Gambling News – Page 104

Usher Reportedly Injured in Las Vegas Dustup With Chris Brown

What began as a surprise 34th birthday party thrown by Usher for fellow singer Chris Brown at a Las Vegas skating rink ended up, reportedly, with a surprise melee and injuries for Usher. Multiple reports say Usher and Brown — who are both in town to perform at Saturday’s Lovers & Friends Festival — got physical over singer Teyana Taylor’s presence at Skate Rock City for the event.

Good friends Usher and Chris Brown pose together before Friday, May 5. (Image: Getty)

According to TMZ, the beef stemmed from a canceled appearance by Brown at last year’s American Music Awards. The singer was supposed to perform a tribute to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” that he had rehearsed for weeks. However, the segment was cancelled for unknown reasons. Taylor apparently had a hand in producing it.

Hate in This Club

According to TMZ, Brown confronted Taylor about the incident but she ignored him. This infuriated Brown, who demanded that she leave and that Usher help him kick her out. After Usher refused and stood his ground, Brown reportedly called him a “coward” and left the rink with his crew.

TMZ posted the following video, taken just as the celebration took a wrong turn…

Eyewitnesses told TMZ that Usher went after them, boarding Brown’s tour bus and later emerging with what appeared to be a bloody nose.

Usher remains confirmed to perform at Lovers & Friends, despite his injuries and despite the presence of Brown on the bill. As of this writing, it is not clear whether Brown will perform. Neither Usher, Brown, nor Taylor have publicly acknowledged the altercation.

Usher and Brown have been close friends for years. Last year, Usher brought Brown up to join him for a song during his “My Way” residency at Park MGM. Presenting him with flowers in a viral video, Usher told Brown: “You a great. You’re a legend. We love you and we gonna continue to keep lifting you up, bro.”

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Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: brown, chris, dustup, injured, reportedly, usher, vegas

Red Rock Sitting on Treasure Trove of Stadium Land, Says Analyst

Red Rock Resorts (NASDAQ: RRR) delivered first-quarter results on Thursday. But the company was mostly mum about a potential land sale to Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics. Analysts believe the casino operator can wring significant rewards from such a transaction.

Less than three weeks ago, it was revealed the A’s are moving to Las Vegas and plan to build a $1.5 billion ballpark near Tropicana Boulevard and Interstate 15. That land is owned by Red Rock. The operator previously wanted to use a portion of the 96 acres for its Viva casino complex, but the global financial crisis damned that effort. The A’s have an agreement with Red Rock under which the team will buy 48.6 of those acres, with an option to acquire eight more in the future.

Due to confidentiality, the purchase price of this transaction has not been disclosed, but the anticipated closing of the sales anticipated to occur in the fourth quarter later this year. As a reminder, the entire Viva site consists of 96 acres,” said Red Rock CFO Stephen Cootey on a conference call with analysts. “So if the A’s transaction closes and they exercise their 8-acre option, we still retain 39.3 acres for future monetization as we continue to execute on our strategy of repositioning our land portfolio for future growth.”

Twenty of those acres were previously occupied by Red Rock’s Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel, which the operator shuttered last September and later demolished.

Red Rock Primary Beneficiary of A’s Move

While it’s expected that all Las Vegas casino operators will benefit from adding Major League Baseball to Sin City, the consensus is building among analysts that gaming properties catering to locals will be the biggest winners, with Red Rock a clear leader of that group.

The land is an obvious foundation for that thesis, and while Red Rock isn’t yet telling analysts and investors how much it’s getting for the property it’s selling to the A’s, it will surely be an impressive sum.

“Even if they don’t build a casino, we believe the company’s remaining ~40 acres that would sit next to the ballpark complex would become extremely valuable if they wanted to eventually sell those acres,” wrote Stifel analyst Steven Wieczynski in a note to clients. “We estimate that land sold around the Raiders’ new stadium was valued in the $5M-$6M range, and believe RRR’s untapped acreage around the prospective A’s ballpark could go for more than that.”

Even when working on a hypothetical scenario that Las Vegas commercial real estate hasn’t appreciated over the past several years, Red Rock would gross $288 million by selling 48 acres to the A’s at $6 million an acre. Throw in the eight acres the A’s have the option to buy, and the potential sales price at $6 million balloons to $336 million, or a significant percentage of Red Rock’s market capitalization of $4.76 billion.

Land Sale Cash Added Perk for Red Rock

As Wieczynski pointed out, Red Rock already has one of the cleaner balance sheets among regional casino operators, indicating it doesn’t necessarily need the capital from the land sale. It’s merely icing on the cake.

We think this story becomes more attractive by the day and while we model flattish margins moving forward, if we are wrong, shares are massively undervalued at current levels,” concluded the analyst.

He rates the stock “hold” with a $54 price target.

The post Red Rock Sitting on Treasure Trove of Stadium Land, Says Analyst appeared first on Casino.org.

Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: analyst, land, sitting, stadium, treasure, trove

Elon’s Vegas Loop Green-Lighted for 18 More Transit Stations

Clark County Commissioners on Wednesday approved plans from Elon Musk’s the Boring Company to build 18 new stations for its underground transit system. The approved plans call for about 25 miles of new tunnels, doubling the size of the Vegas Loop to 73 stations spanning 65 miles of tunnels.

Included among the new stations are stops near the Palace Station and Circus Circus casino resorts on the Strip’s north end, as well as the proposed sites of the Dream and Oak View Group casino resorts south of the Strip. (Most of the Strip was previously covered by 55 stations, spanning 34 miles of tunnels, approved in 2021.)

The expansion was approved in a 6-1 vote after Boring Company attorney Stephanie Allen promised that her company would fund 100% of it, leaving no taxpayer burden.

The central section of the Vegas Loop’s latest operating map shows the latest set of approved tunnels/stations in red, the previously approved tunnels/stations in green, and the fully built and operational tunnels/stations in yellow. (Image: Clark County Nevada)

According to documents filed with the city, the project “will increase connectivity and convenience to visitors within the Resort Corridor and surrounding establishments” and it “encourage pursuing a variety of strategies to reduce reliance on private automobile travel, with the goal of reducing fossil fuel consumption and associated pollutant emissions from vehicles.”

Tunnel Vision?

Currently, the only functioning part of the Vegas Loop sees a fleet of Teslas navigating three tunnels spanning 1.7 miles under the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), along with a connection to Resorts World opened in July 2022.

“LVCC Loop connects the LVCC New Exhibit Hall with the existing campus (North/Central/South Halls), and reduces a 45 minute cross-campus walk time to approximately 2 minutes,” the Boring Company’s website claims.

According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, more than a million passengers have ridden the Vegas Loop to date, with a peak single-day ridership of 32,000.

Riders who tested the tunnel at the CES show in January 2022 were not impressed, however. They noted to electric vehicle news site Electrek.com that the company initially promised self-driving cars zooming at 150 mph, but delivered only manned vehicles going 35 mph.

Though approved by Clark County, the portions of the new tunnels that enter the City of Las Vegas, which is actually located north of the Strip, still need to be approved by Las Vegas City Council, which expects to vote on the plans sometime this summer.

The Vegas Loop is expected to be completed in 2027, including future expansions into residental areas north, west and east of the Strip.

The post Elon’s Vegas Loop Green-Lighted for 18 More Transit Stations appeared first on Casino.org.

Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: elon’s, green-lighted, stations, transit, vegas

European Regulator Forum GREF Releases Strategy to Fight Black Market Operators

european_regulator_forum_gref_releases_strategy_to_fight_black_market_operators The Gaming Regulators European Forum (GREF) is comprised of gaming and betting authorities in some of Europe’s most active markets. The forum recently outlined a commonly agreed upon commitment on how they plan to address problem gambling across the continent.

A statement released by GREF detailed some of the ways members would work together through cross-border cooperation that includes coordinating “joint actions” against what it deems to be illegal gambling websites operating in Europe. Each country is free to use its own definition of “illegal gambling”.

Regular Meetings and Other Communications to Keep the Forum Cohesive

Other items outlined include the sharing of expertise, information, and best practices as well as setting up alerts so that all member states can be on the same page at the same time when an issue needs to be addressed. The team also stated that the various national regulatory bodies would hold regular meetings to keep each other apprised and in the loop.

None of the language we have seen addresses grey markets – jurisdictions where gambling operations are not allowed unless they are licensed locally or sometimes even by another EU member state, but players are free to choose where they play. However, some of the participants are indeed from countries most widely seen as grey markets.

With the advent of countries such as Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK undertaking regulatory reform, Europen gambling industry participants have been bringing up the subject of the black market and outright illegal operators in some discussions.

The statement from GREF reads: “This joint action will enable us to better identify and minimize illegal gambling activities while acknowledging that each regulator remains free to define what amounts to illegal gambling and to use the enforcement tools provided by its own national regulatory framework.

“We expect that this common action will enable a constructive dialogue with online platforms, including social media platforms. We also expect that this common action will raise consumer awareness regarding the risks associated with illegal gambling.”

The Belgian Gambling Commission (BGC), l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) of France, Germany’s Gemeinsame Geschäftsstelle Glücksspiel (GGL), the Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC) of Greece, Ireland’s Regulator of the National Lottery, and the Great Britain Gambling Commission (UKGC) are among the most prominent members of the forum.

Ireland’s Department of Justice has recently stated that it will include support for the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) [Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann]

in its Justice Plan 2023, carrying on the work begun in 2021 to repeal existing gambling law in Ireland and replace it with a modern framework that addresses both land-based and online betting and gambling.

The Irish Department of Justice and Equality is a member of the forum as is the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Both government bodies have been heavily involved in the push for new regulatory frameworks in their countries.

GREF: Unlicensed Operators put Consumers at Risk

As one voice, forum members assert that “illegal gambling” (as defined by each member-state) undercuts the development of a fair gaming market as well as consumer protections.

“In light of these considerations, we commit ourselves today to working together against illegal gambling, in order to ensure effective implementation of our national regulations,” the organization stated.

Germany’s nascent regulatory authority, the GGL said upon its taking over responsibilities from regional ‘placeholders’ that it would create and implement tough standards and aggressively pursue unlicensed firms serving games or sports betting opportunities in the country.

Holland’s KSA has recently stepped up enforcement actions against licensed providers that breach the rules as well as foreign gambling websites they deem to be targeting Dutch players without a license.

However, not all regulated stakeholders are in unanimous agreement that stricter rules and enforcement are in players’ best interests.

According to research from PwC as provided to the UK’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) in early 2022, British gamblers who used unlicensed punting sites more than doubled in just two years. The count went from 220,000 to 460,000 in that timeframe. PwC estimated that the amount bet at non-UK-licensed online websites was billions of pounds annually.

The report stated: “This analysis suggests that the UK has a more ‘open’ online gambling market and currently has a smaller unlicensed market share than our European benchmarks.

“Whilst it is not possible to isolate the impact of individual regulatory characteristics, the above assessment suggests that jurisdictions with a higher unlicensed market share tend to exhibit one or more restrictive regulatory or licensing characteristics.”

Referring to the long-awaited UK Gambling Review, BGC Chief Executive, Michael Dugher said: “We support the Gambling Review but there is a real danger that it leads to the regulated industry being smaller and the illegal black market growing substantially.

“This research is stark about the dangers of the black market, we have to learn lessons from abroad, and make the right choice at this dangerous crossroads.”

Stringent Regulations May Drive Players to Black Market Sites

The PwC report didn’t stop at the UK’s borders however and it examined several other European countries. It found the following:

After Norway created a state monopoly and restricted all gambling stakes, implemented affordability checks and advertising restrictions, the black market grew to more than a 66% share of all stakes.

The country’s plans for DNS blocking to keep Norwegian players at state-sanctioned websites recently hit a speed bump when it was determined that the landing page searchers would be redirected to, the Norwegian Lottery Authority’s website, which did not conform to national privacy standards.

Norway currently enjoys a 100/100 rating at Freedom House with 40/40 for political rights and 60/60 for civil liberties. It’s unclear if DNS blocking would affect that score.

In France, 57% of all money staked is at unlicensed websites rather than at France’s state-monopoly gambling portals.

Advertising for betting and gambling is strictly prohibited in Italy but the black market accounts for nearly a quarter of all money staked online, according to the report.
The report did not state the percentage of unlicensed betting that occurred prior to the increased regulatory restrictions.

However, it did also note that Spain has seen 20% of all stakes being placed at unregulated websites since a 2020 Royal Decree in Spain severely restricted all gambling advertising. The BGC asserts that those numbers are the result of players not having access to information on safe gambling due to the advertising ban.

In 2020 Denmark also placed restrictions on licensed operators banning deposit incentives such as match bonuses while the Danish Tax Authority warned of the potential of a 9% increase in the black market share.

In Sweden, 38% of self-excluded gamblers who chose to close their accounts at locally licensed operations were still able to bet online with operators not licensed in Sweden.

Source: Cross-Border Regulators Body Gref Outlines Black Market Strategy, SBC News, April 11, 2023

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Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: Black, european, fight, forum, market, operators?, regulator, releases, Strategy

New Online Slots – BGaming, Gamzix, Wazdan, Lady Luck, Playson, Red Rake Gaming

new_online_slots_bgaming_gamzix_wazdan_lady_luck_playson_red_rake_gaming With so many new studios out there and the legacy brands working overtime to compete for player spins, each week sees well over a dozen new game releases. Today’s players simply have to click on a title at one of their favorite gaming portals to be the first in their circle to try a new game.

In the not-too-distant past, each and every online casino was simply an extension of the game developer with one site carrying Microgaming titles exclusively and others that carried only Playtech, Realtime Gaming, or Cryptologic games, etc. – there were no multi-software online casinos and in order to download a new game at a Microgaming site, players had to completely reinstall the Viper download client and every element of each game. Thanks to innovations such as instant play via HTML5 those days are long behind us now.

Today’s games can be built with pre-existing modules on Remote Game Servers (RGS) and deployed as soon as they are certified. In some jurisdictions such as in Spain, after winning a supplier license, a developer like Play’n GO can self-certify each new game in that market and release it across its entire network of games without the need for regulator by regulator approvals.

Raft of New Games to Play

Today we’ll look at a few fresh releases from BGaming, Gamzix, Lady Luck, Playson, Red Rake Gaming, and Wazdan.

BGaming – Alien Fruits

Look for groundbreaking AI-generated graphics in this game with refilling reels and a chance to win up to 15,000x. You’ll come along with fruit characters as they hunt down jelly letters in this intergalactic thriller for energy.

The game launched across the SOFTSWISS network and other operators carrying BGaming titles. Alien Fruits features a maximum win of €180,000 at full-tilt betting.

Yulia Aliakseyeva, co-CPO at BGaming, said: “As a leading slots provider, we are delighted to add Alien Fruits to our portfolio of more than 100 creative titles. We are especially excited to introduce AI-generated graphics – just one example of BGaming’s innovative approach to slots development.”

Land four or more Scatter symbols (spaceships) to trigger the free spins bonus and the fruits will traverse galaxies to carry you into the free games.

Players will in most markets also have access to the Bonus Buy feature to cut to the front of the line (for a price) and play the bonus game whenever they feel like taking a chance.

Random multipliers ranging from 2x to 100x take the game to new heights.

Gamzix – Wolf Story

Wolf Story is set up as a 5-reel, 3-row slot with 25 fixed paylines. Game icons depict members of the animal kingdom and symbols like Scatter and Moon provide more: Scatter symbols trigger Free Spins and Moons are a portal into the Bonus Game using the Gamzix Hold the Spin mechanics.

There are four jackpots available and you’ll need to collect 15 Moon symbols to have a crack at the Grand Jackpot.

Wolf Story has a fairly high RTP at 96% and a max win over 5000x.

Alexandr Kosohov, CEO of Gamzix commented: “Every slot is a combination of visual representation and a perfect mix of available features. It has to catch attention from the first sight and leave a player intrigued until the very last spin. This is what we were focused on while creating Wolf Story. You’ll see a lot of animated elements, changing backgrounds and features, like Mystery Coin, that reveal the final result only when time comes. Wild and mysterious, isn’t it?”

Lady Luck Games – Popeye

This highly anticipated release from Lady Luck Games is officially scheduled for its global launch on April 20, 2023 – however, word has it that it could be released into select regional markets before rolling out over the Lady Luck distribution network.

Popeye was created in collaboration with King Features Syndicate (Hearst Communications), a comics content company and animation studio first launched in 1914 and the home of iconic characters such as Flash Gordon, Beatle Baily, Hagar the Horrible, and of course, Popeye.

Some of the regional releases include The exclusive regional releases include partnerships with Danske Spil for players in Denmark, Novibet which caters to Greek players, Tipobet365 active in scattered markets globally, Betsson, and White Hat Gaming for players in the UK.

“We are excited to bring our captivating and immersive Popeye slot game to a global audience through these exclusive regional launches with leading brands in the industry. We believe that our engaging gaming experience, combined with the strong market presence of these leading platforms, will be a winning combination for players worldwide,” said Mads Jørgensen, Co-Founder, and CEO of Lady Luck Games.

Global Release date: April 20, 2023
RTP: 94.0% | 96.1% | 88.0% depending on the market
Layout: 5×3
Volatility: Medium
Lines/Ways: 20
Hit frequency: 29.8% | 29.7% | 30.4%
Max win: 5100x bet | 5500x bet | 5300x bet
Min/max bet: €0.10/€100.00
Languages: EN, RU, TR, ES, IT, DA, ZH-CN, TH, KO, DE, EL, NL, RO, SV, KA

Playson – Giza Nights: Hold and Win

This game is feature-rich with semi-complicated mechanics that will keep new players enthralled with mystery and discovery as well as bring back seasoned players for years to come. Set up as a 5×3 slot with 25 paylines, it promises to take players on a journey to one of the Seven Wonders of the World and set off to find treasure in the mysterious ancient town of Giza.

The Boost feature collects the value of accumulated moon symbols and awards them to players instantly. It can also award one of three jackpots if the proper symbols land on the reels on the same spin.

The bonus game is powered by Playson’s popular Hold and Win mechanic which resets the number of available respins to 3 with each new Bonus, Boost, or Mystery symbol that appears in the feature. The bonus game plays until the player runs out of chances or fills the 5×3 grid with bonus symbols which will award the Grand jackpot worth 5,000x your bet.

The Mystery symbol can also change into a Mini, Minor, or Major Jackpot symbol during the bonus game. These will appear after a Boost symbol is landed or they will be revealed one at a time when the respin bonus is completed.

Land three scatters to trigger or retrigger 8 free games with only top-paying Bonus, Boost, Scatter, and Wild symbols being collected.

Tamas Kusztos, Chief Commercial Officer at Playson, said: “Giza Nights: Hold and Win is a great addition to our library, adding the allure of Giza to our Egyptian-themed series of games.

“The Hold and Win mechanic is a player favorite and with the Boost feature integrated, they’re sure to have a thrilling time when they explore our bespoke gameplay offering.”

Red Rake Gaming – Ramses Legacy

There must be dozens if not tens of tens of Egyptian-themed slots out there but it remains a popular genre as developers add their own twists to the highly visited theme. Red Rake is no exception. First launched in 2011 the studio plied its trade in the social game realm before taking on the more serious role of becoming a BMM-certified real money game provider.

Ramsey’s Legacy is a huge slot in many ways – the first way that jumps out is the One Million Ways to Win feature, but the minigame and free spins also loom large for players who enjoy total game immersion when they play.

Go to the doors of Ramses’ pyramid and watch a wall raise with each win and reveal more rows of symbols. When a pyramid appears on the reels it will be added to the progress meter which triggers the minigame when it gets filled.

In addition to the minigame, there is a free spins bonus round with 8, 12, or 16 free games for 3, 4, and 5 scatters respectively. The game screen starts out with 4 rows on the reels and with every win 2 more rows are opened up.

The game was released across the Playson network on April 13.

Wazdan – Hot Slot: 777 Cash Out

Wazdan had added its eighth game to its top-performing Hot Slot series with Hot Slot: 777 Cash Out.

Andrzej Hyla, Chief Commercial Officer at Wazdan: “We are delighted to share the latest addition to our Hot Slot series, bolstered through immersive new mechanics that provide endless entertainment and massive win potential.

“As the first game of a new quarter, we wanted to release something for our partners to be excited about while building on the momentum of our ever-popular series.”

Like all games in the Hot Slot series, this game melds a classic retro theme with Wazdan’s innovative modern mechanics.

However, this game introduces a new feature with the Cash Out symbol. Players can use it to collect prizes including jackpots through Wazdan’s player-engagement engine.

Cover all of the reel positions with jackpot symbols to win up to 1,500x your bet when you win the Grand Jackpot.

Players can double up their bets to enable the new Chance Level mechanic which increases the chance of landing jackpot symbols.

Wazdan prides itself on catering to individual players’ wants and needs through its Freedom of Choice Suite which allows players to customize their game experience in various ways, providing a sense of ownership and increasing player retention and loyalty.

Source: Embark On Space Odyssey With Bgaming’S Alien Fruits, European Gaming News, April 13, 2023

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Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: bgaming,, gaming, gamzix,, luck, Online, playson,, Slots, wazdan,