Too Little, Too Late for Fertitta

Posted on September 17, 2012 by JenC

More information has hit the stands in regards to the court case surrounding Golden Nugget’s casinos unfortunate circumstances, that saw a group of their players taking full advantage of the fact that decks of cards were not shuffled. They observed the pattern and placed bets accordingly in a recent game of mini-baccarat, winning from the house a grand total of $1.5 million in chips – which were promptly frozen by the land-based casino, as Golden Nugget and owner Tilman Fertitta refused to pay out on the jackpot.

The players, understandably, decided to fight back, taking the case to court, where a judge recently found that it was not the players’ fault that neither the casino nor the manufacturer providing the cards had shuffled them correctly. While the game of chance did gain an element of predictability in this particular circumstance, the burden laid with the casino, and they must be responsible for paying, because, boiled down, they were in violation of state law by not complying with proper shuffling standards.

Immediately following, Fertitta offered to willingly pay out the $1.5 million to the gamblers, so long as both sides drop lawsuits and appeals. It was an offer supposedly made with an air of generosity, with Fertitta having the intention of suing the manufacturer himself, rather than pursuing an appeal on the case as was expected by many in the online gambling industry. Last week, it seemed as if the case was closed, until players and their legal teams got back on the scene this week, saying effectively, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

As it stands now, Fertitta’s offer isn’t looking nearly as attractive as what the players could be in to get if they just follow the case through on the basis of the judge’s ruling. If that turns out to be the case, the Golden Nugget casino and Fertitta could have to pay out significantly more than the original $1.5 million, as they are pursuing compensation not only for the gambles of the game, but also the fact that those winnings were confiscated, and some players were even held in custody at the casino, subjecting them to personal, and possibly, illegal searches.

With players having rejected the offer, the online gambling community looks on to see just how much money they are pursuing, and whether or not Fertitta will give up his fight, or set in for a long appeal process.

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Winner at (Final) PPT

Posted on September 17, 2012 by JenC

The Partouche Poker Tour found a winner this week in Germany’s representative, Ole Schmion, who managed to beat out an impressive player field of 573 competitors. Poker tournament ended this week in Cannes, with much of the online gambling community looking on, awaiting to see who would emerge Torres in such a tough field of players, healing famous names from both the live poker circuit as well as the Internet gambling world.

The final table, in particular, was a difficult one, with passionate hands taking place throughout its duration, and the advantage changing hands several times. In the end, it came down to the German ace facing Russian player Karen Sarkisyan for his eventual win, please to be taking home the €1,172,850 first prize.

While the game was plenty exciting enough to hold the Internet gambling world’s attention, and unspoken question also hung in the air, as many wonder whether this fifth edition of the Partouche poker tour will be the last one. The changes are relatively good, especially given the fact that the toward itself is not in great graces when it comes to the poker community, making a last-minute decision not to honor their €5 million guaranteed on the prize pool, cutting it instead by nearly €700,000 before opening day.

During the tournament itself, the owner of Partouche brand, Patrick Partouche, did decide to relent on the decision, claiming that he will pay the full guarantee following widespread criticism, much of which was bred throughout the online gambling community with vehemence. What should have been an apologetic moment was approached badly, however, with Partouche grumbling about the need to honor his own promise, and stating in the process that this would be the last edition of the tour.

Though the future of the tour still hangs in the air, sullied by the entire ordeal, big winner Schermion was nonetheless pleased with the final rankings, as he was able to come into first place on the third day of play, and held on to that advantage for much of the final days of action. The final table included international list of names: with Karen Sarkisyan (Russia); Aaron Lim (Australia); Dan O’Brien (USA); Marcello Marigliano (Italy) and Fabrice Touil (France) providing stiff competition.

In the end, it was amazing to look back and see that the German had eliminated all of them in order to approach the heads up with the Russian, putting a strong chip lead. The pair did discuss a possible chop, but unable to reach an agreement as to the amounts, they played in the traditional way. It will surely to Schemion’s advantage in the end, as he was able to claim the full first prize, sending Sarkisyan home with a paycheck worth a very honorable €693,494.

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All In Gets Fox and Ryan Reynolds

Posted on September 17, 2012 by JenC

Some additional details have been brought to light this week in regards to the production plans for the newest television show highlighting the gambling world, set to be named “All In.” According to a brief press release, no doubt given to tantalize fans and instigate interest, a deal has been struck between 20th Century Fox Television and the production firm, DarkFire TV, the production company launched and operated by Ryan Reynolds, who has, among other big roles, played Green Lantern.

A few details have Artie been released about how the show will run, set to be a single camera comedy that follows the life and times of the fictional character, Tommy Vigorish. Vigorish will be scripted as a compulsive gambler who is attempting to get his family to help his support his dream of getting back in the game – this time successfully.

Unfortunately for all of the big star’s fans, Reynolds himself is not going to be acting in the new show, but is rather operating from behind the scenes with partners Jonathon Martin and Steven Pearl, all co-executive producting. The script itself falls out of the hands of Allen Loeb, a long-time partner of the trio. It’s a big deal for Loeb, as the show will mark the first live action writing effort since the official establishment of the DarkFire production company last year. He is well-respected in the television and film industry, however, carrying impressive credits with him such as being the co-creator of the 2008 Fox drama New Amsterdam. Since then, he had moved away from TV, focusing instead on feature films for the last few years (and having great successes with titles such as Money Never Sleeps, Just Go With It, and Rock of Ages), before committing his talents to DarkFire with Reynolds.

The collaboration with FoxTV on the ‘All In’ project is an expansion of sorts of an existing relationship. Together, they produced another single camera comedy last year, called ‘Guidance.’ More recently, the television company has already ordered an additional project from DarkFire in the form of an animated series called ‘Lowe Rollers.’ That show is based on the story of a family that “…tries to maintain a semblance of civility while struggling to run a sinking Titanic-themed casino in the heart of Sin City.”

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Aristocrat Releases Teasers

Posted on September 17, 2012 by JenC

With the beginning of the G2E conference and expo in Las Vegas creeping ever closer, set to open next month, online gambling companies all around the world are prepping, and getting the rest of the internet casino community excited about what they are planning to bring to the table. The latest teaser comes this week from the Australian gambling content supplier, Aristocrat, which released this week their menu of applications as part of their publicity for the Expo, with they have lofty expectations showcasing a thorough selection of products to online gambling industry delegates from all around the world.

Aristocrat is well-versed in nearly all sectors of the Internet casino industry, but in recent months has specialized particularly in the mobile gaming division, currently hosting 17 applications available through the Apple iStore. Between them, they boast more than 600,000 downloads to date. The selections include not only real money online casino options for the European market, but also play for fun programs such as Aristocrat All Stars, Buffalo Moon, Diamond Destiny, Dolphin Treasure, Dragon Emperor, 5 Dragons, Fire Light, Geisha, Imperial House, Miss Kitty, Sun and Moon, Thunder King, Tiki Torch, Whales of Cash, Wicked Winnings II and Wild Panda, favorites in countries where Internet casinos are not yet regulated.

Additionally, the company has launched the AristoApp, a program for our customers were all company information can be quickly accessed, including a list of games as well as descriptions, cabinets, and additional links to. Details about their platforms are also available through the AristoApp, with full transparency for both Oasis 360 and nVision as well as the nLiveLink solution that links an nLive virtual casinos to the brick-and-mortar casinos. As if that weren’t enough to showcase, the Aristocrat stand at the expo will include math models to back their research and support, as well as online solution possibilities for other operators.

“With our mobile play-for-fun apps, players can take the fun of their favourite casino game with them anywhere. That can help to increase product loyalty, which in turn can lead to return casino visits,” said Aristocrat Americas President Atul Bali. “Interestingly, in the App Store, on our Twitter feed and on our Facebook page, we are constantly receiving feedback from casino guests asking us to make their favourite games into play-for-fun apps,” he added.

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Sports Leagues Get In on NJ Debate

Posted on September 17, 2012 by JenC

In regards to the arguments surrounding the legalization of sports betting in the state of New Jersey, new perspectives have launched their way into the spotlight this week, catching the attention of the online gambling community as well. This week, major sports leagues got into the foray with their attempts to sue the state of New Jersey over the new permissions, allowing for intrastate single game sports to be gambled on by residents.

When the bill passed, it was considered a victory for the Internet casino community, a small steps are being made within the US market. The new law will allow at least some measure of sports betting to take place in the Atlantic City casinos, hopefully allowing them to better compete with the wide range of services already available in Las Vegas. This week, professional sports leagues made clear just how disappointed they were with the progress being made towards legalization, but New Jersey’s Washington DC lawyers wasted no time in debunking many of the claims they are hoping will create negative attention that the new law.

According to a report by The Press of Atlantic City, the arguments being presented include the detail that the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB and the NCAA do not have any grounds on which to stand in order to sue the state of New Jersey because they, at this time, will not be able to clearly show that the ability for punters to utilize the new sports betting clause will result in any harm for any of the organizations.

The sports betting market within Nevada alone is estimated to be worth more than $380 billion every year. Despite this astronomical number, the leagues have still managed to maintain their integrity. Whether or not sports betting is legalized – especially on an intrastate basis within New Jersey – the market size for the sports gambling world will not decrease. It makes no sense, then, to claim that this new bill will threatened in any way the integrity of the sporting world. Even if New Jersey manages to generate revenues in the billions, the effects that will have on how the sporting industry operates will be nil.

Contradictorily, much of the growth enjoyed by the professional sports world in the last 20 years can be directly attributed to sports betting. Given the current levels of sports betting that already exist within the US, the temptation to cheat or fix games is already present; changing the gambling laws within New Jersey will not increase the temptation in the least. If any fixing does occur, it would be on the level of players, officials, and direct employees, not gamblers, nor the newly established regulatory body, overseen by the New Jersey government.

Finally, despite the fact that the organizations are leaning heavily on the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) for their arguments against the new law, the same Act includes a clause that this allows sports leagues from suing changes. The lawyers behind the new bill claim that the insertion of such a clause implies that federal lawmakers had overreached their authority in knew they were not within their power to usurp the constitutional functions of the judiciary when the Act was instituted.

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Challenging Quarter for Loto Quebec

Posted on September 17, 2012 by JenC

Though many of the online gambling companies that have released their latest numbers in the last few weeks have shown great growth and high profits, Loto Quebec, based out of Canada is not among the grouping, finding instead that the first quarter of their financial year was significantly more challenging than they had expected. While many companies have adjusted their fiscal years to coordinate with the calendar year, Loto Quebec is stands apart in this respect as well, with their own first quarter having only just ended June 25th.

Despite the overall numbers coming in a bit disappointing, the group did have a few points of positivity in their fiscal report, including their online gambling revenues. According to the Canadian provincial internet gambling provider, the business for their site, Espacejeux.com, saw increases in revenues up 30.7 percent in comparison with the first quarter of 2011, coming in with Cnd $5.9 million. Other areas to grow included lottery sales – up 2.1 percent – and the small bingo sector, which saw a growth of 3.9 percent.

Even with an growth of almost 31 percent, internet gambling was not enough to save the firm from losses, with total net profits down by 7.2 percent to Cdn $304.9 million. This loss was largely attributed to the fact that their sales were down around 5 percent, to $842 million, a drop that management claims was because the calendar lacked two days that last year enjoyed. Many in the online gambling community are raising their eyebrows at the explanation. Video lottery sales were also down by 1.1 percent.

Regardless, Loto Quebec does more than just online gambling, with land-based casino revenues also going down by 6.2 percent in comparison with the previous year. The casino Mont Tremblant saw revenues up 4.2 percent from the previous year, and the resort at Lac-Leamy increased by a meager 1.8 percent – but those numbers were not enough to offset the 10.2 loss at Montreal Casino nor the 5.2 percent drop noted at Charlevoix.

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First Affiliate License Awarded

Posted on September 17, 2012 by JenC

More progress was noted this week in the State of Nevada, as the Gaming Control Board issued their first two approvals for affiliate marketing websites on a provisional basis. Both licenses went to the same parent company, however, that of Poker Trip Enterprises Inc of Las Vegas. There is still at least one more step to go for the license before it can be officially finalized – that of ratification by the Gaming Commission – but with an approval already in hand, the green light is a good as gotten.

The news is significant within the online gambling community as it marks the very first affiliate website to be granted access in the Nevada market, even before their legalization efforts have paid off. Being the first does have it’s advantages, however, such as the powerful piece of the marketing power they will have, advertising on behalf of approved online poker websites in Nevada’s intrastate system.

The first recipient of the affiliate rights couldn’t be a better choice, as Poker Trip Enterprises is certainly experienced within the industry, having extensive marketing experience already in the field, based on their connections with land-based poker rooms located throughout the state, already promoted through websites, All Vegas Poker.com and The Poker Atlas.com. It’s a small company, with only 7 employees, and relatively new – launched in 2011 – but already doing well for themselves, representing the game of poker in the US market however they (legally) can.

Interestingly, the company operates on a fee-basis, rather than revenue sharing contract, making them all the more attractive to online gambling websites looking for a little additional exposure. According to a statement by their chief executive officer, Jon Friedberg, the websites are largely focused on consistently providing comprehensive information on both poker tournaments, entertainment facilities and casino hot spots in Nevada – and will now expand to determining the best online poker sites as well. Their impressive experience in re-directing virtual traffic to land based casinos and poker rooms will enable them well to service the new online casinos as well.

A clarification statement was also noted by the chairman for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, as Mark Lipparelli wanted it known for their other applicants that those online poker operators who have obtained for their respective firms operating licenses may use their own proprietary resources to market their internet casino goods, and will not be required by the state to get an additional affiliate license. Poker Trip, however, is different, in that they are a third party, external to a singular source of poker operations, and are set up to advertise and drive players to particular sites for a fee; in those cases, an applied license is necessary.

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Jackpot Joy Launches New Campaign

Posted on September 17, 2012 by JenC

A new marketing campaign has begun for the well known and respected internet gambling website, Jackpot Joy.com this week. The brand, which is a subsidiary of the larger parent group, GameSys, officially set off their latest advertising efforts, costing them upwards of £4 million with an overall goal being to encourage even greater interaction with all of their existing customers, as well as those to come.

As such, existing members to the internet casino will be able to enjoy new and exciting features to their home site, including a strong, new social media outlet linking the Jackpot Joy’s Facebook and Twitter accounts to their more traditional online gambling site. The new campaign will see ads running on television with a couple of commercials including competitive retirees racing on scooters to get to popular games. It’s a theme that will grow with the coming months, with even more advertisements already in the works for later in the year.

For those fearing the disappearance of Jackpot Joy’s much beloved representative, Barbara Windsor as the ‘Queen of Bingo,’ they have nothing to be afraid of as Windsor will also have a prominent role in the new marketing campaign as well. One of her new lines is to ask customers what they would do “…just for the Jackpot Joy of it?”

“Jackpotjoy.com has always focused on the importance of having fun,” said managing director Michael Saunders, “…and especially in the current climate, people, more than ever, need to embrace doing something silly, that’s what the campaign’s all about, to get the nation smiling again!”

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RAY Report Shows Mediocrity

Posted on September 16, 2012 by JenC

One after another, recently, online gambling companies are releasing their latest financial reports. The latest to hit the market comes from the Finnish Slot Machine Association, RAY, which despite major market competition managed to see a 6.1% increase in revenue during the first half of the 2012 year. Despite some good news included in the statistics, they also had to admit to the fact that their net income dropped because of tax increases, though the company seems optimistic that they will be able to make up the funds before the end of the year.

According to the report, profits for the online gambling group reached 377 only euro during the first six months of the year, just as their net income came up to €198 million for the same time frame. Ray use one company within the European market that continues to strongly diversify their holdings, with €46.8 million coming in in revenues due to gaming locations throughout Finland.

Above and beyond, the profits from casino games that happened to be located in gaming halls and restaurants not do nearly as well as they have last year, bringing in only €6.8 billion for the entire six-month period. Profits generated by their name casino, Casino Helinski, showed an increase of 9.4%, up to €14.3 million.

But as many in the online gambling industry might have been able to predict, the funds brought in by their Internet casino holdings did exceedingly well, with Internet gambling products profiting by €23.1 million, and in doing so, “exceeded all expectations.” In comparison with the previous year, the amount showed an increase of 68.2%. As a result, Internet gambling options now generate 6% of the total revenues made by all of RAY’s gaming operations. Growth seems to be in the picture for the future as well, as the group’s online player registration managed to double in the first half of 2012 and now stands at around 185,000 players online.

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Danske Spil Doing Well in Spite of Liberalization

Posted on September 16, 2012 by JenC

The latest rendition of half year financial report comes this week from Danske Spil. While plenty of reports are making their way through the online gambling industry, this particular set of statistics was much anticipated by the Internet casino world as they are interested in just how liberalizing a market can affect an existing monopolizing company. Such is the case for Danske Spil, which previous to the recent liberalization of the Swedish market, have been the only operating Internet gambling company in the nation.

Surprisingly, good news was incorporated in the report, as the company managed to establish a fantastic start to the newly liberalized market. Among the keeper form of highlights released for the press to dissect was the fact that their profits have totaled to DKK 837 million, in comparison with 2011’s half-year report showing DKK 629 million, an increase of 33% in year on year comparisons.

Additionally, an increase was also noted in their gross gaming revenues, from last year’s meager DKK 292 million to this year’s very impressive DDK 1,978 million. Cottbus’s increase during the first six months of the year as well, up to DKK 400 million, an increase of DKK 36 million in comparison with 2011 because of increased marketing costs in order to effectively compete in the new liberalized market, as well as to make their footprint seen during the European football championship.

Despite the new costs, the money spent was apparently well worth it as the company strong performance was largely credited to the launch of online casino and Internet poker products. One of their subsidiary brand, Onsdags Lotto did especially well during the period, and their latest game addition of Euro Jackpot has attracted and is holding customer attention. “This significant progress of our results indicates that Danske Spil got off to a very good start on the new gaming market, which was introduced 1 January this year,” said HC Madsen, chief executive officer of Danske Spil. On the whole, Danske Spil expect to be able to earn upwards of DKK 1.6 to 1.7 billion in profits this year, based on the GGR’s estimated for the 12 month time frame.

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