Monthly Archives: March 2020

Aquis forced to cut pay, workforce as Australia shuts down casinos

Aquis Entertainment may now be regretting the decision to cancel a deal that would have seen the company’s assets go to Blue Whale Entertainment. The two gaming entities had been negotiating an acquisition for more than a year, but Aquis was forced to pull the deal off the table after Australian gaming regulators seemed not to be amenable to the takeover. Now, because of the coronavirus, authorities in Australia have forced casinos to temporarily shut down, and Aquis is about to take a major hit. As a result, it is cutting staff and salaries, letting go – hopefully on just a short-term basis – 90% of its workforce.

A week ago, Australian Prime Minister Scoot Morrison issued an order to all public venues – such as restaurants, bars, casinos and more – to shut down for “up to six months.” Aquis, which is behind Casino Canberra in Canberra, the country’s capital, diligently followed the instructions, but not without serious damage to its internal operations. Of the 235 employees working for the company, 190 are already on a forced vacation, and another 20 are soon going to be let go.

In a filing (in pdf) with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Aquis explains, “The Casino Canberra operations ceased prior to 12 noon on Monday 23 March 2020. As a result, the Company has made the very difficult but unavoidable decision to stand down approximately 90% of our 235 employees. We have completed the initial stand down of approximately 190 operations employees and are currently in the process of standing down a further approximately 20 employees following a controlled shut down [sic] of the property.”

Aquis doesn’t specify whether or not it plans on helping its furloughed employees, as has been the case with some other casino operators forced into temporary hibernation. It added that its CEO, Alison Gallaugher, is going to take a pay cut of 50% – taking her from AU$300,000 ($184,980) to $150,000 ($92,490) – and other executives are going to see reductions of 48%. In addition, non-executive directors of the board will not collect any fees while the shutdown is in place.

The NBA may have a contingency plan to resume basketball games

Drastic times call for drastic measures, and it’s already understood that the NBA as we knew it is not going to be able to play out as it normally would. This isn’t surprising, nor should it be cause for concern – the coronavirus has disrupted everything, and it is impossible to apply standard solutions to resolve any issue. Changes are going to have to be made as industries begin the rebuilding process, and the NBA is reportedly working on a plan that would allow it to, in some fashion, salvage the remainder of the 2019-20 season and hold the NBA Finals.

There had been speculation that the league might be able to resume sometime late in April or possibly in May. A May return might be possible if COVID-19 can be brought under control, but a June relaunch is more optimistic. However, even if games were to startup that month, they won’t be the same.

What could follow, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, is a completely modified league structure that would facilitate the completion of the season without forcing it to run too deep into the final months of the year. He points out that the NBA could take its cue from what is currently seen with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and its attempts at continuing the game amid the coronavirus.

The CBA stopped its games in January and hoped to return to the basketball courts in the middle of February. That goal was then pushed out to the beginning of April, then the middle of April and, finally the end of the month of the beginning of May. It desperately wants to get the action going as quickly as possible, and is now working on an alternative.

New Summer Olympics, Paralympics dates announced

Canceling any sporting event is never an easy decision to make. At risk are millions of dollars in losses, and changing schedules has implications that reach well beyond the sports contests themselves. However, the coronavirus has upended the entire sports world and forced the entire industry to alter its plans. Some segments may have an easier time adjusting due to the pandemic, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is facing a monumental task. Originally scheduled to start this summer in Tokyo, the IOC was forced to bring everything to a grinding halt and announced last week that a delay of up to a year was coming. It has now provided an update a new tentative schedule is in place.

The IOC’s executive board met yesterday to determine how to proceed with the games, and has decided that July 23 will be the start of the Tokyo Olympics. The competitions will run through August 8, and, according to ICO president Thomas Bach, the games will still be called Tokyo 2020. He added in a statement, “I would also like to thank the IOC Athletes’ Commission, with whom we have been in constant contact. With this announcement, I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge. Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel.”

The Paralympics will take place shortly after the completion of the Olympic Games. The new schedule is August 24 through September 5, and Paralympic president Andrew Parsons is happy with the outcome. He adds, “It is fantastic news that we could find new dates so quickly for the Tokyo 2020 Games. The new dates provide certainty for the athletes, reassurance for the stakeholders and something to look forward to for the whole world. When the Paralympic Games do take place in Tokyo next year, they will be an extra-special display of humanity uniting as one, a global celebration of human resilience and a sensational showcase of sport.”

Changing the dates has huge financial implications. Athletes, trainers, coaches, press crews, sponsors and more all have to revamp their schedules to ensure they can participate. The host country, Japan, in this case, has to make alterations, as well. Japan had reportedly already budgeted around $12.5 billion to host the games, and is now going to have to pull out another $2-$4 billion to change the schedule, according to some analysts.

Retail lottery suspended by Lotto NZ

On March 27, Lotto NZ announced that they will offer online sales of tickets to customers during the extended lockdown, but retail sales will be temporarily paused. This statement came just a day before it was announced the New Zealand suffered their first death from the Covid-19 virus.

In their announcement, Lotto NZ CEO Chris Lyman explained, “By operating online during the lockdown period we can continue to provide funding to New Zealand communities, many of which will need it now more than ever.”

While wanting customers to be safe, it is widely recognized that the lotto plays a significant role in generating funding for the government, as well as for charities in local communities. From the total revenue, 100% of the profits go to over 3,000 charities and other good causes.  Lotto NZ also plays a significant role in funding Sport New Zealand, New Zealand Film Commission and Creative New Zealand.

For these reasons, it would have been a major blow to the country if both online and in-store sales to customers would have been suspended. Instead, Lotto NZ opted to only suspend in-store sales until the Alert Level 4 had been lifted.

BSV Ecosystem Spotlight: SatoPlay launches its first third-party game

SatoPlay is a BSV-based casual gaming platform. The project was launched in September, 2019, with its first two games coming online in December in the same year. Recently, SatoPlay just welcomed its latest game “Leap Day Birds” that was developed by third-party developer Momo Game Studio. This signifies that SatoPlay has officially entered the “open platform” stage, where third-party developers can integrate their games to the platform easily, be it web games based off Cocos/Laya or independent apps based on Unity/Unreal.

The team behind SatoPlay is located in Guangdong, China and consists of four experienced game designers and developers who have worked at large video game companies for many years. The project began with one single developer, Gu Lu, founder of SatoPlay. He had tried developing several games on blockchain prior, but when he saw the potential of infinite scalability of BSV, he decided to pour his energy into developing an open platform for games on the BSV blockchain and to create a new gaming business model.

Currently, SatoPlay aims at the casual mobile gaming market. gamers’ scores can be uploaded to the BSV blockchain and entered into a ranking competition. In addition to the in-game props are available for purchase as gamers progress in the game, rewards are given to gamers based on their daily ranking. The rewards come from the revenue that all the props being used during a day. This creates a intra-platform incentive cycle that makes the game more layered and more challenging for the gamers. The reward system also provides gamers with a measurable sense of achievement.

For the 3 months since the platform was launched, the number of registered users has exceeded 14,000, with a DAU of 500, many of whom are loyal users that log on every day. For users who already hold BSV, they can directly log into the platform and make purchases with their MoneyButton or DotWallet account. For those who are new to BSV, they can do so through SatoPlay’s built-in interface with WeChat Pay and AliPay. This enables a user experience no more different from the existing gaming platforms in the mainstream and helps lower new user’s entry barrier.

Eman Pulis talks about the evolution of SiGMA

SiGMA events continue to be more impressive every year, as their organzing team really understands what the gaming industry is about, and what it needs next. Eman Pulis, Founder and CEO of SiGMA, joined our Becky Liggero to discuss how SiGMA Malta met those needs, and what they are planning for future events.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtJHz1n_v28?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

Every year, SiGMA gets bigger, and the 6th edition of the event was the biggest yet. “We broke records on all fronts, record number of exhibitors, sponsors, record number of delegates, and I think most importantly, record number of handshakes,” Pulis said. “I’ve seen so much business coming into the show between exhibitors and delegates, couldn’t be happier.”

As the conference keeps getting bigger, Pulis finds new ways to treat his guests well. “It’s all about giving them that extra TLC, you know?” he told our Becky Liggero Fontana. “And I thought, well, what can I solve? What problem can I solve, and I know in Malta, traffic can be a small issue. I don’t mean affiliate traffic, that’s always great, but really tragic on the streets can be an issue, so what better way to beat it than a helicopter. So we have a helicopter shuttle going in and out, and that kept the delegates happy. I know you guys also had a chance to ride on it as well.”

1xBet win Mexico online gambling license as retail gaming shuts

Online gambling operator 1xBet has big plans for its Mexican-facing operations after being granted a license by the local regulator.

Cyprus-based, Curacao-licensed 1xBet was recently awarded a Mexican online gambling license by the Dirección General de Juegos y Sorteos (DGJS), a division of the Ministry of the Interior (SEGOB), which oversees gambling activity in the country.

The 1xBet.com.mx site lists its local subsidiary as Entretenimientos Naturales (Natural Entertainment) and its local partner as Espectáculos Deportivos de Occidente (Sports Shows of the West).

The Mexican company was issued a 25-year retail betting license in 1994, the duration of which was extended in 2018 to 2034. That same year, the Guadalajara-based company was authorized to open 30 additional betting locations.

Apple extends iOS gambling app conversion deadline to June 30

Tech giant Apple has given gambling operators more time to bring their apps into compliance, while Apple finds itself under fire for steering problem gamblers to online casinos.

Last week, Apple issued a notice to gambling operators that it was granting a three-month extension to the deadline for ensuring that their apps were fully native to the iOS operating system. Apple announced last June that it would ban gambling ‘container’ apps from its App Store that featured HTML5 games ‘wrapped’ in an iOS shell.

Apple’s original deadline for making these changes was early September, which presented developers with an almost impossible timeline for completing the transition from HTML5 to iOS native. Accordingly, Apple extended the deadline to March and has now further extended that timeline to June 30.

Given that this will have given developers nearly 13 months in which to make the necessary changes, it seems unlikely that Apple will offer a further extension come July. Then again, with society currently anticipating a full-on zombie apocalypse if the rates of COVID-19 transmission don’t slow, nothing seems out of the question these days.

How to win sportsbetting on Esports

Sportsbetting markets are like the tide, they come in and out, but some currents get stronger, while others fade away. While the live sports markets have dried up, Esports betting markets have come alive, and there’s never been a better time to research the best way to improve your chances of cutting a profit in them. We’ve looked into exactly how you should approach the Esports betting markets and what you should be looking out for if you’re to press your edge.

Moneyline or Outrights

This is the most popular way of betting on any Esport markets, whether the sport in question is virtual or physical in its nature. With a moneyline bet, you’ll be betting on which team or individual will win in their match. The ‘split’ is the difference between the two options, with a dead heat being -110 or so for each choice, meaning you’d win $100 if you wagered $110.

If you were to be betting on a less-even match-up, then the odds might be -175 for the favourite and +125 for the outsider, with the obvious imbalance between the odds paying out in kind for the teams or players in question. If you were to bet on the outsider, you’d only need to bet $100 to win $125 profit if they upset the formbook.

Seven summer transfers that would change the English Premier League

1. Harry Kane

Any movement from the England number nine would be a summer transfer sensation. The Tottenham Hotspur striker has been a one-club man ever since he returned from several loan spells and cemented his place in the Spurs side.

Now England’s main man up front and a Premier League legend with well over 100 goals, Kane is hot property, and his interview with Jamie Redknapp this week on Instagram hinted that he’s going to be looking at other clubs if Tottenham can’t match his own ambitions to be the very best he can be. With Kane already a supreme Premier League goalscorer, he may be tempted to stay in his home country’s league purely to have a crack at the record of 260 goals that Alan Shearer set as a target what seems a generation ago.

2. Jadon Sancho

Brazil court suspends president’s decree that lotteries are essential

Brazil’s lottery operators are engaged in a legal war with their country’s mercurial president over whether they must continue operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this month, some Brazilian states ordered the shutdown of local lottery retailers in a bid to minimize further transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The Loterias Caixa unit of the Caixa Econômica Federal state bank ordered a three-month halt to Federal Lottery draws to prevent customers from going out to buy tickets.

Last Wednesday, President Jair Bolsonaro issued an amendment to a decree intended to ensure the continued operation of ‘essential’ businesses. The amendment added lottery retailers (and later, churches) to the list of sectors that are considered “indispensable to meet the urgent needs of the community.”

Bolsonaro (pictured) subsequently claimed that the “armored” glass separating lottery retailers from their customers would ensure that “the virus will not pass.” The president added that the “neurosis of closing everything is not working” and the government needed lottery revenue to ensure it could pay for COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

NFL Betting Futures: AFC Division odds

Is everyone tired yet about hearing that Tom Brady left the greatest dynasty in NFL history, the New England Patriots, for one of the worst overall franchises in modern history, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Brady’s choice has dominated the NFL offseason, but it also has hugely affected betting markets. For example, odds to win the AFC East. Brady took over as New England’s starting quarterback very early in the 2001 season when Drew Bledsoe was injured, and since then the Patriots won the division in all but two seasons.

In 2002, New England and the New York Jets both finished 9-7, but the Jets won the tiebreaker and the division. That was the last time the Patriots won fewer than 10 games. In 2008, Brady went down with a season-ending injury in Week 1, but the Patriots still won 11 games behind Matt Cassel and tied for first with the Miami Dolphins, who won the tiebreaker. That was the last time the Pats missed the playoffs.

SBTech sportsbook clients offline after apparent hack

Sports betting technology provider SBTech has reportedly been targeted by hackers, leading to the forced outages of the company’s sports betting clients.

This weekend, online sports bettors took to the forums to speculate on what was going on at a number of sportsbooks – including 10bet, Bet.pt, Bethard, ComeOn, NetBet, Churchill Downs Inc’s BetAmerica brand, Mansion and the Oregon Lottery’s Scoreboard wagering product – all of which are currently displaying some variation of ‘under maintenance’ on their homepages.

Early speculation suggested that SBTech had fallen victim to the same type of data hacking that recently befell Curacao-licensed online sportsbook BetUS, although that site remains operational (even if most of its customers remain as unaware of any digital shenanigans as customers of SBTech clients).

Suspicion also centered on a possible distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, which are traditionally deployed against sportsbooks during or immediately prior to the launch of a major sports event. However, the COVID-19 pandemic means there’s virtually no sports events left on the calendar, so the ‘ticking clock’ aspect of a DDoS attack was well and truly absent.