Author: OnlineGamblingDaily

Greentube, the NOVOMATIC Digital Gaming, and Entertainment division, has partnered with the Austrian Ski Federation, the German Ski Federation, and Swiss-Ski – a brand of the Swiss Olympic Association-, to relaunch its game Ski Challenge as an esports title this autumn. In a press release, Greentube explained that the new Ski Challenge -which was its first-ever gaming title when it hit the market in 1998- “will provide a true esports experience, complete with new and improved features”.  “The winter sports app captures all the excitement and motion of real-life on-piste action, with players competing in races for the best times on popular,…

International Game Technology (IGT) announced Monday an agreement in principle to settle the Benson v. DoubleDown Interactive lawsuit and associated proceedings. IGT completed the sale of DoubleDown Interactive –operator of social gaming business DoubleDown Casino– to DoubleU Diamond, a subsidiary of DoubleDown, in June 2017. The agreement in principle to settle the suit, entered into by certain subsidiaries of IGT and Double Down, remains contingent on final court approval by the US Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington. Under the terms, a total of $415 million will be paid into a settlement fund of which IGT will…

This year’s SiGMA Balkans & CIS summit was held in Belgrade, Serbia, from August 22-25. Gaming and sports betting software provider BetConstruct described the event as an “incredible success” for the company. An indicator of this was the awards ceremony, the supplier says, where BetConstruct was named the “Platform Provider of the Year.” “With Sportsbook, Data Feed Solutions, Slots, Live Casino, and Skill Games, BetConstruct stands out from the crowd with its all-inclusive catalog,” the company stated in a press release. “Known for being partner-focused, the provider has opened its platform to over 200 3rd party content providers, giving operators…

Australian racing and sports betting operator BlueBet (BBT) announced Monday it has received the license required to operate its online sportsbook ClutchBet in Iowa. The state’s Racing and Gaming Commission granted the permit, allowing the brand to take its first US bets. ClutchBet was launched earlier this year as part of BBT’s two-stage capital-light entry strategy to launch a B2C business to access the US market before launching a white-labeled Sportsbook-as-a-Solution offering. With market access in Colorado, Louisiana and Indiana, BlueBet said launching in Iowa provided a platform to execute the first stage of its strategy. BlueBet CEO Bill Richmond said BlueBet was…

According to industry insiders, Queensland’s casino regulator and its actions should be scrutinized by the state’s inquiry into the Star Entertainment Group. Executives for the Australian casino giant have been giving evidence to a commission of inquiry into the operation of its existing casino licenses in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, which now prepares to release its final report. Star admitted it should not have opened its doors to “highly suspicious cashed-up gamblers” banned from casinos in other states, or allowed tens of millions of dollars in disguise as expenses to be gambled using a Chinese bank card. The inquiry…

iGaming industry content provider Pragmatic Play has announced the launch of its new Vegas-style Fire Hot series. The collection features four engaging titles with varying numbers of paylines, including Fire Hot 5, Fire Hot 20, Fire Hot 40, and Fire Hot 100, where the number that features in the name of each title corresponds to the number of paylines provided.  A collection of apple, orange, cherry, grape, lemon, and watermelon symbols help to deliver the classic theme on display, with wins worth up to 2,700x the bet available across the entire series, and Clover wilds able to be combined with regular…

SOFTSWISS announced Tuesday it is entering the esports industry and unveiled that CS:GO commentator Kostya Sivko will become the company’s brand ambassador. The business has described the collaboration as “an excellent chance for an award-winning online casino and sports betting software provider to realize innovative projects in this field.” Sivko is a commentator with almost a decade worth of experience in esports. Notably, he has commentated 12 times at the CS:GO Major Championships, a major esports industry event. He has also worked for the top CIS studios and international championship venues, a press release states. In 2020 and 2021, the esports…

Content provider to the iGaming industry BGaming announced Tuesday it has extended its reach across Latin America by joining forces with online casino and sports betting operator Solbet, part of the Dreams Group, which operates across 17 locations in the region. Under the commercial agreement, Solbet will integrate a collection of BGaming’s titles with various game mechanics, including table games Multihand Blackjack American Roulette; a set of casual games headlined by crash multiplayer Space XY; and slots such as Aztec Magic Bonanza, Elvis Frog in Vegas, and Wild Cash. The deal is expected to evolve further by delivering a brand-exclusive game…

Pro-cardrooms group Communities for California Cardrooms (CCC) launched Monday a new media campaign “to expose special interests that are trying to abuse the legislative process to diminish competition in the marketplace,” according to their statement. The coalition is targeting tribal casinos, which it says have been allowed to benefit from “an unprecedented expansion.” Since 1995 there has been a moratorium on gaming expansion in California that limits the number of licenses and tables for cardrooms, the group claims. However, the coalition argues that, simultaneously, the State of California has allowed gambling related to Tribal Casinos to expand, having signed compacts with…

The next East Coast Gaming Congress and NexGen Gaming Forum, which will be held on September 21-23 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, in Atlantic City, will see a panel of Wall Street analysts gather to study and discuss the gaming industry from a financial perspective. The speakers will address whether traditional casino companies’ acquisition of digital providers, technology companies, and even media companies are panning out. “Is it smart for sports betting and iGaming operators to spend lavishly on advertising and promotions? Also, what does the future hold for casinos that are now facing competition from digital gaming and…

This week’s gambling news looks at the changing names and locations of Las Vegas casinos! We start with Bally’s, where the transformation to the Horseshoe Las Vegas has begun. But the Horseshoe used to be downtown… and Bally’s wasn’t always Bally’s… as Las Vegas casinos play a game of musical chairs! Hello, my friends, and thank you so much for streaming another edition of This Week in Gambling, where we have a little bit of a history lesson, plus some major moves heading for Las Vegas casinos, where the only constant is change. As many of you know Bally’s Las Vegas…

Following a recent capital raise, Oddin.gg announced Thursday a major addition to its senior team with the hire of Juana Bischoff as Senior Business Development Manager. It follows the appointment of Mark Balch as Director of Strategy the prior week. The appointments come as the company looks to expand its product suite by transitioning to an end-to-end esports betting ecosystem “to become a one-stop shop for everything related to esports betting.” Bischoff will be essential in building upon the relationships that Oddin.gg has been creating with its growing network of partners, a press release explains. She has a 12-year track…

Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies is considering a bill proposed by congressman of the evangelical party Pastor Gil, which seeks to prohibit financial institutions from processing Internet transactions involving unauthorized gambling and lotteries. According to the proposal, the Central Bank of Brazil would have to establish rules to determine the cancellation of such transactions and prohibit the transfer of funds between buyers and suppliers. Specifically, Bill 1,823/22 prohibits financial entities that issue credit or debit cards, as well as any other payment entity, from authorizing Internet transactions for the purpose of participating in unauthorized games of chance and lotteries, as well…

South African entertainment company Sun International announced Monday it will pay its first dividend in six years after the group’s gaming income rose 30% in the first six months of the year.  As reported by Bloomberg, the decision to declare an interim dividend of 88 cents ($0.05) per share came after the owner of casinos and hotels, including the Sun City resort northwest of Pretoria, reported a first-half profit after two years of losses, and reduced its overall debt by ZAR 500 million ($29 million) to ZAR 6.6 billion ($390 million). The hotel and casino operator was forced to temporarily…

The global sports betting and lottery market has seen unprecedented growth in recent years, according to a new analysis by Safebettingsites. The UK gaming expert site claims the sector’s market size grew from $172.9 billion in 2020 to $194.6 billion in 2021, a jump of 13%, with projections indicating further growth to $231 billion by 2022 Safebettingsites’ investments lead Edith Reads has attributed this growth to several factors, among them the sector’s resilience post-COVID-19 crisis. “The epidemic led to the grounding of sports activities globally, resulting in lost revenues. In addition, containment measures such as capping numbers in public gatherings…

iGaming industry content provider Pragmatic Play has extended its footprint in the Brazilian market through a new partnership with Deu Jogo. The new deal will see the online gaming operator gain access to three of Pragmatic Play’s verticals. Pragmatic Play’s slot portfolio is set to be offered within the agreement, including the award-winning Gates of Olympus, along with recent launches such as Hot To Burn Extreme and Black Bull, and player favorites like The Dog House. The Brazilian brand will also earn access to Pragmatic Play’s Live Casino products, which encompass both traditional land-based casino games such as Roulette and…