Business & Financial
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.
Online Gambling Companies Apply Pressure on European Commission
A number of online gambling companies are pushing the European Commission pressure member nations like Belgium and Greece into abiding by EU policy.
Marketing Spend Lifts Paddy Power Q3 Revenues
DUBLIN - (Reuters) – Increased marketing spending helped Irish bookmaker Paddy Power to third-quarter revenues up 23 percent on last year, while favourable results boosted its returns on sports betting.
The Dublin-based group has been more adept than larger rivals at reacting to punters moving to online gambling and saw internet sports betting activity climb by 28 percent in the three months to Nov. 14.
Baylor Bears Upset of Number One Kansas State Huge for Books: Ducks Loss Too
With the Kansas State Wildcats the single most wagered on team in Week 12 of the regular College Football season, the bookmakers made out like bandits.
Kansas State was a -12 favorite visiting Baylor and got crushed 24-52 by a Bears team that had a losing record coming into Saturday.
Facebook Exec Niranjan Nagar to Speak at Social Gambling Conference
Niranjan Nagar, the Head of Games & Apps for Global Vertical Marketing at Facebook, is slated as the keynote speaker at next months’ Social Gaming & Gambling Summit in Los Angeles (taking place December 13-14).
Nagar is responsible for managing Facebook's marketing strategy for the vertical and for architecting programs to build the category globally. He was most recently the COO at Outspark, a publisher and operator of free to play RPGs.
Penn National Gaming to Split Into Two
NEW YORK - (Associated Press) -- Shares of Penn National Gaming Inc. hit their highest price since early 2008 on Friday, after the casino and racetrack operator said it plans to split its business into two separate public companies.
It will complete the separation by spinning off its real estate assets into a real estate investment trust. Its gaming business will then stand alone. The split is subject to gaming regulatory approval, which Penn expects to receive in the next nine to 12 months. It expects to complete the spinoff of the REIT in the second half of 2013.
BestBet Poker Room St. Johns to Close While Jacksonville Room Thrives
The BestBet St. Johns County poker room in Florida is set to shut down due to declining revenues with much of the staff to be relocated to venues in either Orange Park or Jacksonville.
Tribes Want In On Internet Gambling: ‘Preparing to be Active Participants’
Connecticut tribes reacted to news that Rep. Stephen Dargan, co-chairman of the legislative public safety committee, wants to re-evaluate the state’s role in legalized Internet gambling.
Chicago Suburb Targeted for New Casino Development
COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. (Associated Press) — A North Las Vegas, Nev.-based company wants to build a $250 million casino in the Chicago suburb of Country Club Hills.
The SouthtownStar reports the casino operator is making the announcement despite Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto of a gambling expansion bill. It’s unclear whether the Illinois Legislature will be able to override Quinn’s veto or pass a new bill.
Cake Poker to Offer Mac Compatible and Online Cardroom With No Download
Great news for Cake Poker players as the company has unveiled a new Mac compatible online poker platform.
Additionally, Cake Poker will have available a Web version of its card room that will not require any download.
Full Tilt Poker Money for US Players: The Waiting Game
It appears the year-and-a-half long wait for US players to receive monies owed to them by Full Tilt Poker will be extended…indefinitely.
Full Tilt Poker reopened its doors to much of the rest of the world last week courtesy of new parent company PokerStars. The site immediately regained its position as the number two most trafficked online poker room. Everyone except the US players have been paid a la Stars as part of a settlement agreement reached with the US Government, the later of which holds the monumental task of paying back millions owed to those stateside.
Connecticut to Re-Examine Online Gambling
Connecticut, which had dabbled with the idea of licensing online gambling websites earlier in the year, is looking to revisit that option.
Rep. Stephen Dargan, co-chairman of the legislative public safety committee, said on Tuesday his state should jump on the bandwagon come January.
EU Must Act Over ‘Protectionist’ Rule Following Detention of Bwin.Party Founder
The Financial Time’s Jonathan Guthrie blasted the European Union for its failure to act appropriately in light of member nations chokehold over online gambling firms.
