Ladbrokes

“The smaller unit would be more like a convenience store where people could come in and out quickly, suiting younger people in more of a hurry.”

That means one side would be a glorified chillout zone with next door the world’s first betting shop/night club fusion. We live in hope.

It was down to Hills to remind the borough council’s licencing sub-committee of the Gambling Commission guidelines on gaming machines.

“When Parliament passed the Gambling Act, one of its principal objectives was to limit the number of high-stakes, high-prize gaming machines on the High Street,” said Philip Kolvin, legal representative at William Hill.

“This was partly to limit the potential harm to vulnerable people,” he added.

The act referred to concerns that allowed only four “high-stake” gaming machines per premises. Splitting the shop in two would allow eight and however much the interior of the two premises were changed that would still be the case.

Ladbrokes had planned to spend around £280,000 redesigning the premises and will now have to go back to the drawing board to create their “old and new” gambling premises. As for Hills they can mark one down in the win column for now and be glad they had their eye on the ball. Us… we were hoping both sides would be up next week on Harry Hill’s TV Burp. FIGHT!!!

Business News

Playtech has entered into two new joint ventures. The first is a 50/50 partnership with South African land-based gaming and hospitality firm Peermont, which holds seven casino licenses in South Africa and three more in Botswana. The deal will initially focus on the sports betting market, expanding to other channels as the country’s regulations allow. Playtech’s other JV is with Merkur Interactive, the online division of German gaming machine maker Gauselmann. Here too, the initial focus will be on sports betting, with an eye towards bigger and better offerings once Germany sorts out its online gambling legislation. Playtech will provide the technology and “marketing knowhow” while Gauselmann will provide its well-known German gaming brands, related infrastructure and business relationships. While each partner will retain the same number of seats on the board, Gauselmann will hold a technical controlling interest of 50.01%.

Meanwhile, Playtech’s partner in joint venture William Hill Online has lost its appeal of the successful trademark infringement suit brought against the bookmaker by rival 32Red. The multi-year saga began when 32Red claimed William Hill’s use of 32Vegas and 32V had infringed on 32Red’s trademarks. On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal dismissed Hills’ appeal and ordered the bookmaker to pay 32Red an initial sum of £70k within two weeks. That’s merely a taste of what’s to come, as Hills is liable for damages and costs, the full sum of which will be assessed via an inquiry process before the High Court sometime early next year. 32Red CEO Ed Ware was understandably “delighted” with the “very satisfying” result, which he suggested “should deter other operators from infringing our trade marks.” Oooh, might another cheeky blog post by Hills’ honcho Ralph Topping be forthcoming?

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William Hill

Passoker signed its first deal with Victor Chandler way back in November with OpenBet agreeing to offer it to their stable of operators in the same month. Earlier this month JenningsBet joined them and it will go live on William Hill’s site in February.

Sportsbook software supplier LVS has signed its second deal in a matter of days to provide its Advanced Betting Platform (ABP) to the largest sportsbook in Mauritius. Stevenhills will roll out the service to its retail premises and be able to a plethora of new markets as a result. Steve Wan, Stevenhills Managing Director says: “We always want to offer our customers the most modern form of sports betting in order to give them the best experience when visiting our retail outlets. After a long search it was obvious that LVS’ ABP was a perfect solution for us. It will allow us to totally modernize how we offer the service within our outlets and also extend our offering substantially on both pre-event and in-running events. We look forward to delivering a fantastic sportsbook product in the coming months.”

LVS has been owned by Les Francais des Jeux since early 2010 and the upgraded platform was unveiled at last year’s EiG conference in Milan. The deal comes after a similar one was signed with the Ivory Coast lottery in order to take advantage of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Gaming software provider Microgaming is putting the finishing touches to the mods on their gambling industry batmobile ahead of two fresh releases this summer. The firm, relentless in its pursuit of new games, has set out plans to release a slot based on The Dark Knight later this year before releasing one based on The Dark Knight Rises in 2013.

Business News

Operating a joint venture with William Hill, the company said total revenue increased by a remarkable 89% year-on-year in Q4 2011 to $90 million.

In a report by Reuters, Chief Executive, Mor Weizer, said: “The board is very comfortable with market expectations for the year ended December 31 2011 and looks forward to 2012 with confidence.”

According to Thomson Reuters’ poll of seven analysts, Playtech’s current market expectations for full year earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation ranges between $137 million and $156 million. So it’s doing pretty well.

Weizer continued that the opening of online gambling markets will only facilitate global expansion of Playtech, a company of which billionaire Israeli founder Teddy Sagi holds a 46.6% stake.

“Playtech is well positioned to take advantage of market opportunities wherever as and when they appear,” he said.

Weizer also made it clear that his company had raised $155 million through a share placing last November to finance acquisition opportunities. Now taking into account the DoJ’s Christmas surprise that that only online betting on sporting contests is unlawful, Playtech are living the dream. The DoJ’s decision meant the company also signed a deal to provide software to the California Online Poker Association (COPA) last year.

“The U.S. Department of Justice’s pre-Christmas guidance has provided further encouragement for those looking to achieve regulation in the U.S. Playtech is preparing itself for each and every market,” Weizer concluded.

But not all is going so well for the company. Online rumours suggest its partnership with Scientific Games is crumbling.

According to EGR, Scientific Games‘ revenues are currently at an all time low - and has reduced to a “strategic partnership”. If online reports are correct, the announcement should come any day now while the companies work out how to break the news…

On Monday Scientific Games shares were down 10%.

Business News

William Hill

Figures for the fourth quarter were bundled in with the full year and showed over the counter amounts wagered rising by11% and machine gross win also up 7%.

Hills also announced a tie up with Inspired Gaming Group for exclusive rights to provide its licensed betting offices (LBOs) with gaming machines. Inspired already supplies Hills with 79% of its total machines and under the agreement they’ll fill the short fall with a deal lasting until 2016. The bookmaker retains the right to switch back to a agreement where they can have two company’s machines at any time.

Fellow traditional bookie Ladbrokes has made its first plunge into the US market by acquiring a 65% stake in Stadium Technology Group. The Vegas-based supplier surrendered the stake in exchange for $3m with the remaining 35% available to buy over the next five years on a performance related basis. Stadium supplies software and in game betting apps to sportsbooks in Nevada and Delaware with a number of reputable casinos on its order list.

Ladbrokes Chief Executive Richard Glynn commented: “The size of the US market and potential for positive regulatory change in the coming years make it a sensible place to establish a presence. Stadium Technology is already one of the key software suppliers to casinos in Nevada and Delaware and it has the potential to expand.”

It could be a very long-term decision indeed. Sports betting, thanks to opposition in the first instance from sports leagues, won’t see legalization in our lifetime and the roll out of intrastate gaming will take a bit of time yet as well. Gaining a foothold in the market is a good move for any gaming industry firm.

Business News

The Health Lottery

Online casino business 32Red is giving customers a new promotion on the shape of “Barcode Bonus.” The offer, which actually launched way back on New Years Day, give players a number of discounts and offers including half price chips, or a bonus worth 200% on chips purchased. To win the prizes players use an interactive barcode to scan an item that reveals their bonuses. It runs until the 22^nd Jan and “players are advised to hurry” according to a 32Red spokesperson.

Age-old bookmaker William Hill has lost one of its workers as head of mobile Michael Byrne ups sticks to discover pastures new. Byrne’s Linkedin profile confirmed that he’s left the position after almost two years on the rock of Gibraltar during which time he worked on a variety of different mobile products. Upon his departure, Byrne told eGR: “I am very proud of my time at Hills but I felt it was the right time to move on. I am open minded about the year to come and generally very excited by the prospects.”

He continued: “In terms of the existing operators there are a few standouts like Paddy Power, but many of the others are now starting to develop their offering. The mobile market be more competitive for sure. The traffic on the internet is shifting to mobile, and companies will try to move with that trend. Those that don’t will have to do some catching up or risk being marginalised.”

Business News

In-running isn’t the only sector in which Bet365 and Hills are duking it out for recognition. Both outfits were recently brought to the attention of the Premier League after their adverts appeared on websites illegally broadcasting live footie action. The Premier peeps are a mite sensitive about anybody watching their matches without Rupert Murdoch’s say-so, but given that Bet365 owns one of the League’s 20 squads, the matter is doubly sensitive. However, it appears the cockup is down to Bet365’s ad agency, not the Coates family. As for Hills logo appearing on a Russian website illegally broadcasting live Premiership action in the same week Hills signed on to be the Football Association’s official supporter/betting partner, well, er, d’oh? A Hills spokesman told the Express: “It appears that somebody has affiliated to us officially and we pay them money according to how many people click on the banners they put up online. But they have then used our banners on other illegal websites. Now we know about it we are taking action to stop that.”

We’ll leave you with this leftover tidbit from the recent UK parliamentary select committee hearing with ‘white list’ regulators. Andre Wilsenach, embattled exec director of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, was apparently so desperate to offload some of the taint dumped on his plate by the implosion of former licensee Full Tilt Poker that he decided to throw one of his competitors under the bus. Wilsenach told the parliamentarians that the AGCC had clamped down on operators that had tried to get away with what ThisIsGuernsey.com obliquely referred to as ‘certain unacceptable activities.’ Faced with the AGCC’s Galahad-like purity, these companies chose instead to pitch their tents in, “[Wilsenach] believed, Malta.” You, sir, have crossed a line…

Business News

Veteran bookmaker William Hill has signed up to become betting partner for this year’s McCoy’s Premier League Darts. The deal follows a similar one that the firm had with the PDC to cover the Grand Slam of Darts last year and will span all of the tournament’s 15 weeks and give fans the chance to bet at each venue. Chief marketing officer at Hills, Kristof Fahy, added: “We’re proud to become the official betting partners of the McCoy’s Premier League. Darts is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and we’re really excited to be associated with this fifteen night sporting extravaganza.”

“We think Phil Taylor’s early exit in the World Championships can be put down to a bad night at the office. He’s still the man to beat in our book and it would be a brave man backing against ‘The Power’ landing his sixth Premier league crown.”

Business News

Ladbrokes Ireland CEO Joe Lewins has told the Irish Times that worsening economic conditions could result in the shuttering of up to 150 betting shops across the Republic, leading to the loss of up to 600 jobs. Lewins’ dire projections are part of a campaign to convince Irish politicians to change the bookmaking tax formula from 1% of turnover to 10% of gross profits. The man responsible for the Republic’s horse racing/breeding sectors, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, is seeking submissions from the betting industry on how best to proceed.

In other Lads news, the Danish High Court has ruled that a 2008 Lads ad campaign infringed on the trademark of Denmark’s monopoly gaming provider Danske Spil. The campaign in question centered around the phrase “Danske spil Engelske Odds” (Danish games, English odds). However, Lads won’t face any sanctions as a result of the ruling, as eGamingReview reports that Danske Spil was simultaneously found guilty of breaching the country’s marketing act at Lads’ expense. Since neither party was considered to have suffered more harm at the hands of the other, the Court essentially called it a case of offsetting penalties. Now go and sin no more…

Fresh off becoming Official Supporter and Betting Partner of the Football Association, William Hill has signed a sports sponsorship deal with online news outlet The Global Herald. The deal, effective Jan. 10, will see Hills branding splashed across the Herald’s fabled sports section. Hills has also appointed former Rugby Football Union PR man Richard Prescott as its new PR director.

Spread bettors London Capital Group (LCG) released a trading statement claiming full-year revenues rose 13% to £39m in 2011. The average number of trades per day rose 10.8% to 33,042, while its institutional foreign exchange arm increased divisional profit by 10%. LCG also announced the appointment of Axiom Legal’s Martin Creek as group legal counsel. Creek has previously offered legal advice to UBS Investment Bank and Barclays Capital.

Finally, Gaming Laboratories International has named John van Schaijk as new technical director of its European offshoot, GLI Europe. Van Schaijk previously did time as WMS Gaming’s director of product management in Spain.

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There’s no doubting this deal is a huge one given the attraction of the FA Cup and rich history that it shares with the population of the UK. The England team deal running until the World Cup in 2014 means Hills will get increased exposure – if the team qualifies of course!

Betfred has picked up Callcredit Information Group as a new partner for its online operations. The bookie will utilize the group’s CallValidate software to verify online customers by confirming payment and identity details. Dennis Luckett, head of fraud prevention, risk and payments at Betfred, said: “Callcredit have given us the one missing ingredient from our customer checking solutions – online credit and debit card verification. Merging this into our existing checks gives us a fully balanced check on all our UK customers.”

The automatic system also covers pre-paid and non-UK payment cards and will cut the time taken for Betfred to carry out the laborious verification process.

Betfair has added ante post markets and US racing to its mobile racing app. A tweet from @Betfair confirmed the update can be obtained for the app and that the firm’s mobile racing site, at timeform.betfair.com, will be updated at the same time.

Business News

After bets that pop star Katy Perry and British comedian Russell Brand would divorce was among the top of the UK bookies’ props last year – coming true only last week –  it appears Willy Hill deemed Hollywood actress Liz Hurley’s romance with cricketer Shane Warne to be 2012’s first showbiz relationship heading for the gutter. Hurley and Warne’s odds on a celebrity split are 4/1 on William Hill’s online book. Would you put a quid on it?

Other celeb love props on WilliamHill.com include Take That star Jason Orange and his relationship with comedienne Catherine Tate, with a break up this year at 8/1, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – along with parents-to-be Beyonce and Jay-Z – both at 25/1.

However,  newlywed Prince William and bride Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, have a rock solid romance – with William Hill offering odds of 100/1 on them splitting, and just 2/5 on them announcing the first celebrity pregnancy of 2012.

Other non-celebrity split novelty bets on the books at the moment include Rupert Murdoch and his his very own set of “Twitter Specials” on Ladbrokes.com, with “@rupertmurdoch to be most followed account on twitter at any point in 2011” at 25/1. Other Murdoch Twitter specials include “@rupertmurdoch to permanently delete his twitter account in 2013” at 5/6 and “@rupertmurdoch to be following over 100.5 people by the end of Jan 2013” at 6/4. Which one would you throw a few bob at?

Entertainment News

According to the Daily Telegraph, Deloitte’s all-singing, all-dancing report finds 27% of current revenues taken in the UK would disappear into the “grey,” or to the un-Deloitte-ucated of us the unregulated market, if a 10% consumption tax was levied. If that rose to 15%, 40% of revenues would be in the grey bay. Hills got Deloitte on board after the summer saw tourism minister John Penrose propose changes to the Gambling Act. It’s a little wonder some firms have gotten up in arms about it. We’re talking about a market that’s worth around 18% of the UK’s total gambling revenue equating to $1.7billion and all this in one of the world’s most respected licensing regimes.

The new proposals would require firms to hold a Gambling Commission licence allowing them to interact with British customers. There’s more from Deloitte though as they’re worried of a potential “adverse impact on the UK economy through reduced industry spend on its supply chain.”

Why are the public firms getting extra worried? If you take the complainant here, William Hill, as an example, they take the regulated European markets so seriously because they have no strategy in the Asian market. The UK is what they know and in it’s no shame to admit this is the case with everyone champing at the bit to be involved in one of the most respected locations on the planet. It’s just that when push comes to shove, the private-held companies might lose half a night’s sleep over this and think of a beach location in the Far East whereas the public ones will come over with a bout of insomnia.

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The legal action comes in the form of a judicial review of the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) – a body that collects money from bookmakers to fund the sport – pursued to challenge HBLB’s stance that betting exchange punters cannot be classified as “leviable bookmakers”.

Chief legal officer of Betfair, Martin Cruddace expressed his discontent in a report by the Telegraph. He said he reckons the action could cost the HBLB and the BHA a total £3.5m in legal fees, with its costs for first-stage litigation amounting to £1.7m, which, of course, is utterly ridiculous.

“It is important owners, trainers and others within the sport are aware that the BHA, the sports regulator, is in this committed love-in with William Hill that will cost the industry over £3m in prize money,” Cruddace said.

He added: “It may be William Hill can pay these sickeningly large legal fees as it refuses to pay a penny in levy from the tens of millions profit it makes from its online business, but the Levy Board – who have no choice but to defend the action – and the BHA cannot.”

However, the Levy Board chief executive, Douglas Erskine Crum, thinks it’s more likely to be “between £300,000 and £600,000”. Hmm.

Mr Cruddace forewarned both the BHA and William Hill that if they lose the case, “we will be seeking costs against them. So the BHA is risking even more millions”. Touché.

But in retaliation – William Hill chief executive, Ralph Topping, said Betfair is “looking at this, entirely from their point of view. We have a Cruddace index at William Hill. The more he bleats the more confident we are of our case”.

This all came about because the HBLB received legal advice last summer from Lord Pannick QC and Michael Fordham QC, who said that “customers of betting exchanges do not constitute leviable bookmakers under the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963”. But a BHA spokesman said some other QCs don’t agree on the interpretation of the Act, saying it was “fair that it should be for the courts to decide” – hence the legal action.

Fair enough, but is it worth all that dosh? Betfair doesn’t seem to think so. Do you?

While we’re on the topic of William Hill news; the bookmaker confirmed last weekend that it had been saved a massive payout after it failed to snow anywhere in Britain on Christmas day. Not only did it not snow – it was the third warmest Christmas day before records began. T’old Willie must be happy as larry for successfully avoiding any payouts for novelty bets over the festive period.

In other business news, iGaming manufacturers TCSJOHNHUXLEY announced the appointment of a new Senior Business Development Manager today. That man is none other than Tim Klok, who will be starting his first shift on 3rd January 2012. Reporting directly to Commercial and Manufacturing Director Angus Noble, Tim will be based in the Stoke-on-Trent facility in England and will be responsible for sales to mainland Europe.

Angus Noble said in a press release: “It is with great pleasure that we welcome Tim back to the TCSJOHNHUXLEY team. He joins us at challenging but very exciting time and I’m sure everyone wishes him much success in his new role.”

Business News

Spanish operator CIRSA has selected Parspro to provide it with a sportsbook to complement its existing Microgaming-powered poker, casino and bingo products. The deal calls for Parspro to provide Cirsa.es with its automated ppTOTO sportsbook, including a live betting client and mobile platform.

Betgenius has provided Gala Coral’s online betting site Coral.co.uk with an updated version of its Betstream live betting console. Already integrated with the Genbet, Openbet, Warp, Connextra and Finsoft MM2 platforms, Betstream allows users to customize their pages with specific layouts and markets for each sport, along with scoreboards, stats and bet suggestions for multiple sports.

Caesars Entertainment has completed its takeover of Israel-based social network games developer Playtika. Caesars acquired 51% of Playtika in May for a reported $80-90m, a deal that included the option to swallow the rest of the company within two years. Sources told Israeli media outlet Globes that the remaining 49% of Playtika cost Caesars slightly more than the stake was valued at in May. The deal is the largest of its kind in the history of the Israeli gaming/gambling sector.

Unibet will shut its Croatian and Latvian sites effective Jan. 1. Customers in these countries will still be able to sign up and play at Unibet, but they will have to do so in English, not their native tongue. Affiliate banners written in those languages will still work, but they will now redirect customers to Unibet’s English-language site.

William Hill was not among the first batch of licensees selected by the Danish Gambling Authority, and its absence from that list was reportedly due to the recent walkout at the Tel Aviv office of William Hill Online. WHO regulatory affairs manager Matt Green told eGR the Israeli brouhaha was sufficiently distracting that the company was compelled to choose between applying for a license in Denmark or Spain. WHO ultimately identified Spain as its priority, but now that its Spanish paperwork has been submitted, WHO intends to file a Danish application in the next few months.

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Some analysts are pooh-poohing the valuation, noting that Zynga relies on the tiny fraction of its mammoth user base that actually buys virtual goods, and Zynga’s newest games haven’t had the impact of its early successes. Then again, it is planning a whole suite of casino games and not everyone is buying the company line that they’re not interested in crossing over into real-money online poker if/when the US regulates. Regardless, CEO Mark Pincus – not to mention Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, the investment bankers who brought Zynga to market – have made out like virtual bandits.

Irish-based online gaming software developer CryptoLogic Ltd. has agreed in principle to an all-cash acquisition bid by Canadian gaming software outfit Amaya Gaming Group. Amaya, which already holds a 7.5% stake in CryptoLogic, will reportedly offer $2.50 per share, a 52% premium on CryptoLogic’s $1.64 Wednesday close on the Nasdaq exchange. CryptoLogic has had a rough ride of late, subjecting itself to a strategic review by Deloitte and only recently returning to profitability. The deal is subject to certain conditions, not the least of which is Amaya proving it has the cash. Amaya will also have to formally announce its intention to buy by Jan. 12, 2012, but in the meantime, the agreement in principle allows it to conduct confirmatory due diligence. Turn your head and cough, Crypto…

William Hill has already got what it wants for Christmas: a new media planning and buying partner. After former handlers the7stars declined to renew their deal, Hills has inked a new £15m pact with Aegis agency Vizeum, which beat back competition from WPP’s MEC And Omnicom Group’s Manning Gottlieb OMD.

GTECH G2 has inked a six-year deal with unpronounceable Hungarian National Lottery operator Szerencsejatek Zrt. The lottery has the country’s exclusive rights for lotto-style games, scratch tickets and sports betting products. Under the deal terms, GTECH will provide Szerencsejatek Zrt with its sports betting platform Margin Maker, as well as its Gaming Management System, which will allow the Hungarians to view their players activity across any gaming product.

Business News

Black Friday served as a hefty follow up to UIGEA some five years later and finally showed that the US Department of Justice were serious about what they were doing and prepared to take action. This swoop and the resulting repercussions for those involved have meant that even more operators upped sticks and left the States.

In light of these two events, iGaming companies have been well advised to steer well clear. However, with the size of the US iGaming market and the belief that online gambling will eventually be regulated in the states, almost everyone is looking for their way in.

This is much easier said than done though as US officials are arguably as hot as ever regarding online gaming. But this hasn’t deterred those who are aware of the potential of the US market. The said industry is believed to be worth? According to this week’s report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

In light of this, many iGaming operators have understandably concluded that despite currently being off limits, the US online gaming market is well worth investing time in. While this conclusion is common, opinion on how to go about getting a foothold in the US market is divided, below are a few tactics currently being used.

Make Your Own Takeover

This is an option that has been popular with the larger UK operators, particularly bookmakers with retail sections. One of the most significant moves across the Atlantic this year has come from William Hill.

The bookmaker bought American Wagering Inc, a Nevada gaming company with 72 sportsbooks on their hands, in April for $18 million as well as paying off the company’s debts.

At the time, Hills CEO Ralph Topping made no bones about the fact that this was their way of keeping tabs on the US iGaming market.

He said: “Sitting in London is no substitute for going to Vegas and getting the lowdown from the likes of MGM. There’s nothing like hearing it from the horse’s mouth.

Nick Batram, an analyst at Peel Hunt confirmed: “Being out there with a licence puts them in a better position if the US gaming market opens up.”

Pay Uncle Sam Some Big Bucks

Not necessary for all operators but could prove crucial for some – this was the approach taken by PartyGaming who completed the payment of a $105 million settlement in September.

Their deal was reached with the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and meant that authorities had promised “not to prosecute PartyGaming or any of its subsidiaries for providing internet gambling services”.

This was after PartyGaming told us all what we already knew, that they had accepted wagers which were “contrary to certain US laws”. This was even after Anurag Dikshit, co-founder of the company had already agreed to pay a $300 million fine in December 2008.

Despite the short term financial impingement, this tactic has left PartyGaming, now bwin.party, on good terms with the law in the US.

At the time Richard Carter, an analyst at Numis Securities told The Telegraph that this move “removes a key risk and materially increases the group’s chances of gaining a licence or business-to-business deal when the US online gaming market opens up.”

Find a Friend

One way of instantly finding yourself well placed in the US market is to partner up with a brand well recognised in the States. This has been a popular choice for pureplay operators so far who have listened to the musings of congressman and the AGA by teaming up with land based casinos.

After having cleared everything with their friends in the US Attorney’s Office, bwin.party have been able to create a partnership with MGM. One company who have pursued US deals regardless of their previous stance is 888. The Gibraltar-based company was one of the first to attempt to make a deal when they did so in the first few months of this year with Caesars.

At the time, CEO of Caesars Interactive branded the deal a “historic moment” and even went as far to say that it “confirms internet gaming is a reality. It should allow us to look more and more at a federally regulated environemnt in the United States.”

The benefits of this approach are obvious. Not only do you have a powerful brand to work behind but you also have a wealth of resources to call upon. For the US companies, they benefit from expertise in an area they know very little, if anything, about.

Give it Away for Free

If you don’t have the resources or brand to be able to acquire or partner with large US companies then you may be at a loss as to how you can legally get a foothold in the US market before it opens. Despite being a bit radical, the best option is probably to offer games for free.

A number of sites offering free slots have sprung up in recent times and can be an excellent way of familiarising US players with your brand or games. The top sites such as www.freeslots.com regularly pull in more than 1 million unique visitors per month while others such as www.freeslotsonline.com and www.emmas-free-slots.com also show promise.
This is something that some software providers such as NetEntertainment are already taking advantage of. It will most likely be the route many more software providers and operators look to land in America.

Go it Alone

Potentially the simplest way of doing things as long as you’re not already wanted by US law enforcement. Paddy Power were the first European iGaming company to attempt apply for a US gaming licence.

Theirs was from the Nevada Gaming Control Board but despite the fact that the licence was applied for in August 2010, the Irish bookmakers are still yet to receive it. Having never offered wagers to US players they will be confident of a successful outcome.

888 on the other hand did accept bets from US players but this hasn’t stopped them from being just one of the companies to apply for a prospective Nevada online poker licence.

Of course operators don’t need to do anything right now. However, if they do choose to stand still they’re likely to find themselves way behind when the US market does open up, in whatever capacity that may be.

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The project, which is estimated to have set back Thomas £30m, will include three floors of gambling, four bars, a theatre and restaurant. Did we also mention the rooftop gambling rooms where you can smoke, drink and gamble at the same time? This takes gamblin’ drinkin’ and carryin’ on to a new level.

A career criminal has been given six years at Her Majesty’s pleasure after fleecing a bookmaker. Gary McGuire robbed a branch of Ladbrokes in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire on May 24, 2010 using a mask. He threatened the cashier with a knife and stole £300. The thief admitted to assaulting the woman and forcing his way behind the counter to steal the money. Robberies at betting shops are very rare and almost always solved thanks to the excellent CCTV installed in most premises.

William Hill has launched a campaign with Crimestoppers to try and halt the number of robberies at its shops in North Liverpool. The campaign encourages members of the public to contact Crimestoppers anonymously to report crimes with rewards of up to £10,000 being offered by the Association of British Bookmakers.

Rob King, William Hill’s Security Intelligence Manager, added: “This is an exciting opportunity for us to get involved with Crimestoppers as our number one priority is to make our shops a safe environment for staff and customers. Reducing crime with the arrest of offenders is one way of doing this and Crimestoppers plays a really important part in making this happen. By working together we can do our bit to ensure that people who have information about criminal activity can pass this on anonymously, whether it is crime happening in a bookmakers or anywhere else in the community.”

To create awareness of the campaign, leaflets are being distributed and posters being put up in the local area to encourage informants to come forward.

Business News

Hills came to the aid of sportswomen everywhere today by announcing they will be putting on their own Sportswoman of the Year Award. The news comes after the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year had no women on its shortlist. Will Hills’ list will have ten names on it and anyone can vote on the shortlist on their Facebook page.

Social betting site Viralbet has recruited the services of former-NHL player to push their product. Mikko Eloranta has endorsed the product that claims to offer players the chance to bet against each other via the medium of Facebook. It’s understood the site originates from Finland but having tried to sign into the service via Facebook we weren’t able to make any bets against our friends like it promised. Viral by name. Viral by nature?

Futurelogic has appointed a new member to its European sales team as they continue to embark on yet more expansion. Nikolai Tchekan joins up as the firm’s regional sales manager and will be responsible for the firm’s products and services in Eastern Europe. He has an extensive sales background and his fluency in England, Spanish, Russian and Ukrainian will be an added bonus.

To finish off, the guys over at Vegas Tripping have stumbled across a visual rendering of the long awaited Wynn Cotai venue. It can be seem in all its glory below and makes you wonder whether it could make Steve Wynn’s face turn even redder?

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William Hill

The Treasury’s review into the estimated £1.7billion market will finish in the next couple of weeks and could approve changes that would mean a bigger tax yield for the country. The most drastic alternative was proposed by Tory MP Matthew Hancock and would involve taking tax from where a bet is placed and not using the physical location of the company. It means companies that decided to buy up a money-saving sun-haven are up shit creek with the only paddle available in the shape of a UK Gambling Commission license. An Independent article quotes the Deloitte report as saying “a 15 per cent tax could mean two-fifths of legitimate firms leaving the UK market.”

William Hill relies on the UK market for much of its revenue and it’s hardly the most surprising news of the day that they’ve been most vocal about the plans alongside Betfair, bwin.party, Bet365 and Probability. Before everyone gets too high on their soapboxes, the changes aren’t expected to come into force until at least this time next year. It’s unlikely that many of the firms will leave the market as they’re public companies that rely heavily on regulated European markets. This comes from the fact that many are locked out of other more lucrative markets, such as Asia, thanks to being at the mercy of their shareholders. This being the case, the UK remains one of the world’s best licensing regimes and companies – private or public – will always be attracted to a country that has the centre of the iGaming universe, London, at its core.

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With over 700,000 active members and 3 million visits per year to its clubs across the UK, Gala Casino’s new website is said to offer players a more “diverse, navigable gaming experience” that will translate to “significant revenue share growth to its partners”.

Marketing Director for Gala Coral, Matt Prevost, said: “As the number one retail casino operator in the UK, we are looking to translate that leadership online on GalaCasino.co.uk. We are offering extremely attractive bonuses for customers, including a £300 bonus pack with highly competitive wagering requirements as standard, and an aggressive games product map and marketing activities to drive traffic and, ultimately, commission based earnings revenue for our Affiliate Partners”.

A company press release states Gala Casino is currently offering an enhanced £300 Welcome Bonus to players exclusively via its affiliate channel. This activity is supported by a new “aggressive customer retention program to dramatically enhance customer lifetime value”. The company mentioned it also invested in a number of new games, including Star Trek, Grand Monarch and Pixie Forest.

After four weeks since William Hill gave away a brand new Fiat Panda worth 6 Stirling pounds everyday in October – there’s still one car prize that’s gone unclaimed with no loving home to go to.

In a report by Bingosupermarket, William Hill representative Tony Kenny said: “We had the vehicle ready on the low loader from Stockport for the trip to Durham a fortnight ago. But then we failed to locate the winner, a chap called Raymond, who has the somewhat unusual internet nickname of Rayamok.”

“We’re on the ground literally searching Durham for Ray – who is clearly more elusive than the Scarlet Pimpernel and we are that desperate to find him that we’re putting wanted posters out in our shops,” he added.

William Hill staff have hit the streets of Durham City with megaphones, shouting Ray’s name from the rooftops in the hope that he will come forward, or people that know him will tell him what a douche he is being.

We know it’s a Fiat Panda and all, but still – come on Ray – you can always sell it on and keep the money.

Willy Hill believes ‘Raymond’ will turn up for the prize soon enough because apparently it has become the “the talk of Durham’s bookies in the last week or so.”

Officers from local authorities across Scotland attended a Commission briefing on gambling regulation in Edinburgh on Wednesday last week – an event organised by the Gambling Commission.

Designed to raise awareness of current issues, the event highlighted “good examples of co-regulation” and to offer the chance for local authority officers to ask Scotland’s Commission’s Regional Compliance team questions.

Regional Manager for Scotland, Douglas Greenshields said:

“It’s part of the Commission’s role to share our knowledge and expertise in gambling regulation to support the licensing authorities in playing their role locally. This event was well received by the 45 licensing officers who attended and provided the Commission with an improved insight to the challenges facing licensing authorities.”

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