Month: April 2021

The event, which is scheduled to take place at the RAI, Amsterdam from 28 September – 1 October, will become the first major face-to-face gaming event of 2021, and will also feature Clarion’s Match!/VIP programme, aimed at matching up buyers and sellers in the industry.

“We are delighted and honoured to be bringing the entire igaming and affiliate communities together in a physical environment for the first time in 2021,” said Naomi Barton, iGB Live! portfolio director.

“It’s amazing to reflect that the last major B2B in-person event was our sister show ICE London in February 2020, a fact that makes September even more significant for the industry.”

Barton said the Slots Pavilion at iGB Live! will comprise of a central marketplace featuring operators, new and established game development studios, aggregators, platforms and affiliates, who will explore new trends in the online slot market.

The iGB Esports Streamers activation, she said, “will showcase the critical role streamers play in the affiliate and core esports betting sector.”

Meanwhile, Barton described the Match!/VIP programme as an initiative that was developed to connect the right buyers with the right suppliers in a live environment, and allow for productive business networking.

“Momentum is building and there’s huge pent up demand to be part of what promises to be a landmark edition of iGB Live!, alongside iGB Affiliate Amsterdam,” Barton concluded.

Clarion Gaming opted to postpone the 2020 editions of iGB Live! and iGB Affiliate Amsterdam until 2021 last July following the introduction of new travel restrictions related to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

In February this year, portfolio director Barton said that the rescheduled event was facing a record volume of direct and indirect enquiries regarding participation.

According to Uefa, the investigation will focus on Ibrahimović’s (pictured) alleged financial interest in an unnamed betting company, which would be in breach of the Code of Ethics set out by the sport’s global governing body Fifa.

Though Uefa did not name the operator that Ibrahimović allegedly has ties with, Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet earlier this month reported that the player is part-owner of Bethard through his Unknown AB business.

Ibrahimović, who plays his club football with Italian Serie A side AC Milan, began working with Bethard in March 2018 in an ambassadorial and development role.

Point two of article 23 under subsection three of section five in the Fifa Code of Ethics states that players must not have an interest in entities, companies or organisation that “promote, broker, arrange or conduct betting, gambling, lotteries or similar events or transactions connected with football matches and competitions”.

Upon launching the investigation, Uefa cited section four of article 31 of its own Disciplinary Regulations, which allows it commission ethics and disciplinary inspectors to carry out an investigation into alleged wrongdoing.

At the time, he was playing for US Major League Soccer team LA Galaxy.

Research was conducted through consultations with relevant stakeholders, people with personal experience, and other health professionals within the gambling industry.

Recommendations include having a dedicated suicide prevention policy to safeguard customers and staff, advice on how to use harm prevention to aid marketing communications, how to interpret data to help prevent suicide and how to communicate sensitively with customers in need.  

Samaritans’ head of policy Mubeen Bhutta said: “Suicide is preventable and we know different industries need to address specific challenges in order to have effective suicide prevention practices in place. With a clear association between gambling and suicide, identifying the changes needed in the gambling environment to prevent suicide is a vital part of our work.

“We’re proud to publish these industry guidelines and look forward to seeing all gambling businesses engage with them in a proactive effort to do more to prevent gambling-related suicide.”

PAGCOR approved Tiger Resort’s application after a board of directors meeting, allowing the operator to now offer online table and machine gaming.

Approval is subject to payment of licence fees, compliance with casino regulations and anti-money laundering laws and test simulations.

This will see Okada Manilla become the first of the four “Entertainment City” integrated resort operators to launch an online product.

The news was announced by Universal Entertainment Corporation, which owns Okada and Tiger Resorts. Its representative director and president Jun Fujimoto said the business hoped to add online sports betting too in the future.

“The company (Universal Entertainment Corporation) considers this online gaming as the first step, and will continue to develop online sports betting gaming using its proprietary technology,” he said.

We’re taking players to a dark and gloomy manor house where they are to join a vampire hunt in our latest horror-themed slot, Dracula

You can play a demo of this slot here!

Game type:	Spinning reels
Go-live date (expected):	Out now!
Game special features:	– Daily tournament – Crypt bonus game – Free spins – Super Stake – Gamble feature
Number of paylines:	25
Number of reels:	5 reels x 3 rows
RTP% (recorded/theoretical):	95.60%
Variance/volatility:	2/5 (4/5 with Super Stake)
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?	N/A
Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play?	N/A
Number of jackpot tiers?	N/A
Auto-play function?	Yes

Restrictions will come into effect on Tuesday, 27 April and last until Saturday, 1 May.

Crown specified that no gaming activity, theatre or in-house food service will take place.

Hotel and ancillary services, such as takeaway dining, will continue in a limited capacity.

According to reports, the lockdown was announced after a man in the state contracted Coronavirus in hotel quarantine and entered the community while still infectious.

Although restrictions on restaurants, pubs and cafés have been lifted, gyms, nightclubs and casinos must remain closed.

In March Crown increased activity at its Melbourne location after the Victoria state government eased its Coronavirus restrictions.

In February state authorities launched an investigation into Crown Melbourne’s suitability to hold a casino licence following the Bergin inquiry and subsequent report into its New South Wales licence. A similar review then commenced for its suitability to hold a licence for the Perth location.

The report, which was launched to assess Crown’s suitability for a new casino at Barangaroo in Sydney, found evidence to suggest money laundering and associations with organised crime activity.

Also in March, private equity group Blackstone put in a bid to acquire Crown for AUS$8.02bn (£4.47bn/€5.21bn).

This Greek-themed slot features our new game concepts Lux Reels and Lucksome Locks, both of which have been designed to give players more options on how they want to play and drive the action across the gameplay.

Game type:	5 x 3 slot
Go-live date (expected):	29/04/2021
Game special features:	Two cash reels Triggered with six or more Lux Reels symbols, Lux Reels can be triggered both in the main game and during free spins. With multiplying values and an extra free spins trigger opportunity in the main game feature, look out for the unique Lux Reels wilds which provide a higher win frequency! Free spins bonus: two ways to trigger Land three bonus rose scatter symbols in the main game or only two in the main game Lux Reels feature to trigger the free spin bonus. Players choose their volatility with a guaranteed Lux Reels feature in medium and low modes and higher cash values in high mode! Lucksome Locks Get a near miss on the Lux Reels? Lucksome Locks will give you as many chances as you want to trigger the bonus, locking five Lux Reels symbols, plus a chance to increase the cash values on every Lucksome Locks spin!
Number of paylines:	20
Number of reels:	5
RTP% (recorded/theoretical):	93.99% – 95.99%
Variance/volatility:	Medium/ high
Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?	3-6
Can feature be retriggered?	Yes
Number of free spins awarded?	Dependent on player selection
Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play?	No
Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play?	No
Number of jackpot tiers?	None
Auto-play function?	Yes

The latest survey of ECA members revealed that 70% of European casinos remain closed due to restrictions introduced in response to the pandemic.

The ECA pointed out that the worst affected casinos, such as those in Sweden, have now been closed for an entire year.

On average, land-based casinos lost an average of over 37% of normal operating days throughout 2020, according to the survey, while European land-based operators have seen revenues fall on average by over 50% in the last year.

The association said that the majority of its members still do not have a clear schedule for the official reopening of their businesses in 2021.

“This is the deepest trough the European land-based casino industry has ever experienced,” said ECA chairman, Per Jaldung.

“The financial impact of the pandemic on the land-based casino sector has been extreme, and these numbers show the economic realities of Covid-19 on the European land-based casino sector.”

“We are under no illusion that the industry can return to ‘business as usual’ any time soon,” Jaldung concluded.

ECA secretary general Hermann Pamminger added that: “The relaxation and tightening of numerous lockdowns in 2020 demonstrated the ability of the land-based sector to safely and responsibly return to business.”

“Our employees cannot wait for the day business is back to normal and they can once again welcome guests to their casino and entertainment venues, but our industry continues to need support to achieve this during an extraordinarily challenging period.”

Jam-packed with three radical features: rewind, free game and money respin! Power on that ’80s vibe!

You can play a demo of this slot here!

Game type:	Video slot
Go-live date (expected):	27/04/2021
Game special features:	• Win up to 100 free games for five scatter symbols! • Introducing feature rewind! Play your past free game features, but during feature rewind ways can be both ways and prizes can be doubled! • Win instant cash for any two money symbols on screen. • The money respin feature is triggered for three money symbols. • All prizes are multiplied x10 if the entire screen is money symbols. • Buy three, four or five scatters or three money symbols to instantly trigger the feature!
Number of paylines:	243 ways
Number of reels:	5 columns x 3 rows
RTP% (recorded/theoretical):	Available RTPs: 91.99%, 94.12%, 96.68%, 97.95%
Variance/volatility:	Medium
Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?	3/4/5 scatter symbols trigger the free game feature
Can feature be retriggered?	No
Number of free spins awarded?	10/20/100 depending on the number of scatter symbol
Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play?	No
Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play?	No
Number of jackpot tiers?	Yes (optional)
Auto-play function?	Yes (optional)

The game features a skill-based element as players can strategically select where to put the shapes and get skill points for each success! The vivid neon lighting and immersive soundtrack lends the game a unique style, puzzling you by forming horizontal and vertical lines with randomly generated ‘ordinary’, ‘gold’, and ‘orange’ shapes. Removing any part of gold and orange shapes rewards a player with a mesmerising prize! Play now to master Neon Shapes and enjoy the chance to earn up to x9999.99 your stake.

You can play a demo of this slot here!

Game type:	Instant game
Go-live date (expected):	Already live
RTP% (recorded/theoretical):	96.00%
Variance/volatility:	High/high