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Unibet has acquired the online gaming domain of Bingo.com and all related European operations and customer bases on a deal valued at $8 million. The Deal The deal includes $2 million cash for Bingo's brand and operations, with the remaining value of the transaction coming in the form of redemption of Unibet shares at a value of $6 million. The transaction also brings about a change in its operating name, to Shoal Games Ltd. Bingo CEO Jason Williams clarified that the new priority of the company would be development of social gambling products, the new area where competition is being centralized in the current iGaming and technological market. Name Change With the sale of the Bingo.com domain and operations, Bingo.com Ltd has confirmed that it will change its operating name to Shoal Games Ltd. Bingo.com Ltd CEO Jason Williams stated that the company would solely focus on the development of its social gambling products. Competitive Survival Williams clarified the strategy of his company in pointing out what he called the maturation of the market that makes it more difficult for smaller firms such as Bingo to survive with larger dominant market operators: “In response to these facts, the Bingo.com management team decided it was in the best interests of the Company to sell the online gambling business; the associated brand and URL and determined the offer negotiated with Unibet, the Company’s own online gambling partner and technology provider, was fair and the best offer available to the Company for those assets.” What this means to the public market is that Unibet adds Bingo.com's branding and existing offerings of European bingo to the offerings originated by iGaming brand Maria.com, purchased by Unibet in 2008. Free Social Gambling A unique free social bingo game developed by Bingo.com is one of the highlights of the new range of social gaming availability resulting from the deal on Unibet. Trophy Bingo is already live in Apple App Stores and Google Play stores worldwide.
2014 was a remarkably un-progressive year for online gaming in the US. The three states that had passed legislation in 2013 legalizing various forms of online gaming, New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware, were not joined by any other states the following year. Moreover, the three states did not show the revenues that they had hoped for, which has put quite a damper on US market expectations. Federal Battles The issue of online gambling not only came to a standstill at a state-level, but also at a federal level. While there have been initiatives to implement federal legislation, they have been vigorously met by powerful anti-online gambling lobbyists, many of whom represent the interests of land-based casino operators. Unrealistic Expectations Proponents of online gambling are realizing that they need to manage their expectations for internet gambling in America. One example of unrealistic expectations happened in New Jersey: Governor Chris Christie’s team had estimated revenue of about $180 million in taxes for the first year of operation; in reality, revenue was only one tenth of that! There is Still Hope: Americans Are Gambling In late 2014, NBA Chief Commissioner Adam Silver stated his support for internet sports betting to be regulated at federal level in order to ensure consumer protection. He said that Americans are wagering an estimated $400 billion illegally, and the government should pass legislation in order to protect them. More Hope: California and PokerStars Advocates on online gambling are hoping that California will take the plunge in 2015 and legalize online gambling. PokerStars can also be counted on to advocate on behalf of online gambling, as they have stated that US market entry is essential to their corporate growth. PokerStars hopes to enter the New Jersey online gambling market in 2015, in partnership with Atlantic City Resorts Casino. The success of PokerStars in New Jersey could very well determine the success of online gambling across the entire United States in 2015.
The top two teams in the Eastern Conference go head-to-head tonight from Bell Center in Montreal. The Canadiens are currently at 26-11-2, while the Lightning are nipping at their heels at 25-12-4. This will be an amazing game to watch and there are many live in-play markets available for punters interested, along with over 30 team, score and period props to choose from prior to game time. Head-To-Head Summary The last time that these two teams met was on October 13th, 2014 and the Lightning crushed the Canadiens 7-1. That game was payback for the 2013 playoff sweep, which the Canadiens won in the Eastern Conference First Round last year. The Canadiens are back on fire, coming off a successful 4 game road trip, without dropping even one game and beating the Metropolitan Divisions' best, the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on January 3. The Lightning will complete their 4 game road trip after tonight's game in Montreal. They have won five out of their last six games including a 4-2 win on Sunday against the Ottawa Senators. Tampa Bay will be without Radko Gudas, their star defensemen that is undergoing knee surgery and will be out for some time. The Canadiens are without their Forward, Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, as he hurt his upper body against the Devils on January 2. Live In-Play bet365 Sports Bet365 Sports is offering a long line of pre-game betting markets for each and every NHL regular season game this year. The Canadiens are at 1.76, as the favorites with the home ice advantage, while the Lightning are at 2.10. bet365 has a number of Puck lines, Game Totals and much more. In addition, the UK sportsbook is offering Live In-Play bets for tonight's game including some attractive and exciting markets. Punters are encouraged to interactively watch and bet on the game, which could lead to lucrative winnings.
Although it has a population of just 85,000 (per its 2011 census), Andorra is snatching many headlines when it comes to legislative gambling news. Defined as a European microstate, Andorra is proceeding with legislation that will allow for the tiny principality to build one land-based casino and to also establish an online gambling market. Despite being separated by many thousands of miles of ocean, Andorra is similar to the US state of New Jersey in that the principality wishes to generate greater revenue to stimulate economic growth. And while that outcome has yet to be realised in New Jersey, Andorra’s small size could allow for the benefits to be yielded earlier. On an annual basis, Andorra manages to attract more than 10 million tourists. In which case, the addition of a land-based casino will provided a further gem for attracting tourists. At present, many are drawn by the splendid mountain views of the Pyrenees. Geographically, Andorra borders France and Spain. Online Gambling in Second Half of 2015 Andorra’s gambling legislation was first proposed in 2013, and it has taken until recently for any significant headway to be made. In fact, it was in late 2014 when much of the progress was made. First in the queue appears to be the land-based casino, with the government still working on the laws governing online gambling. Antoni Riberaygua, a minister within the government, admitted as much, stating that the online gambling regulations are not likely to be announced before the second half of 2015. As such, leading European gambling operators will have to wait patiently ahead of a potential entrance into the Andorran market later in the year. Online gambling likely has the greater potential for the government, as there will only be a single land-based casino to benefit from, whereas there will be multiple gaming sites.
The results are in: Dan "jungleman12" Cates is 2014's biggest online poker winner. According to the High Stakes Database, the 25-year-old Maryland native has scooped $3.43 million in winnings throughout last year alone. As it stands currently, jungleman12's total profit from online poker is $10,211,767, a sum which ranks him third in the top list of winners; he is preceded by Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius. Hard Work and Long Hours Dan Cates is praised for his work ethic in the world of online poker – something which has brought him to where he is right now. Throughout 2014, Cates played some 158,000 hands, his hardest-working and most beneficial season being the summer. In August, Cates went home with $677,400 in profit after a 26-hour long session at Full Tilt's high stakes tables. jungleman's Rise to Success Before becoming jungleman, Dan Cates had humble beginnings. Today's high stakes pro started his way at the micro stakes back in 2008. Cates dropped out of his economics studies at the University of Maryland in order to become a full-time online poker player. Also known as "w00ki3z" throughout his career, Cates has climbed the ranks of the online poker world notching up the stakes as he goes: He plays almost exclusively online but has participated in a few live tourneys. Online Poker – More than a Hobby Played responsibly, online poker can be not only a source of entertainment but also of additional income. While cases like Dan Cates' are special, there are many online poker players enjoying the game from the comfort of their homes, playing at popular online poker rooms such as bet365 Poker, Winner Poker and PokerTime. These online poker rooms and others are very accommodating to newcomers, tailoring the gaming experience for players as they hone their skills and move up the ranks. Looking at 2014 that went by, it's not baseless to predict that 2015 will be the year of online poker.
A little under three years was all it took for Bwin.Party to come to the realization that they will need to get rid of all their social media gaming. It seemed like an excellent investment at the time, as Bwin.Party put $50 million into the emerging industry. They launched WIN, which has struggled make significant advances in the market since the original boom in 2011. Since then, only a few companies have had success with social gaming and Bwin.Party is unfortunately not one of them. Moving Forward Bloomberg received and published the company's announcement, “We are in active discussions regarding the sale of Win, the group’s social gaming business and expect to make a further announcement shortly.” Already looking to the future, Bwin.Party says that they are in major talks with several different parties regarding the possibility of creating additional value for the company, and hopefully their next announcement will be better than this one. Their business plan was essentially to bait gamblers to their real-money casino games via their fun social media titles; neither had any luck though. In 2014, Bwin.Party posted a loss of $8.5 million and opted out of the currently unstable market for entrepreneurial operators. Enough is Enough One of the biggest reasons for their failure in social gaming was due to their misjudgment of the US online gambling market, which was supposed to grow to expand a lot wider and faster. Now it seems that the secondary growth in the US will only take place in 2016, which was more than enough reason for Bwin.Party to jump ship. Social gaming may very well be the wave of the future, but it also may have been a short-lived trend that has come to an abrupt stop leaving companies like Bwin.Party out in the cold.
Madrid's Vicente Calderon stadium is going to be on fire tonight for the Madrid Derby as Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid meet for the first out of two legs of the Copa del Rey Round of 16 (20:00 UK time). Fernando Torres to Debut for Atletico Unveiled in front of 45,000 enthusiastic fans in Sunday, Fernando Torres is finally ready to debut tonight for his childhood club; will he achieve his dream homecoming goal for this derby? But with all the enthusiasm, one man cannot stop the white goal-scoring machine. Torres and his teammates will need to stand strong against Real's aggressiveness - Los Blancos will probably try to put the game to sleep early and the defense must stay strong. Atletico will try to take advantage of Real's condition and they have good statistics against Real this season – they beat the whites 2-1 in the La Liga back in September and over two matches in the Supercopa de Espana back in August 2014. Look for forward Antoine Griezmann who's in a very good goal-scoring condition. Will Real Madrid Bounce Back? Real Madrid is dominating the La Liga this season with 39 points (13w, 0d, 3l) but they're threatened by Barcelona and Atletico Madrid breathing down their necks with 38 points. The team's confidence has taken a beating on Sunday when Los Blancos lost their lead to Valencia and they can’t allow themselves to be sloppy today. Manager Carlo Ancelotti said that the Valencia match is history and that his team is ready for the match which is going to be intense: "To beat Atlético you have to be firing on all cylinders, because they're one of the best teams in Europe". Live Betting Winner Sports will offer over 105 betting markets for tonight's fixture including pre-match and in-play bets. Full time result has 49/20 on Atletico, 11/10 on Real and 51/20 for a draw. Don't miss on this explosive fixture tonight!
The tail end of 2014 was an important time for gambling legislation in many European countries, with the likes of Ireland, Spain, Andorra, and, in this case, Romania planning to make imminent changes. Just before the end of December, the Romanian government approved an ordinance to replace the 2010 legalisation that had previously governed the nation’s gambling industry. As a result, gambling taxes will be lowered in Romania and foreign operators will now be permitted to apply for licenses. In terms of the timeline, Romanian residents will not have to wait long before the changes are implemented. And because the new ordinance was agreed on 30 December, the government will have 45 days in which to make the changes. Romania hopes to generate greater revenue with its new reforms. Major Changes Coming At present, there is a single 25% tax on gambling winnings. However, the new system is one that will feature three tiers of taxation. Firstly, winnings worth from €133 to €15,000 will be subject to a 1% tax. Secondly, winnings of €15,001 to €100,000 will be taxed at 16%. And, thirdly, winnings of €100,001 or greater pay the current 25% tax. The second of the major changes came about mostly due to pressure from the European Commission about opening up the industry in line with the European Union’s freedom laws. Previously, the 2010 ordinance had only applied to Romanian operators. Now, though, the entire market will be regulated. Odette Nestor, president of the country’s National Office for Gambling, provided the following confirmation: “We now have a legal framework that allows gambling operators to get licensed in Romania.” Over the past few years, a problem with the Romanian market was that it lacked a regulator body such as the new National Office for Gambling. Now, though, foreign operators have a body that they can apply directly to acquire licenses.
The iGaming Asia Conference 2015 is an official interactive sports betting and online casino gaming conference in Asia that is taking place between March 17th and March 19th 2015 in Macau. There will be more than 250 online casino, sports betting, mobile, social and lottery gaming executives in attendance. This conference gives attendees the opportunity to forge new partnerships, network and learn about innovations, strategies, developments and opportunities in the iGaming industry. What to Expect at the iGA 2015 There are several new additions to the iGA 2015 including a new social and mobile gaming conference. This conference is co-located with the iGA 2015 and it features the hottest developments and innovations in the Asian mobile/social gaming industry. In addition, there will be more networking opportunities and expanded exhibitions that feature additional technology, services and gaming solutions. Speakers and Events at iGA 2015 A number of different speakers will take to the podium at the conference – all of whom are leaders in the iGaming industry in Asia. Many of these speakers are executives of companies involved in online gaming and have specialized expertise in their field. Some of the most notable speakers include CEO of Hero Poker David Jung, CEO of SBTech Itai Zak, and President of Paddy Power Asia Harish Narayanan. The conference will include a variety of lectures about important topics in the Asian online gaming industry. In addition to lectures, attendees will have the opportunity to attend exhibitions to see the latest technologies, developments and products in the Asian iGaming industry. The iGaming Asia Conference will feature multiple networking sessions in between exhibitions and lectures. These networking sessions give attendees the opportunity to meet leaders and major players in the industry. It also gives attendees the chance to generate new business contacts, learn from the industry leaders and even create new business partnerships.
Due to an exclusionary statute of UK and EU law, UK bookmaker Ladbrokes is joining the iGaming exodus from the otherwise vast Russian market. EU Exclusion A UK and EU requirement mandating that all operators applying for UK licenses stay away from countries where online gambling is illegal has caused the departures by iGaming operators, who have been instructed by the UK to limit their involvement in grey market areas to not over 3% of their total revenues if they want their UK licensing applications approved. Ladbrokes Withdrawals By the same logic, Ladbrokes is also withdrawing from other countries with grey area operation such as Finland, Romania and Portugal, after leaving Canada and a number of other European markets, last year including Hungary, Norway and Switzerland. A Ladbrokes spokesperson explained the trend: “We continually review our presence in markets according to legal advice and regulatory conditions. This is an ongoing process and the markets we have withdrawn from are not material.” While the concern over the new stigma that the UK licensing requirement places on grey market regions, to characterize all the markets Ladbrokes has withdrawn from as not material is a stretch when it comes to Russia, representing a national market of 143 million people. However, the economic stability of the Russian ruble and President Putin's increasing anti-gambling stance undoubtedly contributed to Ladbroke's unwillingness to continue in Russia. Other Grey Markets Strong While the loss of a market the size of Russia's may appear as a significant deduction to the global market, there are still significant grey area markets where iGaming providers continue to operate comfortably, undoubtedly because of the confidence they have in these countries effectively adapting gambling regulation legislation (i.e. Australia, Brazil) or allowing it to continue without conflict to the national laws (i.e. China, India).
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