A 57-year-old divorced grandmother and book keeper lived the high life as a VIP online gambler but in reality obtained her money through defrauding her employers, and earned just GBP 3,000 a month, a UK court in Maidstone was told this week. Caroline Dumont was convicted of stealing almost a million pounds from the companies …
According to the Spanish national gambling regulator Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), the introduction of online slots has contributed to encouraging third quarter improvement for the internet gambling sector. Online gambling revenues were up 36 percent y-o-y to Euro 84.2 million, the regulator said, acknowledging that the introduction of slots to 20 licensees …
For the second time in the last few months the progressive jackpot on Yggdrasil’s Joker Millions has been hit, this time by a German player who was awarded Euro 460,052 in a lucky early Christmas present. The first progressive jackpot game launched by Yggdrasil, Joker Millions was won just eight days after it was launched …
British online games supplier Realistic Games has launched what it claims are the world’s two most popular blackjack side bet games. Perfect Pairs and 21+3, which are both licenced by table games specialist Games Marketing, are proven performers in land-based and online casinos around the world, a company spokesman said Monday, claiming that as well …
Online gambling games developer ELK Studios has announced the imminent launch (on December 16) of its latest slot, titled DJ Wild and featuring a disc jockey theme with attendant music over the sound effects. DJ Wild is a classic 5 reel, 3 row DJ video slot featuring Respins, Sticky Wilds, Expanding Wilds and a Jackpot …
The games development studio of online gambling software provider Playtech plc has launched a premium branded online slot game inspired by the smash-hit Jim Carrey comedy, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. The game has a dynamic 243 Ways-to-Win format where players uncover missing animals which, when collected and combined, unlock bonus rounds including ‘Animal Modifiers’ and …
Robbie Cooke, the CEO of gambling group Tatts in Australia started the week by assuring local media that there is very little support among Aussie punters for online in-play betting, and criticised international gambling groups pushing for the genre to be legalised. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Cooke said there was little evidence that …
Spicing up the weekend was a speculative report in the Huffington Post claiming that Las Vegas Sands billionaire owner Sheldon Adelson – renowned for his fanatical opposition to online gambling – may be the power and the money behind the recent acquisition of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and its sister publications. The sale of the …
Malaysian police continued a round of renewed anti-online gambling raids (see previous reports) over the weekend, arresting over two hundred people and seizing computers and other evidence. A police spokesman in Kuching revealed to local media outlets that provincial and district Criminal Investigation Departments have intensified action against cyber gambling throughout the province of Sarawak. …
Moves to beef up supervision of the use of China UnionPay cards in Macau pawn shops – long believed to be a workaround on China’s stringent currency controls by gamblers – could prove to be another blow to the struggling gambling island, say industry observers. The Macau Monetary Authority has just confirmed that it is …
Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands land casino group in the USA is on another purge of online casinos illegally using its trademarks and titles, it appears from filings in the US District Court for Nevada. Following the filings, U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon ordered web-hosting company GoDaddy.com and internet registrar Domains by Proxy LLC to …
The UK Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) has announced that it has commissioned independent research company Sophro Ltd to complete a study of online gambling behaviour which will investigate the causes of harm in online gambling. The research is the third strand to be announced from the independent gambling charity’s £750,000 eighteen-month programme of research into …
The national police in China have reported the successful conclusion of a major anti-online gambling operation that has included raids in the Hunan and Guangdong provinces to break up major online gambling networks which spokesmen claim handled around US$78 billion in wagers. Police reported the arrests of 98 individuals in the raids, which shut down …
The ink was barely dry on New York judge Manuel Mendez’s order restraining daily fantasy sports firms DraftKings and FanDuel from operating in New York state (see previous report) when the two companies launched appeals…and they were successful, with an appeals court lifting the temporary Mendez injunction until the legality of DFS can be properly …
Online sports betting operator Dafabet has extended its snooker sponsorship commitments (it is currently sponsor of the Masters tournament) by signing up as the title sponsor for a new tournament, titled the Dafabet Gibraltar Open. The sponsorship is effective immediately, and the inaugural event will run until December 13, featuring respected names like Mark Selby, …
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been successful in his quest for a temporary injunction restraining DraftKings from operating in New York until such time as the question of daily fantasy sports legality has been decided. Following over a week of consideration, New York Supreme Court judge Manuel J. Mendez ruled Friday that DraftKings …
Top video games developer EA has announced the formation of an eSports unit it has titled Competitive Gaming Division. Led by Peter Moore, the division will focus on growing the eSports community of players, developing live events, broadcasting and creating eSports competitions using popular company games such as FIFA, Battlefield and Madden.
The UK government’s minister for sports, Tracey Crouch MP has backed a call by the Responsible Gambling Trust for UK licensed companies to honour their commitment to donate 0.1 percent of Gross Gambling Yield to combatting problem gambling. The call was initially made earlier this week by RGT chairman Neil Goulden, who reminded operators of …
Seattle-based online slot developer FlowPlay has launched Vegas World Free Slots, a robust six-slot multiplayer mobile social casino available for download in the Google Play store for Android devices and coming soon to iOS. The free-to-play games boast multiplayer and social functionality allowing players to chat with friends, share virtual goods, and play their favourite …
Chris Grove, a gambling industry analyst, told an informational forum on daily fantasy sports set up by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission this week (see previous reports) that entry fees have declined at major DFS operators following the recent furore over “insider” allegations and increased scrutiny by the media and law enforcement agencies. Grove, who is …
The respected Nevada gambling publication Las Vegas Review-Journal and sister publications has been sold to News + Media Capital Group LLC, a newly formed Delaware-domiciled company backed by “undisclosed financial backers with expertise in the media industry.” Michael Schroeder, the manager of News + Media, announced the sale to company employees this week but did …
Racetrack wagering technology provider Sportech Racing-Digital has signed up to provide Sports Network Limited in Vietnam with a new central betting and terminal system for deployment to racetracks in Vung Tau Madagui and Xuan Thanh. The contract involves the provision of a new central pari-mutuel betting system, as well as on-going maintenance and support, and …
New Jersey has been successful in its petition that the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals should re-consider its sports-betting legalisation case that has been waged against US sports leagues and the Department of Justice for several years (see previous reports). The re-hearing will take place on February 17 next year before a full bench …
In yet another indication of the phenomenal popularity of eSports, the League of Legends grand final between the Koo Tigers and SK Telecom teams this week attracted an audience of 36 million unique viewers. The publication Riot reported on the viewer figures from this year’s finals, a five week-long event that spanned multiple countries. Because …