Malta-based Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has relaunched one of its older casino brands, Betspin.com, as a live casino portal.

Betspin.com was founded way back in 2015 and operated as a casino until its closure last year. Now, it has been rebranded and relaunched as an affiliate casino site, focused exclusively on live casinos. 

The new site offers players a guide to live casinos, highlighting bonuses and promotions for blackjack, baccarat, roulette, and poker, and providing how-to guides for those who want to learn how to play. 

Commenting on the news Managing Director of GiG Media, Jonas Warrer, said:

“We are extremely excited to see Betspin rebranded and repositioned as a live casino affiliate website. It’s our first website that is exclusively dedicated to live dealer games, a highly valuable segment of online gaming that is expected to see further growth in the future.”

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Should Aussie-facing online gambling operators panic? Have Australian banks just blocked “all gambling and gaming” payments?

According to that bastion of well-informed reporting, CalvinAyre.com:

“Australia’s gamblers will need to find other funding sources after a local bank became the latest to ban credit card transactions for gambling purposes.” 

But, before you reach for the emergency bottle of scotch, let’s just clear things up a little. There’s no need to panic – not yet anyway.  

Although Australian banks, like those elsewhere, have been introducing optional blocking tools, and last year the Australian National Banking Association (ABA) did indeed launch a public consultation about the role banks should play in tackling problem gambling, the story reported by Calvin Ayre actually refers to a bank so small that it’s unlikely operators will notice any impact. 

You see, although ‘Bank Australia’ sounds like some gigantic mainstream bank, with millions of customers, it’s actually an obscure local bank based in a suburb of Melbourne. According to Wikipedia, Bank Australia had just 135,786 members in 2018, and reported net income of just $19.63M AUD (approx. €12.07M) in 2020. 

In fact, Bank Australia has just 16 branches nationwide, and is ranked 10th out of the Customer Owned Banking Association members. To put it in perspective, Bank Australia’s assets come in at $2.8B AUD, compared to Australia’s biggest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) which had assets of $933.078B in 2016. 

Now, I’m not trying to bash Bank Australia here – I’m sure it’s a perfectly good little bank – rather the point is that the sky is not falling in Australia. One very small local bank has blocked gambling payments using its credit card, while other larger banks are merely introducing responsible gambling tools for customers – which is a good thing. 

So, in reality, hardly any Australian gamblers will “need to find other funding sources.”

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Game studio Betixon has been granted a Casino Software and Game Host license from the UK Gambling Commission.

The new license will allow Malta-based Betixon to offer its products in Europe’s biggest regulated igaming market, once the studio has finalised several agreements with leading UK-focused operators. 

Discussing the news co-founder and CTO of Betixon, Lior Cohen, said:

“We are delighted to have received our UK Gambling Commission licence. It not only demonstrates our ongoing strategy to increase our global footprint but also our commitment to working within regulated markets. 

“We are extremely proud of our games portfolio, including our upcoming, first series of premium games Fortune Breakers, which will be jam packed with intensive graphics and features. We can’t wait to share this with operators as we continue our stride into new markets.”

Betixon also has certifications for Italy, Colombia, Lithuania, Romania, and Malta. 

AYO.NEWS says:

UK compliance might be something of a nightmare for all involved these days, but there’s no denying that the British gaming market is still the engine of the European industry, so this will significantly increase Betixon’s commercial opportunities. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

European lottery and gaming operator Sazka Group has secured an investment of €500m from Apollo Global.

Though the transaction is still subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the company says it intends to use the new funds to “capitalise on acquisition and growth opportunities in Europe and North America.”

Sazka Group is part of the KKCG Group, a company which also owns Aricoma Group, MND Group and US Methanol.

Discussing the investment founder of KKCG and chairman of the board of Sazka Group, Karel Komárek, said:

“In partnership with a strong US investor, Sazka Group is well positioned to expand in Europe, the US and other potential regions, continuing to focus on lottery and complementary gaming verticals.

“I am convinced that the gaming industry is one of the most promising sectors for the future and Sazka Group aspires to be a global player in this sphere.”

Sazka Group is also among the operators in the running to potentially replace Camelot as operator of the UK’s National Lottery. The company has completed the first stage of the tender process and appointed entrepreneur Sir Keith Mills as bid chair to lead the effort. 

AYO.NEWS says:

That’s a lot of extra capital, and with gaming booming on both sides of the Atlantic, it will be interesting to see what acquisitions Sazka makes… Maybe the group will even dip its toes in esports?

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

The much anticipated regulated Ukrainian gambling market looks set to launch in December. 

Recently appointed head of the Ukrainian Gambling and Lottery Commission, Ivan Rudyi, has confirmed that the country’s legal gambling industry is expected to go live next month, and that the commission is currently working on legislation to set tax rates for the various types of gambling.

Furthermore, Rudyi said the government is expecting to raise around UAH 1 billion (approx. €30M) through the sale of licenses and legal gambling in the first year. 

The commission is now forming its charter and recruiting to fill some 230 positions, and is intending to hold meetings with potential licensees soon.

AYO.NEWS says:

Unlike some markets, cough cough “the Netherlands,” Ukrainian authorities certainly haven’t wasted any time in getting things sorted – maybe it was a good idea to appoint a former military commander the head of the new regulator! 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Disruptive events and media platform iGaming NEXT has welcomed three new equity holders, with Tim Heath’s Venture Capital fund, Yolo Investments, as well as industry veterans Robin Eirik Reed and Lahcene Merzoug assuming holdings in the quickly expanding company.

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The new funding will power the next stage of iGaming NEXT, which has established itself as a modern alternative on the iGaming events circuit. Its content-driven 2019 event hosted in Malta, attended by more than 1,200 delegates, focused upon providing world-class learning opportunities. 

It will host a flagship digital version of the conference between November 10-12, with more than 5,000 delegates expected to attend and keynote speakers including Jason Ader and Todd Haushalter.

iGaming NEXT has also expanded into the media sector, hosting what has already become the iGaming industry’s most popular podcast.

The support of the new equity holders will help iGaming NEXT transition into the next phase of its growth, solidify its brand as industry thought leaders, expand its team and launch additional products.

iGaming NEXT co-founder and Managing Director Pierre Lindh said:

“Attracting support from Yolo Investments, Robin Reed and Lahcene Merzoug underlines how far iGaming NEXT has come in a short space of time, and how much potential there is in this project.

“We felt there was a lot of room for improvement compared to the current iGaming events offering, and found many in the industry shared our view. We’ve committed to producing more professional, content-led events which better serve the needs of a modern, multi-billion euro global industry. We are confident the support and expertise of our new investors will allow us to deliver upon this.”

Yolo Investments GP Tim Heath added:

“During what has been a very challenging year for the events business, we’ve been hugely impressed by the progress of iGaming NEXT. Its forward-thinking approach is delivering intelligent discourse and thought leadership around our industry across multiple channels. We look forward to working with the team to ensure its continued success.”

Industry veteran and iGaming IDOL Hall of Famer Robin Eirik Reed added:

“In NEXT we’re empowering the industry by gathering the most forward thinking and inspiring minds and ideas together, to be shared for the benefit of all. I’ve always believed in openness and connectivity being the key values to making the industry more innovative, sustainable and consumer friendly and as such I am delighted to take part in NEXT”.

Lahcene Merzoug, investor, finished by saying :

“iGaming NEXT brings people together through events and digital channels. Everyone in our industry can now learn and be inspired directly from the most prominent thought-leaders in our sector.

“I have followed iGaming NEXTs development from the start and am glad to now be a part of this journey. NEXTs team has continued to impress me with their accomplishments, not least how they overcame the challenges during COVID and used their unique skills and talents to become a leading player within our industry.”

For more information about iGaming NEXT and its events, please visit: igamingnext.com 

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