing content supply partnership with content developer High 5 Games (H5G) for the New Jersey market to include the U.K. market and beyond. Under the terms of the new agreement, H5G will be integrating its remote gaming server VAULT with Gamesys’ UK-based online platforms. “This extension in our relationship will enable …
A Baltimore City Paper report said Maryland Prosecutors’ stalled case against Bodog Entertainment Group, its founder Calvin Ayre and Bodog executives James Phillip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney continues with extradition processes being pursued. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Kay reportedly docketed a letter addressed to presiding officer U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake on the case’s …
750 000 Chinese mainland tourists flocked to Macau during Golden Week, an annual holiday in the first week of October, and the boost is just what Macau needs following a steady decline in casino revenue over the past four months. Foreign news agencies say political demonstrations in Hong Kong have provided the impetus behind the …
Gavin Grimes has been named head of casino over at Gala Coral’s Gala Interactive subsidiary. Grimes moved into the position effective October 1, 2014 having served as the company’s head of social gaming since 2013. Prior to his appointment at Gala Interactive in 2013, Grimes served as managing director of online advertising and marketing agency …