The political debate in the Czech Republic over hiking tax rates on gambling from the current rate across all genres of 20 percent seems to have evolved a new two-tier concept which would introduce a 23 percent tax rate on sports betting but a 28 percent rate for casino games and lotteries, whether online or …
Six unnamed German entrepreneurs have launched a new Bitcoin-denominated online gambling website using proprietary technology and introducing a novel form of gambling not dissimilar to the old Pac-man game. Branded Chopcoin.io, the site has proved popular in its first few days post-launch and invites players to buy-in to a game in which each controls a …
To the dismay of digital businesses located there, the Council of Ministers for Jersey, one of the Channel Islands which has diversified its economy by setting up an e-gaming jurisdiction, has embarked on a consultative initiative to determine whether online gaming is a viable way to do so. ITV reports that there are fears that …
Newcomer eSports betting company Unikrn, which has been generating column inches as it raises capital and attracts celebrity investors like actor Ashton Kutcher, has unveiled a new proprietary platform branded Unikrn Arena Global, along with Unikoins, a new virtual currency for use on the platform. Unikrn CEO Rahul Sood said a companion app titled Unikrn …
The Football Federation of Australia has approved the extension of its partnership agreement with digital sports media group Perform in a deal which will see the latter providing its services through to the 2018 FIFA World Cup competition. The agreement, first signed in 2014, requires Perform to ensure the collection, production, packaging and distribution of …
888 Holdings has issued a statement in response to the news Friday that Bwin-Party directors have recommended the acquisition bid of rival GVC Holdings. The statement notes that the Bwin-Party board has withdrawn its support for the 888 Holdings bid, and accordingly the cooperation agreement between 888 and Bwin dated 17 July has been terminated. …
The Montreal-based online gambling group Amaya Inc., has wasted no time in re-branding and relaunching its Victiv daily fantasy sports betting acquisition (see previous report) under the new identity StarsDraft, which launched Thursday. Amaya has retained the services of the experienced original management of Victiv in its venture into the booming DFS sector, although it …
Sweden’s gambling regulator Lotteriinspektionen released Q2-2015 and H1-2015 market statistics this week, reporting overall market NGR in the half-year of SEK 9.92 billion…but around 20 percent of it going to unlicensed offshore operators. In H1-2015 terms, licensed operators in land and online enterprises generated GGR of SEK 7.9 billion, achieving a small 0.03 percent year-on-year …
The debate in Australia around the legality of in-play betting from mobile and desktop devices (see previous reports) has prompted one operator – Crownbet – to eschew the lucrative form of betting until the legal position is clearer. Matthew Tripp, Crownbet’s chief executive, told the Sydney Morning Herald this week that his company has had …
Caesars Interactive Entertainment has been given permission by the New Jersey regulator to host internet gaming content for the Delaware State Lottery on its Atlantic City servers, another step forward in inter-state cooperation on online gaming. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement approval Thursday means that SG Interactive, a division of Scientific Games, can …
Operating an online gambling ring in Vietnam can have serious personal consequences, as 56 defendants discovered in a Ho Chi Minh City court this week when sentences ranging from nine months to 8 years imprisonment were handed down. The defendants had earlier been found guilty of online gambling offences allegedly associated with the 1888bet.com gambling …
The board of directors for Bwin Party Digital Entertainment decided Thursday night to switch their approval from 888 Holdings to GVC Holdings in the bidding war for the company, according to a report in the respected and usually well-informed Telegraph newspaper. Since July this year the Bwin directors have stood by their recommendation that 888 …
After years of false starts and political cogitation, the Irish online gambling regulatory and licensing regime for online gambling operators accessing the Irish market finally came to fruition August 1 and has been followed by the release of a list of 27 operators who have been successful in achieving licensed status. The list includes the …
Clarion Events, the UK expo and conference organiser perhaps best known in the industry for its International Casino Expo (ICE Totally Gaming) annual events, has secured a majority partnership in the US company Urban Expositions. The agreement allows Urban Expositions to maintain its existing corporate identity, executive management team, event staff, brands and events, statement …
There can be few nicer places to take a professional course than Malta, where the inaugural Totally Gaming Academy’s Online Gaming Masterclass is currently underway at the Dragonara land casino. Given the large online gambling business community on the Mediterranean island, it is an appropriate location for the first of these educational events, with a …
The retail division of Playtech plc has announced that it is integrating its retail software across more than half of Talarius’ Quicksilver-branded UK high street Adult Gaming Centres (AGC). In partnership with SG Gaming, Playtech will work closely with Talarius over the coming months in order to ensure the smooth migration from its existing platform …
Online gambling operator 888 Holdings has announced the launch of major brands in regulated markets Romania and Denmark following the procurement of licenses from the respective regulators. The company has been authorised to launch three of its prominent online brands, as part of the business’s ongoing strategy to expand into the regulated gaming market. 888poker, …
Daily fantasy sports provider FanDuel has more than quadrupled its head office accommodation following a move to a 14 floor building on New York’s upmarket Madison Avenue – boosting office space from 9,000 sq. ft. to 41,000 sq. ft. at a cost of $3.3 million. The office accommodation costs pale in comparison with the tens …
Las Vegas Sands mogul Sheldon Adelson continues to fight against a Las Vegas district court’s decision that it has jurisdiction to hear a “wrongful termination” case initiated by former Sands China CEO Steven Jacobs (see previous reports). Adelson’s legal team had argued that the issue fell under the jurisdiction of Macau, but Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez …
The legality (or not) of daily fantasy sports seems to be creating a widening debate on the booming vertical and the differences between the daily genre and the traditional seasonal format which successfully achieved carve-outs in federal law (see previous reports). The latest influential personality to express an opinion is Rick Kalm, the executive director …
Betfair chief executive Breon Corcoran has more than the Paddy Power merger on his mind this week, according to Irish media reports – the European investor advisory group and corporate monitor Pensions and Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) has come out in opposition to his pay deal. Betfair shareholders have been urged by an influential body …
The European Gaming and Betting Association, a trade body representing the interests of most of Europe’s major gambling companies, has thrown down the gauntlet on lottery licenses issued to Dutch companies last year, challenging the process as “non-transparent and discriminatory” in a formal complaint to Kansspelautoriteit, the regulator. The multi-year licenses were awarded to De …
The British Gambling Commission is planning to advise the government on what fee structure changes may be necessary to take account of the significant changes in the population of operators that it regulates and to address identified problems in the current fees structure. The previous coalition government indicated that it would consider reviewing the Commission’s …
Genesis Gaming announced Wednesday that it is about to launch a new line of video slots tailored for the American social casino market. Titled The Vegas Line, the new range consists of games optimised for mobile play, developed by designers with experience in both American land-based slots and in European online gaming. Since land-based casino …