In the fast-moving world of gambling, sometimes you might miss news that could be important to you. To make sure you’re all caught up on gaming industry news, be it online or brick and mortar, we’re rounding up the some of the announcements and partnerships from the last week that you might have missed.

Don’t miss out on all of the latest announcements. Our Press Release section is updated constantly.

Red Rake Gaming partners with Rivalo in Colombia

The industry’s well-known games development company, Red Rake Gaming, has agreed a new content deal with Rivalo for the Colombian market which will see it broaden its presence in the growing Latin American online gaming market.

Rivalo will launch a broad selection of Red Rake Gaming’s localized top performing games in the Colombian market, including its record breaking Super15Stars – the non-stop, action-packed slot which combines feature games and bonus rounds from all its predecessors in the Super series of games, all of which have been very well received in Latin America. Additional titles from the Red Rake diverse suite of games includes Million 777; giving players a million ways to win, The Asp of Cleopatra, 1st of the Irish, and Secrets of the Temple, all of which continue to hold top spots across the Red Rake Gaming portfolio.

Skywind Group Announce Partnership with Avento

Skywind Group and Avento have signed a new deal, granting Avento access to all of Skywind’s inventive games, acquisition and retention tools.

Avento and Skywind share a passion for innovation, player engagement and finding the best ways to both stand out while providing quality entertainment players can trust. This, in combination with a focus on understanding multiple unique markets, compliance and sustainable markets are a few of the elements that drew Avento and Skywind together.

IMG ARENA signs long term extension with Ekstraklasa

IMG ARENA, a leading sports betting service and content hub, has secured an extension to its global* live streaming partnership with Poland’s premier football league, the Ekstraklasa.

The multi-year renewal will see IMG ARENA package live footage from the competition for betting and gaming operators to offer to their customers.

Following a period of commercial growth, Ekstraklasa paid record revenues to its clubs in 2019-20, and the league is set to grow from 16 to 18 teams from 2021-22, providing a greater volume of matches and further increasing the live streaming coverage.

GrooveGaming mint a deal with the Coingaming Group’s integration platform Hub88.

This latest agreement sees aggregator GrooveGaming hit the headlines again with a deal to supply content to the Hub88 platform, following a whirlwind of announcements over the past 6 months, as GrooveGaming continues to expand rapidly on the back of some of the most robust technology in the iGaming industry.

Earlier this year, GrooveGaming was recognised as one of the ’10 Best Innovative Technology Solution Providers of 2020′ by IndustryEra, firmly demonstrating that the aggregator’s technology development is being acknowledged not only in the iGaming industry, but also from outside it.

Becoming the latest in a raft of new agreements entered into so far this year, the new partnership will see GrooveGaming’s content integrated with the Hub88 platform.

Pragmatic Play Seals Live Casino Direct Integration With Kindred

Pragmatic Play, a leading content provider to the gaming industry, has finalised the direct integration of its Live Casino portfolio with leading operator group, Kindred. This new deal enhances an already robust partnership between the two, with the Nordic operator previously integrating Pragmatic Play’s slots.

Kindred will now have direct access to the supplier’s acclaimed Live Casino portfolio which has seen amazing success after the launch of the new Blackjack and Roulette Azure tables, the ever-popular Baccarat and Speed Baccarat, as well as the company’s first game show, Mega Wheel.

Paysafe’s Income Access Unveils Upgrades to Affiliate Marketing Platform

Income Access, Paysafe’s marketing technology and services provider, has announced the release of multiple key upgrades to its award-winning affiliate marketing platform. The enhancements are designed to improve the user experience of iGaming operators and affiliates by focusing on core functionality such as navigation, mobile responsiveness and report display.

The upgrades, which primarily concern the platform’s dashboard and reporting interface, have been released across all Income Access-powered affiliate programmes and reflect the Paysafe company’s ongoing efforts to gather and respond to constructive feedback from partners. With changes that address the need for a more streamlined and responsive design, Income Access can now equip operators and their affiliate marketing partners with an interface that supports an intuitive user experience and facilitates their assessment of actionable data.

Aimed at maintaining a competitive advantage across both traditional and emerging iGaming markets, these enhancements come in a year when Income Access has also announced major partnerships with brands such as High 5 Casino, Tipico U.S., and ZenSports. In addition, the company expanded its footprint in the global retail foreign exchange (forex) trading space through a partnership with leading online broker FXCM Group.

BTOBET Announces Strategic Partnership with Yellowbet

Cameroon-based betting site to be powered by Neuron 3 platform

BtoBet will be strengthening its presence in Africa announcing a strategic partnership with iGaming group Yellowbet to power its Yellowbet Cameroon brand with the Neuron 3 platform. The deal encompasses the operator’s digital channels. The partnership also allows Yellowbet to migrate its other brands in Africa to BtoBet’s advanced betting and gaming platform.

Seeking to deliver a tailored user experience to its players, Yellowbet will be delivering a wide range of content including local and international sports betting which includes live sports events, online and live casino, jackpots and a wide range of virtual sports.

Playtech integrates Affordability UK solution

Playtech partner TruNarrative powers market-leading solution

Playtech, the world’s leading gambling technology company, has announced the integration of Affordability UK into its award-winning IMS platform as its latest move to support operators in meeting regulatory requirements.

Affordability UK is provided by eKYC and fraud detection specialists TruNarrative, extending the company’s partnership with Playtech to deliver a leading range of player onboarding and verification services.

Affordability UK can accurately and reliably identify customers whose gambling spend may be unsustainable. The combination of Affordability UK insight and the capabilities of the TruNarrative platform will allow operators to:

• Write bespoke rules and build thresholds around a player’s affordability data, transactions and behaviour;
• Automate decisions and perform manual investigations based on real-time data;
• Use a single interface and customer picture to track player spending behaviour across multiple brands.

Greentube expands Neccton Responsible Gaming solution to Spanish brand

Greentube, the NOVOMATIC Interactive division, is set to implement Neccton’s Responsible Gaming solution across its Spanish online gaming offering, following a successful rollout in the UK.

The mentor tool, which was first launched with ADMIRAL Casino and has more real-money gaming brands set to follow, helps Greentube identify potentially problematic gambling behaviour in real-time and automatically interacts with players showing harmful behaviour.

The implementation of mentor with the StarVegas brand in Spain reinforces the company’s commitment to safer play for its customers and cements its position as a responsible global games supplier and operator.

To ensure the highest level of social responsibility and player protection across the board, Greentube will look to roll-out mentor in more markets in the very near future.

Neccton’s new AI-based Responsible Gaming (RG) solution, mentor, tracks specific metrics which could indicate that somebody is spending more than they can afford, such as chasing losses, in-session deposits, failed deposits and cancelled withdrawals, and alerts operators instantly if certain markers of harm are surfacing.

The solution also communicates directly with players via customised messages detailing changes in play or overspending, and includes information that allows them to analyse their own behaviour and compare it to the player base.

The post Gambling Industry Announcement and Partnership Roundup –December 3, 2020 appeared first on CalvinAyre.com.

For the sixth consecutive month, Colorado’s sports betting handle hit all-time highs in October, and tax revenue finally went along for the ride.

In the tenth month of 2020, the total amount wagered on sports online and at the Centennial State’s retail sportsbooks rose to $210.71 million from $207.65 million in September, according to data released Monday by the Department of Revenue.

In October, the total taxes collected was $824,700, representing a 91.5 percent increase over September 2020 and the largest amount collected since legalization in May 2020,” said the revenue department in a statement.

That comes after net sports betting product (NSBP), or taxable revenue, was -$3.39 million in September.

Football Does the Heavy Lifting

Data confirms the struggles of the Denver Broncos aren’t deterring Colorado bettors from action on the NFL. It’s also clear gamblers there are capitalizing on the state’s rapid adoption of online and mobile wagering platforms.

The data confirms something else. Colorado gamblers are just like their counterparts in other states in that the NFL is their favorite sport to bet on. Second, the arrival of the 2020 professional football season is a boon for state coffers.

The Centennial State’s timing in launching regulated sports betting was inauspicious, to say the least, doing so at the height of the coronavirus sports shutdown. As a result, international table tennis was the most wagered-on sport in the state for several months.

Online Really Matters

Some states initially allow wagers to be placed at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks and drag their heels on permitting online betting. Colorado isn’t in that camp, explaining why operators are keen to enter the market.

The state allowed gaming companies to rapidly roll out online and mobile sports wagering platforms, and that accommodative stance is paying dividends.

Last month, total gross gaming revenue (GGR) from sports betting was $17.40 million, while NBSP was $9.64 million. Of those tallies, $16.72 million and $8.97 million, respectively, were generated online. Of the $824,700 in taxes collected by the state, $757,614 was attributable to online sportsbooks.

The Department of Revenue doesn’t break out operators by GGR or handle in the monthly data. But Caesars, Circa Sports, DraftKings, FanDuel, Monarch Casino, and Penn National Gaming are among the gaming companies with footprints in the Centennial State.

The post Colorado Sports Wagering Handle, Tax Receipts Notch Records in October appeared first on Casino.org.

Retired Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, an entrepreneur credited with helping revive downtown Las Vegas, died Friday from injuries in a house fire. He was 46.

Hsieh was honored Saturday night in the downtown Las Vegas casino district with a visual tribute displayed on the Fremont Street Experience lighted canopy.

The five-minute tribute featured images of Hsieh and the Eric Clapton song “Tears in Heaven.” The canopy covers a pedestrian mall on historic Fremont Street. The street, lined on both sides with casinos, is known as Glitter Gulch.

Casino owner Derek Stevens said Hsieh’s family asked him and his wife, Nicole, to take the lead in putting the tribute together, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Stevens owns three resorts on Fremont Street — the Golden Gate, D Las Vegas, and Circa Resort. Circa opened last month. It is the first hotel-casino built from the ground up in downtown Las Vegas in 40 years.

Stevens also is seen as helping transform the downtown area, which had fallen on hard times during the economic downturn more than a decade ago.

Supporting this City and the people within it, Tony Hsieh changed the landscape of Downtown Las Vegas,” Stevens said in a tweet.

At news of Hsieh’s death, public officials and institutions throughout Southern Nevada responded on social media sites.

The Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas tweeted that Hsieh “was a longtime friend and tremendous supporter of the Museum and incredibly passionate about the revitalization of downtown Las Vegas.”

“We will miss him dearly,” the museum tweeted.

Boost to Downtown Las Vegas

In his mid-20s, the Illinois-born Hsieh sold an online marketing firm, LinkExchange, to Microsoft for $265 million in stock.

In 1999, a decade after selling LinkExchange, the Harvard University graduate invested in a startup online shoe retailer, ShoeSite.com, later named Zappos, according to the Associated Press.

For a while, Hsieh lived in Las Vegas in an Airstream trailer.

In 2013, Hsieh moved the Zappos headquarters into a building that once served as Las Vegas City Hall. During this period, Hsieh pledged $350 million to revitalize downtown Las Vegas, according to the Associated Press.

Hsieh recently retired after 20 years at the company’s helm and purchased homes in the snow-skiing resort town of Park City, Utah.

House Fire

Hsieh died from injuries in a fire at a waterfront home on Nov. 18 in New London, Connecticut. He had been in Connecticut with his brother at the time, according to news accounts.

New London Fire Chief Thomas Curcio told The Day newspaper that firefighters arrived at the home around 3:30 am and discovered “somebody trapped in a portion of the house.” This person reportedly was suffering from possible burns and smoke inhalation.

The chief said firefighters “had to force entry. They removed the victim, started CPR, and transported him to the hospital.”

The victim, whose name was not immediately released, ultimately was taken to the Connecticut Burn Center in Bridgeport, about 65 miles from New London, according to news accounts.

The post Former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh Dies at 46, Honored in Las Vegas Tribute appeared first on Casino.org.

Sports betting operator SportPesa’s fight with Kenya’s gambling regulator appears far from over, while financial revelations have finally shone a light on just how massive the company was before its legal troubles began.

After finally relaunching its Kenyan-facing operations this week, SportPesa learned this week that the Betting Control & Licensing Board (BCLB) had summoned the company’s new BCLB-licensed partner Milestone Games Ltd to explain why its gaming license shouldn’t be withdrawn.

If you’re just joining us, SportPesa exited its home market in October 2019 following a still unresolved back-tax dispute with the Kenya Revenue Authority. With its license having been suspended, SportPesa attempted to restart its Kenyan operations last month by lending its brand to Milestone, which is majority owned by SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri.

The BCLB initially blocked Milestone’s attempt to use the SportPesa brand but appeared to temporarily give up the fight following a High Court ruling, which set a January date for resolving this issue. Now Kenyan media is reporting that the BCLB is once again looking to halt SportPesa/Milestone’s efforts to continue their Kenyan business.

BCLB chair Cyrus Maina has reportedly summoned Milestone exec Bernard Chauro Matoke and director Wilson Ngatia Karungaru – both of whom were briefly detained earlier this month in Nairobi for encouraging bettors to visit the new SportPesa site – to a meeting on December 3 to answer questions regarding who exactly owns Milestone.    

The Standard reported that Maina’s ‘show cause’ letter indicates that Milestone’s license was issued on October 22 to director James Muigai Ngengi, but the BCLB says Muigai is no longer listed as a Milestone shareholder. Milestone also added a Karauri-owned firm, Selenium Ltd, to its list of shareholders after the license was issued.

The BCLB states that no one at Milestone informed the regulator of these ownership changes. The BCLB claims this failure compromised its ability to conduct proper due diligence, representing “a material breach of the applicable requirements for which [Milestone’s] license may be cancelled or varied.”  

No one at SportPesa/Milestone has so far commented publicly on the development, and SportPesa Kenya’s official Twitter feed continues to advise punters on how to register and deposit on the ke.SportPesa.com site.

SPORTPESA WAS KENYA’S SECOND BIGGEST FIRM

Meanwhile, the scale of SportPesa’s pre-disruption Kenyan operations has been revealed in court documents related to the ongoing dispute amongst the company’s stakeholders. Previous estimates have fingered SportPesa as Kenya’s unquestioned market leader but hard numbers were hard to come by until now.

Business Daily reported that SportPesa handled Ksh149.7b (US$1.36b) in betting turnover in 2018 and generated revenue of Ksh20.1b ($182.8m), roughly half of which the company is believed to have kept as its profit. That put SportPesa second only to telecom giant Safaricom in terms of revenue generation by Kenyan companies.

SportPesa’s estimate of its 2018 tax bill was Ksh4.8b, of which it paid Ksh3.6b. But due to the government’s view of how to apply a 20% tax on punters’ winnings, the KRA insisted last year that SportPesa owed Ksh15.1b ($137.4m) in back taxes and penalties.

Kenyan media revealed this week that SportPesa had attempted to work out an 18-month payment plan that would have covered this outstanding balance if it was allowed to continue operating in Kenya. But the KRA reportedly balked, leading to the company’s decision to shut down local operations.

The KRA now believes SportPesa’s outstanding tax/penalty bill totals Ksh21.4b and the taxman has accused the company of involvement in “activities suspected to be intricate and complex tax evasion and money laundering.” SportPesa has denied any financial chicanery and has accused the stakeholders who voiced such claims of malicious defamation.

The post Kenya betting regulator not done harassing SportPesa just yet appeared first on CalvinAyre.com.

Casino employees in Peru have had enough. After being forced to be out of work for eight months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are becoming increasingly frustrated and want the government to figure out how to let them back on the job like other countries have been doing. They have been more and more vocal as the shutout wears on and decided that rallying in from the country’s Congress yesterday would be the best way to make sure their collective voice was heard.

Local news outlets in Peru report that more than 50,000 workers took to Peruvian streets in various parts of the country yesterday to protest the ongoing shutdown. Many countries have figured out how to let their gambling industries begin to open, as long as they comply with certain health protocols, but Peru is still ignoring the possibilities. Despite the fact that certain casinos, like those in some U.S. states, have had to backtrack as new COVID-19 cases mount, there has still been a lot of progress made since this past July.

At the beginning of November, Peru’s National Chamber of Tourism sent a letter to the country’s then-president, Manuel Merino, asking that the casino industry be allowed to reopen, citing health protocols and measures that had been established by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism. Merino never responded and, as the country became gripped with protests over what was seen as a lack of support for the people, he resigned less than a week into his tenure. His predecessor, Martin Vizcarra, didn’t do a much better job, and was ousted in a major bribery scandal that hit the country.

Speaking to local media, a spokesperson representing the frustrated casino employees, Johan Escalante, asserted, “We’re already in compliance with protocols. All betting rooms have been adapted to comply with the guidelines established by the Ministry of Health and by Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism. We already have an approved pre-protocol the [authorities] haven’t published it yet.”

Studies have already shown that casinos are among the least possible places where COVID-19 spikes could originate. Peru is not in a position that allows it to maintain an apathetic approach to recovery, with tax losses of more than $232 million already being reported just from the gambling industry. The prolonged stoppage will only make matters worse and, with 112,000 direct and indirect employees affected by the casino shutdown, there’s little chance that recovery will be seen anytime soon. 

Peru’s new president, Francisco Sagasti, took office about a week and a half ago. He became the fourth president in five years and has his work cut out for him. A political centrist, he may only hold the office for around eight months, as national elections are coming next July. In addition to the public protests, the coronavirus pandemic and being a first-time legislator, Sagasti will also have to deal with claims that more than half of the 130 members of Congress are under investigation for fraud and corruption.

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