Gambling Companies
Gambling Companies, Gambling Stocks
Bookmaker Denise Coates Receives Queen’s New Year’s Honors for Good Deeds
Bookies can be good people too. Denise Coates, founder of Bet365 in Great Britain, has been awarded the prestigious Queen’s New Year’s Honors for 2012.
Ms. Coates was honored for her community service work.
Her father, Peter, had this to say about Denise and what she has meant to the Bet365 firm, which is currently the biggest private sector employer in Stoke-on-Trent:
"We are all delighted and all proud of her.
"She has done an absolutely amazing job for bet365, building it up from scratch.
888 Holdings Among Biggest Surging Stocks on London Exchange Thursday
888 Holdings ranked among the biggest moving shocks on Thursday in the wake of a US Justice Department decision whereby the Wire Act will no longer be applied to online poker. The new stance opens the door for individual US states to begin legalizing Web card rooms. 888 Holdings currently operates the world’s 4th largest online poker site and has entered into a partnership agreement with Caesars Entertainment. The state of Nevada has already approved intrastate Web poker.
Utah Wants to Prohibit Online Poker: Would be Second State to do so
Utah has little interest in jumping on the state legalization of online poker bandwagon in the wake of a decision by the US Justice Department that essentially allows intrastate Web poker.
Utah is one of two states that does not have a lottery and there is not a single casino based there.
Washington is the only state thus far that specifically prohibits online poker by its residents, making the activity a Class C felony.
Utah Rep. Stephen Sandstrom (R-Orem) is in the process of drafting an anti-Internet gambling bill.
Caesars IPO in 2012 Includes Provision for Legalized Internet Poker in US
Caesars is preparing an IPO for the upcoming year 2012 and, in it, there is a provision for legalized Internet poker in the United States, which the casino giant obviously believes will be bountiful to its future business.
From Pokerati.com:
Commission Must Act on NADEX Political Betting Request by January 4
The North American Derivatives Exchange (NADEX) has filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to permit offering of betting on the upcoming political elections. The deadline for a decision is January 4 and should the Commission fail to act, NADEX could begin offering such bets (or trades) within the next couple of weeks.
Three of those on the Commission must vote against the proposal for it to be discarded. So far, only one Commissioner has come forward to oppose the NADEX request.
South Point Poker Expecting to Move to Real Money Play Soon
The South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa could find itself the biggest name in online poker by the end of 2012 if they play their cards right (pun intended).
Already offering a free-to-play online poker website, prominently featured throughout Gambling911.com, South Point Poker is expecting to offer real cash play as soon as their license is granted by the state of Nevada, quite possibly as early as February.
Zynga Named Among Worst Performing US IPOs of the Year by Forbes
Zynga, which operates the largest online poker room in the world, was named among the worst performing IPOs of the year 2011 by Forbes.com.
There may be good reason for the Forbes rating. Zynga broke below its offering price on its first day out and remains underwater.
To be fair, Zynga has hardly had a chance to perform after the IPO came into being just prior to the Christmas holiday season.
From Forbes.com:
Wall Street Journal: Nevada Sets Stage for Online Poker
The Wall Street Journal released an article on Wednesday focusing on what will soon become Nevada’s intrastate online poker industry. The Silver State hopes to ultimately serve as the hub for a national industry once federal legislation is passed.
The state's gambling regulator will vote Thursday on rules that would allow companies to apply for licenses to operate poker websites in Nevada.
Minted Poker Bug Exposes Mucked Hole Cards Without Showdown
The PokerFuse.com website was reporting on Tuesday that a bug on the Everleaf Network’s biggest online poker room skin, Minted Poker, was exposing mucked hole cards without a showdown.
PokerFuse.com reported:
The hand replayer in the browser client of Minted Poker was revealing the hole cards of all players – even of those that folded before showdown.
Carbon, Merge Poker Traffic Up 74 Percent, Bodog Traffic Stabilizes
Merge Gaming Network climbed to ninth place after spending seven weeks in 10th, according to the popular traffic monitoring website PokerScout.com.
888 Strong End to 2011
(Reuters) - British online gaming company 888 Holdings Plc. said it expects core profit for 2011 to be significantly above market expectations, aided by strength in its casino and poker businesses.
Cash-strapped Britons are staying at home more, watching TV and gambling online, updates from consumer-facing companies showed, as fears grow that the UK will slip back into recession.
The company, which operates 888 casino, poker, sport and bingo brands, said on Monday it would invest in several newly-regulated markets across Europe.
Shufflemaster, OpenBet Apply for Nevada Online Poker License
CardPlayer.com is reporting that Shufflemaster, the global supplier of automatic card shufflers, slot machines and, more importantly, wireless gaming solutions, has applied for a license to operate an online poker venture in the state of Nevada.
Nevada is set to begin allowing intrastate online poker as early as February ahead of potential federal legislation.
Zynga Stock Market Debut a Disappointment
Online game-maker Zynga raised an amazing $1 billion in the single biggest Internet IPO since Google in 2004. The company made its stock market debut on Friday with results essentially flat.
After rising 10 percent above the $10 offering price, it fell to as low as $9.50, then recovered to around its original $10.
From Time.com:
Lock Poker CEO Jennifer Larson Committed to Building Pro Roster in 2012
Lock Poker’s CEO Jennifer Larson sees the poker pros as ambassadors to the game. While other online rooms, most notably PokerStars, continue to purge their pros, Larson has other ideas.
“We’ll have more coming on board in 2012 and we are considering at least two other retreats like what we hosted in the South of France back in October,” said Larson.
PokerStars, Joe Hachem Part Ways
2005 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Joe Hachem and PokerStars have parted ways, it was announced on Friday.
“It’s been a great run with PokerStars and I’m proud of my association with the people and the company,” Hachem said in the official announcement. “But it’s time for me to pursue other career opportunities and it will be fun to have some down time to spend with my family. I look forward to the future with much excitement and anticipation and will always have fond memories of my time at PokerStars.”
Nevada May Have Enough of a Player Pool to Support Intrastate Online Poker
Director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, David Schwartz, told CardPlayer.com Friday that he believed Nevada would be one of those states that could support legalized online poker at the intrastate level.
No More Bodog.com in US: Hello Bovada.lv
In with Bovada.lv and out with Bodog.com.
Bodog.com has stopped accepting US customers as of Wednesday December 14, 2011.
While the company planned to pull the Bodog.com and .eu domain names from US reach while offering a rebranding alternative, the move comes a bit sooner than previously expected.
Bodog Poker Traffic Drops Off 9.3 Percent?
Bodog.com unveiled its “anonymous” software two weeks ago with one of the objectives being to prevent traffic monitoring websites from so-called “data mining”.
The most popular of those monitoring websites, PokerScout.com, reported that Bodog Poker’s traffic fell nearly 10 percent (9.3 percent) in the past week. The irony in all of this is that such a drop off seems to indicate the “anonymous” software is just that….anonymous.
Unibet Leaves Spain as Nation Begins Segregating Online Poker Market in Spain
The popular European online bookmaker Unibet has opted to exit the Spanish market as that nation begins segregating its Internet poker market. Unibet advised its affiliate marketers of the company’s decision last week.
A message to affiliates read as follows:
The majority of the Spanish banners/text links in your affiliate account will be de-activated on the 14th of December 2011. However, we will keep the best performing banners/text links active and re-direct these to the Brasilian website as of 14th of December 2011.
Zynga Tops Daily Average Users on Facebook With CityVille, Texas HoldEm Free Poker
AppData reported on Tuesday that Zynga titles topped the Daily Average Users of Facebook. Probably no surprise, but the amount of users is staggering.
Zynga’s CityVille pulled in a whopping 10 million per day while other titles such as Farmville and the free online poker game Texas HoldEm Poker also topped the list.
Zynga is about to launch its Initial Public Offering in the coming weeks.
CNBC reported that a Sterne Agee analyst has placed a "sell" rating on social network game maker before the stock ever begins trading.
Ongame Sale Unlikely to be Finalised by Year’s End
LONDON (SHARECAST) – Online gaming company Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment has reported a 'solid' performance since September, with its core margin for the full year set to be between 22% and 24%.
However, investors were disappointed by news that the sale of Ongame B2B is unlikely to be finalised before the end of the year despite being at an "advanced stage".
The firm said revenue performance since the end of September has been in-line with management's expectations and it remains on-track to deliver around €40m of annualised synergies in 2012 and €65m in 2013.
Poker Players Call for Boycott The Venetian Hotel, Casino and Other Sheldon Adelson Properties
Following word last week that Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson announced he is opposed to current legislation that would allow for regulated online poker in the United States, some in the poker playing community have called for an all-out boycott of Adelson’s casino properties, including the famed Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip.
"Since Sheldon Adelson is lobbying against Internet poker, I will no longer play at The Venetian poker room," a player wrote on the TwoPlusTwo.com message board. "I suggest if you care about the issue, that you also boycott the room."
Miami Casino Won’t be the World’s Largest
It will be enormous, but not the world’s largest casino as previously suggested. Casino giant Genting plans to build a sprawling casino complex in downtown Miami but the perceived enormity of the project has raised some concerns.
“That’s simply false,’’ Christian Goode, Genting’s top Florida executive said during a panel discussion where the casino was referred to as the ‘largest casino on the planet’. “It’s not even close to being the largest.”
French Gambler Sues Government Over Poker Sites: Defendant in MGM Suit Uses Condom Defense
A French gambler has sued the Government claiming it failed to prevent him from accessing online poker sites in that country.
The 37-year-old from the city of Reims registered with the interior ministry last year to be voluntarily banned from casinos and online gambling sites, but was still able to access them, lawyer Emmanuel Ludot told AFP on Monday.
Jamie Gold Named Spokesperson of Tropicana Resorts
2006 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Jamie Gold has been named Poker Spokespersona and Ambassador of the newly transformed Tropicana Las Vegas. The casino’s poker room will be named “The Jamie Gold Poker Room” in his honor.
Introducing Oddsfutures.com, the Future of Sports Trading
Oddsfutures.com, the world’s first odds trading exchange, is the ideal way for sports traders to make money on a race - regardless of the result! This is because Oddsfutures.com is a unique marketplace which allows its customers to take advantage of fluctuations in betting patterns, rather than having to purchase a bet and await the outcome of the race.
Zynga Introduces Texas Hold’Em Poker Game for Google TV App
The world’s largest online poker company, Zynga, has released its uber popular Texas Hold’em poker game as a Google TV app. It is the first set-top box platform to feature the game, which currently has almost 30 million active monthly users across various platforms, including Yahoo, Google+ and iOS.
Google recently updates its TV platform with support for the Android market.
Apple No Appetite For Texas Hold’em App
Apple has pulled its Texas Hold’em app from the Apple OS Store this week.
Apple’s only official iOS game, “Texas Hold’em” seemingly received little attention from the company with lack of additional development since debuting in 2008.
The “play money” app enjoyed some degree of popularity but has since been crushed by the likes of Zynga.
AGCC Commissions Independent Review Into Handling of Full Tilt Poker Debacle
The Alderney Gaming Control Commission (AGCC) has come under intense scrutiny for its handling of the Full Tilt Poker matter, which culminated in a suspension of the one time second largest online poker firm’s license.
The AGCC ordered all media outlets blocked from negotiations during the arduous affair, as such, leading to a lack of transparency.
State Casino Legislation: New York, Florida and Massachusetts
Three states are looking to expand casino legislation: New York, Florida and Massachusetts.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo expressed interest in allowing casinos throughout the state.
