Monthly Archives: January 2015

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Stock Declines Today on Nevada's Weak Full Year Gaming Results

The commission said that casinos statewide generated $11 billion in revenue during the year, a 1.1% decline from the $11.1 billion haul from 2013. Despite the drop in revenue, the $11 billion generated was just the second time since 2008 the state has reached that figure and the second consecutive year it has cracked that benchmark.

The Biggest Bets on the Super Bowl can Only be Placed in Bitcoin

Online bitcoin‐only sportsbook and casino site Cloudbet.com are taking big bets of up to

1000 BTC on Super Bowl XLIX – the largest of any online sportsbook in the world.

Curacao, January 29, 2015 – It’s the biggest event on the year’s sports‐betting calendar –Super Bowl XLIX – and in line with the occasion, bitcoin sportsbook Cloudbet has announced that high rollers will be able to place bets of up to 1000 BTC on the game. With a current USD‐BTC exchange rate, this represents an equivalent stake of around USD 230,000, more than online bettors have been able to bet on any previous Super Bowl.

Cloudbet is currently taking bets of up to 400 BTC (USD 92,000), considerably more than mainstream sportsbooks online. Cloudbet will be increasing the maximum stake size to 1000 BTC on Super Bowl Sunday. Players will be able to place bets directly through the Cloudbet website, with no special approval necessary.

Bets of 1000 BTC ‐ unprecedented in the online gambling industry ‐ are possible due to bitcoin’s unique properties. Because Cloudbet operates only in bitcoin, both the operator and its customers can move large amounts of funds at very low cost in a short period of time, something that is beyond the ability of traditional sportsbooks.

“This is groundbreaking for high rollers who want a lot of action but haven’t been able to bet as much as they would want due to the cost of transferring large amounts of currency to online betting sites. Online sportsbooks can’t take very large credit card deposits as the risk of fraud is too high. These risks don’t exist with bitcoin. It’s a very elegant solution.” said Dennis Laudrup, Head of Marketing at Cloudbet. Cloudbet is also expecting its new limits will encourage a number of high stakes bettors who are unfamiliar with bitcoin to consider its potential.

“Customers will appreciate how easy and convenient it is to move large amounts of funds from anywhere to anywhere, which makes bitcoin perfect for big sports bets,” continues Laudrup. “In particular, they will especially love the improvement in how long how long they wait to receive their winnings ‐ which will be minutes or hours ‐ which is a significant improvement on the industry standard of days or weeks.”

Digital Fuel’s “Flirt for a Cause – Give Thanks for the Mammaries”: Breast Cancer Fundraiser at LAC

London, United Kingdom (Friday, January 30, 2015) – Digital Fuel Marketing Ltd is excited to confirm their attendance at this year’s London Affiliate Conference (LAC), at the new Olympia, London venue, on January 31st – February 3rd, 2015.

Station Casinos Teams With Tony Gemignani to Open Three Restaurants This Spring

Station Casinos LLC is partnering with 11-time World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani to open three new restaurants in spring 2015. New eateries include Slice House by Tony Gemignani and the award-winning Pizza Rock, both joining Green Valley Ranch Resort, and Little Tony’s, a new Italian concept opening at Palace Station.

CalvinAyre.com Featured Conferences & Events: February 2015

London Affiliate Conference (LAC)

With close to 4,000 people expected to attend, the London Affiliate Conference is biggest online gambling affiliate event on the calendar.  The Financial Partners expo will be taking place alongside the LAC and new this year an “acquisition zone,” a portion of the expo floor dedicated to service providers, will be featured.

Over the course of the event, delegates can expect two days of strategic conference sessions and expo floor, four days of parties and networking opportunities.  As always, all affiliates and introducing brokers go for free.

What: London Affiliate Conference

When: January 31-February 3, 2015

Where: Olympia London

Register: Online

Bright Future: a 350,000 'Fab Lab' centre set to transform Blackburn's Victorian Quarter

AN ambitious plan has been unveiled to create Lancashire’s first ‘Fab Lab’ – a creative and digital technology centre aimed at young entrepreneurs. The hi-tech centre would be part of initiative to transform Blackburn’s Victorian quarter into a thriving tourist and business hub.

Paul Phua was Arrested in Malaysia for Same Offense as in US

Paul Phua is currently on trial in the US for running an illegal sports betting operation in Las Vegas during the world cup. Though the former Macau junket operator had the support of professional players like Phil Ivey, Andrew Robl and Tom Dwan during his initial arrest last year, it turns out he has been […]

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Bwin.party warns of €15m hit due to EU VAT; Mansion withdraws from Germany

Online gambling operator Bwin.party digital entertainment has warned investors that new European Union rules on value added tax (VAT) could cost the company an extra €15m in 2015. On Jan. 1, the EU imposed new rules regarding the application of VAT to electronically supplied services. Gambling had traditionally been exempt from VAT but that decision has now been left to individual markets.

The UK-listed Bwin.party is based in Gibraltar, where it wasn’t subject to VAT. The new point-of-consumption rules will take a 19% bite out of casino and poker revenues from countries like Germany, which is responsible for over a quarter of Bwin.party’s overall revenue.

Bwin.party and GVC Holdings were believed to be among a group of operators preparing to mount a legal challenge of Germany’s imposition of the VAT. There has been some suggestion that operators might decline to pay up until their legal options run out but Bwin.party’s statement on Friday says the company “expects to file for and pay VAT in certain EU Member States.” Any company withholding the VAT would be liable for stiff financial penalties should their challenge fail.

Bwin.party might be forgiven for feeling like 2015 is ganging up on the company. In addition to the new European VAT, Bwin.party’s UK-facing business is also dealing with the new 15% point-of-consumption tax. In America, where Bwin.party’s New Jersey-facing site is the market leader but continues to operate at a loss, the company will likely bleed even more red ink if/when PokerStars finally receives the regulatory nod to open its online doors in the Garden State.

Meanwhile, another Gibraltar-licensed online gambling operator has taken a very different approach to addressing the German VAT introduction. The Playtech-powered Mansion Group announced it was yanking five of its German-facing sites – Casino.com, MansionCasino.com, LesACasino.com, Club777.com and SlotsHeaven.com – from the country effective Feb. 1. Players will still have access to free-play sites, but real-money gambling will be verboten.

Earlier this month, an unidentified Gibraltar-based online gambling site played a central role in the first conviction of a German gambler for playing blackjack with a site not authorized by German authorities. Germany officially allows only online sports betting.