With its eyes firmly on the burgeoning eSports business space, social gaming network Zengaming raised $2.8 million in funding this week, with Australian land casino group Crown Resorts leading the round in its efforts to push further into the eSports competitive video gaming phenomenon. Other investors include financial firms NFX Guild, 500 Startups, iAngels, and …
The Rank Group’s Grosvenor Casinos – the largest land casino chain in the UK – has signed up for Playtech’s cloud-based Neon casino management system, which is already installed and operating across 43 UK casinos in the Genting stable. Grosvenor operates 55 venues across Britain and, once integration is complete, Playtech will be able to …
Online gambling HTML5 software developer Core Gaming has inked a game distribution deal with UK online gambling powerhouse Betfair-Paddy Power. The company revealed in a statement Thursday that the agreement will initially cover five of Core’s most successful titles, including Scratch 4, Sky’s the Limit, Beehive Bedlam and 3 Card Brag, with the games set …
A new survey by Moody’s Investors Service makes an optimistic assessment on the industry, saying there are good growth opportunities despite pressure from increasing taxes and regulation. Titled “Gaming — Europe: Online Gamblers Will Drive Growth for European Gaming Companies”, the report notes that online gaming markets like online poker, casino, sports betting, bingo and …
The Greek government has once again committed to properly and fairly regulating and licensing online gambling in order to replace the highly contentious 24 “temporary” licenses issued and then revoked by government last year, triggering legal actions. But according to Parliamentary discussions this week a new process will likely bring with it an increase in …
Swedish online gambling games developer NetEnt launched its next offering in the NetEnt Rocks series Thursday with the release of the much-anticipated Jimi Hendrix online slot Following hot on the heels of Guns N’ Roses – one of NetEnt’s most successful game launches ever – the Jimi Hendrix game gives players the full Purple …
UK online and land gambling group Ladbrokes has posted its Q1-2016 results, noting that bookie-negative outcomes from this year’s Cheltenham horse racing took some of the shine off performance, but that digital operations continued to impress. In Digital, Ladbrokes.com and Exchanges net revenue increased by 38.4 percent with strong growth in both sportsbook and gaming. …
The US state of Tennessee will likely become the third to legalise daily fantasy sports competitions if Governor Bill Haslam signs a new bill into state law. The state governors in Indiana and Virginia signed similar measures into law in their states earlier this year (see previous reports) On Tuesday the state Senate agreed on …
Turnkey online casino provider EveryMatrix has launched a new Denmark-facing white label online casino and sportsbook titled Anna Casino for unidentified owners. The enterprise is powered by EveryMatrix’s Danish licensed white label platform and offers games from Microgaming, NetEnt, Play’N GO and Spigo, all integrated through a single casino lobby and e-wallet. Richardt Funch, the …
Illinois Rep. Mike Zalewski’s daily fantasy sports legalisation bill HB 4323 was advanced by the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday and sent to the floor for debate later this week amid concerns by some lawmakers that the measure had not been properly vetted and was moving too fast. “I know this is a controversial bill,” said …
Swedish media reports this week speculated on the reason behind the sudden resignation of Svenska Spel chairperson Anitra Steen (67), who will probably be replaced by Healthcare and SAS executive Erik Strand (64). Local press reports quote Steen as saying that she “could not possibly continue” as chairperson of Svenska Spel following government plans to …
UK Virtual Sports provider Inspired has reported the imminent go-live of its Rush Football Live product at Gala Coral. The premium on-demand and in-play Virtual Sports gaming product will soon be available to Gala Coral customers via online and mobile channels, having first been unveiled at the ICE Totally Gaming show earlier this year. The …
The Illinois House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote today (Wednesday) on whether to progress Rep. Mike Zalewski’s Hoiuse Bill 4323 legalising daily fantasy sports in the state (see previous reports). The bill contains provisions important for player protection such as prohibiting daily fantasy sports operator employees from competing in public competitions, and preventing players …
Alice Springs accountant Johannes Joubert has been convicted in the Alice Springs Supreme Court of stealing A$780,000 from Aboriginal organisations across Central Australia over a four-year period in order to feed an out-of-control online gambling habit. Joubert worked as a bookkeeper for a local accounting services firm and is alleged by the prosecution to have …
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has unleashed a new weapon in its fight against illegal gambling, directing telecommunication companies to terminate more than 8,000 telephone numbers for spreading Short Messaging Services (SMS) for gambling purposes. The Deputy Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Jailani Johari said MCMC had received 416 complaints from the …
US land casino operator Penn National has launched a new Open Wager-powered social casino app titled Hollywood Slots. The app is available for download from the App Store and Google PlayStore and includes exclusive content, along with bonuses focused on Penn National assets and promotions. Virtual hostess Holly presides over a website that offers 40 …
It seems hardly a day passes without some mention of the booming vertical that is eSports, with various predictions on the future of the business and its continued impressive growth. The latest of these studies comes from the respected PricewaterhouseCoopers international business and professional services group’s US offices, and immediately grabs the reader’s attention with …
The Betsson gambling group has posted its Q1-2016 results, flagging revenue growth of 18 percent in the quarter despite a burden of SEK 44.7 million due to exchange rate fluctuations. The group reports that Europe-Bet’s online business increased 37 percent in constant currency, and that strong organic growth in the consumer brands of 21 percent …
Chinese gamblers be warned…online payments provider AliPay – a subsidiary of internet e-commerce giant Alibaba – has threatened to permanently disable accounts repeatedly involved in gambling. The warning came in a company social media post on Weibo, and is associated with Alipay’s latest initiative to crack down on illegal activities that include gambling. Alipay users …
The Caribbean Premier League has confirmed that online gambling group Unibet has approved the extension of its cricket sponsorship agreement and will remain the League’s official betting partner for the next two years. The deal will also see Unibet continue as an official sponsor to the Zouks franchise, which includes international stars such as Shane …
In an advisory bulletin earlier this week New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement director David Rebuck outlined the regulator’s policy regarding the acceptability of licence applications. In summary, he drew a distinction between applicants who have knowingly and deliberately operated in environments they knew to be clearly illegal (i.e. “black markets”) and those where the …
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre has added to its civil proceeding claims currently filed in the Federal Court of Australia against Tabcorp’s NSW and Victorian wagering businesses. Our readers will recall that in July last year AUSTRAC filed papers against three Tabcorp group companies, accusing them of “extensive, significant and systemic non-compliance with …
The alleged ringleader of an illegal online sports betting operation, Anthony (Skinny) Santoro, will soon know whether he is to walk free or face jail time as his three-month trial in the Manhattan Supreme Court draws to a conclusion. The court is due to charge the jury this (Wednesday) morning before the panel retires to …
The Oakland, California-based mobile i-gaming platform provider CashBet has announced the appointment to its board of Stephen Race, a highly experienced US businessman with long associations in the video gaming and financial services industries. Race is currently a portfolio manager at Strategic Turnaround Fund, a hedge fund focused on micro-cap US companies. Prior to STG, …