Month: December 2021

The website is designed to educate amateur and seasoned gamblers on how to further understand the industry.

It will focus on reviews of both land-based and online sportsbooks in the US, including reviews of properties and their associated banking and loyalty program options.

The Game Day Casino also features information and updates on regulated gaming states, casino video content and news about bonuses and promotions in the US.

“As The Game Day continues to experience almost daily growth and engagement focusing on the sports and the sports betting sector, it is a natural extension for us to delve further into the traditional gaming space, further enabling us to offer partners and sponsors additional opportunities to reach target audiences and new customers,” said Matt Heiman, chief executive of The Game Day.

“The Game Day Casino is for the casino player as The Game Day sports brand is for the sports enthusiast and gambler. The platform offers current and potential gamblers an easy-to-digest source of information needed to bet confidently online or in person.”

Earlier this month The Game Day secured $4.5m in funding during its Series A funding round.

The business did not reveal the identities of the investors but did confirm that the round featured a number of leading sports media and online gaming investors, as well as seven returning investors.

The executive said her lawyers were preparing a response to the claims made by PlayUp, which were used to secure a temporary restraining order against Mintas in the United States District Court for Nevada. 

Its filing contained a number of allegations, claiming the executive “threatened to damage [PlayUp’s] reputation to gaming regulators, commercial and business trading partners, and customers” and “threatened to ‘burn PlayUp to the ground’”. 

In addition, it alleged Mintas had warned a potential acquirer, cryptocurrency exchange FTX, of “systemic issues” that lead to the proposed $450m deal collapsing. 

However Mintas responded by saying “all claims mentioned in the filings are wrong.”

She said she remained a major shareholder in PlayUp, and had invested seven-figure sums in the company.  

“It makes no sense that I would have made any of those comments that are quoted in the filing or tried to destroy a deal to sell PlayUp as I would have benefitted from that as well as all other shareholders,” Mintas told iGB. 

Referring to the collapse of the FTX sale, Mintas pointed out that the operator was in possession of an email from the exchange outlining the reasons for the deal being rejected. She pledged to submit this to the Nevada court.

She added that the terms of the restraining order prevented her from commenting in full, but highlighted the work carried out to build up the business since being appointed US CEO in July 2020 as evidence of her commitment to the company. 

Mintas said she had built up the business “from scratch”, as its only US employee for one and a half years of that period. During that time, she built up a strong team, oversaw the brand’s launches in Colorado and New Jersey, and secured market access for additional states. 

This ultimately has led to PlayUp being called “the sleeping giant” in the industry. “My hard work has created a valuation of over $400m alone because of the US market,” she said. 

“If someone tries to prevent you from speaking to the US regulators, that says everything,” Mintas added.

The temporary restraining order has set Mintas a deadline of 13 December to respond, with PlayUp then required to file its response by 15 December, ahead of a hearing in a Las Vegas court the next day.

Golden Lady Casino, Casino4u, Spin Samurai, Axe Casino, Lucky Dreams, Comet Room, Paradiso Room, No Deposit Friend, No Deposit Bonus Blog, Casino-On-Line, Online Casino Australian, Casino Shortlist, Australia Casino and Aus Casinos were all found to be in breach of the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001, ACMA said.

As such, ACMA requested internet service providers in Australia to block access to all of the websites. 

ACMA began making blocking requests in November 2019 and since then it has successfully blocked 375 websites it said were operating in Australia illegally.

Over 150 illegal services have also pulled out of Australia since the ACMA started enforcing new illegal offshore gambling rules in 2017.

“Website blocking provides a valuable opportunity to alert the public to illegal gambling services through the messaging that appears when there is an attempt to access the site,” ACMA said.

“ACMA is reminding consumers that even if a service looks legitimate, its unlikely to have important customer protections. This means Australians who use illegal gambling services risk losing their money.”

Last month, ACMA issued its first blocking orders against offshore lottery websites, after it ruled both We Love Lotto and Red Fox Lotto were operating in the country illegally.

Also last month, ACMA issued a formal warning to Tabcorp after the operator accepted online in-play bets on a US college basketball game.

ACMA launched an investigation into Tabcorp after receiving a complaint and found that the operator had taken 37 in-play bets during the game on 3 January this year.

Online in-play betting on an event during play is prohibited in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 and, as such, ACMA ruled Tabcorp broke the law.

The group will pay an initial $20.0m at closing, consisting of $15.0m in cash and $5.0m in newly issued, unregistered ordinary shares, with the remaining $7.5m to be split over two payments of $2.5m and $5.0m due on the first and second anniversaries of the closing, respectively,

Gambling.com said the purchase would expand its US presence, with plans to leverage RotoWire’s existing audience, content library, talented workforce, media partnerships and trust with US sports fans to accelerate its business in the US online sports betting market.

The group added that combining Rotowire with its digital expertise and technology platform will help to drive substantial, incremental affiliate revenue in the sports betting sector.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

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Go Live Date (expected):16/12/2021Game special features:Mystery Wild Symbol | Free Spins | Gamble Feature | Buy Feature | Super Stake | Free Spins SelectionNumber of paylines:324 – 117649Number of reels:6 reels Megaways plus 7thhorizonal reelRTP% (recorded/theoretical):95.80%Variance/volatility:4/5 (Super Stake 5/5)Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?:3Can feature be retriggered?:YesNumber of free spins awarded?:Max 15Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play?:N/AStacked or expanding wilds in feature play?:N/ANumber of jackpot tiers?:NoAuto-play function?:Yes

Additional payments of up to $40m are also available depending on meeting certain targets, and would be paid in a mix of cash and equity.

Betcha Sports offers players the chance to win based on predicting whether individual sports or esports athletes achieve certain statistical targets. Player performances in their predictions are then recorded through social features on the site. The platform gathered $4m in a funding round in July.

“The acquisition of Betcha further strengthens our position as a leading marketplace, accelerating our journey into naturally adjacent areas with engaging features that deliver unique experiences for our customers,” said Stan Chia, chief executive officer of Vivid Seats.

“We have been incredibly impressed with their continued growth and are excited to welcome the Betcha team to Vivid Seats, as we combine their new way to play with our desire for fans everywhere to experience it live.”

The acquisition will see Vivid Seats expand into online gaming through Betcha Sports’ offerings.

“Vivid Seats and Betcha share a mutual commitment to helping fans experience the thrill of live events combined with a new and innovative, yet simple way to play,” said Hanson Wong, CEO of Betcha Sports.

“We could not have found a better partner than Stan and the Vivid Seats team, as we introduce a new gaming experience to millions of Vivid Seats customers.”

Checks should be made on players who registered for new igaming accounts between 2 and 20 October, after the KSA said it received reports that consumers signed up to Cruks were able to access online gambling during this period.

Once signed up to Cruks, players should not be able to register for new igaming accounts with licensed operators or access any form on online gambling from these brands.

The KSA said that the error may have been down to inaccuracies when signing up to Cruks, such as a consumer inputting their citizen service number (BSN), name or date of birth incorrectly.

Should this be the case, the KSA said Cruks should be consulted by operators to ensure the correct information is inputted and registered players are blocked from accessing their igaming account.

The KSA added that the issue has since been rectified, with Cruks having updated its system whereby if a BSN, name or date birth is inputted incorrectly, this is then flagged up to the consumer via automatic verification from within the Citizen Service Number Management Facility.

An error with Cruks had previously caused the launch of the Dutch online gaming market to be  delayed by a day, while the Cruks system was not available to customers until 4 October, three days after the igaming market launched.

Minister for Legal Protection Sander Dekker later revealed that the problem was due to the fact that Cruks had not been tested using real BSN numbers.

Last month, the KSA appointed three external advisors to help oversee Cruks.

Bas Brons, Mieke Hoste and Marcel Marijnissen will now advise on the system, which allows consumers to self-exclude from gambling and for licensed operators to request involuntarily exclusion of a player direct with the KSA.

All licensed operators in the country are required to integrate with Cruks in order to see if any of their players are registered with the scheme.

Trigger the FREE SPINS feature for big wins with big multipliers. Immerse yourself in the sweet world of Candy by landing the MYSTERY WILD symbol on the top reel. A symbol will be revealed and all matching symbols on the reel directly below will change to WILDS, creating more winning combinations.

You can play a demo of Candyways Bonanza 2 Megaways here!

Go Live Date (expected):16/12/2021Game special features:Mystery Wild Symbol | Free Spins | Gamble Feature | Buy Feature | Super Stake | Free Spins SelectionNumber of paylines:324 – 117649Number of reels:6 reels Megaways plus 7thhorizonal reelRTP% (recorded/theoretical):95.80%Variance/volatility:4/5 (Super Stake 5/5)Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?:3Can feature be retriggered?:YesNumber of free spins awarded?:Max 15Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play?:N/AStacked or expanding wilds in feature play?:N/ANumber of jackpot tiers?:NoAuto-play function?:Yes

Additional payments of up to $40m are also available depending on meeting certain targets, and would be paid in a mix of cash and equity.

Betcha Sports offers players the chance to win based on predicting whether individual sports or esports athletes achieve certain statistical targets. Player performances in their predictions are then recorded through social features on the site. The platform gathered $4m in a funding round in July.

“The acquisition of Betcha further strengthens our position as a leading marketplace, accelerating our journey into naturally adjacent areas with engaging features that deliver unique experiences for our customers,” said Stan Chia, chief executive officer of Vivid Seats.

“We have been incredibly impressed with their continued growth and are excited to welcome the Betcha team to Vivid Seats, as we combine their new way to play with our desire for fans everywhere to experience it live.”

The acquisition will see Vivid Seats expand into online gaming through Betcha Sports’ offerings.

“Vivid Seats and Betcha share a mutual commitment to helping fans experience the thrill of live events combined with a new and innovative, yet simple way to play,” said Hanson Wong, CEO of Betcha Sports.

“We could not have found a better partner than Stan and the Vivid Seats team, as we introduce a new gaming experience to millions of Vivid Seats customers.”

Checks should be made on players who registered for new igaming accounts between 2 and 20 October, after the KSA said it received reports that consumers signed up to Cruks were able to access online gambling during this period.

Once signed up to Cruks, players should not be able to register for new igaming accounts with licensed operators or access any form on online gambling from these brands.

The KSA said that the error may have been down to inaccuracies when signing up to Cruks, such as a consumer inputting their citizen service number (BSN), name or date of birth incorrectly.

Should this be the case, the KSA said Cruks should be consulted by operators to ensure the correct information is inputted and registered players are blocked from accessing their igaming account.

The KSA added that the issue has since been rectified, with Cruks having updated its system whereby if a BSN, name or date birth is inputted incorrectly, this is then flagged up to the consumer via automatic verification from within the Citizen Service Number Management Facility.

An error with Cruks had previously caused the launch of the Dutch online gaming market to be  delayed by a day, while the Cruks system was not available to customers until 4 October, three days after the igaming market launched.

Minister for Legal Protection Sander Dekker later revealed that the problem was due to the fact that Cruks had not been tested using real BSN numbers.

Last month, the KSA appointed three external advisors to help oversee Cruks.

Bas Brons, Mieke Hoste and Marcel Marijnissen will now advise on the system, which allows consumers to self-exclude from gambling and for licensed operators to request involuntarily exclusion of a player direct with the KSA.

All licensed operators in the country are required to integrate with Cruks in order to see if any of their players are registered with the scheme.