Online gambling observers are currently scratching their heads over claims from a research unit at Peking University that Chinese punters spend around 600 billion yuan ($97 billion) annually on foreign online gambling sites – many times over the accepted estimates on the size of the global online gambling market. It’s not the first time the …
More detail emerged this week on a New York state online sports betting ring operated by Rochester duo Paul Borelli (66) and Joseph Ruff (32) along with 40-year-old Mark Ruff from Connecticut. The men were arrested last week following a Grand Jury investigation, and have been indicted on 23 different offences (see previous report). This …
BETWAY LAUNCHES NEW T.V. AD. Second in the ‘Betway Stories’ series promoting Betway Vegas sub-brand. Betway has launched the second in its Betway Stories series of television advertisements, this one promoting its Betway Vegas mobile sub-brand and created by the Above and Beyond agency. The marketing publication Campaign Live reports that the 30-second film depicts …
The UK online betting group Betfair has engaged the services of IT monitor Nexthink to keep an eye on the performance of its websites and IT facilities in Europe. Nexthink’s V5 service watches over networks and reports on user events across the entire spectrum of IT operations, recording performance data and flagging problem areas and …
In an initiative which spokesmen explain is designed to broaden its games selection and attract more players, online sports betting platform supplier SBTech has signed games supply deals with top providers Net Entertainment, BetSoftGaming, iSoftBet and Kiron Interactive. The new suppliers join established games supplier Microgaming in the SBTech games inventory. The company claims that …
Illegal betting operators are hoovering up Euro 5 billion a year in the Greek market, the newly appointed Greek Public Order Minister, Vassilis Kikilias, was told in a briefing in Athens Tuesday by the general secretary for transparency, Giorgos Sourlas. Appealing for a major crackdown on unlicensed and illegal operators, Sourlas said their depredations were …
Land gambling equipment supplier Gauselmann AG clearly has an eye on internet gambling industry opportunities following its appointment this week of Alexander Martin as director for new media business. “We made the decision to create a separate management board position here due to the continually increasing importance of internet gaming in society and also within …
The British payment processing group Optimal Payments plc has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the partnership interests of California based payment processing entity TK Global Partners LP (trading as ‘Meritus Payment Solutions’) for a consideration of $210 million. The consideration consists of $150 million in cash and $60 million of Optimal …
Has the seemingly endless Macau run of outstanding gambling revenues finally peaked after an unbroken four years? The latest figures from Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau might suggest that a slowdown is taking shape. Gambling revenue in Macau fell 3.7 percent in June on an annual basis, the first decline in more than four …
The row in Arkansas over the state lottery’s venture into online games like keno in its “monitor games” series (see previous reports) has been at least partly calmed in the state legislature by a compromise. Instead of the immediate and complete ban originally sought by Republican Sen. Jimmy Hickey, the House Rules Committee has endorsed …
Delaware, one of only three US states to legalise online gambling so far, delivered another disappointing set of performance figures for online gambling in May, with official numbers indicating a general decline. The Delaware State Lottery said that although punters within the state wagered an impressive $9,026,528 on casino games, generating an almost 66 percent …
Political differences over an appropriate tax rate for online gambling in the Netherlands could delay the operational debut of the new regulatory and licensing regime in the EU country by as much as a year, lawyer Ewout Keuleers has opined. Dutch lawmakers have taken over three years to reach agreement on the right framework for …
With a remarkable lack of public fanfare, Harry Casino, a UK-facing online casino, has switched its branding to Mr. Smith Casino after three years of operations managed by Betsson subsidiary BML Group. Players are being offered promotions to stay with the new brand, and the website at mrsmithcasino.co.uk has been given an extensive makeover. The …
The operator of the UK national lottery, Camelot, has announced that it is to bring all four lottery brands under one roof under the strapline “Play makes it possible.” The marketing publication Brand Republic reports that the campaign will bring together all four core National Lottery products of Instants, Lotto, Thunderball and EuroMillions, while linking …
Live dealer gambling fans will have an additional venue choice following supplier Evolution Gaming’s latest venue deal, which will see live dealer action streamed from the prestigious Casino Campione d’Italia in the Campione d’Italia region just across the border from Switzerland. The agreement has kicked off with three live dealer tables featuring blackjack, roulette and …
The former Danish state gambling monopoly Danske Spil appears to be strengthening its in-house online gambling content development facilities with the acquisition of 60 percent of the stock of Aalborg-based games supplier CEGO Limited for an undisclosed consideration last week. The agreement includes a provision that the current owners will stay on board and manage …
The UK Gambling Commission has released its latest set of industry statistics, covering the period between October 2012 and September 2013, excluding the National Lottery, with the following high points: * Total gross gambling yield (GGY) of almost GBP 6.7 billion…an increase of GBP 252 million on the previous reporting period between April 2012 and …
UK parliamentary staff takes a great interest in online gaming websites, according to official records released under the Freedom of Information Act and obtained by The Express newspaper this week. Politicians and their staff members visited internet gaming and gambling websites 4 million times over the past year, the Palace of Westminster computer records show, …
James Leighton, the author of a biographical book on erstwhile Australian e-payment processor turned federal informant Daniel Tzvetkoff, received a useful boost from the major UK newspaper The Telegraph which published a lengthy summary of his book “Alligator Blood” Sunday. The summary, written by Leighton, opens with the following: “It took just six years for …
Adidas has pulled adverting posters in Brazilian cities that depicted a ferocious, teeth-bared head shot of disgraced Uruguayan footballer Luis Suarez, ostensibly due to tourist interest. The wide publicity following Suarez’s FIFA suspension for biting an opponent in a World Cup football match (see previous reports) triggered a trend among tourists in Brazil to pose …
Sheldon Adelson is on the warpath against online gambling again; his Las Vegas Sands land gambling group is going after the owners of 35 websites for alleged trademark and reputational offences, filing federal lawsuits late last week in the United States District Court for the District Of Nevada. The IP information site The Domains.com reports …
The latest Nevada Gaming Control Board numbers show that in May 2014 Nevada gambling revenues were up year-on-year by 8.1 percent and constituted the biggest single-month rise on The Strip so far in 2014. Strip casinos collected almost $593 million, a 17.3 percent increase compared to May 2013. Nevada casinos statewide collected $970.3 million in …
Bans on monitor games and online betting on horse races are a possibility in Arkansas, where state politicians are arguing over the suitability of both, and the state lottery, along with the Oaklawn Park thoroughbred racetrack in Hot Springs, Arkansas are lobbying to keep these permissions alive. Gov. Mike Beebe on Friday added a proposal …
Syracuse, NY police raided a second cybercafe this week under the state’s relatively new laws against online internet cafe sweepstakes gambling (see previous report). A North Carolina man in charge of the cybercafe, Chan Ji Byung (51), was arrested in the midday raid and charged with illegal gambling activities, and the local sheriff’s office reported …