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The battle to legalize online poker and online gambling in general in the United States has been going on for years now. With only a few individual states regulating online gambling, a bill on the federal level still seems highly unlikely. The number one reason for this is a very strong lobby headed by the land-based casino magnat Sheldon Adelson who's been doing everything in his power to hinder the legislation. The latest development on this front has seen Senator Tom Cotton introduce a new bill, known as the bill S.3376, containing the language very similar to the one found in the infamous RAWA (Restoration of America's Wire Act). What is S.3376 All About? Although the information about the new bill, which was filed with the Senate Committee of Judiciary, is scarce at the moment, the Congressional website sums it up as a bill aimed to ensure the integrity of laws designed to prevent the use of financial instruments to fund and operate online casinos. The notion is quite similar to that of RAWA, which is hardly surprising given the fact Cotton is one of co-sponsors of that bill as well. While RAWA didn't get very far with the legislators, this latest attempt clearly demonstrates the determination to push for a federal ban on online gambling. Why RAWA? Many people do not quite understand what the Restoration of America's Wire Act is all about. Simply put, the proponents of the bill are pushing for the stipulations from the old America's Wire Act to be expanded from encompassing just betting on sports events to all types of bets and wagers made using electronic means. That way, RAWA would effectively make online casinos, even those established on the state levels, illegal, and would strike a severe blow to the online gaming industry in the States. Although there aren't that much information about S.3376 at the moment, it seems rather obvious that it is just another attempt at expanding Wire Act provisions.
Monday, September 26, marked the first day of this year's Global Gaming Expo (G2E) taking place in Las Vegas. The opening day was highlighted by the Global Gaming Awards ceremony, rewarding deserving casino operators and other industry leaders for their contribution and innovation. 12 Global Gaming Awards Categories The list of nominees for the GGA 2016 was a long and impressive one, with many businesses, concepts, and ideas well deserving of an official recognition. However, the panel of judges had a difficult task to make the shortlist even shorter and announce the best among the best, presenting them with prestigious and recognized awards. There were 12 awards in total delivered on Monday, and these encompassed different relevant industry areas, from innovation and product development to customer relations and support. 2016 GGA Winners Microgaming, one of the leaders in the field of casino games development, took home a well deserved award for the Digital Product of the year. 888 Holdings took the accolade for the Digital Operator for their online poker product, while Unibet, another online gambling giant, was awarded for their Digital Acquisition Program. IGT, a well known and respected company in the online gaming world, won the Casino Product award for their PlaySpot. The only company that claimed two awards this year was MGM Resorts International, as they won in the Land-Based Operator and Customer Loyalty Program categories. SG Interactive, NYX Gaming Group, and GeoComply rounded up the winners' list as far as companies are concerned. Maureen Sweeny, currently working as the Chief Commercial Officer at Aristocrat, was the only individual GGA winner, as she took the accolade for the North America Executive of the year. Looking Forward to the Future During the three years they've been in existence, Global Gaming Awards have become a unique place of meeting between land based and online gaming operators. As such, the ceremony has become highly respected, especially since the award winners are determined by the industry insiders only. In that light, David Johnson of NYX, one of the main partners of the GGA, expressed his satisfaction with this year's event and emphasized he was already looking forward to the next year.
The end to the MLB regular season is always a thrill. All teams within a shot of making the playoffs will be playing the best, and unfortunately in some cases the worst ball of the year. For the Jays and the Orioles, only one game separates the two teams from second place in the AL East behind the Red Sox, with Toronto (86-70) currently at an advantage over Baltimore (87-71). The Jays and the Orioles have had inconsistency plague them at the end of the regular season, but hopefully we will be treated to some incredible baseball tonight at Rogers Centre. The Orioles come into Toronto in need of some wins to end the year. They are currently in the Wild Card race with the Jays and they hope that sending their big right hander Kevin Gausman to the mound will help. Gausman has been great in his last ten starts posting a 2.57 ERA, but in his last game he allowed 5 runs in 6.5 innings. The Jays will be throwing their Oriole killer Aaron Sanchez to the mound. He has defeated the Orioles in the four times that he has faced them this season, with 18 strike outs and a 3.38 ERA. This should be an amazing game on the pitching front and with the Jays offense finally finding their groove, it will be good to watch. MLB Betting and Odds bet365 Sports gives this match to the Blue Jays posting in their favor at 1.74, while the Orioles are right behind at 2.15. Not a lot separating these teams in terms of talent, but punters can bet on virtually everything one could hope for. There are close to one hundred individual betting markets at bet365 Sports and they are also offering their members free streaming of the game in addition to live in play odds. This is incredibly interactive and a good way to make lucrative cash.
The nominations process for the new look Sports Betting Community SBC Awards has begun. All Invited to Nominate To recognise sports betting industry achievement, SBC is currently inviting all industry members to nominate companies for one of 15 awards. The Launch The nominations window was launched September 26th in London, September 26. The window will stay open until October 25th to celebrate the culmination of what has become a landmark year for the betting industry. 2016 Industry Drivers Leading sports betting and gaming event organiser SBC identifies drivers of progress as the wave of consolidation, a profitable European Championships, the rise of DFS and eSports, and the inaugural Betting on Sports conference. Awards Ceremony Date The ceremony is set for Wednesday, December 7 December at Under the Bridge, the lavish state-of-the-art venue built underneath Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge at an estimated £20 million worth. Awards Layout Boasting an A-list of performing artists led by Beyoncé and Bruno Mars, the awards ceremony will feature 15 awards divided into three main categories, with seven individual awards recognizing innovation in the industry and seven reflecting overall excellence. Innovation Awards The innovation awards offer recognition in football betting, sports betting, live betting, virtual sports, fantasy sports, affiliation and retail betting. Betgenius picked up the Best Innovation hardware in 2015 for its Abandoned Betslip Targeting technology, staving off fierce competition from fellow finalists BetITBest, Inspired Gaming and 1x2 Gaming. Excellence Awards As for overall excellence, the most coveted awards on the table include Bookmaker of the Year, Affiliate of the Year, Marketing Campaign of the Year, and the Betradar-sponsored aware for Esports Operator of the Year. Leading Defending Champs Defending champions in the excellence category include Bet365, defending its Bookmaker of the Year title; and Oddschecker, hunting another victory for Best Affiliate. Expert Judges Among panel judges are experts such as SNAI CEO Fabio Schiavolin, LeoVegas CEO Johan Styren, 10bet CEO David Bazak, and 12bet CEO Rory Anderson. Hall of Fame Three new members will be inducted into the SBC Sports Betting Hall of Fame as well. Forecast The nomination season is giving a whole new look to the sports betting industry, with the general business acumen and leading technological innovation underscoring all sports betting achievement offering insight to all.
One of the most frequented video slots at LeoVegas Casino, the famous Mega Fortune progressive jackpot, has made two Swedish recreational players quite a bit wealthier after paying out the progressive jackpot twice in a relatively short time span. Double Jackpot Goes To Sweden Mega Fortune is the exciting NetEnt game with the millionaire lifestyle as its main theme. The appealing game draws in thousands of players on a regular basis, and while most of them walk away with small wins or losses, the luckiest ones walk away thousands of times richer. Two such lucky players emerged this month at LeoVegas, as both won the progressive jackpot at the same slot, the first one winning £100.000 with just a £5 stake, and the second winning £60.000 while wagering just £0.18, believing he was playing in practice mode. The first player, who remained anonymous, stated that he was quite shocked to win such a large amount playing the mobile LeoVegas app as he was unwinding from a long day at work, while the other whose name is Martin told the casino representatives that he thought he was playing in practice mode and had no idea he could even win the progressive jackpot, as he accidentally bet the £0.18 left in his account.
The name Hapoel Be'er Sheva probably didn't mean anything to you until this season. In fact, the team was forgotten for a long time, 40 years to be exact in the Israeli Premier League until an owner, Alona Barkat, and a coach Barak Bachar took over. Since the duo has gotten together, they have won the league, just missed out on the Champions League after defeating Olympiacos and almost coming back on Celtic in aggregate goals, and most recently by beating Inter Milan in Italy 2-0. This has been like a dream for the team, but tonight will be their biggest challenge yet with the incredible Southampton squad coming to town. Southampton are in great form, winning four matches straight in all competitions. They have their eyes set on a fifth straight win and they hope to do it in the brand new stadium built in Be'er Sheva last year. Teams have found that underestimating Hapoel is unwise, as Inter Milan played their a lot of their bench and were humiliated at home. True, Be'er Sheva did beat Olympiacos at full strength and the team is surprising everyone in Israel and amongst the teams that they have played in Europe so far this year. Southampton Claude Paul has not conceded a goal in the team's last four matches and after what seemed like a slow start for the new manager, has become a huge impact at St. Mary's. Now, with a chance to take sole possession on Group K, Southampton and Be'er Sheva are going to leave it all on the pitch to get those three points. Hapoel may try to play for a draw, which would be equally as good for them with Sparta and Inter in third and fourth respectively. bet365 Europa Betting bet365 Sports gives the advantage in this match to Southampton at 2.37, while Be'er Sheva is not as far back as one would think at 3.00. A draw could be the best bet with Hapoel at home, with their die hard fans (some of the best in the world) at 3.20. There is live in play betting available throughout all 90 minutes of Europa League action.
GVC Holdings, the company behind bwin.party brand, has announced two important strategic deals that will see bwin.party significantly increase their position in European regulated markets, especially in Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Bulgaria. The company will be joining forces with two industry giants, iSoftBet and Microgaming, significantly improving their offer in the mentioned markets. Microgaming's Quickfire Platform a Proven Winner Microgaming's Quickfire offers some of the best, most successful games on the market. bwin.party brands have already added more than 600 Quickfire game titles to their global offering earlier this year and, drawing on the success of that partnership, they are looking to enhance their offer in Spain, Belgium, and Bulgaria. Linor Snir, Chief Product Officer for GVC Holdings, emphasized that signing the deal with a highly established name such as Microgaming is guaranteed to boost their market position, significantly improving their casino games portfolio. There is no lack of enthusiasm about the deal coming from Microgaming either. Loraine Schoevars, Director of Microgaming's Prima Networks, explained this was an exciting development for the network as well, and the one that really works in players' favor, as they will soon be able to access much bigger number of games via bwin.party. iSoftBet Deal to Further Improve bwin.party Offer Looking to really boost their position in newly regulated markets, bwin.party entered another strategic partnership with iSoftBet, highly reputable company providing online and mobile casino games. iSoftBet will provide more than 40 slot games based on the flash and HTML5 technology, including some very popular titles like Rambo, Skulls of Legend, and Mega Boy. The deal with iSoftBet will see bwin.party offer enhanced in a number of regulated markets, particularly in Spain and Italy. Snir explained that this was another step towards making their casino portfolio the best there is and he was particularly pleased with the fact that players from Spain and Italy will now have an easy access to many iSoftBet's mega popular games. Michael Probert of iSoftBet echoed the feeling, emphasizing the fact that this strategic deal with GVC Holdings will help iSoftBet improve their presence in regulated markets as well. Probert was particularly satisfied about the fact that both companies share in on the same vision of delivering world-class content to players around the globe.
Following the major success of the Betting on Football Conference held back in April 2016 by the SBC (Sports Betting Community), the Grange Tower Bridge Hotel hosted yet another SBC Conference, this time larger in scope as other sports were included alongside football. The Betting on Sports Conference took place on September 15th and 16th with over 800 delegates from the most prestigious companies in the online gaming world attending the event. Another major success, the Conference included panels on the future of online sports betting, the merging of online sports betting and DFS sites as well as the emerging e-sports betting markets and the use of big data in sports betting analysis. The Bonuses Over Saturation A session that featured Harry Lang of Pinnacle Sports and Richard Hayler of IBAS discussed the current situation of the player acquisition strategy. The discussion clearly presented the current situation where brands are using massive deposit bonuses to bring in new customers and lacking any diversification. The panel participants concluded that the companies need to spend more time and resources finding more innovative ways to award their customers, especially the VIPs as opposed to continually offering the same promotions over and over again. Big Data For Big Results A different panel discussed the use of big data and real time CRM in modern day sports betting market. The panelists discussed the fact that bettors today want more in-play betting options and more in-play information to be able to make more informed decisions and that the betting operators need to provide just this. The panel agreed that the betting companies need to have access to more data than ever before and share it with their customers by sending live messages and keeping them as informed as possible of all the developments in the market. Fun and Networking As is usually the case at such events, the Betting on Sports Conference included plenty of opportunities for affiliates and company CEOs to network, with two separate dinners, a party for all the guests and multiple other networking events. The guests were all also invited to take part in foosball tournaments and an event with MMA star Lyubo Simenov, who challenged the attendees to a punching bag machine challenge. The Conference was dubbed a major success by the majority of the affiliates and executives present via social media and other channels.
New Jersey (NJ) is one of only three US states where online gambling markets are fully regulated, but recent statistics have revealed that this status is not a guarantee of consistent success. Looking back on August 2016, it emerged that NJ’s online gambling revenue reached $16.1 million for the month, which represented a 31.6% increase on August 2015. However, NJ’s Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) figures showed that August’s revenue was actually down on the $17.4 million recorded in July. So, while the state is posting double-digit revenue figures, there is a challenge in consistently raising the bar. Stronger Numbers in 2016 When delving deeper into the numbers, it transpired that online casinos have generated the most revenue, rising by 35.8% to reach $13.9 million between August 2015 and August 2016. Meanwhile, there was promise shown in the online poker category, which managed to avoid a summer dip by increasing 9.6% in August to $2.17 million. In analysing the year-to-date performance, online gambling revenue is doing much better in 2016, having already totalled $128.2 million, which is 32.6% higher when compared to the same period in 2015. During that time, online casinos have risen 37% to $110.3 million, while poker has climbed 10.7% to $17.9 million. August Casino Win Value Falls One of the more interesting findings came from the casino win statistics, when it transpired that August 2016’s online win value of $245.9 million had actually fallen by 4.9% when compared to August 2015. Ultimately, this goes against the trend of 2016 being a year where online gambling win has increased thus far versus the first eight months of 2015. From January to August 2016, online gambling win was recorded at $128.3 million, which is up an incredible 32.6% on 2015. Moving forward, OCR will report any updated NJ numbers as they become available.
Space has fascinated mankind for thousands of years, with starry nights still captivating the world to this today. And this mysterious dimension has inspired numerous software developers, with Real Time Gaming (RTG) being the latest outfit to create a space slot. After the release of Nova 7s in September 2016, players will be able to find the video slot at RTG casinos. SlotsPlus Casino, Slotastic Casino, and Sun Palace Casino are three of the RTG sites where Nova 7s can be played. In terms of design, RTG has developed Nova 7s so that the slot that can be playable across multiple platforms, which can potentially cover download, instant-play, tablet, and smartphone. Majestic Space Visuals Nova 7s has been designed to offer a majestic visual experience, with supernovas and solar flares exploding across the screen. In the background, the slot also depicts an alien planet, while colourful tones shine in the throughout the portions of space that are shown. On the slot interface, players will see a combination of five reels by three rows, which allows for 15 symbols to land after each spin. At this point, players will have the potential to win from up to 25 paylines, with players allowed to adjust these using up and down arrows. Players can also control the line bet through a range of different values. Lucky Number Seven To amp up the action, Nova 7s also integrates special features, with some symbol randomly exploding to create wild reels and/or trigger a 7x multiplier. The number seven will continue to have relevance among the other special features. In Nova 7s, players will also have the chance to trigger free games by landing scattered Blue 7s. During this stage, players can benefit from one of four different features. Each of these will trigger different rewards, which can include free games, expanding wild symbols, 7x multipliers, and wild re-spins.
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