William Hill appealing €300k fine for serving Dutch betting players!

18.12.2018

UK-listed bookmaker William Hill will appeal a €300k fine imposed last week by Holland gambling regulators.

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On Friday, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) gaming authority announced that it had imposed a €300k penalty on WHG (International) Ltd for offering online casino games and sports betting products to Dutch customers via Hills’ .com site and two mobile applications without the KSA’s acceptance.

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The Hills spokesperson told iGaming Business that the company would “definitely be appealing against the fine, ” having apparently been informed that the KSA’s blow had been coming weeks ago. The particular company noted that it was not the first operator to get} been penalized in this particular fashion to appeal the punishment, although these appeals haven’t enjoyed many achievements in Dutch courts.

Barclays mobile application allows customers to block gambling transactions

11.12.2018

Barclays has become the first major UK bank to allow its mobile banking customers to ‘switch off’ spending on specific activities, including gambling.

Upon Monday, Barclays introduced a brand new feature into its mobile banking application that enables customers to authorize spending with five different varieties of merchants, and the application will automatically decline all transactions with merchant groups that are “turned off” by customers.

The particular categories include gambling, which usually spans the gamut associated with casinos, race tracks, betting shops, online gambling, and also lottery draw tickets plus scratch cards. Other groups include groceries and supermarkets; restaurants, food outlets, cafes and bars; gas stations; and premium rate web sites and phone lines.

This program currently works only along with Barclays debit cards but the bank is apparently planning to integrate credit cards into the system at a later date. Barclays customers who don’t use mobile banking can block merchant groups via telephone banking or by going to their local Barclays branch.

Betsson Group receives gaming licence in Sweden

03.12.2018

Betsson Group received its Swedish gambling license today, that will come into effect from 1 January 2019.

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Betsson has been operating in the country since 1963 and has licenses in twelve jurisdictions.

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The particular re-regulation of the market is going to take effect at the same time Betsson's license will become active.

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Pontus Lindwall, CEO at Betsson Group, said: “It is great that Sweden opens upward the gaming market regarding free competition in a managed environment. We look ahead to operate on our Swedish real estate market as a recognized operator on equal terms. ”

Betfred sued for denying $2 million payment

26.11.2018

It had been a good day for Andrew Green. The 52-year-old gambler was enjoying a little action on the Betfred website this past January, playing Frankie Dettori’s {Magic|Miracle} Seven game. Out of nowhere, Green won the game’s progressive jackpot for a cash prize of £1. 7 million (about $2. 19 million). Or, at least that’s what he thought. Betfred refused the claim, blaming it on a “software glitch, ” and Bookmaker sued for denying $2-million payment will now have to answer to the courts, BBC reported.

As to be expected, Mr. Green, who resides in Lincolnshire, was ecstatic and took his family and friends out to celebrating, spending about $3,2k. Unfortunately, a few days later, Betfred contacted him and gave him the bad news—his winnings had been voided due to a computer malfunction.

Betfred tried to make amends, apologizing and offering in order to give him a transaction of £60, 000 . Green said thanks, but no thank you and has now posted a lawsuit to the particular UK High Court within order to receive their compensation. The court is expected to hear the case beginning today.

There is nothing wrong with the company wanting to turn a profit. However, there is certainly everything wrong with the company wanting to turn a profit at the particular illegitimate expense of the customers.

SBTech to venture into French market in Q1 2019

19.11.2018

Provider SBTech is set to enter the French market at the beginning of 2019. The company has a number of operators ready to incorporate its system and software solutions.

France will become SBTech’s twenty-first regulated market, after lately entering an agreement with operators in New Jersey and Mississippi, going live with Churchill Downs, Golden Nugget and Resorts Casino. The French sports gambling market has become one of the greatest regulated marketplaces in Europe since it launched in 2010.

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The particular provider also has plans in a spot to expand into markets in Sweden, South Africa, and Pennsylvania within 2019.

Europol helps Portugal take down illegal online gambling ring!

12.11.2018

Pan-European crime fighters Europol plus Portuguese authorities have joined to take down an illegal cross-border online gambling operation.

On Friday, Europol announced a new series of raids in Portugal and Luxembourg earlier this particular week that resulted in the arrests of 31 individuals. The arrests followed a 15-month investigation named Shadow Game that focused an against the law gambling and lottery procedure which reportedly earned illicit profits of €80 million before the whip came down.

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Europol said this ring had been “a structured and hierarchical transnational criminal organization” having an existence in Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Switzerland. Their particular illegitimate business was “active in the field associated with servers and software with regard to the development of games of chance, lotteries plus sports betting. ”

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Portugal launched its regulated internet gambling market in June 2016 but its high taxes rate has limited the particular appeal for locally issued licenses. There was short hope a month ago that the government would switch to an online gambling flat taxes but these plans been unsuccessful to make it into the government’s 2019 budget program.

Gambling advertisements to be limited on Sky TV!

06.11.2018

As more attention is focused on consumer protection and betting addiction in the United Kingdom, one of the biggest satellite television and pay-per-view companies in the world is implementing the new internal policy. Sky TV has declared that it will certainly substantially limit the amount of gambling advertisements seen through the platform.

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Before the start of the following Premier League season, which usually will start in August of next year, Sky television will reduce the number of TV gambling spots to one for each commercial break. The policy will certainly apply to all of the channels for which it sells advertising, including the popular Sky Sports channels.

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Together with the restriction, Sky is also making a new technology that will give TV audiences the ability to block gambling advertising on all Sky and Virgin Media TV platforms. That AdSmart technology is expected to be introduced in June 2020 and will also be made accessible on over 140 channels. 

The Cayman Islands stops illegal gambling!

30.10.2018

The Cayman Islands is about to start coming down hard on illegal gambling operations. The new bill has been released that will significantly raise the fines paid for either running or the Cayman Islands look to cleanup image, stop illegal gambling participating in—gambling activity that is not licensed.

Based on an article in the Cayman Compass, Gambling (Amendment) Bill 2018 proposes “fines for the use plus ownership of premises for gambling, the publication associated with lottery numbers and managing money resulting from gambling activities would increase through $400 to $10k, and the maximum jail sentence would increase from 1 year to 3 years. ”

In addition, anybody who participated in the public lottery or who plays in—or is actually found in—a gambling house might be fined $2,500 and face a jail term of 6 months. Currently, the fine is simply $10 and the prison sentence is simply 8 weeks.

More informations: Cayman Compass

Novomatic ordered to repay gambler the $2.9 millions by Austrian court!

24.10.2018

Novomatic has been ordered to repay a gambler €2. 5 m ($2. 9m) by an Austrian court.

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The particular unnamed gambler lost more than €2 million between 2002 and 2012 when using the supplier's slot machines and the court heard he was partially unable to work because of his gambling addiction.

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Because of the nature of that addiction, the court ruled the particular slot machine game player's bets were invalid, meaning Novomatic right now owe him the amount of €2. 5 million.

The supplier has appealed the decision, with the particular ruling issued on 10 August but not produced public until this week. Slots outside casinos were banned in Vienna in 2015, with 2, 600 earlier in operation, 1, five hundred which were run by Novomatic.

Betsson director resigns over legal dispute with Swedish taxes authorities!

14.10.2018

Betsson has announced Tristan Sjöberg ‘s resignation from the board due to a legal dispute with the Swedish tax authorities. Sjöberg joined the Betsson board as a director in May, having worked in the gaming industry for two decades prior.

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However, the director is now leaving behind the company at his own request due to a dispute over taxes liability. Within a statement regarding Sjöberg ‘s departure, Betsson said: “Tristan Sjöberg has resigned from Betsson AB’s Board associated with Directors at his very own request. The reason is that he is within a legal dispute with Swedish tax authorities regarding taxes liability. ”

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Betsson lately announced its subsidiary, Corona, will appeal a €300, 000 ($347, 000) fine issued by the Holland gambling regulator for working in the Holland without having a license.

FanDuel launches sports gambling through Alexa!

08.10.2018

It used to be that, in order to put a sports bet, a bettor would need to contact a bookmaker or visit a legalized sportsbook. After that the Internet was created, and sports gambling came out on a limited basis, based on jurisdictions. Following that, with the great smart phone explosion, it was possible to tap on a phone’s keypad bets that needed to be placed. The next step in sports gambling innovation has arrived, and it will soon be possible to place a bet just by talking to Alexa.

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FanDuel has announced that it has delivered to the Amazon . com Echo, and perhaps other Alexa devices, the opportunity to tell Alexa to open FanDuel. Particularly, FanDuel is offering a connection to its Pick six product, a new Alexa skill that gives users the chance weekly to make six predictions on Weekend and Monday-night NFL American football games. Users who land all six predictions will be entered into a daily fantasy sports freeroll worth $1K.

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Anyone Alexa users who want to take part in Pick six must prepare yourself to give up some personal data. FanDuel requests email address {as part of the registration process, which will undoubtedly lead to a copious quantity of marketing material filling the mailboxes.

888 Holdings’ shares tank upon weakness in core UNITED KINGDOM market.

01.10.2018

On-line gambling operator 888 Holdings saw its shares strike their lowest point within over two years right after reporting ongoing struggles in its core United Kingdom marketplace.

Figures released Thursday to display the UK-listed 888’s income hitting US$273.2m within the six months ending June 30, a 1% year-on-year improvement. However, in currency terms, the team revenue suffered a 5% decline.

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Sport and casino revenues improved by 34% and 24% excluding the United Kingdom, growing 11% and 10% general, with bingo decreasing simply by 11% to $17. 6m, reflecting “heightened regulatory scrutiny in the United Kingdom."

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Itai Frieberger, CEO of 888, left a comment: “We have maintained solid momentum in Casino plus Sport particularly in continental European markets. In the  United Kingdom, we are very happy to report that since the particular period finish we have started to see optimistic trends in revenue. ”

Russian bookie BetCity has become the first betting company to make the annual listing of Russia’s top 500 companies.

24.09.2018

Upon Thursday, Moscow-based media outlet RBC issued its total annual listing of the country’s five hundred most significant companies, and Russian bookie BetCity just managed to sneak onto the list’s lower rungs, marking the 1st time a local sports gambling operator has achieved this kind of status.

BetCity ranked 495th on RBC’s latest listing, with an estimated profit of RUB48m (US$724k) within 2017, an eight-fold enhance over the company’s net take in 2015.

BetCity launched its Russian-language website in 2003 and later on opened a chain of retail betting shops which has since grown to 160 points of sale.

Like the majority of Russian-licensed operators, the company also operates outside Russia’s borders, where its operates apparently produce much higher revenue, simply because they can provide casino and online poker products, not only betting.

32Red fined £2m for giving VIP status to a problem gambler

17.09.2018

32Red has been handed a £2m fine for declining to protect a problem gambler and granting the client VIP status.

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The Gambling Commission identified 22 situations where the vulnerable customer’s behavior should have elevated warning flags, including one exactly where they told 32Red employees that they had spent too much money on gambling.

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32red allowed the customer to deposit £758K between 2014 and 2017 along with no social responsibility or even money laundering checks.

The client was able to make a deposit an average of £45K per month despite having a net salary of just £2,150. The member gave 32red proof claiming £13K for each month income that the regulator said was “not credible”.

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Swedish-owned Kindred, which owns 32Red and is based in Malta, accepted the penalty and said it had implemented a behavior-monitoring program.

Mr Green fined $361K by Holland Gaming Authority

13.09.2018

Mr Green Ltd, a part of MRG, has beenalready been fined $361, 000 by the Holland Gaming Authority (KSA).

The fine relates to a failure to prevent Dutch people from gambling on its websites and allegedly failing to use IP blocking technology under the ‘prioritisation’ criteria.

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Mr Green is set to appeal the particular fine, arguing that most gambling operators in the Holland do not use IP blocking on their.

According to MRG, the particular Dutch market represents 6% of the company’s total profits and amounted to SEK 26m ($2. 8m) in the second quarter of the year.

Last 30 days, the KSA also fined Betsson subsidiary Corona €300, 000 for operating in the Holland without a license, although Betsson has said it will appeal the decision from KSA.

LeoVegas launches BankID registration system for Swedish users

07.09.2018

Mobile gaming giant LeoVegas has announced an important step forward for its users in Sweden. The company will be now tied to the particular country’s BankID e-identification program, allowing users to sign-up and log in faster than before. Anything that can be done in order to allow gamblers to spend less time entering and much more time playing is always welcome.

According to a press release from the company, LeoVegas CEO Gustaf Hagman explained, “With BankID we are now providing the best product on the market in Sweden. For new and current clients we offer a very easy and simple log-in plus registration experience while offering them access to the particular market’s broadest offering of casino games and sports betting. We also know that fast payments are extremely essential, which is why our customers can see their account balances within minutes of the withdrawal. We are consolidating our position as the particular leading GameTech company, plus I look forward to finding extra markets in which we can launch similar, local e-identification systems. ”

Voting officially open for Global Gaming Awards Vegas 2018

04.09.2018

The particular voting process for this particular year’s Global Gaming Honours Vegas is underway, right after the listing of nominees has been sent to the knowing panel.

Now in the 5th year, the Awards will certainly be decided by the particular biggest judging panel the particular event has seen so far, with 70 associated with the industry’s leading professionals casting their votes.

This particular year’s line-up as usually boasts executives from a few of the industry’s most successful companies. The panel includes: Danny Gladstone, CEO, Ainsworth Game Technology, John Connelly, CEO, Interblock, Antonios Kerastaris, CEO, Intralot, Renato Ascoli, CEO, IGT North America, and lot more}.

Among the new entrants to the judging -panel this year are Barry Cottle, CEO and President, Scientific Games, Alan Feldman, Executive Vice President Worldwide Corporate Communications and Market Affairs, MGM Resorts International, and Christian Stuart, Executive Vice President, Caesars Entertainment Corporation.

This year’s winners are going to be announced at the luncheon ceremony at Sands Expo Vegas on Mon 8 October, kicking off the G2E show.

The particular judges will choose from ten nominees in 12 individual categories, deciding on a 1st and second place within each category. Should presently there be a tie for the particular winning position in any kind of category, the nominee with the most second-place votes is going to be victorious.

Votes may now be created by the particular judging panel, following the Shortlist was finalized, following time period of self-nominations and evaluation from the eight-strong candidate selection panel. The nominees were then asked to offer a supporting statement to the judges.

The Worldwide Gaming Awards are provided by Gambling Insider in association along with G2E Vegas and are officially adjudicated by KPMG Isle of Man.

On-line and land-based gaming solutions provider BetConstruct is the Business lead Partner of this year’s Awards.

The Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas 2018 Shortlist magazine will break down the listing of all nominees in all groups, which will be released later in September plus will be distributed at G2E.