It’s understood that a deal is in place that will see Playtech acquire the casino games provider Ash Gaming for an amount yet to be disclosed. According to eGaming Review, a source close to the deal confirmed that the deal was in its “final stages.” One of the last acquisitions made by Playtech, Gaming Technology Solutions (GTS), already numbers Ash Gaming among the companies on their EdGE platform.
So far no comment has been released on behalf of either company and it comes on the same day that the deep murky waters of online gaming mergers and acquisitions swallowed up the proposed deal between Ladbrokes and 888 to create 8pm.com.
Elsewhere in Europe, Russia has stepped up its fight against unregulated gambling sites as the government revealed that they confiscated a large haul of equipment. According to the Itar-Tass news agency, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia revealed that almost 230 unregulated gambling locations were found with the profits reaching around 100 million roubles.
Prosecutor General’s Office spokesperson Marina Gridneva, said, “Following the order of Russia’s president, the Prosecutor General’s Office organised measures jointly with law enforcement authorities to stop underground gambling outside special gambling zones, information about which was available in the Internet, including that on the www.gdecasino.ru site.
“We have checked 628 locations, where we revealed 226 acting casinos. Over 2,500 items of gambling equipment were confiscated, including 44 Poker tables and three roulettes.
“The illegal revenues are estimated at 100 million roubles.”
The news comes as Russia recently unveiled plans for a draft law that will make the penalties for both land-based and online gambling violations a lot harsher. You might think they’re joking but that’s when they throw you in the Gulag and throw away the keys.
