Monthly Archives: October 2018

New York Jets first NFL team to partner with online gambling site

The New York Jets have become the first National Football League team to ink a sponsorship deal with an online gambling operator.

Late Monday, the New York Post broke the news that the Jets had signed a contract with UK-listed online gambling operator 888 Holdings. Banners promoting 888 were on display outside the Jets’ MetLife Stadium during Sunday’s game vs. the Chicago Bears and the company’s New Jersey-licensed site identifies 888 as a “proud sponsor” of the team, whose logo is prominently featured.

So far, two NFL teams – the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens – have announced tie-ups with brick-and-mortar casinos following the league rethinking its longstanding ban on gambling-related partnerships. However, neither of those deals involved a state in which sports betting has been declared legal.

The Jets-888 deal will reportedly be formally announced later this week, but the Jets appear to have limited 888 to promoting its online casino and poker operations rather than its 888sport brand (which launched in New Jersey in September). Regardless, visitors to 888’s New Jersey-licensed site are only one click away from the sports betting page, which prominently features a logo-free football player.

Bitcoin BCH makes gambling operators more profitable

If you own an online sportsbook or casino, the primary focus should be on your company’s ability to take deposits and payout winners without friction or excessive fees. That’s why the most progressive operators are adding and emphasizing Bitcoin BCH in their cashier.

A few of the world’s gambling companies knew the importance of cryptocurrencies as a deposit option immediately, but others have been slow to adapt.

Gone are the good old days where every credit card processed in every region or a punter could enter the numbers on the bottom of a cheque to get down on the NFL games.

Bitcoin BCH is fast, instant in most cases, letting your players start betting immediately. The best part, in most cases, is it costs pennies or less to make a transaction.

Nevada casino sportsbooks set revenue record on NFL return

Nevada casinos snapped their two-month streak of gaming revenue declines in September thanks in part to a record performance by their sportsbooks.

Figures released Tuesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board show statewide casino gaming revenue of $991.2m in September, a modest 1.2% rise over the same month last year but a significant improvement over the $913m the casinos earned in August 2018. The picture was dimmer on the Las Vegas Strip, where casinos posted a 3.7% year-on-year fall to $546m.

Nevada’s slots were in fine form in September, rising 7% to $637.2m, while revenue from ‘table, counter and card games’ was off 7.7% to $354m. Virtually all the major table games except roulette ($40m, +22.4%) were broadly negative, led by baccarat ($70.4m, -27%), blackjack ($92.1m, -17.5%) and craps ($32.7m, -10.4%). With the exception of baccarat, table betting volume was up 4.7% at Strip casinos, meaning the state simply played unlucky for the month.

On the bright side, Nevada’s sportsbooks were celebrating the return of National Football League action, which helped boost the books’ total take to a record $56.3m, up 26.7% from the same month last year and exceeding the previous record of $53.4m set in September 2012.

Cloudbet celebrates 5 years as bitcoin gambling pioneer

This week Cloudbet celebrates its fifth birthday, making it one of the world’s oldest and most established bitcoin sportsbook and casino operators. As crypto ages in the digital equivalent of dog years, turning five is a real landmark.

When Cloudbet launched, it had a simple mission: to offer the easiest way to bet with bitcoin (and later bitcoin cash) which continues to be its focus. It achieves this by leveraging the power of cryptocurrencies in an user-friendly bitcoin betting platform that meets the needs of the growing number of crypto gamblers, and addresses the shortcomings of fiat (traditional) bookmakers.

To celebrate the milestone, Cloudbet is giving away a big chunk of bitcoin for the best meme that encapsulates how crypto has changed in the last five years. All details of the competition are available on the Cloudbet Blog.

Mirio Mella, Cloudbet’s spokesperson, said, “Cloudbet turning five is a real landmark, and something we are super proud of. We acknowledge that we wouldn’t have made it this far without the early engagement of the bitcoin community which is why we’re giving something back. We’re looking forward to seeing what creative memes the community comes up with.”

Pragmatic Play strikes Paf deal

Operator to host entire portfolio of Pragmatic Play content

30 October 2018: Pragmatic Play, one of the leading software providers for video slots and live casino, has signed a deal with Åland-based gaming operator Paf (Ålands Penningautomatförening).

The partnership will see the operator host the entirety of Pragmatic Play’s suite of content, including new video slots Da Vinci’s Treasure and Peking Luck, as well as the award-winning Wolf Gold.

Melissa Summerfield, Chief Commercial Officer at Pragmatic Play, said: “We are delighted to have entered this agreement with Paf, a leading operator with a commitment to bringing their players high quality games.

Is this bear market cyclical or secular? Upcoming earnings will shed clues

Modern gaming stocks have never seen a secular bear market. Sounds crazy right? It’s true. They’ve certainly seen cyclical bear markets. Vicious ones that’ll make you sick and destroy your finances if you’re leveraged. The crash of ‘08 was certainly a cyclical bear market. The Macau crash of 2014 was, too. But for long term holders they’re just aberrations of one kind or another on a long term uptrend.

The oldest of modern gaming stocks have only been around since the late 1980’s. MGM, among the oldest, went public in May 1988, only 30 years ago. Secular market trends span longer periods than that. Bonds were in a secular bull market from 1981 to 2016 for example. Since its IPO, MGM has been in a secular bull market along with most other large cap gaming stocks.

The oldest and most veteran UK gaming companies have only been public in their modern incarnations since the late 1990’s. There have been great years and there have been horrible years, but buy and hold still hasn’t failed. Even Las Vegas Sands, which suffered a 99% collapse from 2007 to 2009, is still above its 2004 IPO. Wynn’s long term chart looks like riding an especially enraged mechanical bull, but the secular bull trend is clearly intact nonetheless. Macau stocks are way too young to even be on the time scale of anything secular. These casinos spent their adolescence in a time of extreme global monetary stimulus. It’s like being surrounded as a child by a bunch of cocaine addicts and thinking it’s totally normal. Modern gaming companies simply don’t know any other type of environment.

Right now we are clearly in the midst of yet another cyclical bear. The question is will it turn into a secular trend. The bellwether Macau gaming stocks are collapsing faster than they did in 2014 without a clear catalyst that affects fundamentals like an attack on the VIP sector. Galaxy is down 45% in 7 months. Back in 2014 that degree of collapse took 10 months. Las Vegas Sands is down 38% in 4 months. That level of decline took 10 months to materialize from the 2014 top. Wynn is down 53.5%. The same decline took over a year in 2014.

When your acquiring bank fails

What should online business owners do when their bank closes rendering their merchant account is no longer functional

On a regular October Monday, a note on the front door of a Maltese bank said the branch was temporarily closed for “internal staff meetings”. The customers who waited outside trying to access to their accounts at the Sata Bank were only informed by an official notice posted on the bank’s website that their bank had been closed by the Malta Financial Services Authority. Just like that, merchants whose business had relied on routing payments including issuing refunds to customers, retrieving revenue and managing future chargebacks were left in limbo.

Once acquiring banks close, there isn’t very much that its customers, including merchants, can do. Financial authorities close failed banks without any advance notice, so by the time business owners are informed that their merchant account will be closed it is imperative to get another merchant bank account as quickly as possible.

The are no shortcuts, no guarantees, yet it can be done fairly fast. Ideally, the new acquiring bank should not carry the same risks as the previous one. But let’s address the bank failure aftermath one step at a time.

Chelsea Palace Casino partners with Top Hat Affiliates for its affiliate programme

Chelsea Palace Casino – One of the fastest growing online casinos which offers players the most exciting and fun-filling online casino games has decided to launch its affiliate programme with Top Hat Affiliates.

Top Hat Affiliates is associated with numerous top-tier online casino and bingo brands in the iGaming industry. Its exponential growth in the recent past and the addition of new casino brands to its existing portfolio of merchants makes Top Hat unique.

Chelsea Palace Casino offers players an exuberant mobile-friendly gaming experience where the players can play and explore all their favourite casino games on multiple gaming devices including desktop, smartphone, tablet, iPhone and iPad.

Speaking to the reporters during the post-launch session, a spokesperson for Chelsea Palace Casino stated, “The affiliate marketing industry is booming and is certain to reach $7 Billion in revenues within next five years. The competition in this market is becoming intense as it is growing 27 per cent CAGR globally and so, we are extremely delighted to be a part of a growing affiliate network like Top Hat Affiliates who have an exceptional record of promoting online casinos.”

A League to provide its content on Friendship Platform

Armenian Basketball A League is entering the global marketplace of content providers by cooperating with FeedConstruct. The two sides have signed an exclusive global partnership agreement. Armenian Basketball A League now will provide over 100 matches of A League per season to the world marketplace.

Ara Poghosyan, the President of Armenian Basketball A-League comments, “We are glad to collaborate with FeedConstruct, which offers modern technical solutions to content providers, helping them to enter the global market, which results in the maximization of profits. Their Friendship platform’s offer is the future scheme for the global sports content and sports data industry.

“Both sides have high expectations from this cooperation and we are sure that these high hopes will be fulfilled very soon. Let this be the start of a strong and long-lasting relationship between FeedConstruct and the Basketball A League,” said George Arabatlian, Head of FeedConstruct.

The post A League to provide its content on Friendship Platform appeared first on CalvinAyre.com.

MGM seeks Pennsylvania online gambling presence

MGM Resorts International is applying for an online gambling license in Pennsylvania, according to Online Poker Report.

The casino giant will be applying as a qualified gaming entity (QGE), to participate in the claiming of 10 remaining licenses Pennsylvania is to issue, out of a total of 39. The state has given only until October 31 for out-of-state entities to join in the process.

Last year, Pennsylvania became the fourth state to authorize online gambling, legislating a 54% tax on revenue from online slots, and a 16% tax for online poker and table games. It has since legalized sports betting as well, for which Penn National Gaming and Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment have already been issued licenses.

Other applicants for online gambling are Parx Casino, Sands Bethlehem, SugarHouse Casino, and Valley Forge, the latter owned by MGM partner Boyd Gaming. River Casino withdrew its application early this month, which increased the number of licenses for handing out, from seven to 10.

SPiCE Gaming Conference and Exhibition to be held in Goa Marriott Resort & Spa in February 2019

The second edition of the premier gaming conclave of India, namely the Strategic Platform for iGaming Conference & Exhibition (SPiCE), is set to be held on 26th and 27th February 2019, at the Goa Marriott Resort & Spa, located in Miramar, Panaji.

The two day conference and exhibition, hosted by Hong Kong-based Eventus International, will be held at the serene Goa Marriott Resort & Spa, which is strategically located close to the capital city of Panaji, with easy access to the offshore and onshore casinos of the state.

The event will see eminent experts and industry leaders brainstorm on the developments in the gaming and betting industry and the road ahead for the sector over the course of two days.

A SP’iCE’ Breaker Networking Drinks will be held on the eve of the event, i.e. on 25th February 2019 at the Goa Marriott Resort & Spa, wherein the attendees will get an opportunity to discuss, deliberate and network over drinks while gazing out over the beautiful oceanic view of the Arabian sea.

Nissi Online Casino adds horse betting

Those who love playing the horse race betting will be thrilled to know that Nissi Online Casino is adding horse betting to its current offerings. Horse betting is joining a list of games that includes slots, baccarat, and blackjack. These virtual horse races allow individuals to play the races for real money on a phone, tablet, or computer.

The Excitement of Virtual Horse Racing at Nissi Online Casino

There are currently three virtual horse betting games available at Nissi Casino. These are Dashing Derby, Horses, and Virtual Racebook 3D. All of them can be played right from the browser and do not require a software download.

Players are presented with a list of horses in a race and the posted odds for each horse. The player then chooses which horse they would like to wager on and how much money they would like to bet. Once the bet has been chosen, the player clicks to create a virtual betting slip just like the physical one given at the racetrack.

Nissi Online Casino adds LIVE Club Roulette

Live club roulette is the newest addition to the Nissi Casino online family of games. The casino has added this wildly popular roulette variation to drum up new business. The online casino was recently opened just this year. Since its inception, they’ve managed to add over 3,000 games to their catalog. Live table games have become very prominent in recent years as has sports betting. Nissi Casino has made certain to add many different experiences to please its guests. The company is operated from the island of Curacao in the Caribbean Sea. SG International N.V. is the current operator of the online gaming venue. Aside from the new additions, players are able to experience all their favorite classics as well. Video poker, slots, scratch cards, bingo, and many more games are all now live on their website.

Nissi Online Casino also made sure to cover its bases from an operational standpoint. The company offers even live table games and sports betting on mobile devices. Players can access these games on their tablet, mobile phone, or home computer. Responsible gambling initiatives are given much consideration. Software to monitor for concerning gambling behaviors is currently in place. Information regarding getting help for these issues is also made available online. Age and identity verification are used to make sure that players are legitimately allowed on the website. SSL encryption technology makes the website safer. Coding information so that it doesn’t get into dishonest hands also prevents crimes from happening upon their inception.

Nissi Casino offers its players many different deposit and withdrawal options with high limits. Up to $10,000 dollars in one day can be transacted. The company also offers less than a one day turnaround time for payouts when using an e-wallet. Credit card payments are also another popular option. Bitcoin transactions also add to the convenience factor for their players. Multiple language options and live customer support means that guests are always happy and welcomed. A free play option is available on many different games. This allows players to try it before playing with money. Getting acclimated to the games is always the smartest way to make sure they have realistic expectations and the most pleasant experience possible.

Live club roulette is just like the normal version of the game but with a social twist. The game allows players to select an avatar and interact with each other. They’re able to see other players’ bets, moves, and communicate with the dealer in real time. Should the players wish to mask some features, they can disable them easily. Since roulette is a fun and fast-paced game, the social interaction makes things more enjoyable. Many different betting schemes are offered as well.

2019 World Series odds: Opening betting lines

No team has repeated as World Series champion since the New York Yankees won three straight Fall Classics from 1998-2000. That hasn’t scared off oddsmakers from installing the 2018 champion Boston Red Sox as the +650 favorites to win another title next year. They finished off the Los Angeles Dodgers in five on Sunday.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

This year’s Red Sox team has to go on any short list of the best ever with 119 total victories and just one road playoff loss. It was the Sox’s fourth championship this century, most of any MLB team. Of course, before 2004 the Red Sox hadn’t won a World Series since 1918.

Boston should be loaded again next year. Every key member of the offense is under contract; that offense led the majors in nearly every major category. The main free-agents-to-be are second baseman Ian Kinsler (he was acquired during the season, and the Sox should have a healthy Dustin Pedroia to return to second in 2019), World Series MVP Steve Pearce (a platoon guy), starting pitchers Nathan Eovaldi and Drew Pomeranz, and closer Craig Kimbrel.