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Despite the seeming glut of mergers taking place, British bookmaker William Hill is not ready to jump on the bandwagon just yet, it seems. Not Taking The Offer, Yet The UK bookmaking giant revealed that it was approached by 888 Holdings and Rank Group with an offer, but unlike other takeover bid announcements of late, William Hill was signaling a stance towards rejection to this bid, due to a basic lack of merit; however, it has not given a final answer as of the time of publishing this article. Standing Tall Though appearing rudderless without a current CEO and seeing its market lead severely threatened by new “superteam” competitors, the traditional sportsbetting power company is adhering to common business sense. No Ducats, No Sense In a general statement, the company explained that it was "not clear that a combination of William Hill with 888 and Rank will enhance William Hill's strategic positioning or deliver superior value to William Hill's strategy." Proper Growth Necessary In other words, for William Hill, bigger does not necessarily mean better, explaining their reluctance to close the triad with the operators of Britain's top casino and bingohalls to form Britain's largest betting operator. Rank, 888 Rationale Rank and 888 indicated that the deal was set to increase revenue substantially and provide cost synergies. Obviously the plan was either not clear enough, or William Hill's shareholders do not see the gains as realistic in the incoming British market environment. Strength in Value Despite enhanced competition, the William Hill company still has plenty to work with. Stocks jumped 11% after the announcement to push the company's market value to 3.1 billion pounds ($4 bln), which actually dwarfs the corporate worths of 888 (844 million pounds) and Rank (986 million pounds). Adaptation to Continue Nonetheless, some adaptation at William Hill is not only necessary, but vital, and William Hill knows it, having recently attempted their own takeover of 888. And Thursday William Hill sacked two-year CEO James Henderson Thursday due to poor online performance, where companies such as 888 and Rank specialise. Leverage However it looks, externally or internally, the market leader with 2,370 bookmakers on the high street offering prolific betting on traditional horse and greyhound racing as well as machine gaming certainly has the traction to do what is right for them when the appropriate opportunity develops. All is still open and a merger still might happen, despite the "frosty" Hill response as Reuters called it.
Playtech, one of the world’s market leaders in the online gambling industry, has announced the extension of its existing partnership with the well-known online poker brand, PokerStars, through a new content distribution agreement. Playtech will be supplying PokerStars game rooms with a selection of its popular slot games and progressive jackpots, for both desktop and mobile. Shimon Akad, COO of Playtech, commented, “We’re delighted to have extended our existing relationship with PokerStars, one of the most established and well-known brands in the industry, and providing them with the industry’s best-performing content.” Mutually Beneficial PokerStars operates in countries around the world, so Playtech will benefit by making its games known to a wider audience. And PokerStars will add Playtech’s jackpot games to their suite, filling a lack that had previously existed. Sam Hobcraft, Director of Casino, PokerStars, addressed the hole in PokerStars’ offerings: “We are very excited to partner with Playtech, and to provide our customers some of the best slots in the industry. In particular, their suite of Jackpot games will fill one of the final gaps in our product offering.” Playtech Titles As of now, PokerStars has gone live with a number of Playtech titles, including White King, Frankie Dettori, and Great Blue. Other Playtech titles are scheduled to be rolled out at a later time, including branded slots such as Gladiator, Top Gun, and Playtech’s upcoming DC series. Playtech has also been developing a new slot series - Age of the Gods - which will include seven slot tiles in total, three of which have already been released. Playtech has reported that these three slots have been the most successful among Playtech launches, immediately entering into the top 10 across major licensees on the Playtech casino network. As the rest of the series is unveiled, it will also be rolled out across PokerStars brands.
Thanks to a new movie currently in cinemas, fictional character Tarzan has found a new popularity and now Isle of Man based casino games developer Microgaming has secured the rights to launch an online slot game themed around the man raised by apes. The game will feature the hero, his beautiful friend Jane, and is sure to have a soundtrack that includes the famous yell as he swings from vine to vine. While little is publicly known so far, what's certain is that it will based on an original version of the story, and not directly on the new film. The books go back over 100 years when Edgar Rich Burroughs wrote the first in a long series, and since 1918, there has been an even longer series of films and TV shows. where some 29 actors have played the part. Tarzan Fans Will Not Be Disappointed The CEO of Microgaming, Roger Raatgever has said of the new release: “Tarzan is recognised the world over, so we’re excited to be launching a slot hosted by this timeless character. Our highly talented games team relish working with a new brand, to build a game that celebrates and embraces it. Having seen the game in prototype, I can honestly say the online slot will not disappoint Tarzan fans; operators and their players can look forward to the game’s release this winter.” Meanwhile the President of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., James Sullos commented that “We could not be more pleased to license Tarzan™ and his friends to such a quality company as Microgaming. Their extensive experience in developing online slot games assures us they will build a game that will attract many fans and players to the game from around the globe.” Brokered by Creative Licensing Corporation, this agreement will see the new slot launched across mobile, download and instant-play platforms in the Autumn.
iSoftBet, one of the biggest game providers for online and mobile casinos have significantly increased their Game Aggregation Platform or (GAP) service by including content from Australia’s Ainsworth Game Technology. The Game Aggregation Platform offered by iSoftGaming is recognized as one of the most technologically advanced in the industry. It provides a huge portfolio of products that can easily be adapted to any operator through a single integration process. iSoftBet’s GAP already boasted one of the biggest third-party game collections in the world, provided by 20 top rated software providers. Ainsworth is one of the most recognizable names in the online gambling industry, having been around for over two decades. It boasts numerous popular titles which are available in both HTML5 and Flash formats, depending on the operator’s requirements. Leadership in Both Companies Is Excited About New Partnership Michael Probert, iSoftBet’s Head of Business Development declared that the company is constantly looking to improve and increase its high-quality offer. He added that the recent partnership with Ainsworth is a way to continue growing while offering their players some of the best products on the market. Ainsworth’s General Manager of Online Operations, Jason Lim also praised the partnership with iSoftBet declaring that it is the first step in the company’s expansion in the European Real Money Gaming Market. Mr. Lim added that he is extremely happy to see Ainsworth’s land-based slot machines in iSoftBet operators. He finished by promising to continue growing Ainsworth online presence through new and avant-garde games. Both Companies Are Gaming Titans Both Ainsworth and iSoftBet are some of the most recognizable names in the gambling industry. Ainsworth was founded in 1995 and is one of the pioneers of gaming with over half a century experience. iSoftBet has grown to be one of the most respected providers of casino content. The quality and diversity of their games, as well as their mobile platform offer makes them an immensely popular choice with numerous operators.
Ajax looks to get back into the Champions League in the upcoming season but they will have to get passed PAOK Salonika tonight in order to do so. Ajax are one of the strongest teams in the Champions League qualifying rounds and should make it to the top of the table quite easily. Tonight will be the first challenge for new Ajax boss, Peter Bosz in a competitive match and all eyes will be on him to make sure that he takes this team back to the great level their fans are used to. Frank de Boer the longtime head coach of the Dutch club left after last season after losing the Eredivisie title by PSV Eindhoven. Bosz comes back to Holland after a short stint with Maccabi Tel Aviv the Israeli club, but he was unable to win any hardware with them last season either. Last year Ajax was ousted from the Champions League group stage by Rapid Vienna in the same round as tonight's match and they hope that Bosz will be the key to renewing their success. There are a few new players with Ajax including Heiko Westermann, Davidson Sanchez and Mateo Cassierra. They hope that these relatively young players will be just what the doctor ordered and will help take the team back to first place in the league and back into the Champions League running. PAOK finished fourth in the Greek Super League last season and are not a very strong team by Champions League standards. They were able to squeeze into the running for a spot in the qualifying round after beating Panathinaikos and AEK Athens in the end-of-season playoff. They have brought in a few new players including Swansea midfielder Jose Canas and defender Fernando Varela. The squad has a new look after new coach Vladimir Ivic has fine-tuned virtually everything. Champions League Qualifying Betting Markets Ajax is definitely the outright favorites in this match at 1.61 for the win, while PAOK at 5.50. bet365 Sports is offering a number of pre-game bets and live in-play lines throughout the match. If you plan to bet, bet with Ajax and play some live lines too.
One person could be sitting on a $422 million fortune if they match all 6 numbers in Wednesday's Powerball Lottery draw. With a $291 million cash value, or the whole lot paid out over 29 years, this huge jackpot has come about thanks to 23 consecutive rollovers, with the last time it was claimed being back on May 7th 2016. That's a $30 million increase from the last draw on Saturday and reflects the increase in players that tends to occur once the jackpot rises to these levels. With the next draw due to take place on Wednesday 27th July at 11 p.m. EST, there is still time for players to buy tickets, either in the 44 participating US states, or now online through sites like The Lotter, LottoBooking or Play USA Lotteries. How To Play Powerball Players need to match 5 white ball numbers drawn from a drum of 69, plus there is a red Powerball number that gets picked from 26. With a guaranteed $1 million prize for matching the white numbers only, there are 9 levels of prizes in total, with $4 for matching just the red number or a single white and the red one. The Powerball famously rolled over to a $1.6 billion jackpot in January of 2016, setting an new world record and although 3 tickets eventually shared the prize, a single winner could claim the jackpot on Wednesday night. Tickets cost $2 and must be purchased an hour before the draw, so anyone buying outside of Eastern Time will need to be aware of the time difference from where they are. For an extra $1, players can choose the Power Play option, which multiplies the value of non-jackpot prizes by up to 5 times, while the $1 million can be doubled in value. The exact Power Play multiplier is drawn at random, although on special occasions one of up to 10x can be in effect. Draws take place in Tallahassee Florida each Wednesday and Saturday night.
Poland will be the next EU country to regulate, though not the next “free market.” The Monopoly All existing and hopeful operators heard in Poland´s announcement of incoming regulation was the discouraging words “government monopoly.” That´s right, the court´s Council of Ministers has voted to amend current gambling law to allow online gaming in addition to recently approved sports betting, restricting provision of online casino games to authorized national lottery operator Totalizator Sportowy. Hope Sprung This comes on the heels of the opening of the Polish market to online sports betting operators, who hoped that further incoming authorization of online poker and casino gaming would include a licensing program for them as well. The New Deal The new legislative changes give Totalizator control of all online games of chance within Polish borders. The company is further tasked with preparing measures to implement and enforce responsible gaming. Not So Bad However, the despair should be curbed. The good news is that the monopoly portion actually only applies to online slots. This means that international operators can still enter the country´s market, as well as other non-slot operations. This also opens the door for private groups to organise land-based tournaments. EU Approval In the EU process, the amendment makes its way to the European authority for review for consistency with EU guidelines, with the final draft to be resubmitted back to the Polish legislature for final approval. All expected approvals would bring the law into effect by January 1st of next year. Impact The Polish market is currently valued at PLN5 billion, but there is massive room for growth. With grey operators holding an estimated 90% of market share online activity-wise, the Polish government hopes to harness at least 40% of the market before the end of the first year of the new law´s implementation. This would bring the state approximately PLN 637 million (160 million dollars); 60% of the market share in Year Two is expected to bring the state take to PLN 1.48b; 80% of the market would bring the take to PLN 2.32 b in Year Three. Outlook Legislation leaving the door open for private online operators without a formal licensing program would appear to open a window for further agreements between private operators and Totalizator.
Tonight's feature match in the UEFA Champions League Qualifying round is between Olympiacos Piraues and Hapoel Be'er Sheva. The Israeli squad made history just a couple of months ago as they won the Israeli Premier League for the first time in decades and now have a chance to make their name in the Champions League. The only thing that could stop them from making it there is Olympiacos, a team that is favored to win by all critics. The Greek champions are regulars in the Champions league in the last few seasons. They have made it to the Group Stages for the last six years and have made it as far as the knockout round on two occasions. At home, Olympiacos is very strong, but Hapoel Be'er Sheva has an excellent team that won a very hard league this last season, beating well-known teams like Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem. There is no doubt that the Greek side are on another level, as they have beaten the likes of Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, and Juventus in the last few years. Be'er Sheva were in the Europa League qualifying tournament for the last two seasons but were ousted in the first round on both occasions. They did beat FC Sheriff from Moldova last week after a 3-2 home win and a 0-0 draw in the second leg. This will be the very first time that these teams have met and no matter how great it would be to see an underdog like Hapoel win, we have to give the thumbs up to Olympiacos to win, and win big tonight. Bet365 Sports Betting Markets The Greek Champs are favored to win tonight at 1.28, while Hapoel is at 10.00. Hapoel does have some incredible goalscorers like Elianiv Barda, Maor Buzaglo and Nigerian all-stars John Ogu and Anthony Nwakaeme, so they do have a far chance to at least compete with Olympiacos, but expect at least 2 goals from the Greek side.
The first licensed online gambling operator is already out of the gate with a content provider deal. Estoril Established Estoril Sol Digital Online Gaming and Products Services, SA is an established brick-and-mortar operator across Portugal, owning and successfully operating brands Casino Lisboa, Casino Estoril, and Casino da Póvoa with a 64% total share of the local land-based market. GAMING1 Partnership EstorilSolCasinos online has already gone live with gaming content provided by Belgium´s GAMING1, in a joint management venture of the first licensed online casino in Portugal in which each party holds a 50% share. New Website The new website is EstorilSolCasinos.pt, now available to Portuguese players with 15 slot titles, blackjack, and two roulette variants and more content to be added from GAMING1 in the weeks to come. GAMING1 Expansion GAMING1 CEO Sylvain Boniver indicated his company´s goal to be “an all-round partner,” as opposed to just a content provider upon which it established its reputation, pointing out that Estoril Sol would experience additional benefits from GAMING1’s extensive iGaming industry experience. Complementary Skills GAMING1 International Development Director Gérard El Allaf further pointed out that Estoril Sol’s knowledge of the local market and GAMING1’s know-how would serve as perfect complementary tools. Pole Position Estoril Sol opened its doors ahead of two other licensees in Portugal. Gambling regulator Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos actually granted two more online gambling licenses earlier this year--to French operator Betclic Everest and Malta-headquartered Bet Entertainment Technologies Ltd. However, shared liquidity issues have delayed the launch of online poker offerings in Portugal to no earlier than November 2016 as Portuguese regulators continue to debate, with the final decision subject to further review by the European Commission. Seizing the Day The unique Estoril Sol-GAMING1 partnership should be the start of a robust new era for online gaming in Portugal.
Cherry Casino is the latest site to be enrolled into the Online Casino Reports (OCR) Seal of Approval scheme, as of July 2016. Having met the rigorous standards demanded by the scheme over many months, Cherry Casino can now display the much-coveted seal on its website. 40+ Years of Heritage The online casino market is one that is filled with lots of young brands, with the older operators typically having 10 years in existence. In this case, however, the Cherry Casino has many more years in its heritage. Having been founded in 1963, Cherry Casino has more than four decades to draw upon. Cherry Casino started out as a gaming manufacturer of physical machines, with success coming domestically in Sweden during the 1960s. A decade later, in the 1970s, Cherry Casino began to expand on the international stage. At that point, the brand had more than half of the Swedish market and also struck a distribution deal with Atari. Yggdrasil Gaming Content Cherry Casino has transitioned effectively into the online world by having high-end slot games from Yggdrasil Gaming. Prime examples include the likes of Wicked Circus, Jokerizer, the Dark Joker Rizes, Casino Zeppelin, and Vikings Go Wild. The casino also has gaming content from NetEnt, with the live dealers proving to be a popular draw. These specialists are on hand to host interactive games of blackjack, roulette, and more. NetEnt slots like NRVNA and Twin Spin can also be found at Cherry Casino. OCR Seal of Approval Fundamentally, the OCR Seal of Approval is a means of informing players as to which high-quality casino sites are the safest and most trusted. As such, the scheme integrates an array of factors to determine when casinos make the grade. Crucially, there is also a re-evaluation process to ensure sites continue to measure up. First of all, casinos must maintain an OCR review score of at least four stars, with the process covering software, signup, speed, mobile, and more. The process will be repeated on a monthly basis, while sites must have been present at OCR for eight months and online for 12 months. Brands must also have clean reputations and avoid unresolved complaints on OCR.
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