You can play a demo of this slot here!
| Game type: | Video slot |
| Go-live date (expected): | TBA |
| Top 3 target regions: | Europe, CIS, Germany |
| Number of paylines: | 5 |
| Number of reels: | 5 |
| RTP (recorded/theoretical): | 95.56% |
| Variance/volatility: | Very high |
| Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus? | – |
| Can feature be retriggered? | No |
| Number of free spins awarded? | – |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play? | No |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play? | No |
| Number of jackpot tiers? | – |
| Auto-play function? | Yes |
Take a seat at the table and go after those Dino coins – delightful wins are never far away! For even more excitement, select your cards right as you enter the Dino bonus feature – whatever the outcome, you’re sure to win great prizes!
You can play a demo of this slot here!
| Game type: | Video slot |
| Go-live date (expected): | 22/04/2021 |
| Game special features: | Dino coins, Dino bonus, free spins pick feature, golden card |
| Number of paylines: | 576 ways |
| Number of reels: | 4 |
| RTP% (recorded/theoretical): | 96.40% |
| Variance/volatility: | High |
| Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus? | 3 scatters |
| Can feature be retriggered? | Yes |
| Number of free spins awarded? | 5 |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play? | No |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play? | No |
| Number of jackpot tiers? | N/A |
Dive into rising reels of up to eight positions deep, where even more marine riches loom. Trigger four types of bonus games: bronze, silver, gold and legendary where jackpots, free spins and real money prizes await!
You can play a demo of this slot here!
| Game type: | Video slot |
| Go-live date (expected): | 22/04/2021 |
| Game special features: | Rising reels – With a touch of magic from the ancient trident, each bonus symbol raises the reel it lands on by one, up to eight for maximum ways to win! A bonus symbol landing on a maximum reel will award a bonus game session. Free spins – Find three Atlantean shell scatters to launch free spins. In free spins the machine will go into overdrive: reels will rise frequently for more ways to win while bonus games awarded along the way can award more free spins and huge wins! Bonus game – Activate the ancient reel mechanism when a bonus symbol lands on a reel of maximum height. Discover a bronze, silver or gold key, leading to a bonus game chamber! In free spins, activate the same reel twice for a legendary key. The better the key, the better rewards potential will await behind the bonus mode doors. In the bonus game, any single symbol landing on a winning row awards a cash win, free spins or jackpot. Jackpots – These can be found in the bonus game chamber. Landing a bonus symbol on a winning row will award the jackpot associated with the reel! |
| Number of paylines: | up to 32,768 |
| Number of reels: | 5 |
| RTP (recorded/theoretical): | 96% |
| Variance/volatility: | Medium |
| Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus? | 1 trident symbol will trigger the rising reels feature. Landing a trident symbol on an eight-symbol reel will trigger the bonus feature. 3+ free spins symbols will trigger free spins |
| Can feature be retriggered? | No |
| Number of free spins awarded? | Up to 80 |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play? | No |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play? | No |
| Number of jackpot tiers? | 5 |
| Auto-play function? | Yes |
The Festival ran from April 7-9, with Rachel Blackmore becoming the first female jockey to win the main Grand National race on Minella Times.
The 2020 Grand National was cancelled due to national restrictions related to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
According to Scientific Games, more than 50 million bets were placed via its OpenSports platform across the Festival, with 19 million wagers on the main Grand National race, up 60.5% from 2019 when the last edition of the race took place.
Scientific Games also said one of its OpenSports customers processed a record 57,000 peak bets per minute, which represented a 128% increase on 2019.
Total account transactions across the three days were up 55% compared to the last Grand National Festival.
OpenSports customers include Sky Betting and Gaming, Paddy Power, Betfair, Ladbrokes, Coral and William Hill, all of which SG said saw “significant increases” in betting volume.
“Over the last three years, teams across SG Digital have transformed our OpenSports technology to meet the demands of the world’s leading operators,” Scientific Games’ group chief executive for digital Jordan Levin said.
“Whether it’s the Grand National, the Big Game or the Melbourne Cup, we have a responsibility to the largest sportsbooks in every corner of the world to deliver on our promises and exceed their expectations.”
Meanwhile, betting exchange operator Smarkets set a new record in terms of betting volume, with a total of £92.8m (€107.1m/$127.6m) traded across its Smarkets and SBK platforms, up 21% on 2019.
The main Grand National race accounted for 71% of overall volume, with a total of £131m traded on the races from Thursday to Saturday, while £263m worth of bets were processed on Smarkets over the seven-day period leading up to the Festival.
Smarkets chief executive and founder Jason Trost said: “After a record-breaking Cheltenham Festival for the company, to have set a new all-time high for betting volume on a single event is another big milestone for us. The growth of both our products, but especially SBK, has been phenomenal recently.
“We have a lot of momentum as a business right now, and with a summer football tournament one of several big events coming up, I’m excited for the next few months.”
In addition to offering marketing, content and SEO services, Overdrive is the operator of OddsTrader.com, a US-focused affiliate portal offering betting odds, price comparisons, statistics, live scores and injury reports.
TheRX.com has operated TheRXforum.com, one of the largest dedicated sports betting forums since 1995, and also provides daily sports news, picks and insights. The platform’s forum allows sports fans to discuss betting, sports and other topics.
“The acquisition of TheRX.com puts us in a strong position to capitalize on the huge potential of the burgeoning US sports betting industry,” said Timothy Seay, Overdrive’s chief executive.
By Kenneth Williams
For all its glitz and glamor, the esports industry is still in its developmental stages. The current standards for tournament hosting would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. There’s still plenty of room to progress as Senator Kieckhefer acknowledges.
The current lack of oversight is the biggest obstacle between esports and their potential. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive alone provided hundreds of cheating accusations in 2020, many of which were investigated and confirmed by the Esports Integrity Commission. More than 40 CS:GO coaches were banned for exploiting camera glitches in a massive scandal and match-fixing concerns still run rampant at the lower levels of the professional scene.
A governmental body with the ability to enact and enforce rulings would greatly impact the public perception of esports. As of right now, rule enforcement is entirely up to the tournament organiser, which can lead to some very messy situations, such as StarLadder banning Canadian team Lazarus for playing with a coach while allowing MiBR to do the same thing in the playoffs.
Those are just a handful of recent incidents in Counter-Strike, but similar situations constantly appear across competitive titles. A legal body could interfere with improper rules enforcement and hold tournament organisers accountable.
Betting operators should keep a close eye on Senator Kieckhefer’s proposals. A governing body is a huge step towards legitimising esports events in the public eye, meaning general awareness for esports should increase as a result.
No partners have been mentioned yet but a new overseer will need to cooperate with the existing ecosystem. Anti-cheating agencies like the ESIC and tournament hosts such as the Electronic Sports League will likely become involved. Betting sites should consider partnerships with existing regulatory groups as they’ll become even more coveted once acknowledged by legal bodies.
Multiple gambling experts claim that the move will further centralise Las Vegas as the United States’ esports capital. Seth Schorr of the Nevada Independent likens the current state of esports to the glory days of Las Vegas boxing.
“We have already seen how sanctioning professional boxing and UFC has helped tourism, generated tax revenue, created jobs and enhanced the Nevada visitor experience by providing them a wonderfully entertaining experience,” he wrote.
Moreover, existing esports infrastructure in Vegas, including the HyperX Esports Arena at The Luxor, will become even more valuable for their proximity to America’s sole esports oversight committee.
Image: BogoGames/Creative Commons
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but Lottery.com said the deal would support its plans to expand its presence in European markets.
Ritzio operates over 150 gaming halls across Germany, Romania and Belarus, running more than 3,800 gaming terminals and posting approximately €90.0m (£77.9m/$107.m) in annual revenue.
“This partnership is an important inroad as we expand our overseas operations and offer our products to new markets,” Lottery.com chief executive Tony DiMatteo said.
“Ritzio’s established presence and experience in the gaming industry is phenomenal and aligns well with our growth strategy.”
The deal comes after Lottery.com in February announced plans to go public on the Nasdaq exchange after reaching a definitive agreement for a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Trident Acquisition Group.
The announcement came three months after Lottery.com owner AutoLotto and New York-listed Trident signed a binding letter of intent to acquire the broker in November 2020.
Also in February, Lottery.com announced it was to enter the Ukraine market, while in January it launched its online and mobile lottery offering in the US state of Colorado.
You can play a demo of the slot here!
| Go-live date (expected): | Out now |
| Game special features: | Option to buy free spins |
| Number of paylines: | 20 |
| Number of reels: | 5 |
| RTP% (recorded/theoretical): | 96.00% |
| Variance/volatility: | Medium |
| Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus? | 3 |
| Can feature be retriggered? | Yes |
| Number of free spins awarded? | 10 |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play? | No |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play? | No |
| Number of jackpot tiers? | N/A |
| Auto-play function? | Yes |
Adjusted gross revenue for the month amounted to $35.4m (£25.8m/€29.8m), down 28.3% from the record $49.4m reported in January, and the first decline since the state’s licensees took their first bets in July 2020.
Online wagering accounted for $33.3m of total revenue for the month, some way ahead of land-based sportsbooks on $2.1m.
Par-A-Dice Gaming Corporation, which runs a FanDuel sportsbook, remained the market with $11.7m in revenue, despite posting a $24,123 loss from retail betting.
Casino Queen and DraftKings followed close behind in second with $10.9m in revenue, then Churchill Downs’ Midwest Gaming & Entertainment and Rush Street Interactive on $7.5m.
Operators paid some $5.8m in tax, with the majority of this – $5.3m – based on the state’s base 15% tax rate. The remaining $541,832 was generated via an additional 2% tax on bets placed in Cook County, which includes Chicago.
In term of handle, players wagered a total of $509.8m on sport during February, down 12.3% from a record $581.6m in January.
Managed by Made by Sport, the initiative will see grants made available to community clubs throughout 2021, with the aim of supporting organisations impacted by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Last month, Cash4Clubs, a charity initiative funded by Flutter, donated £4.8m (€5.6m/$6.6m) to the project.
This was equal to the amount it benefitted from as a result of business rates relief, which was put in place from March 2020 to March 2021 for its shops in England.
Flutter’s Cash4Clubs initiative launched in 2008 and has given almost £800,000 to clubs over the past 12 years, including £165,000 in grants in 2020.
“Through Cash4Clubs we have a long history of supporting grassroots community sport, and I’m pleased that we have been able to partner with Made by Sport to pass the benefit of business rates relief straight into the communities that need it most,” Flutter chief executive Peter Jackson said.
“We look forward to seeing the positive impact this funding will have for thousands of communities up and down the UK.”
