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QuickFire, powered by the award winning Microgaming software provider, announced this week it has signed partnership deals with two new operators. Both Cashball Network and Red Star Poker are set to provide its industry leading flash based casino content. For those who are unfamiliar with the casino operator Cashball Network, it is owned by NYX Interactive and is based in the Isle of Man. Red Star Poker is considerably better known in the industry being a well-established online poker site. New Games It is reported that both Cashball Network and Red Star Poker will launch their platforms with QuickFire in a move that will enhance their existing offerings and expand their collection of games. Both operators are anticipating positive feedback from their most loyal players following the switch over to QuickFire which was only recently launched itself in October 2010. Nevertheless, it already hosts more than 150 of the most popular Microgaming titles, including the cult favorites Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lord of the Rings. Better Game Play Many have been quick to praise QuickFire for providing smooth and flawless game play. However, players are not the only ones standing to benefit from the development as operators will also enjoy the advantage of regular game releases, a steady stream of new Microgaming content, intuitive documentation and testing tools which will minimise integration schedules.
In breaking news this week, the Nordic operator Betsafe has been acquired by the Betsson Group in a strategic move that it is set to boost the growth of both companies. Betsson owns and operates the successful Betsson Casino, Betsson Poker and Betsson Sportsbook. Betsafe operates the Betsafe Sportsbook. Competitive Market "We strengthen our position in the Nordic region," says Pontus Lindwall, Betsson CEO, "as well as our organisation when merging two profitable companies, each of which has proven its ability to gain market share in a highly competitive market environment." The already successful companies share a common vision to further develop and become the largest and most profitable players in the market. For the most part it will be business as usual for players and affiliates alike with Betsafe's strong promotional scheme continuing on the same course. Even Betsafe's staff and management team will stay on board. The Business Deal Betsafe is a privately owned operator and the deal is reported to have valued it at up to €60m (£52.2m).Betsson will pay an initial €32.5m in cash and shares for Betsafe, with a further €27.5m payable conditional on the development of the acquisition and the integration thereof during 2011. Betsafe is listed on the Stockholm stock exchange and has posted enviable profits in the past years. Apparently it managed to increase revenues nearly 120% during 2010. Both Betsafe and Betsson hold operating licences in Malta and sit on the Ongame poker network.
Black Friday is not a single day event. The repercussions of the US Department of Justice crackdown on US-facing online poker sites (PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker) has convinced Doyle Brunson to end his contract with DoylesRoom. The future of the poker site is up in the air. A request for comment from DoylesRoom has yet to be replied. We will provide their comment as soon as it arrives, here on Online Casino Reports. Sayonara The 10-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, Brunson, will no longer be affiliated with the online poker site. In his statement to gambling911, Brunson said: "Reluctantly, I have decided to terminate my endorsement contract with Doylesroom.com. It pains me to leave at this time. I have aspirations of reentering the online poker business when the United States Government passes legislation, that officially legalize online poker sites." Brunson also addressed the future of the poker room that bears his name: "Although they believe they have the right to market the name Doyles Room and to use my name and likeness for a period of time, I have asked them not to." On a High Note DoylesRoom has only recently switched to a new software client, and joined the Yatahay poker network. Also online, Brunson maintains his popular blog and twitter account. Stay tuned for more information, as it's available.
The relationship between Playtech and William Hill, who have partnered to create William Hill Online in 2009, has since soured. The two companies were headed to court next week, before reaching an agreement to avert the court face-off. Software provider Playtech, which holds a share of 29% in the joint venture, was in talks with UK bookmaker Ladbrokes plc, a rival of William Hill, when the latter secured an injunction against certain Playtech business moves. This injunction has now been removed, the companies said, and new terms have been reached between the companies. A new clause in the relationship between the software provider and the UK bookmaker prohibits Playtech from licensing its software to "a UK land-based gambling operator." Both companies are traded - William Hill plc as LSE:WMH and Playtech Ltd as AIM:PTEC. Their respective shares have seen slight rises since the announcement. Furthermore, it is largely due to its share in the William Hill venture that had Playtech's share of profit gain 34 percent to 9.9 million euros, according to financial reports released in late April.
The red-hot Chicago Bulls are now favorites to beat the Miami Heat in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, although in a weird twist the Heat are still championship favorite as they are considered more likely to beat their opponent from the West. Chicago Aims for Seventh Title The Bulls, who are aiming for their seventh title but their first in the post-Jordan era, have a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven series against Miami, and now carry 20/27 William Hill odds to win the series, against Miami, 23/20. In the West, the online sportsbook is offering odds of 5/11 on the Dallas Mavericks to go through to the NBA finals, with Kevin Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder considered just an outside 9/5 chance. The championship odds see Miami, 7/4, lead Chicago, 9/4, Dallas, 11/4, and the Thunder, 11/2. More Ways to Bet William Hill gives you plenty of ways to bet on the NBA playoffs, with online and mobile betting on a variety of match, scoring and player options. Check out the Match Winner section of the sportsbook to find out if the basketball is being featured as part of Hill's daily promotions on major sporting events with enhanced odds.
PokerStars has returned more than $100 million to players from the United States who had money in their online accounts at the poker room, the company announced just before the weekend. Funds Returned after Black Friday PokerStars and rival online poker giant Full Tilt Poker both struck deals in April with the US Department of Justice to unfreeze their domain names following Black Friday to allow them to process payments and return funds held by US players at the sites. The founders of the two sites were among 11 gambling officials indicted by US prosecutors in New York on April 15 over illegal gambling and other federal charges. Absolute Poker Strikes Agreement Now, as the two bigger poker sites continue to release funds, it appears that the third site involved in the indictment - Canadian-based Absolute Poker - will also begin to do so after finally reaching a deal with prosecutors to unfreeze their domain. Prosecutors said in a press release last week that the deal does not allow the restoration of the domain names used by Absolute Poker. The company said that it must still resolve legal issues before repaying its American customers.
It has been a full month since the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shut down three of the world's biggest poker sites: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, in what was quickly dubbed "Black Friday." That was April 15, and the immediate effects were clear: confused gambling sites' operators, concerned online poker players, and yes, an immediate surge in shares of London-listed gaming companies (888, William Hill, and others). Now, with a full month's perspective since April 15, we can look at what "Black Friday" has created for us in the Internet gambling world. How devastating is this development for working online poker pros in the US? That really depends a lot on a how much a player played live, how comfortable they are with live play, and their ability to now travel and have the roll/backing for live events. Obviously it's a lot less devastating to players who play a lot of live poker or are at least comfortable and able to play a lot more live poker, but it's definitely going to be devastating to a lot of players who rely on online poker only as an income and can't transition to live for any of several reasons. I know a lot of my friends are in a tougher spot than I am, but despite my other revenue streams and my ability to play a lot of live poker this will definitely have a negative impact on my income in the near future. The future of online poker in the US - unknown. The allure of European online poker companies - excellent, thanks you, with small and medium size operators getting a chance to show off their reliable sites and gain new customers. Las Vegas and Atlantic City - not likely to get more visitors as playing online has become less attractive for US players. US law - the move was not high in popularity, and might in fact help put in perspective the ongoing "prohibition" of online gambling in the 21st century USA. Affiliates - some have long ago switched to non-US poker sites, and surely some are switching to other markets altogether, like dating and what not. Players - cashouts are underway, so that's a big relief.
Players of Roulette Pro and the video slot Hulk have been the beneficiaries of some massive jackpot payouts in recent weeks, thanks to leading online casino William Hill. Big May Jackpots May has been a particularly big month for online casino jackpots at site, with Roulette Pro providing one of the largest sums when a player known as Krishan HK picked up a magnificent £25,500 prize, while Eumeng C won £23,500,Ayman M took home £3,300 and Jake D. received the handy sum of £2,940. Over at the Hulk video slot, which is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, several players won in excess of two grand, including Jose M, who pocketed €2,750, Richard W., who won £2,850 and Thuy Bich Ngan T., who claimed £2,020 this week. bet365 Delivers Too Other casinos are delivering too when it comes to jackpot, and our readers would know that we recently reported about a bet365 Casino slots player named Steven M who won a massive £101,705 on the Wall Street Fever progressive jackpot game. Incredibly, his big win followed a payday of $335,000 for a player named Mr J, who struck the jackpot on the exact same game shortly prior to Steven M's win.
In updating the review of Ladbrokes Poker, we've come across some new and exciting features. Twitter updates, table action and Cash game Ante tables will surely improve your online poker experience. We list them here: Post your tournament results on your Twitter - a new tweet button on tournament "Play Complete" pop-ups will update all your Twitter followers with your latest poker results. New Arcade View Table Layout - cards are 40% bigger, tables can be resized by players, mini view options, and saved personal preferences as your defaults on Ladbrokes Poker. Queue Table Actions - if there is a table that your turn comes up on, that table will pop to the front. Never miss a hand and never miss your turn! Late Registration Tournaments - if the tournament has already begun, you can still register and join. Now, with alerts more visible, a late registration icon will show on the lobby. Improved poker client performance - tables load and react faster than ever! Auto Top Up - top up your table balance automatically, as soon as it drops below a predetermined threshold. You control everything on the Ladbrokes cash games. Improved Waiting List - get invited to tables with available seats, or join new tables set up by the system if enough people are on the waiting list to begin with. It's a smarter, more dynamic system. 5-minute Sit Out Time - if you want to, simply sit out on full tables for five minutes. Easy and convenient indeed. New Bet Slider - personalize and configure the Bet Slider to suit your own playing style. Parameters include: game type, game limit and raise by, raise to and raise total. DeepStack cash tables - "DeepStack" No Limit Hold'em cash tables now available on Ladbrokes, from 0.25/0.50 up to 5/10. Cash game Ante tables - regular cash games, with bigger pots! New No-Limit and Pot-Limit ante cash games now on Ladbrokes, just like they're played on Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker. Play like the pros! Survivor Tournaments - another element adds to tournaments, with the players with the smallest chip stacks removed from the tournament at certain times. It's faster, and exciting. Double up Sit 'n Go tournaments + Bounty Sit and Go Tournaments and Double Buy-Ins for re-buy Multi-Table Tournaments, and much, much more. Give Ladbrokes Poker a try!
In the latest step in the move towards opening the Italian gaming market, Evolution Gaming was recently granted approval by the Italian gaming authority, AAMS, to begin operating. Evolution Gaming is widely regarded as the leading expert in live dealer gaming. The first online casinos in the Italian market to benefit from Evolution Gaming's expertise will be Microgame and 888. First Live Casino The green light from the gaming authority means that Evolution Gaming will be able to stream real-time interactive live casino games such as roulette, blackjack and baccarat. The Italian online gaming market is considered the biggest in Europe in terms of revenue and thus quite a coup for Evolution Gaming to be the first live casino provider officially certified by AAMS. The massive advantage for hot casino favourites, like 888, who are going to do business with Evolution Gaming, is they will have dedicated tables and thus full control over branding. The famous 888 logo and design will appear across the tables, cards and dealers' uniforms. Italian players at 888 casino are expected to warmly receive the development as the games will be streamed in TV quality and offer live chat amongst the dealers. This is as close as it gets to gaming in a real bricks and mortar casino but from the comfort of your own home.
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