Business & Financial
Baaaaad Actors: Clause in NJ Online Gambling Bill Could Mean Return of PokerStars to US
Online gambling companies that have targeted US citizens up to now could be allowed back in the US if a bill to legalize Web gambling in the state of New Jersey is passed and signed into law by Governor Chris Christie. That means PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, both of which left the US market in April 2011 following a massive crackdown by federal authorities.
The Governor is widely expected to sign the bill when it arrives at his desk some time later this month or early January.
From PokerFuse.com:
Zynga Shares Soar Thursday on News of Real Money Online Poker Move
The world’s largest free-to-play online poker company announced in after hours Wednesday that it had applied for a license to operate real money online poker with the state of Nevada.
Thursday, stocks shot up to 5 percent by mid afternoon Thursday.
Analysts remained cautious regarding the news nonetheless.
Bally Technology Looks to Acquire Online Poker Game Developer 3G Studios
(Reuters) - Slot-machine maker Bally Technologies is exploring a bid for online poker game developer 3G Studios, in what would be the latest deal to combine online gambling and casino gaming on social media, said two sources with knowledge of the talks.
One source said several Bally Technologies executives were scheduled to visit 3G's offices in Reno, Nevada on Tuesday to determine whether to make a formal bid.
Replacement Checks for TopBet.com Customers Now Arriving
Good news for TopBet.com customers as some have reported the receipt of new replacement checks following a series of payouts that resulted in “insufficient funds” (i.e. checks bouncing).
Gambling911.com reported earlier in the week that TopBet.com had lost one of its processors, a common industry problem facing US-based players.
Zynga Applies for Nevada Online Poker License
The world’s largest free-to-play online poker site, Zynga, has applied for a Nevada online poker site that the company said could take up to a year before they are up and running to accept real money from US customers, or at least those in the state of Nevada.
Bwin.party Head Jim Ryan Steps Down
Bwin.party CEO Jim Ryan announced he will be resigning from the world’s largest online gambling firm in January. Norbert Teufelberger, who acted joint CEO, will assume sole responsibilities for that position.
The publicly traded Gibraltar-based betting company, a merger between PartyGaming and Austrian bookmaker bwin, will proceed with a single CEO for the foreseeable future beginning January 15.
Wynn, Sands Fears as China Begins Crackdown on Macau
Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands witnessed a decline in early trading Tuesday as China continues its crackdown on the gambling Mecca of Macau.
In recent months, Chinese authorities have conducted a series of raids aimed at curbing money laundering in the former Portuguese colony.
From Rueters:
Casino Kingpin Sheldon Adelson Spent $150 Million on US Presidential Election
One of the GOP’s biggest donors, Sheldon Adelson, reportedly spent $150 million in an effort to try and get Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney elected, it was revealed on Monday.
Black Chip Poker Now on Winning Poker Network
The migration from Merge Gaming to the Winning Poker Network is now complete for Black Chip Poker.
Top Bet Checks Bouncing Following Loss of Payment Processor
Concerned sports bettors have taken to the message boards complaining of checks issued by online sportsbook Top Bet bouncing (insufficient funds).
The culprit is a loss of their payment processor, which has also prevented most new depositors from coming on board as well.
Montreal Poker Hits The Big Time, WPT Event Breaks Record
Last week’s WPT Montreal demonstrated that there is definitely a demand for big time poker events in Canada, home to Gambling911.com.
ESPN’s Andrew Feldman noted that there wasn’t a whole lot of optimism heading into the 2012 WPT Montreal, mainly because a number of other major poker events had flopped throughout the country even after Canadian Jonathan Duhamel won the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event.
The 2012 WPT Montreal was anything but a flop!
Black Chip Poker Moves to the Winning Poker Network
Black Chip Poker, Merge Gaming and the Winning Poker Network have jointly announced today that effective December 3rd, 2012, Black Chip Poker, its players and affiliates will move off the Merge Gaming poker network. Following that, Black Chip Poker will begin operations on the Winning Poker Network.
Zynga Restructures Agreement With Facebook: Closer to Offering Real Money Poker
The largest social-gaming company, Zynga, depends on the largest social network and vice versa, Facebook, writes Dean Takahashi of Venturebeat. But both appear to be going their separate ways as the two companies have restructured their contracts whereby Zynga can now begin offering its social gaming platforms to other companies. Zynga, as such, is one step closer to offering “real money” online gambling including poker.
Full Tilt Poker Executive Director Accused in Ponzi Scheme Settles With DOJ
Rafe Furst, one of three individuals accused of orchestrating an elaborate ponzi scheme while on the Board of Directors of Full Tilt Poker, has settled with US law enforcement and will now surrender his Swiss bank account and pay a $150,000 fine.
In return the US Government has dropped the civil money laundering penalty of $11,706,323.96. A portion of those funds are contained within the Swiss bank account.
Omni Casino Celebrates 15 Years Online: One of the Industry’s First
Omni Casino was established in November 1997 as one of the first online casinos and is the flagship brand of Peak Interactive. Since the beginning, Omni Casino has focused on providing their members a pure casino entertainment experience as the #1 most trusted and secure casino.
Steve Wynn Wants Casino in Everett, Massachusetts
Casino mogul Steve Wynn toured a proposed new locale for a casino in Everett, Massachusetts, referring to the region as a “natural for a casino”. He should know.
“It seems like a natural place for another great hotel,” said Wynn, whose properties include the Wynn Resort, Bellagio and Mirage in Las Vegas. “We may be a very positive addition to Everett. But we’re very early in this process.”
BlackChip Poker Leaving Merge Gaming Network
As has been rumored in recent weeks, BlackChip Poker, one of the premier Merge Gaming Network brands, will be finding a new home. That announcement is expected in the coming days.
BlackChip Poker confirmed Wednesday it will not be allowing customers to take part in the hugely popular Poker Maximus III that kicks off November 29.
Trophy Vegas Social Gaming Site Takes Plunge Into Real Money Casino Space
Trophy Vegas, in conjunction with its Facebook application Trophy Slots, is the latest social gaming site to begin offering real money casino play.
Trophy Slots was launched earlier this year as a social slots game, featuring 10 popular slots titles. To date, the Trophy Slots Facebook page had 37,803 likes.
Mohegan Sun Poker to Use Ongame Software Platform
Connecticut tribal casino operator, Mohegan Sun, has entered into an agreement with Ongame to provide a free play poker site with the intent to offer real money gambling once legislation is passed at either the federal or state level.
Americas Cardroom Online Poker Room Rake Drops from 5 Percent to 1 Percent
Gambling911.com endorsed Americas Cardroom, a US-friendly website that offers both free play and real money play, has announced, effectively immediately, the rake structure for all Limit games is changing.
Free-to-Play Casino Playsino Surpasses 1 Million Install Mark
Social casino website, Playsino.com, has reached the 1 million install mark this week.
"The overwhelmingly popular response to our social and mobile casino apps is further evidence of the strong growth potential in the social casino gaming sphere," said Brock Pierce, Playsino's CEO. "This space is only going to get hotter and provide better entertainment for users and higher revenues for developers."
CFTC Press Release Regarding Intrade Complaint
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today filed a civil complaint in federal district court in Washington, DC, charging Intrade The Prediction Market Limited (Intrade) and Trade Exchange Network Limited (TEN), Irish companies based in Dublin, Ireland, with offering commodity option contracts to U.S. customers for trading, as well as soliciting, accepting, and confirming the execution of orders from U.S.
Befair Leaving Greek Market Following New Gambling Regs
LONDON (Reuters) - Online gambling exchange Betfair said it would withdraw from the Greek market until there was greater clarity on gaming regulation in the country.
Betfair, which has not yet applied for a permit to operate in Greece, questioned the cost and conditions attached to permits required by gaming firms to trade in the country.
"According to legal advice received, the value of these permits is unclear and we consider the gambling legislation in the country to be inconsistent with European law," Betfair said on Monday.
Intrade Sued by Regulators: Stops Taking ‘Real Money’ Bets from US
Dublin, Ireland-based betting exchange Intrade is being sued by regulators and it's not all about the company's wagering services, the Wall Street Journal revealed on Monday.
Las Vegas Sands Board Approves Special Dividend
(Nasdaq) - Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s (LVS) board has approved a special dividend of $2.75 a share, as the casino operator looks to boost shareholder returns.
Shares jumped 4% to $45.77 after-hours Monday.
The dividend will be paid on Dec. 18 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 10 and will cost the company about $2.26 billion. Las Vegas Sands had about $3.75 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of Sept. 30 and 823.4 million shares outstanding as of Nov. 1.
MicroMillions III Becomes Most Popular Online Poker Series Ever: Russian Player Wins
LONDON, UK – MicroMillions III has set a new record for largest online poker festival, with 1,308,994 entries across the 100 events, beating the previous best of 1,294,889 set in the first MicroMillions series back in March, and the 1,288,221 entries from MicroMillions II in July.
PokerStars 90-Billionth Hand to Reward Up to $1 Million in Road to 100 Billion
LONDON, UK – PokerStars is poised to deal its 90-billionth hand in just over a week, with the world’s most popular online poker site set to award up to $1 million in cash prizes for players dealt into promotional milestone hands.
Greece Gambling Monopoly Hurt by Recession
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s OPAP, one of Europe's biggest betting firms, reported a 16 percent fall in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, weighed down by the recession in its Greek home market.
Cash-strapped Greece’s plans next year to sell almost its entire 34 percent stake in OPAP, its most profitable company, as part of its international bailout agreement. But higher taxes and doubts about OPAP's most precious asset, its gambling monopoly, may undermine the company's value.
J.R.R. Tolkien Estate Files $80 Million Lawsuit Over ‘Rings’ Slots Game
The estate of author J.R.R. Tolkien have filed an $80 million lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles claiming Warner Bros. and its New Line subsidiary and “Rings” rightsholder Saul Zaentz Co. have infringed the copyright in the books and breached a contract by overstepping their rights to merchandising the property of “The Lord of the Rings”.
3G Studios Invests $20 million in Online Gambling (Video)
James Kosta, CEO of Reno, Nevada based 3G Studio, revealed on Fox Business this past week that his company has invested $20 million in online gambling as it prepares for legalization either on the federal or state front.
In an interview with Gambling911.com back in September, Kosta said that 3G Studio was already forming partnerships with operators to offer its vast suite of casino-oriented games, including a poker product.
