Michigan players can now join poker rooms with state-wide players, through the BetMGM Poker mobile app. The app offers signature poker tournaments, along with cash-games at all buy-in levels.
Online operator BetMGM has announced the launch of its poker product in Michigan today (March 22).
Michigan is the second state in the US in which BetMGM Poker is active, joining New Jersey.
Read the full story on iGB North America.
By Kenneth Williams
The most popular esports betting titles fall under two categories. The first includes legacy esports, particularly the ‘Big Three’: League of Legends, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. These all have over a decade of competitive history with millions of dollars in prize money having been won. They’re also some of the most popular video games globally, giving them a stable fanbase. All three titles also receive significant developer attention. Riot Games owns League of Legends, and Valve controls both Dota and CS:GO.
The second type features sports simulation games. Betting on Madden, FIFA and NBA2K exploded in 2020 due to the cancellation of many major sports leagues. While not entirely identical, these titles feature similar rulesets to their real-life equivalents, meaning traditional sports fans find the transition easy and many of the fans who flocked to esports last year stuck with it even after real play resumed. These games also have consistent competitive events thanks to developer support and partnerships with many major sports leagues. Several NFL, NBA and soccer teams sponsor players for their virtual equivalent.
The games mentioned above are the most popular betting attractions, but plenty of other esports have long-running competitive scenes. Here are some more common video games in sportsbooks:
Current esports bookies are already familiar with some of the unique traits of video game betting. They’re more familiar with the process of integrating new titles and already have an esports-focused portion of their user base. Esports bettors rarely stick to just one game, a trend shared by their traditional counterparts. However, esports are still new media and entire new genres with different competitive formats can emerge with varying degrees of competitive grandeur.
The most important thing for existing esports betting sites to consider is the necessary services needed to offer a new title. Data services for one title rarely apply to another, and companies that offer esports data applications will need time to develop new software. Existing titles might already have the framework, but the majority of Starcraft 2 bettors are probably already wagering with a current site.
The speed of esports events further compounds the difficulty of making esports odds. The Overwatch and Call of Duty Leagues are streamlined, steady and scheduled weeks in advance. Dota events are sporadic. The level of maintenance needed should be included in your entry plan. Developer-sponsored franchised leagues are becoming more popular in esports, so newer or legacy titles could switch to them in the future.
When assessing the cost of offering esports betting, there are many factors to consider absent from traditional sports. The titles you plan to offer should be the first thing decided. As new esports titles are developed, older titles lose relevancy or die off. Oddsmaking software and dedicated data platforms will eventually become obsolete. A game’s shelf life should be the number one concern for esports betting decision-makers.
For example, Valorant is less than a year old and is still growing. However, it has guaranteed support from the developers of League of Legends, the most popular esport in the world. Even if it isn’t huge now, Valorant esports will provide an excellent onboarding point when in-person play becomes feasible again.
The opposite is true of Hearthstone. The devs still care about it, and the casual audience is somewhat engaged, but it’s unlikely to return to its heyday again. Operators that already offer Hearthstone betting still benefit now, but the return on investment isn’t comparatively high for new sites.
When evaluating whether to enter the esports space or not, estimate the length of the game’s popularity and include it in your assessment. Remember: not every site needs to accommodate every esport. Knowledge of a game’s potential popularity and its unique logistical hurdles will help you determine which esports are right for your sportsbook.
In the main game, the Gods have different powers – Loki’s meanness can replace entire symbols, while Odin’s grace can provide multipliers that will increase your winnings.
Landing anywhere from 3 to 5 Scatter symbols will take Ragnar to a Free Spins game with new challenges, while collecting 3 Runes from either God will unlock the special re-spin features.
You can play a demo of this slot here!
| Game Type: | Video slot |
| Go Live Date (expected): | Live |
| Game special features: | SCATTER SYMBOL Scatter symbols start the Free Spins game. 3 Scatter Symbols trigger 6 Free Spins and 1 rune in the Free Spins Game. 4 Scatters give 9 Free Spins and 2 random rune symbols. 5 Scatters grants 12 Free Spins and 3 random rune symbols of different types. LOKI’S MEANNESS Loki’s meanness can be activated after any losing spin, and it replaces 5 random regular symbols with 5 of the same regular symbol. ODIN’S GRACE Odin’s grace can be activated after any winning spin, awarding players with arandom multiplier of anything between 2 and 10. RUNE SYMBOLS There are 2 types of runesymbols:Loki’s runes and Odin’s runes.They can only appear in theFree Spinsgame, and thereis only 1 rune on the reels at a time. Collecting 3 of the same type of rune triggers Loki’s or Odin’s respins. LOKI’S RESPINS When 3 of Loki’s runes arecollected, players receive 3 respins where by 3 to 5 regular symbols will be replaced Wild symbols. ODIN’S RESPINS When 3 Odin’s runes are collected, players receive 3 respins and all landing Wild symbols will become Sticky Wild still the end of Respins. |
| Number of paylines: | 20 |
| Number of reels: | 3 |
| RTP% (recorded/theoretical): | 96.07% |
| Variance/volatility: | LOW MED |
| Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?: | 3 – 5 |
| Can feature be retriggered?: | no |
| Number of free spins awarded?: | 3 Scatter = 6 Free Spins; 4 Scatters = 9 Free Spins; 5 Scatters = 12 Free Spins. |
| 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 |
In the Base Game, a Wild on the 2nd or 6th reel transforms blockers into Mystery symbols, revealing uniform symbols, or bringing multipliers between 1x-1000x!
You can download the First Look Games affiliate pack for this game here!
| Game Type: | Video Slot |
| Go Live Date (expected): | 2th March 2021 |
| Game special features: | Mystery Reveal, Mystery Symbols, Free Spins, Multipliers, Buy Feature |
| Number of paylines: | 117,649 |
| Number of reels: | 6 Tumbling Reels |
| RTP% (recorded/theoretical): | 96.25% |
| Variance/volatility: | High (5/5) |
| Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?: | Destroy All Blockers to trigger |
| Can feature be retriggered?: | Yes |
| Number of free spins awarded?: | 6+ |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play?: | Stacked |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play?: | Stacked |
| Number of jackpot tiers?: | N/A |
| Auto-play function?: | Yes |
Under the arrangement, National Lottery branding will feature across the sport’s premier men’s and women’s fixtures in England, while National Lottery players will have the chance to win a range of rugby league prizes such as tickets and VIP experiences.
The National Lottery will also serve as title partner for the England Women Rugby League Mid-Season International with Wales on 25 June.
Nigel Railton, chief executive of National Lottery operator Camelot, added: “Supporting sports has always been part of the mission of the National Lottery and this inventive partnership will undoubtedly make a difference.
“The loss of spectators and cancellation of events has had such an impact, so I am proud that National Lottery players are able to support Rugby League after a difficult year.”
Almost the entire Women’s Rugby League 2020 season was lost to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, meaning the majority of women and girls have not played rugby since autumn 2019.
“The growth of girls’ and women’s Rugby League at all levels has been wonderful, which made the impact of over a year of not playing so hard for the players, coaches, volunteers and clubs,” RFL chief executive Ralph Rimmer said.
“But we bounce back with this new commercial partnership and with the support of the National Lottery, and we look forward to kicking off our vibrant domestic competitions, followed by a mid-season International, and the excitement of a home World Cup this autumn.
Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston also welcomed the deal: “This announcement is great news for Women’s and Girls’ Rugby League. As we look ahead to the start of the 2021 professional season, this funding from the National Lottery will provide the sport with certainty as we work towards getting crowds back at matches as soon as possible.”
The National Lottery has lent its support to a number of organisations to help them through the pandemic, including striking commercial partnerships with Wheelchair Tennis, Rugby Union Sevens and non-league football across the four British nations.
In addition, more than £150m (€174/$207m) of National Lottery funding has been distributed to grassroots sports organisations across Britain to support recovery efforts.
Last week, National Lottery operator Camelot also announced a new partnership with Team GB, Great Britain’s Olympic team, and the ParalympicsGB squad.
In game, the Book of Babylon symbol is king, acting as both wild and scatter to trigger a free spins round with an expanding symbol feature.
You can download the First Look Games affiliate pack for this game here!
| Game Type: | Video Slot |
| Go Live Date (expected): | 25th March 2021 |
| Game special features: | Free Spins, Expanding Symbols, Combined Wild/Scatter Symbol, Crisp Graphics, Awesome Soundtrack |
| Number of paylines: | 10 |
| Number of reels: | 5 |
| RTP% (recorded/theoretical): | 96.19% |
| Variance/volatility: | Medium-High |
| 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?: | Stacked |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play?: | Expanding |
| Number of jackpot tiers?: | N/A |
| Auto-play function?: | Yes |
This role will see González promoting the development of the Spanish market for the company by supporting projects Win Systems is implementing to advance both the systems and gaming divisions.
González previously held the position of product manager for the company’s Gaming Division.
This concludes Win Systems’ appointments of business directors in its four most important markets, the previous being in Mexico, the United States and Peru.
“Within the growth process for the company, it was essential to define a Business Unit Director for Spain.” said Eric Benchimol, chief executive of Win Systems.
“We are very happy that José Luis, who joined the Win Systems family in 2017, and who has more than 20 years of experience in the sector, has accepted this new challenge to achieve the objectives of the company at this decisive moment.”
The new role will see Levy (pictured) lead board as it oversees Genius’ operations and strategy ahead of a merger deal that will take it public.
Levy has accumulated substantial experience within the media and spots industries, having held senior roles at businesses including Turner Broadcasting, Raine Group and Arctos Sports Group.
Levy said: “The capture and analysis of data has become fundamental to the rapid progression of the sports and media sectors. Genius is central to this unique ecosystem and is consistently leading the sports data and technology industry’s development.”
“I am thrilled to join the business at such a historic time and look forward to working as part of the team.”
Genius chief executive Mark Locke added: “With his incredible track-record working with many of the biggest names in sports and media, David’s appointment as Chairman is the latest historic milestone in Genius Sports Group’s growth journey.
“The worlds of sports, media, advertising, betting and streaming are converging rapidly and David’s unique expertise and experience will be invaluable to positioning Genius and our partners at the forefront of this trend.”
Genius is set to go public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) dMY Technology Group. The new publicly traded business will have an enterprise value of $1.5bn (£1.15bn/€1.27bn) and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
You can play a demo of this game on Habanero’s website here!
| Game Type: | Video Slot |
| Go Live Date (expected): | 30th March 2021 |
| Game special features: | Duel feature between the Prince and Vizier can reveal up to 5 extra Wilds on screen. Win up to 50 Free Games for 5 Scatter symbols! A gem is awarded if the Prince wins the Vizier in the Duel during Free Games, collect 6 and win 1,000,000x the line bet! Win up to 50x the total bet in the Coin Re-Spin Feature. |
| Number of paylines: | Horizontal And Vertical Pays |
| Number of reels: | 5 columns x 4 rows |
| RTP% (recorded/theoretical): | Available RTPs – 92.01%, 94.22%, 96.68%, 97.61% |
| Variance/volatility: | Very High |
| Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?: | 3 Scatters symbol trigger the Free Game feature. |
| Can feature be retriggered?: | No |
| Number of free spins awarded?: | Up to 50 Free Spins |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play?: | Yes |
| Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play?: | Yes |
| Number of jackpot tiers?: | Yes (optional) |
| Auto-play function?: | Yes (optional) |
The 12th variant of the licence by Blueprint retains many of the familiar characteristics associated with the TV show, with the addition of a new Cashpot system where three or more appearances of the trademark red box will instantly payout a cash prize of up to 5000x bet.
| Game Type: | Slot |
| Go Live Date (expected): | 25th March 2021 |
| Game special features: | Money Boxes – 3 or more Red Boxes landing in view awards an instant cashpot prize Deal or No Deal Exchange – Win a cashpot from 40-500xbet to be offered the Banker’s exchange where players can take the prize or exchange it to play Super. Mega or Ultra Deal or No Deal with the chance of winning up to 5000xbet Deal or No Deal Free Spins – Play Deal or No Deal where all the prizes are Free Spins. Any Gold reel position during Free Spins increases the win multiplier trail up to x20 |
| Number of paylines: | 20 |
| Number of reels: | 5 |
| RTP% (recorded/theoretical): | 95.5 |
| Variance/volatility: | Medium/High |
| Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?: | Minimum 3 |
| Can feature be retriggered?: | Yes |
| Number of free spins awarded?: | Up to 25 |
| 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 |
