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England and Scotland renew football's oldest rivalry with a friendly match at Sheffield's Bramall Lane tonight, but this isn't any ordinary encounter between the Auld Enemies - it is actually a match between their Under-21 squads which takes place 24 hours before a match between the two senior squads at Wembley. England goes into this match as favorite, but it will have to without a couple of its stars after Luke Shaw and Tom Ince pulled out with injury. Shaw limped off in the first half of a Southampton pre-season friendly with a knee problem, while no reason has been given for Ince's withdrawal. Roy Hodgson is in charge of the Young Lions until the Football Association finds a long-term replacement for Stuart Pearce, whose contract was not renewed following the teams disappointing campaign at Euro 2013 in Israel - when England finished in last place in its group. William Hill Sports would never miss an opportunity to cover a match as big as this, which is why it is offering the full spread of pre-match betting options including match markets, goal markets, 5 minute markets and specials. England goes in 4/7 favorite in the hours leading up to the match, with a draw listed at 11/4 and Scotland at 5/1. Headline offers are: Connor Wilkham to score and England U21 to win, 7/4, Tony Watt to score in a Scotland U21 win, 14/1. Hill is offering live betting on England-Scotland U21 tonight (and England-Scotland at Wembley tomorrow). Just log into your Hill account, select In-Play Betting and then tonight's match to find up-to-the-second betting odds.
William Hill, the United Kingdom's largest bookmaker, recently acquired the successful Australian betting company, Tom Waterhouse, for a nice chunk of change; $34 million to be exact. What this means is that William Hill will now have access to Tom Waterhouse's extensive client list; and this is what is causing anti-gambling advocates to worry. Tim Costello, chair of the Australian Churches Gambling Task Force, fears that William Hill will now use their client list to target gamblers with personalized offers that will end up losing money for players and increasing revenue for the company. For example, William Hill can offer losing players higher odds and winning players lower odds. But as Gary Robinson, editor of horseracingaustralia points out, this is exactly how bookmakers make money - through manipulating the client list and targeting offers to players based on their past gambling history. Robinson adds that this is not only bad news for novice gamblers, but for professional and semi-professional gamblers as well; when William Hill analyzes that data and looks for winners, they will then discourage them from placing bets. The discouragement, of course, will not be outright, but through targeted specials, raising of odds and other manipulations. The worries caused by this acquisition are further validated by the fact that in March of this year, William Hill acquired the company Sporting Bet for a whopping $670 million. Robinson fears that William Hill will not stop with two and will continue to buy-out Australian betting companies until it becomes a powerhouse in Australia.
In the NFL, even the slightest injury to a star player can make the headlines: which is exactly what happened when Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles was sidelined from pre-season practice Monday. Jamaal's Right Foot The Pro Bowl running back had his right foot looked at by two orthopaedic surgeons, who confirmed that he had suffered a mild strain. The Chiefs are clearly not taking any risks with less than a month to go till the NFL season starts, pulling Charles from training for an indefinite period of time. One possible reason for all the hype around Charles' injury is the rumor that he has suffered a Lisfranc fracture, a mid-foot injury that plagued ex-Chiefs running back Larry Johnson. However, Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder hosed down speculation, saying that "he doesn't have any discomfort there." Odds Are Not Good The Chiefs were hoping to start the 2013 NFL season strongly following a disastrous 2012 campaign in which they tied (with Jacksonville) for the National Football League's worst regular season record - two wins and 14 losses. If William Hill Sports' odds are any indication, this season will be a slight improvement - the Chiefs are 66/1, ahead of seven teams. These are currently the leading clubs in Hill's NFL title online betting odds: Denver Broncos, 6/1, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, 8/1, New England Patriots, 9/1, Green Bay Packers, 12/1, Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints, 16/1, defending champs Baltimore Ravens, 20/1, and all other clubs 25/1 or over.
InterCasino customers have been enjoying summertime fun in the Sizzlin' Slots Race since August 9. For those who haven't opted in yet, the promo concludes at 11:59pm today, August 14 with a grand prize draw. Sizzlin' Slots Race To participate in the Sizzlin' Slots Race on the final day, simply log into your account and go to the bonuses section to claim 100% up to €50. Select any of the 19 qualifying slots, including: Battle for Olympus, Medusa, Millionaires Club III, Native Treasure, Rags to Riches, and Wild Panda. Four newly released slots are also included in the promo: Silk Road, Lets Go Fishin', 300 Shields and Money Farm. Compete with others to rise your way to the top of the leaderboard. The player that earns the most comp points over this three-day period (the promo was split into two three-day comps) wins €500. Second, third and fourth win €300, €200 and €100 respectively, while 5 th to 10 th win €50 each. Grand Prize Draw The leaderboard prizes are just the tip of the iceberg as far as huge cash prizes are concerned. Every player who competes in the Sizzlin' Slots Race and plays one of the selected video slots earns automatic entry into the Grand Prize Draw where winners will share €1000 in cash prizes. On August 16, InterCasino will select the Grand Prize Draw winners at random. First place will win a €500 cash prize, while the first runner-up will win €300 in cash and the second runner-up will receive €200.
888 Holdings, one of the world's leading operators of online poker and online casino games, said this week that it will launch its product under its name in New Jersey this year when a ban on Internet gambling ends there. 888 New Jersey 888 has an existing agreement to provide its technology to Caesars Interactive Entertainment, one of the Atlantic City casino operators already preparing to service the online gambling market. But 888 CEO Brian Mattingley said the firm would maximize revenues by launching sites with its own brand. Mattingley refused to detail how much 888 was willing to spend in the eastern US state, but said it would be carefully controlled. He called expert forecasts of $450m in total annual gaming revenues "a bit rich," but would not be drawn into providing his own estimate of the market size. US Internet Gaming Center Thirty seven companies submitted application for New Jersey online gambling licenses before the July deadline, including three firms that are already licensed for land-based gambling. State authorities are expected to make an announcement soon on which companies were successful. New Jersey is one of three states that has legalized some form of Internet gambling in the past year, and looks set to play a leading role in the expansion of egaming across the USA. The other two states are Nevada, which has already seen the launch of an intrastate online poker site, and Delaware.
Back in early 2012, leading company IGT bought DoubleDown Interactive for the sum of $500 million. Recently it has been revealed that IGT's investment turned out to be a big success: DoubleDown was responsible for $61.4 million of the $579 million in revenue of IGT for the quarter which ended with June 2013. The fees paid by players for the acquisition of additional gambling tokens was more than double, when compared with the same numbers quarter a year ago - a growth of 60 percent in a very short timeframe. DoubleDown's highly popular Facebook casino application has a big role in this revenue boom. Third Highest Grossing Facebook Application The purchase by IGT back in early 2012 was accompanied by mixed views as many analysts were critical of the move. But seeing that DoubleDown's Facebook application is the third among the highest grossing applications as for today, it is safe to say that the investment was a smart one on IGT's behalf. Wells Fargo securities gaming analyst, Cameron McKnight, said that DoubleDown is turning into one of IGT's best acquisitions; he predicted that that it can continue growing profitably. More Games to Come John Vandemore, IGT Chief Financial Officer, said that DoubleDown allowed for the increase of 105 percent in the company's revenues. IGT plans to continue transitioning its land-based slots into virtual format while DoubleDown creates its original games. These are also expected to be rolled out in New Jersey once the state starts offering online gambling later this year.
The burning question of online poker's legality seems even more difficult to answer, after the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a lower court ruling which found that online poker is a game of skill. Second Court Ruling The Second Circuit, which was hearing an appeal in the United States v. DiCristina, did not overrule the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York's landmark ruling that poker is a game in which skill is the predominant factor in determining the eventual outcome. However, the court did confuse the legal questions surrounding online poker by determining that the Illegal Gambling Business Act does not determine an independent federal definition of gambling, but rather incorporates state law. Does Skill Matter? Opponents of online gambling, such as Chicago gambling law attorney Mark Lavery, immediately pounced on the decision. Lavery was quoted by Forbes as saying that the Second Circuit's decision proves that "the ‘game of skill' argument was a lie perpetrated by online poker companies to deceive consumers." Poker Players Alliance chief John Pappas rejected these outlandish claims, maintaining that skill is what matters most. He said that the court decision "only adds to the growing call for federal clarity on the definition of gambling," adding that the Second Circuit "Clearly did not dispute the district court's findings that poker is a game of skill."
It might have escaped football fans' attention in the mess that is the FIFA international fixture, but amongst a few friendlies including England v. Scotland and Italy v. Argentina, there is actually one official match taking place tonight - a crucial World Cup 2014 qualifier between Northern Ireland and Russia. The match was due to be played in March but heavy snow forced officials to postpone the game. It was supposed to be played the following day, but once again snow covered the Windsor Park pitch, forcing FIFA officials to reschedule the game for August 14. Now that the game has finally come around, the Northern Irish are even more desperate for a win. They haven't won at home in 13 matches and sit in fifth place in the six-team Group F with just three points from five games. Russia are in the box seat with 12 points from five games, just behind top-placed Portugal (14 from 7) and ahead of Israel (11 from 6).Bet365 Sports is delivering its customers the complete set of pre-match betting on the N. Ireland-Russia qualifier. Given the respective circumstances, Russia obviously enters the game as heavy favorites to take all three points. For those who can't access the game on TV or prefer to do their viewing over the Internet, bet365's online sportsbook will be streaming the game live to customers. This is a perfect way to complement their in-play betting service - log in during tonight's qualifier to place a live wager, with the odds updated live before your eyes as the action takes place on the pitch.
Just 24 hours after England Under-21 squad gave football fans around the country reason for hope by demolishing Scotland Under 21 to the tune of six goals to nil, the English and Scotland senior squads meet in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium tonight that will be, well, less than friendly. England and Scotland have played each other 110 times, more than any other two nations. Incredibly, they have only met three times in the past quarter-century and not once in an organised friendly. England won their Euro 1996 clash 2-0 and downed their old rival 2-1 over two legs in a Euro 2000 qualifier. No wonder then that there is so much excitement surrounding this match. The English FA have done a lot of "intelligence work" with English and Scottish police to prepare for the rush of fans from north of the border, but hopefully once the game kicks off everyone can concentrate on the action on - rather than off - the pitch. William Hill Sports knows that people all around the UK and the world love England-Scotland football contests, which is why it is offering its complete range of pre-match betting options including match result (England 4/9, Scotland 15/2, draw 7/2), goalscorer and 5 minute markets and other specials. Hill is offering all three Football Concessions promos on tonight's match and the other international friendlies taking place around the globe - Acca Insurance, Goalscorer Second Chance and Bore Draw Insurance all ensure money back under varying conditions. As you would expect, Hill's online sportsbook will be at Wembley bringing you live betting throughout the entire 90 minutes. So whether it's England, Scotland or a draw, you can place in-play bets during the game, with Hill providing up-to-the second odds on match result and other scenarios.
Harry Reid unsuccessfully tried to get an online poker bill passed during 2012. That effort fell on deaf ears, but the issue has been raised again and now the momentum seems to be on Reid's side. Sources close to Harry Reid have hinted that the Nevada Senator may well relaunch his efforts to bring legislation to bear on online poker gaming in the US. In tandem with Reid's efforts to legalize online poker, will be stronger legislation against other forms of online gambling. Gambling States Cooperate for the Passing of a Bill Both New Jersey and Nevada have combined forces to set up a regulatory committee to explore the possibilities with the online poker industry. A surprise supporter of regulating the online poker industry in the US is none other than the Venetian's owner - Sheldon Adelson. Once a staunch opponent of legalized online poker, Adelson appears to have done a 180-degree turn and is now supportive of the measure. All the hoopla around the potential passing of the bill is likely related to moves in California towards regulated online gambling. Nevadans fear that if California legalizes online poker, a massive slice of the gambling market will be lost to the state of Nevada. Multiple states are exploring the possibilities of legalizing online poker within their territories. These include Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Delaware and California.
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