Monthly Archives: August 2015

PokerStars Announces VIP Steps Program, But Players Aren’t Impressed

PokerStars has announced that some changes are coming to its much-vaunted VIP rewards program, ones that will see the program take on the name “VIP Steps.” But early reaction from players has been overwhelmingly negative towards the new program, with some going as far to call the changes a “money grab” by PokerStars. The new […]

The post PokerStars Announces VIP Steps Program, But Players Aren’t Impressed appeared first on .

DraftKings spending like drunken sailor on TV ads, debut Ed Norton campaign

Daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings continues to ramp up its TV ad spending and its CEO claims its marketing approach has allowed it to surpass archrival FanDuel.

According to iSpotTV rankings, DraftKings spent $15,930,841 on television advertising in the past seven days. That’s more than Ford, Taco Bell, T-Mobile, McDonald’s and State Farm, and only $15k less than insurance giant Geico.

The nearly $16m in TV ad buys is two-thirds more than the company’s estimated TV spending in the previous seven-day period. It’s also nearly as much as the company spent in the entirety of 2014, according to Kantar Media.

DraftKings’ new marketing deals with broadcasters EPSN and Fox Sports require DraftKings to spend $250m advertising on each network over two years, with the ESPN relationship becoming exclusive in 2016, after which rival FanDuel will have to advertise elsewhere.

Noble steers trio of Ohio Sires Stakes Fillies

Driver Dan Noble had a stellar night of Ohio Sires Stakes action, piloting three of the four divisional winners at Scioto Downs on Aug. 28. The 32-year-old Kettering, Ohio native piloted both of the pacing and one of the 3-year-old trotting filly victresses for Buckeye-bred distaffs. Longshot E Ticket Ride was Noble’s first score, as he guided the daughter of Feelin Friskie-Double E Hanover-Western Hanover to a 1:54.1 career best clocking for trainer David Elliott and owner Bret M. Schwartz of Washington Court House, OH.

Gaming's biggest demographic? Adult women

The Entertainment Software Association, the video game industry’s trade association and presenters of the E3 exposition, released the results of a study on demographics in the gaming industry with some interesting results that help shatter long held stereotypes of gamers. Adult women are now the largest demographic in the gaming industry, making up a total of 36% of the population.

Gaming industry commitment to New Orleans unwavering after the disaster

The most noticeable change in The Big Easy casino market 10 years after Hurricane Katrina is the 14-foot-high concrete-and-steel wall that encircles Boomtown Casino New Orleans . “With the big iron doors, it kind of reminds you of ‘Escape from New York,’ ” said Boomtown general manager Harold Rowland, comparing the Harvey Canal Floodwall to prison walls in the 1981 John Carpenter film.

MPC23: Xiang Rong wins record Baby Dragon event

MACAU, CHINA – August 31, 2015 – ‘PokerStars LIVE Macau’ kicked off Macau Poker Cup 23 this past weekend and completed three of the seventeen Official Asia Player of the Year events on the 17-day schedule.

Those three events drew totals of 854 players and awarded HK$2,808,441 in prize money — the biggest opening weekend since the MPC expanded to a 17-day schedule last season.

“It’s a fantastic start and hopefully a sign of things to come as we approach next week’s Red Dragon main event.” said APPT President Danny McDonagh. “Traditionally, the first MPC of the year has performed better than the summer edition.”

“You’d have to go as far back as 2009 to find the last time the summer installment was bigger but I’m optimistic we’re looking at exactly that.”

How to Win the Esports Betting battle

This is a guest contribution by Luke Cotton, Esports Specialist at Digital Fuel Marketing. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

Everybody has likely read that Esports is a $612m market, and that there are 134 million viewers of them worldwide. Most are probably aware that Amazon purchased leading livestreaming site Twitch for almost $1 billion and that YouTube is now trying to catch up with the launch of its dedicated gaming platform. But did you know that the first recognized Esports event saw the winner walk away with Quake programmer John Carmack’s Ferrari, or that video game publishers are now licensing out the rights to hold Esports events using their games? Today, many leading Esports players can actually make more revenue from live streaming or sticker sales than their salary and tournament winnings combined. 

Did you know that up to $4.5m is wagered on CounterStrike: Global Offensive  (CSGO) black markets per day, that the leading black market Dota 2 betting website has more Facebook fans than William Hill, Ladbrokes or bet365, and that League of Legends, widely recognized as the leading Esports title, sees less wagering than the relatively minor StarCraft II? And if so, do you really understand why this is the case?

Betting operators are likely to judge the potential of Esports as either new markets for their existing Sportsbook, or as Betway is, as a new product in its own right, based on their own early wagering and acquisition signs. So, understanding the Esports landscape, the intricacies of the various games, their different fans, and where to acquire customers is crucial for success. Without this understanding, bookmakers will be playing a dangerous game. They run the risk of seeing considerably different results to their competitors, who have a more complete understanding of the fundamentals, and who will therefore invest more resources to profit in the long term.