Month: January 2022

Players will be able to bet on how participants in a number of financial instruments perform over a period of time- such as which participant will experience the largest or smallest change in price.

The system will then place all wagers in a pari-mutuel pool, and calculate odds based on the sizes of the bets. Winning players will then receive payouts from the pari-mutuel pool.

The supplier noted that the technology could also be used for bets on other items with a price or numerical value that changes over time.

“This concept for pari-mutuel betting on price fluctuations in financial instruments and other assets creates an exciting new wagering experience,” said Bart Barden, chief operating officer of Esports Technologies.

“This technology would deliver fast-paced action and drive strong engagement among bettors.”

Last month, Esports Technologies secured a GB licence following its deal to acquire Aspire’s B2C assets for $75.9m (£56.1m/€65.5m).

In November, Esports Technologies filed a patent for a private esports betting model. The supplier said the model, wherein players can subscribe to certain betting markets, allows operators and bettors to experience optimal pricing and liquidity regardless of bet size.

Arreche, who had a career-high ATP singles ranking of 567, was ruled to have breached a number of Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) rules and as such will serve a ban and pay a fine of $8,000 (£5,908/€7,076)

The player was found to have contrived or attempted to influence the outcome of tennis matches, while he also failed to report corruption approaches to the ITIA. The incidents took place between 2017 and 2019.

Specific breaches of the TACP included Section D.1.d of the 2018 and 2019 TACP, whereby no covered person shall, either directly or indirectly, attempt to contrive the outcome of any aspect of an event.

The ITIA also cited Section D.2.a.i of the 2017 and 2018 TACP, which states that if a player is approached by any person offering money, benefits or consideration to influence any aspect of an event, or to provide Inside Information, this must be reported to the ITIA as soon as possible.

Arreche is prohibited from playing in or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by any international tennis governing body or national association for the length of his ban, which is effective from 24 April 2021 until 23 April 2025.

The Argentinian is the latest player to face a ban after the ITIA last month also banned Mexican tennis player Carlos Ramirez Utermann for one year and 10 months after he admitted to several corruption charges.

Also in December, the ITIA also banned six Moroccan tennis players following breaches of TACP rules.

IGT will also distribute the WWE-branded games in addition to promotional programmes, which will feature WWE logos, superstars and events.

The deal represents WWE’s latest foray into the gambling sphere, having formed a gaming partnership with DraftKings in March 2021.

Alex Varga, WWE’s vice president of revenue strategy and development, said: “IGT is the clear industry leader in the lottery and gaming space, and we look forward to collaborating by bringing our intellectual property to our fans and lottery games around the globe. 

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to continue to leverage the strong crossover between the WWE Universe and another segment of the gaming landscape.”

A strong lottery arm was a key part of IGT’s business last year, bringing in revenue of more than $1bn.

Jay Gendron, IGT’s chief operating officer for lottery, added: “The WWE brand has broad appeal that reaches diverse age groups and cultural demographics in many geographies. 

“IGT looks forward to melding the unique WWE assets with IGT’s lottery expertise to create appealing, high-quality games and second-chance promotional opportunities for our global customers and their players.”

Under the multi-year deal, FanDuel will become an official mobile sports betting partner of the Bills.

FanDuel will be able to use official Bills marks and logos, as well as gain access to a range of media assets including TV and radio spots to engage Bills fans, and in-game signage and activations at the team’s Highmark Stadium in New York.

FanDuel will also become the presenting sponsor of the Buffalo Bills-themed podcast, ‘Bills by the Numbers’, which discusses team updates and key fantasy matchups.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The purchase price comprises $6.5m and the issue of approximately 600,000 restricted ordinary shares of SharpLink, with an additional earn-out payment of up to 600,000 shares based on the acquired business achieving certain performance targets.

The deal includes the acquisition of FourCubed’s igaming and affiliate marketing network, focused on delivering traffic and player acquisitions, retention and conversions to operator partners around the world.

Founded in 2005, FourCubed owns and operates an international igaming affiliate network made up of more than 12,000 sub-affiliates and has delivered over 1.8 million referred players since the network’s launch in 2008.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

As a veteran casino executive, Lunn has more than 20 years of gaming and hospitality experience, having previously worked as president and COO of MGM Resorts South East Group, where he directed Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi and Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica, Mississippi.

MGM said the two Mississippi casinos Lund oversaw last year achieved all time high gaming revenues in the third quarter of 2021 despite Covid health and safety protocols being in place. That quarter, MGM’s overall revenue came to $2.71bn

Johnson, the Borgata’s previous COO, returns to the operator’s MGM National Harbor. She served as the Maryland property’s president and COO before joining the Borgata in 2020.

“It’s an honour to be joining this incredibly talented team,” Lunn said. “Borgata is a world-class resort destination with a brand recognised nationwide for its spectacular accommodations, culinary program and entertainment offerings. I can’t wait to jump in and connect with all of the employees, guests and local community members.”

The appointment follows this week’s news that MGM Resorts was to launch its revamped rewards programme for customers on 1 February. While the programme, previously named M Life Rewards, had only allowed players to earn loyalty points by gambling, the overhauled MGM Rewards will now allow customers to earn points when they play, stay or dine at its properties.

Under the deal, IMG Arena will hold the rights to the LPGA’s official sports betting data and live streaming distribution.

From early this year, IMG Arena will offer a range of real-time, shot-by-shot data and markets via its Golf Event Centre, as well as live streaming and interactive course visualisations from the Tour.

Initial operator partners will include Bet365, BoyleSports and Tipsport.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

From tomorrow (September 8), four of the nine operators that were initially approved by the New York Gaming Commission – Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Rush Street Interactive – will be able to operate in the state.

The regulator said the other five operators – PointsBet, Resorts World, BetMGM, Bally’s Corporation and Wynn Bet – “continue to work towards satisfying statutory and regulatory requirements necessary to launch”.

In advance of the approvals, Gambling.com Group developed two New York-specific websites where bettors can find comprehensive and up-to-date information on sports betting in the state, with both sites ready to launch.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The bill, designed to eliminate illegal gambling, was first introduced back in December. It permits the use of casino games, sports betting and lotteries.

With Argentina allowing for gambling to be legalised on a state-by-state basis, Córdoba followed the lead of the province of Buenos Aires, which awarded licences to seven operators last year, as well as the City of Buenos Aires, where operators launched last month.

Under the terms of the bill, licencees will be allowed to develop their own online gaming offerings in the area. Licences are valid for a maximum of 20 years, and up to five will be granted. The bill also allows for foreign operators to be involved, provided they partner with an approved licence holder and contribute no more than 35% to the operations.

The bill stipulates that any bettor should be 18 or over and register their details with a licencee. Licence holders will be obligated to retain player’s information for up to five years after the customer relationship ends.

Responsible gaming initiatives have been written into the law, such as allowing players to set deposit limits, set self exclusion limits, and enable an alert that tells a player they’ve been logged into their account for more than three hours.

Advertising of gambling has been prohibited within the bill unless the gaming authority has given its explicit approval.

With the licence, Ezugi will offer 11 of its most popular games in the market for the first time. The games it will offer will include roulette, auto-roulette, blackjack and baccarat.

“This is a very significant step for Ezugi and its growth,” said Pang Goh, business development director at Ezugi. “Obtaining the certificates signifies our continuous efforts to reach the absolute highest industry standards. Our license is acquired under Evolution Malta Limited, and we are pleased to have our best games finally certified.”

“I believe that UK operators will benefit from Ezugi’s expertise in not only localised content and markets, but also from our large and innovative games offering. We are looking forward to this next chapter and to provide our best performing games to UK players.”

Ezugi was acquired by live dealer giant Evolution in 2018 in a deal worth $18m (£14.0m/€15.8m). At the time, Ezugi was Evolution’s only market competitor in the live casino space.