Pioneering crypto casino and sportsbook, Cloudbet, has launched a dedicated site for Argentina.

The operator says it launched the new site in response to a surge of interest in bitcoin (BTC) and crypto betting in the South American country. In addition to offering a casino and sportsbook, the site also includes a blog to provide information about crypto gambling. 

Cloudbet says it chose to launch its first dedicated LatAm offering in Argentina following an analysis of five South American countries. 

Discussing the launch a Cloudbet spokesperson said:

“Given the intense interest, we think that now is the perfect time to dedicate more resources to help Argentinians realise the benefits of betting with crypto.

“We intend to give Argentinian players more support and more bonuses to utilise on upcoming events within our casino. Crypto enables us to offer features that traditional operators can’t.

“We’ve noted that stablecoins are increasingly relevant in Argentina, where individuals are looking to protect the value of their assets from the peso’s devaluation. We intend to add more coins that are specifically appropriate for this market.”

Founded way back in 2013, Cloudbet is one of the world’s most established bitcoin betting operators, and in April this year it relaunched its site with a range of new features, including esports, politics betting, virtual sports, and credit card crypto purchases. 

In October, Cloudbet also made history when it enabled customers to bet with gold, via the PAX Gold stablecoin. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Though Bitcoin (BTC) betting is still considered a little bit shady by many mainstream punters, the use of cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins, makes a lot of sense to customers in countries suffering from high inflation, like Argentina. 

Staying with Argentina, at the end of October, the country’s government announced plans for a dramatic gambling tax hike, despite the new regulated market still not having properly launched in Buenos Aires, and the rest of the country completely lacking any kind of proper regulatory framework. 

‘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.

Aspire Global has received a SEK 15M conditional fine in Sweden, for compliance failures.

AG Communications, a subsidiary of Aspire Global, has been slapped with a conditional fine of SEK 15M (approx. €1.47M) by Sweden’s Patent and Market Court, for Gaming Act Violations related to its Karamba brand. Specifically, the sanction was applied for advertising that violates the Gaming Act’s requirements for moderation. 

The operator has also been ordered to provide clearer information when it comes to promotional offers. This action was prompted by a Karamba promotion offering a SEK 2,000 bonus, but attaching steep wagering requirements, with players needing to gamble more than SEK 70,000 to actually get the bonus.

Unsurprisingly, the sanctions were welcomed by Sweden’s consumer ombudsman, Konsumentverket, with spokesperson Pär Magnusson saying:

“It is good that the court clearly states it is not allowed to mislead someone into believing you get a big bonus, when in fact it is about having to play for very large amounts for a short time to have a chance to get the bonus or be able to withdraw some winnings.”

Despite the action, reports suggest that the company’s actions to remedy the failings and ensure compliance, mean it has escaped having to actually pay the fine. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Perhaps the real surprise is that operators have been allowed to get away with using wagering requirements for promotions at all, especially in markets like Sweden and the UK.

Similar practices simply wouldn’t be tolerated in other sectors, and as we’ve pointed out before, there’s the very real possibility that, at some point, in some market, mass civil legal action will be brought forward, in the same manner as the PPI drama in the UK, with potentially catastrophic consequences for even the biggest operators. 

‘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.

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.

The demands on iGaming operators have never been greater, so how can you position your business to capitalise on every opportunity? Find out from some of the industry’s most respected figures, in the latest FREE webinar from Internet Vikings.

On November 17 from 15:00 to 16:00 CET, Peter Ekmark (CEO, Internet Vikings), Jesper Kärrbrink (Chairman, Green Jade Games), and Tomas Backman (CEO, Hero Gaming) will come together for an unmissable,and 100%  free webinar, iGaming: The Ever-Changing Industry. The speakers will discuss current and future trends and challenges of the sector.

The industry of online gaming is highly demanding. It is a race for more entertaining games, faster connection, easier payments. The list goes on and on. So how should iGaming operators and providers position themselves in this ever-changing industry during the year to come? Find the answers to this with our expert speakers in ‘iGaming: The Ever-Changing Industry’

About the speakers:

Peter Ekmark, Chief Executive Officer at Internet Vikings

Peter joined Internet Vikings in 2019 following an extensive 14-year business development venture at successful iGaming operators like Kindred, Vera&John and MrGreen / William Hill. His experience includes collaboration with companies in almost every area related to the industry – from platform providers and game developers to payment providers and affiliates.

Jesper Kärrbrink, Chairman at Internet Vikings and Green Jade Games

Jesper is one of the pioneers of the iGaming industry who also has a background in e-commerce and media. Since 1993, he has been the CEO of several companies, including Svenska Spel and Mr Green. In 2017, he founded a gaming studio Green Jade Games. He has also been acting in a number of boards and is the co-author of three books.

Tomas Backman, Group CEO of Hero Gaming

Tomas has been in the gaming industry since 2011 and held several C-level positions. His first CEO role was with Betit Group in 2015, which got acquired by Gaming Innovation Group in 2016. Tomas stayed with GiG 1,5 years where he headed the B2C department.

In April 2018, Tomas took over the role as CEO for Hero Gaming and since then the company has seen rapid growth, with monthly revenues increasing 400%.

During the webinar our experts will discuss: 

– How can an operator enhance a digital marketing strategy?

– How can the industry adapt to the ‘new normal?’

– How to find a balance for sustainable business scaling in the year to come?

– What’s the current trend of mergers and acquisitions? 

– How increasing regulations will change the sector?

FREE REGISTRATION

The webinar will take place on November 17 from 15:00 to 16:00 CET and will be open for anyone interested in it for free.

This webinar will be the fourth one in the series of free educational webinars from Internet Vikings. The recordings of other events on topics of hosting optimization, efficient domain management, and brand protection can be found on the YouTube channel of the company.

AYO.NEWS says:

There’s no doubt about it, 2020 has been one of the most challenging years in recent history for many businesses, but the iGaming sector has bucked the trend and boomed. However, as we head into 2021 the sector faces a myriad of issues as well as opportunities.

From ever more complex and stringent regulation, marketing rules, and crushing competition in Europe, to the uncertainties of how to connect with new markets in the United States, Latin America an the CIS – its never been more important for operators and suppliers to ensure they are following effective marketing strategies, and positioning themselves to capitalise on opportunities while minimising risk. 

Given that, iGaming: The Ever-Changing Industry, is a truly unmissable opportunity to tap the minds of some of the most successful and respected figures in the industry – it could well be 60 minutes that saves your and your business a whole lot of stress, money and time! 

This is definitely one to mark in your calendar. 

‘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. 

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.