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Vera and John's recent partnerships with Leander and Quickspin among others has been perceived as the efforts of an already dominant iGaming company getting stronger. Intertain Role in Vera and John Positioning However, not long ago Vera and John recently had to be rescued for adaptation and expansion as a strategic acquisition they represented for Canada's Intertain. The financial impact of Intertain's acquisition of Vera and John has enormous and significant ramifications behind the scenes for stakeholders, and is the catalyst for all the deals you see Vera and John making today. The Original Acquisition The original blockbuster deal to acquire the games provider for $126.1 million is a huge step for Vera and John, which has facilitated new lucrative and expansive deals such as the one between Vera and John partnerships with Leander and Quickspin. First off, Vera and John were acquired by Intertain on a debt-free basis, meaning that the deal enabled Intertain to fund the cash portion of the consideration through a combination of cash-on-hand, and debt. The deal was constructed to relieve Vera and John of debt, so that Intertain as purchaser would receive proceeds against the value of the deal through the exercise of Vera and John's outstanding warrants, counting as credit against the debt for the acquisition as well as the cash payments. Vera and John's leading mobile platform was a valued asset which Intertain sought to turn around by integrating the acquisition with other partners and new holdings. Intertain also gained a fully integrated online casino provider, active in 11 countries, offering 800 games with approximately 490,000 registered customers, and holding their own independent proprietary software. Summing It Up Intertain recognized an expandable entity, and rescued the company from short term regional financial issues that were bogging down its operations. The Vera and John deals with Leander and Quickspin enable Leander to integrate its LeGa open games platform with Vera and John. This in turn enables Leander to strengthen its own client portfolio along with earlier deals struck with other leading gaming providers Full Tilt and Paddy Power in a series of partnerships that will play a significant role in integrating competition in the iGaming industry.
It's a weekend before Christmas and horse racing fans look over to the Ascot racecourse at Berkshire for the annual Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race, the JLT Long Walk Hurdle (2:25pm UK time). The race is run for 5,029 metres, bringing the UK's top jockeys and horses to compete for a first spot prize of around £56,270 out of total purse of £100,000. Tight Race This Year As opposed to other years, this time the number of runners for the Long Walk Hurdle has dwindled. Currently there are only five contestants with exciting big names such as Zarkandar, Medinas and the winner of the last two long walks, Reve De Sivola. Odds Over at online sportsbook bet365, Paul Nicholls' Zarkandar was the highest rated horse in the field today with 5/4. Zarkandar won the Grand Prix D'automne Grade 1 hurdle back in November, what renders him to be a great bet today. In this form Zarkandar is indeed a strong favorite, but he's got some strong competition. Medinas, the winner of last month's bet365 Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, is sitting at 3/1 odds despite some lackluster performances before last month's win. Also at 3/1 is Reve De Sivola which had won the last two Long Walk Hurdles but struggled to impress since last year's win. Offers at bet365 Sports As always, bet365 Sports is going to be right up in the action at Ascot with live broadcasting on Channel 4. This means that punters at bet365 will be able to enjoy the sportsbook's Price Promise which ensures the best prices updated to the minute. The punter-favorite Channel 4/1 offer will also apply for today's races with a free bet given to anyone who has backed a single winner at 4/1 or more in a televised race. Don't miss out on this intriguing race at bet365 Sports today.
Nowadays, sportsbooks are no longer exclusively reserved for overtly masculine sporting events. Instead, punters have the ability to use sites such as William Hill for placing bets across a wide spectrum of events in popular culture. And the latest such event is Strictly Come Dancing, for which William Hill has chosen to provide five possible markets to cover the potential outcomes of the final this Saturday 20 December. Outright Winner The first of the markets is to predict the outright winner of Strictly Come Dancing 2015. For this market, punters have their choice of Caroline Flack, Frankie Bridge, Simon Webbe, and Mark Wright. Ahead of Saturday’s final, the two remaining male participants are considered outsiders compared to the heavily favoured females. Both Caroline Flack and Frankie Bridge are close to even odds. Top Male When looking at the market for the top male, Simon appears to be a wise choice. His clear enjoyment of the dancing is impossible to ignore, and it’s his superior ballroom abilities that could carry him past Mark. Top Female As with the market for outright winner, this is a choice between Caroline and Frankie. Provided she maintains her sizzling form, she should be able to edge out Frankie. Just last week, Caroline managed to earn four scores of 10 for her salsa – the first perfect score of the current series, and the first 10 of 2015 from notoriously picky judge Craig Revel Horwood. Gender of Winner Barring a shocking outcome, this market appears to be the only certainty. Carolina and Frankie are the clear frontrunners, and so choosing a female winner will yield much shorter odds. To Finish Fourth Sadly for Mr TOWIE, it seems that Mark is the favourite to finish last when the final results are in. However, a late flourish from Mark and a subpar performance from Simon could make for an interesting result.
Android and Apple iOS have been the dominant operating systems ever since the mobile casino market emerged. During the early years, the prevailing trend was for casino software developers to create dedicated mobile apps to function on those operating systems alone. As a result, casino enthusiasts with BlackBerry and Windows mobile devices were unable to access many of the market’s mobile casinos. However, this has since eased with the launch of HTML5 mobile sites that work with web browsers instead. Windows Users Accessing Microgaming Content Now, though, Microgaming has gone against its prior approach by developing the first-ever native mobile casino app designed to function on Windows Phones. And having arrived on Windows Phone Store in November, users have now had a few weeks to play on the app. At present, the Microgaming Windows app carries more than 35 of the developer’s most popular games. In addition to table games, video poker, and progressive slots, Windows players will be able to access industry-renowned slot games in the form of Thunderstruck, Tomb Raider, Agent Jane Blonde, Treasure Nile, and Mega Moolah. Regular software updates and gaming additions have been promised. Available to JackpotCity Casino Currently, the only casino offering the app is JackpotCity. The Microgaming head of casino, John Quinn, said that statistics drove the development of the app, which was developed from scratch through native coding. Quinn explained that Windows Phone usage appears to be rising across Europe, helping to rationalise the groundbreaking launch. As of December 2014, JackpotCity is the only Microgaming casino site where players can access the Windows Phone app. However, Microgaming expects to introduce the app at some of its other casinos during 2015. Players can currently access the app provided that their Windows Phone is running on either the 8.0 or 8.1 operating systems. The next operating system on the horizon is Windows 10.
Net Entertainment will now be able to offer their online casino games to the Italian market. Italy generally has a very strict online gambling market; Italian players can only play at online casinos that have been issued a license, and licenses are hard to get! But NetEnt long-ago realized the potential of the Italian market, and has sought to find ways to enter it. Finally, they did! Breaking Through In March 2014, NetEnt signed an agreement with an licensed platform provider, GameAccount Network, which allowed GameAccount Network to integrate with NetEnt’s system. This means that the Network can offer NetEnt games to online casinos operating legally in Italy. And as of December 2014, this agreement has also allowed NetEnt games to be offered through Eurobet, another Italian gambling site. Björn Krantz, Chief of GMO and MD at NetEnt Malta Ltd., commented on what a great step this is for NetEnt and for Italian players. “I am very excited that Eurobet is now live with a wide selection of our best-in-class games, and I am confident that Eurobet and its players will now be able to enjoy the very best player experience that exists on the market today.” What's In Store for the Future Krantz also commented that NetEnt is waiting to offer games through SNAI and SISAL, also through the GameAccount Network platform. The whole NetEnt team is confident that after this initial breakthrough, more and more Italian licensed casinos will want to follow suit. About NetEnt NetEnt is a leading supplier of gaming systems, used by many of the most successful online casinos in the industry. Their CasinoModule is a complete gaming system that features 200+ games and a powerful Back Office. Recommended NetEnt-powered online casinos in the Italian market are Unibet Casino and Star Casino.
SafeCharge is an international online payment provider that offers simple, secure and convenient online payments. This company was in partnership with MasterCard, one of the most respected credit card companies in the world. Recently, the partnership between MasterCard and SafeCharge was expanded. Now, SafeCharge is an official issuer of MasterCard pre-paid cards and products. The SafeCharge and MasterCard Partnership Expansion On Wednesday, December 10th 2014, SafeCharge announced that it had received approval to become a MasterCard issuer. In addition, it was also announced that Ali Farid Khwaja would be appointed to the new pre-paid card issuing division as the executive vice president. Chief Executive of SafeCharge David Avgi commented on the approval received from MasterCard stating that this approval is an extension of the already existing MasterCard Principal Membership. Avgi goes on to say that this is yet another great achievement for SafeCharge. He says that the approval now allows his company to issue their own pre-paid and co-branded cards. Ultimately, Avgi says that this is an important step to creating a new branch for SafeCharge’s business. Avgi says that they are very excited to increase their range of products and they are ready to get into a new market sector replete with growth opportunities. About Ali Farid Khwaja The new executive vice president of SafeCharge’s card issuing division, Ali Farid Khwaja, previously worked at the private bank Berenberg as a financial technology analyst. Khwaja will begin his work as executive vice president in February 2014. Before he worked at Berenberg, Khwaja was a technology analyst in charge of emerging market investments for UBS. He is a chartered financial analyst and graduated from Oxford University. After the announcement, SafeCharge stock increased by 1.91 % at 240.00 pence per share which was 2% less than their annual high of 245.00 pence per share.
The NFL is just one week away from the 2014 playoffs and there are a couple of games tonight that the entire world should be watching. Either of the featured games tonight would be amazing for the Super Bowl but we have lucked out having them both tonight in Week 16. Colts vs Cowboys The first of the Sunday Night Highlights is live from AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas, as the Cowboys host the Colts. They both come into tonight’s game at identical 10-4 records and looking incredibly even over the last couple of weeks. The Colts have been on a 4-game winning streak, while the Cowboys have won their last two games in decisive fashion. It will be a QB battle of epic proportions as Luck and Romo go head-to-head and try to improve on their already amazing seasons. Luck has 4,492 yards in the bag, while Romo has gone 3,188 total so far. Seahawks vs Cardinals Possibly the best matchup of the week will kick off at 1:30 (UK) tonight, as the Seahawks travel to Arizona to do battle with the Cardinals. They met in Week 12 in Seattle and the Seahawks won the game 19-3. Arizona has home field advantage now and they are still tied for top spot in the NFL at 11-3 and first in the NFC West. The Seahawks are in second spot in the NFC West, biting at the heels of the cardinals and tonight could be the end to the Cardinal’s reign. NFL Sunday Night – bet365 props Bet365 has already posted its competitive lines for tonight’s games and they are a punters’ dream. The Cowboys are favorites at 1.64, while the Colts are not far behind at 2.35. The second game props are far better for punters, as Arizona are the underdogs at 4.10 and the Seahawks are favorites at 1.25. Those are odds way to attractive to pass up on. There are also Point Spread, Over/Under, First Half, Second Half, Team Props and over 100+ additional markets to choose from for both games.
Many online casino sites like to promise how they regularly pass on winnings to successful players, but not all of them are as transparent as Magic Red Casino. Featuring an expansive selection of Playtech casino games, the players of Magic Red are already off to an impressive start for the week beginning Monday, 15 December. An Aussie Double One player who started out off the week on a particularly good note was Khoi N. The lucky Aussie was able to earn a win of approximately $1,850 on Monday, while playing the Iron Man 3 slot from Playtech. And they weren’t finished there, as they managed to score another noteworthy win while playing Wild Gambler 2: Arctic Adventure. Coming the next day, the fortuitous Aussie won more than double by scoring winnings worth $3,975. Another Aussie winner worth discussing is Jae H, who made Gladiator their slot game of choice while seeking winnings. This lucky player is set to enjoy a more fruitful Christmas after earning a win worth $3,280. However, the plaudits for the most impressive Aussie winner are more than certainly reserved for Vivien T. In the mood for an online slot with a horror vibe, Vivien chose to have a session playing Full Moon Fortunes. By the time Vivien wrapped up, she walked away with a colossal $25,670 lump sum. Two Zambian Winners Switching geographic positions, the other country to have the most success was the African nation of Zambia. Leading off the Zambian winners for the week, Ewan O earned a little over $990 while spinning the wheel of Premier European Roulette on Monday. And the very next day, there was another Zambian win to celebrate. Mogamat H will be delighted with managing to earn just over $942, but this time the game was an online slot named Chinese Kitchen. More winners will likely follow before the week is done.
The partnership between Odobo and the Games Company is a success story from start to finish. From the day these two companies released their first game, it was obvious that players were in for something unique and exciting. The newest releases from Odobo and the Games Company come in the form of two HTML5 titles that are beautifully designed with intriguing storylines and stunning special effects. KGB Bears and Light Racers are the new video slots, each delivering an individual playing experience. A Cold War Classic or a Wild Ride KGB Bears is a spy-themed thriller, as the 5-reel, 50 payline slot has the potential for big wins. Loosely based on the Cold War, KGB Bears focuses a lot on espionage, as the bear's race around the reels showing off their unique spy gear. The animated sequences are quite enjoyable and the game has a number of bonuses, free spins and much more. Perhaps a game a bit faster is what's in need, well Light Racers could be the title you've been looking for. The lightning speed of this futuristic thriller makes for an exciting online experience with 3D animations and hi-tech cityscapes. The soundtrack will keep your heart pumping, as the 5-reel, 50 payline supercharged video slot delivers opportunities for lucrative cash. Both of the games are full of multipliers, scatters and many other ways to win. “Our guys have really done a great job, it is evident throughout the games - in the artwork, the audio and the way they play across mobile, tablet and desktop,” related Hans Winkelmann of the Games Company. Where to Play The new Odobo games can already be found at leading online casinos like bet365. The famed UK online gambling platform was one of the first to offer these games and player feedback has already been quite positive.
The hopes of opening up the Russian market to the international online gaming industry are on the way to being dashed. This December, Russia's State Duma (lower house) passed a bill forbidding anyone from playing online poker outside of Russia's four designated areas. The bill will now proceed to the Federation Council (upper house), and if approved, violators can face hefty fines as well as jail time. A Complete Turnaround In June 2014, it looked as if Russia was considering opening its doors to the Western online gaming industry; the government realized that it could earn billions of rubles by allowing the expansion of this industry. Gaming operators were thrilled at the news; after all, Russia has a market of 143.5 million people. Putin's About-Face The 180 degree turn that has taken place between now and June has analysts searching for reasons as to why the new bill was announced, and why it was announced now. Many are saying that the bill was introduced at this time to deflect negative attention away from Putin, who is being accused of corruption. A 2011 report said of Russian politicians, “Corruption has ceased being a problem in Russia; it has become a system.” Whether this new bill will really deflect attention from Putin has yet to be seen, but it doesn't seem likely. Online poker and corruption are two very different things. Penalties The new bill (which many are calling “Draconian”) would make playing online poker inside Russia a criminal offense, except for the four designated areas. Players face a 500,000 ruble ($7,625) fine or up to two years in prison. Illegal operators, the real big fish who the bill is geared towards, will also face fines of millions of rubles, and up to seven years in prison. Needless to say, the prospect of sitting in a Russian prison is probably enough to deter even the most ambitious operator!
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