Author: OnlineGamblingDaily

New Jersey online casinos and retail sports books set another record by handling north of $1.3 billion in wagers this October. Of course, such a volume resulted in record revenue, as well. “Five weekends in October meant an unusual amount of NFL and college football to bet on, and plenty of free time for gamblers to visit Atlantic City, making fresh records inevitable,” said David Danzis, an analyst for PlayNJ.com. “But what will have a longer-lasting effect is if the market for sports betting and online gambling continues to expand while Atlantic City continues to recover following the pandemic. That…

During Malta Week, which started November 15 and will run through November 19, one of the main highlights was the SiGMA Gaming Awards, which took place on Monday night during the first day of the SiGMA Europe event at the Hilton Malta in St. Julian’s, powered by BetConstruct.  The evening started out with a banter. Presenters Jon Thompson and SiGMA’s Lorraine Sammut warmed up the stage, leading up to the first post-pandemic ceremony.  One standout moment was reserved for the Outstanding Contribution of the Year recognition. This year’s winner, Mark Blandford, a pioneer in the gaming sector with 25 years …

Three competing Maryland casinos -Horseshoe Baltimore, Live! Casino and MGM National Harbor- joined forces on Monday to press the state on promised sports betting licenses. The venues are concerned about their sportsbook operations not being up and running during the NFL season, regarded as the most lucrative period on the US sports calendar. While the casinos have been found eligible to hold a license by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission, they also require a sign-off from the newly created Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) to launch. The panel has not approved yet any of the applications it…

A bill proposed on Tuesday by Sharren Haskel, chairwoman of New Hope faction, a national-liberal political party, and Boaz Toporovsky,  Head of Yesh Atid, a centrist political party in Israel, would legalize poker and host international poker tournaments if passed into law. The bill would enable the minister of culture and sports to recognize the poker industry with key conditions and grant licenses. It would regulate poker tournaments but continue to prohibit tournaments that are not held with legal permits. Although sports betting and the lottery are both legal in Israel, other forms of gambling, such as poker, are strictly illegal…

Esports Technologies announced Tuesday it has won the 2021 Esport Product of the Year award at the SiGMA Europe’s Gaming Awards ceremony, held in conjunction with the SiGMA Europe conference and expo, which took place at the Hilton Malta Conference Centre in St. Julian’s on November 15. The company was recognized for its achievements in 2021, including a patent-pending real-time odds modelling and simulation system that instantly generates odds and betting markets for esports betting use. It also devised a patent-pending live streaming wagering technology, which allows sports and esports fans to wager in real time across streaming platforms. Several…

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced Wednesday it will request Australian internet service providers (ISPs) to block two illegal offshore lottery websites: We Love Lotto and Red Fox Lotto.  As published in the Authority’s official website, member Fiona Cameron said the two domains will be the first lottery sites blocked in the country after ACMA investigations found they offer tickets in major overseas online lotteries, and are not licensed in Australia, which is prohibited under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. Cameron referred to these two websites’ operations as illegal and said there are “no consumer safeguards in place…

Inherent Wealth Fund, an ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) sponsor focused on thematic and sector-specific investing, announced on Tuesday the launch of iBET Sports Betting & Gaming, the first and only actively managed sports betting & gaming ETF. Inherent Wealth Fund founder, CEO Jeffrey Kamys is bringing more than 15 years of experience in the fantasy sports, sports analytics, and sports world to manage the fund. Kamys said: “We’re excited about the growth of this industry as more states move toward legalizing sports betting. With the recent announcement and entry of Disney into the sports betting arena, we believe it’s the green light…

The Abbiati family announced on Wednesday the sudden death of Giovanni Abbiati, founder of the Italy-based gaming supplier Abbiati Casino Equipment. He was 77 years old, and “passed away peacefully after a very short illness,” according to a statement released on Wednesday morning. Founded in 1976, the company is privately owned by the Abbiati family and is based in Turin. It has provided professional articles for casinos for over 30 years, building up an international reputation and client base “with almost every county and city that offers legalized gaming,” according to the firm. Abbiati Casino Equipment’s main business is manufacturing…

The Indiana Gaming Commission is set to decide today the receiver of a license to run a casino in Vigo County. At a public hearing in Indianapolis, the four applicants —Hard Rock, Churchill Downs, Full House and Premier Gaming— will each have 30 minutes to present their proposal, which will then be followed by regulators selecting the licensee. Commissioners are expected to each name their two applicants: those receiving four or more votes will then advance to a final round. Finalists will then make their closing statements, after which commissioners will select the winning applicant by motion and vote, reports Tribune-Star.…

Research conducted by the Washington State University found that sports betting on tribal casinos is on track to become a $94 million industry in the state within the next five years. According to the study, sports wagering at tribal casinos will also lead to an estimated 273 direct jobs.   About 59% of Washington residents surveyed described themselves as sports fans. About 5% said they placed wagers on games at least once per month, mostly through office pools and sportsbooks, while nearly 14% said they were likely to participate in Washington’s emerging sports betting industry. The conducted study, presented during the…

Caesars Entertainment announced today that the WSOP moves to the Las Vegas Strip next year! The 53rd annual World Series of Poker will be held at their Bally’s and Paris Casinos from May 31st to July 19th, 2022. Additionally, actor and comedian Vince Vaughn has been named as the event’s official celebrity Master of Ceremonies. Following a successful 17-year run at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, the WSOP continues its tradition as the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world at an all-new location. For the first time, the WSOP will be held at the heart…

Experienced businessman Rahul Sood, former Microsoft Ventures executive and co-founder of crypto-based esports betting platform Unikrn, is returning to gaming with a new startup called Irreverent Labs. The Seattle-based company, which has already raised $5 million, is working on a new play-to-earn game utilizing cutting-edge technology. The project is being developed by a veteran gaming team, and will feature AI characters living on the blockchain as NFTs. Sood, recognized as an innovative entrepreneur in the esports and gaming industries, is known for his works with Microsoft Ventures and later at Unikrn, which he co-founded in 2014 with Karl Flores. The…

Pragmatic Play has won two awards at the Gaming Intelligence Awards 2021, being crowned iGaming Supplier of the Year and also receiving Game of the Year for its title Gates of Olympus. The judges lauded Pragmatic Play for its surge into the region with key partnerships in “Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru”. They went on to highlight the supplier’s credentials with Codere in Mexico, Colombia, and Spain and the further deals won in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Venezuela as a result of an extended deal with the major operator. Victor Arias, VP of Latin American Operations at Pragmatic Play, said:…

SCCG Management announced Tuesday it has partnered with Better Change, a Gibraltar-based organization that uses training, multi-channel content creation and professional services to gaming operators who wish to implement or strengthen their tools to help reduce the harm for risk-players.  Better Change focuses on intervention strategies for problem gamblers, leverages operator’s internal infrastructure and create external messaging for players and regulators, while bringing a clinical science and research approach to tackling this issue.  “Better Change’s difference is clear in their ability  to intrinsically and organically intertwine this much needed activity into the operating infrastructures of gambling operators and the regulatory…

DraftKings announced Monday that the International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG) has awarded its three-year research grant for the Fund to Support Research on Sports Wagering to researchers at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. DraftKings’ financial contribution allowed the ICRG to proceed with a competitive request for applications from researchers around the world interested in tackling problem gambling. With this funding, they will be able to study the issue’s prevalence as well as risk specific to sports betting on a national scale.  The ICRG created the fund to focus on responsible gaming in sports betting with the goal of…

Investment payback periods for casinos in Macau have now extended from just a year to decades. Whereas a venue like Sands Macau -the enclave’s first Las Vegas-style casino-, opened in 2004, was able to recoup its $256 million construction cost in just under a year, the situation has drastically changed in the last few years. Even before the pandemic, new casino resorts were likely to see a payback period of more than five years, reports Bloomberg. This resulted from challenges from bulging construction costs to China’s crackdown on capital outflow. However, now the Covid-19 pandemic, and its hit to visitation…