Business/Financial

South Point Poker Real Money Launch Delayed

Testing delays and ongoing negotiations with Nevada regulators may result in South Point Poker pushing its launch date to December or, quite possibly, the start of the new year. 

South Point had hoped to be the first to launch its real money online poker site in the newly regulated Nevada market.  South Point Poker will be operated by the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Three other Web poker ventures are vying to get a much needed jumpstart including rival Station Casinos. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/18/2012

Olympics and Cancelled Horse Races Hurt Ladbrokes Bottom Line

(Reuters) - Blanket Olympic television coverage and canceled horse races in a soggy summer reduced the sums gambled in British betting shops, bookmaker Ladbrokes Plc said on Thursday.

The Olympics in London were hugely popular with Britons but this did not translate into a surge in business for bookmakers, as many of the sports in the Games do not attract large numbers of gamblers.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/18/2012

Shares in 888 Holdings Up 18 Per Cent Wednesday

Shares in the world’s 4th largest real money online poker provider, 888 Poker, rose 18 per cent on Wednesday, up to 109p.

The Financial News reports that 888 Holdings revenue in the past three months has risen 7 per cent to $92m, compared with the same period last year.  Must of this is the result of a 21 per cent rise in poker revenue to $22m.  The company has witnessed strong results in Spain.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/17/2012

Zynga’s Move Into Mobile Not Exactly Smooth

SAN FRANCISCO -  (Reuters) - Zynga Inc's inexorable decline over the past six months, capped by a sharp reduction in its 2012 outlook on Thursday, has sharpened interest in what Chief Executive Mark Pincus will do next.

Wall Street's excitement over a game publisher once counted among the stars of the new social Internet has cooled since its December initial public offering. On Friday, analysts slashed their price targets on a stock that dived as much as 22 percent, to $2.21 - more than three-quarters off its $10 debut.

Submitted by Reuters on, Oct/17/2012

William Hill and Sportingbet Agree to Takeover Terms

The United Kingdom’s largest bookmaker, William Hill, is one step closer to taking over rival Sportingbet, one of the first successful online bookmakers.

William Hill and takeover partner GVC Holdings said that any deal is contingent upon certain detailed terms and conditions. 

The proposed offer is about 20 percent higher than a previous one made last month.  This takeover proposal would beworth 61.1p per share to Sportingbet's shareholders, compared with the previous one worth 52.2p a share.

A formal offer would be recommended to Sportingbet’s shareholders. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/16/2012

Coral Poker Moves to iPoker Network, TLC88.com to Utilize Bodog Poker

Gala Coral, one of the UK’s largest gaming operators, announced plans to move over to the popular iPoker Network following word that it’s previous network, Ongame, will no longer service the European market.

Incentive points offered by Coral Poker will still be honored as part of the move to the world’s second largest poker network.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/15/2012

Sportingbet Rejects Second William Hill Bid

A second bid made by the United Kingdom’s largest bookmaker, William Hill, to acquire Sportingbet has been rejected as a deadline looms this week.

City A.M. reported that William Hill and its partner, GVC Holdings, had made an informal bid last week at over 55p a share, an improvement over the previous 52.5p per share offer rejected by Sportingbet last month.

“They are holding out for an increased offer, they have made some headway but it’s not enough,” one person close to discussions between the companies told City A.M.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/15/2012

Atlantic City Gambling Revenue Dips

ATLANTIC CITY (Associated Press) — Revenue figures due to be released Wednesday afternoon will show how Atlantic City’s newest casino is faring six months since it opened.

The $2.4 billion Revel casino resort is off to a slow start, mired in 8th place out of the city’s 12 casinos in terms of money won from gamblers. But Revel insists its business model is less dependent on casino winnings than its competition and that it’s doing well in terms of non-gambling revenue.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Oct/10/2012

Nevada Gambling Revenue Off 3 Percent in August

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Gambling revenue in Nevada fell a bit more than 3% to $859.2 million in August, according to figures released Wednesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

On the Las Vegas Strip, which accounts for more than half the statewide total, revenue slipped 1.2% to $490.9 million with the take from slot machines off 9% and table games up 7.6% on the back of solid baccarat volume.

Submitted by Press Release on, Oct/10/2012

Zynga Poker Loses Long Time GM

A seventh executive has left Zynga over the last month alone.  This time it is Laurence Toney, General Manager of Zynga Poker. 

"My departure is less about Zynga and more about the vast number of opportunities that currently exist in the Valley," Toney said of his departure to Mashable. "I have been approached by several organizations to lead teams and companies that I find exciting and compelling. It is the right time for me in my career to move on."

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/09/2012

Full Tilt Poker Confirms Isle of Man License

The Isle of Man, perhaps the single most respected Internet gambling licensing jurisdiction on the planet, has officially landed Full Tilt Poker, now acquired by another Manx operator, PokerStars.com

Full Tilt Poker is slated to reopen November 6, 2012.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/09/2012

Gambling Deal Lifts Stock of Online Game Maker Glu

NEW YORK (Associated Press) — Shares of Glu Mobile Inc. got a boost Monday after the mobile game developer said it signed a gambling deal with Probability PLC.

THE SPARK: Glu said U.K.-based Probability will use existing Glu games to create mobile slot games under the Glu brand. The games will be distributed in Probability's regulated markets, first in the U.K. and Italy.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Oct/08/2012

Zynga Stocks Continue to Slide: World’s Largest Free Poker Site in Danger

Shares in Zynga, home to the world’s largest free play online poker site, continued to slide on Friday as the company slashed its guidance. 

Shares of Zynga fell a whopping 17 percent Friday following news of a weak demand for its web-based games, including the once uber popular FarmVille. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/05/2012

Revolution Gaming Nabs CarbBet.com Poker

With IGT/Entraction getting out of the online poker sector, numerous skins (cardrooms) have had to find new homes.  It was announce this week that Cardbet.com Poker would be moving to the newly formed Revolution Gaming Network on November 1. 

Cardbet owns four whitelabel skins: SuomiVegas.com, Metspoker.com, M8poker.com and Pro-factory.com. 

Revolution Gaming is the largest US-friendly online poker network though Cardbet.com does not currently accept US players and has no plans to do so at the moment.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/03/2012

Sportingbet Snubs Takeover Bid

Sportingbet, one of the United Kingdom’s largest sports betting operations, has snubbed a takeover effort from rival William Hill, it was learned Sunday.

Sportingbet, which is slated to report its full-year results on Wednesday, rejected the £350 million takeover bid from Hill and its partner, European gaming company GVC.  William Hill had proposed a 52.5p-a-share bid. 

The company had previously been in talks with another rival, Ladbrokes.  Its share price has surged 16 percent since discussions about a possible takeover began to surface. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/30/2012

Mohegan Sun Lays Off More Than 300 Employees, Replaces CEO

MOHEGAN —(Associated Press) - The Mohegan Sun casino is laying off more than 300 employees and replacing its CEO, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority's chief executive said Thursday.



Submitted by Associated Press on, Sep/28/2012

Numis Upgrades William Hill

Numis Securities Limited has upgraded William Hill from reduce to hold Friday with the target up from 250p to 310p.

William Hill, Great Britain’s largest bookmaking operation, announced its intention earlier in the week to purchase rival Sportingbet as part of a joint venture with another firm.  The proposed acquisition would be arranged through an entity of William Hill and not William Hill Online, which is a joint venture with Playtech Ltd.

More recently, Hill entered into acquisitions with Nevada-based sports betting businesses such as American Wagering Inc.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/21/2012

Adelson Unveils Plan for New Eiffel Tower Replica Macau Casino

(AFP) - Las Vegas casino boss Sheldon Adelson on Thursday unveiled plans to build a scaled down replica of the Eiffel Tower as part of a new $3 billion gambling resort in Macau.

The Las Vegas Sands Corp. chief spoke publicly for the first time about the new development as he opened a Sheraton hotel in the second phase of his latest $4.4 billion resort, the Sands Cotai Central, itself only five months old.

Submitted by Guest on, Sep/20/2012

Microgaming Primary Beneficiary of Entraction Exodus

Two online poker rooms have announced they will be moving from the IGT/Entraction poker network to Microgaming.

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BetVictor and iGaming both announced the move following Entraction’s announcement that they will no longer be servicing the European market due to a regulatory stranglehold occurring in many of the Eurozone nations.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/20/2012

Zynga Shares Climb Nearly 4 Percent: Another Executive Leaving

Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) shares increased 3.35 percent to $3.18 after acquiring San Mateo, California-based game maker A Bit Lucky Inc.

The news is bittersweet as yet another executive has confirmed they are leaving the company.

Nils Puhlmann, Zynga’s chief security officer, will be stepping down after a three year stint with the company.

Zynga’s share price has lost approximately 70 percent of its value in recent months. 

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/20/2012

Amaya Gaming Reportedly Looking to Acquire Ongame from Bwin.Party

eGaming Review Magazine was reporting that Canadian online gambling software provider Amaya Gaming was about to announce the acquisition of Bwin.party’s poker network Ongame.

Specific details of the arrangement have yet to be announced.

Bwin.party, the world’s largest real money online gambling firm, has been looking to unload Ongame for some time.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/18/2012

UBS Rogue Trader Labeled as ‘Naked Gambler’

(Reuters) - Former UBS trader Kweku Adoboli put the Swiss bank's survival at risk through naked gambling that risked up to $12 billion, cooking the books and lying to his bosses until his "pyramid of fraud" collapsed, a British court heard on Friday.

Adoboli, 32, is on trial by jury in London accused of fraud and false accounting that in the end cost UBS $2.3 billion. He has pleaded not guilty.

Submitted by Guest on, Sep/14/2012

Atlantic City Sees Rare ‘Up’ Month for Revenues in August

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) — Free from having to deal with hurricanes this year, Atlantic City's casinos saw their revenues increase by 12.6 percent in August — a rare "up" month for a resort still reeling from competition all around it.

The city's casinos took in nearly $314 million from gamblers in August, marking just the second monthly increase in four years.

Submitted by Guest on, Sep/13/2012

Hard Rock Scraps Atlantic City Plans

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) — A group has scrapped a plan to build a smaller "boutique" casino that would have been run by the Seminole Indians through their Hard Rock franchise on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

AC Gateway LLC tells The Associated Press it is not proceeding with a casino-hotel that could have included a musical history museum with items from when the Beatles and Rolling Stones separately played Atlantic City.

Submitted by Guest on, Sep/12/2012

IGT, Entraction Scales Back on Internet Poker: Skins Left Homeless

Citing diminished returns, International Gaming Technologies (IGT), has opted to scale back on its Web poker business.  Those online card rooms operating on the network were informed of this decision earlier in the week. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/12/2012

Nevada Online Poker Applicant to Sell Lottery Tickets to Zynga

Scientific Games has announced a partnership with the world’s largest “free play” online poker venture, Zynga, whereby it will sell lottery tickets to the popular social gaming firm’s 320 million monthly customers, including poker players

Steven M. Saferin, President of the company’s properties group and chief creative officer, stated during the World Lottery Summit in Montreal last week that  “Zynga players could win instant tickets for cash or virtual goods.”

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/11/2012

Andy Murray Helps Betfair Smash Record After Slow Football Start

Betfair, the world’s largest betting exchange, revealed on Tuesday that the Wimbledon final was its biggest ever market following reports that the company has gotten off to a slow start with Premier League wagering. 

Betfair.com reports that more than £58 million of bets were taken on the July tennis match in which Murray lost to Roger Federer but ultimately went on to secure his first ever Grand Slam title in New York. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/11/2012

Zynga Looks at Mobile Gambling and Online Gambling to Diversify

(NASDAQ) - Zynga ( ZNGA ) is expanding into mobile gaming and is looking to enter into real money online gambling. It recently tied up with Nokia to add Draw Something and Zynga Poker to Nokia feature phones such as Nokia Asha Touch and the Nokia Series 40 range. The games will feature in the phones released in Q3 and will cover nearly 100 million users. Zynga game apps are already available for smartphones and the company plans to expand into feature phones to increase its user base and target emerging economies.

Submitted by Guest on, Sep/10/2012

Zynga Introduces Sports Betting With Las Vegas Style Sportsbook Game

Zynga has teamed up with developer RocketPlay to deliver a “Vegas-like” sportsbook experience for its customers just in time for the new NFL season. 

According to a release, Sports Casino offers "an authentic Las Vegas-style sportsbook experience" wherein players can bet on live sporting events like baseball and football as well as play video poker, slots, and blackjack.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/05/2012

CEO Anthony Tailor Leaves Merge Gaming

Merge Gaming CEO Anthony Tailor has resigned from a position he has held for five years.  Details regarding the exit were not immediately known, however, the popular online poker network continues to thrive and, just this week, flagship brand Carbon Poker announced the return of the super popular Poker Maximus promotion (dubbed Poker Maximus II). 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/03/2012

Breaking News

Say No to Sportsbook Blacklist

Since Gambling911.com revealed that seven sportsbooks had gotten together to share player information, everybody in the industry is talking.

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