Business & Financial
Bitcoin Startup ZipZap.com Could Give Western Union a Run for its Money
CNN Fortune published an article warning that bitcoin start up ZipZap.com could fast become stiff competition for international money exchange outfit Western Union.
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Up until now, Western Union has operated nearly as a monopoly.
Sands Casino Sites Still Down After Hacking: Social Security Numbers Posted
The Sands Las Vegas casino property websites were down throughout the day Tuesday following what appeared to be a website hacking. At one point during the early part of the day it was reported that staff and executive social security numbers were scrolling on the compromised sites.
Have Sheldon Adelson’s Sands Casino Websites Been Hacked (Update)
While billionaire casino magnate and mega GOP donor Sheldon Adelson has gone on the attack against legalizing Web gambling in the US, he may want to focus on keeping his own casino sites up and running.
Macau Gambling Revenue Up But Misses Estimates
(Reuters) - Macau, the world's casino capital, raked in 28.7 billion patacas ($3.6 billion) in gambling revenues for the first month of 2014, boosted by Chinese visitors flocking to the country's only legal casino hub ahead of a week-long national holiday.
Revenue growth in Macau, a special administrative region of China like neighbouring Hong Kong, was up 7 percent in January, the lowest growth rate since October 2012 and far below analyst estimates of 11-15 percent.
CoinDesk Removes Mt.Gox From Bitcoin Price Index
The world leader in news, prices and information on bitcoin and other digital currencies, CoinDesk.com, has taken the unprecedented step of removing exchange Mt.Gox from its bitcoin price index on Monday.
Russia Bans Bitcoin: Price Still Hovering Around $700
Russia banned the bitcoin this weekend, concluding a highly tumultuous week for the anonymous digital currency.
Aria Hotel and Casino in Vegas Fined for Blocking NGCB Agents
LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — Nevada gambling regulators says the Aria Hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip blocked its agents from watching a high-stakes roulette table.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a two-count complaint against Aria and part-owner MGM Resorts International on Friday.
The complaint said two state agents who had not identified themselves were watching high rollers play roulette last October when a supervisor told them that the players did not want to be watched and threatened to call security.
London Affiliate Conference 2014 a Monster Event (Video)
The London Affiliate Conference 2014 attracted hundreds of people in Day 1 with this year’s event having outgrown itself from previous years. It was forced to move to London’s biggest conference venue, Earl’s Court.
One of the attendees took a cue from last month’s NYC shock stunt marketing the film “Devil’s Due” in which a remote controlled baby was left in its carriage to terrorize unsuspecting pedestrians with Hell raising screams and even vomit.
MadAboutSlots.co.uk and Probability joined forces to unleash a giant dinosaur onto the LAC crowd.
Miami Beach Police Make What Could be First Ever Bitcoin Vendor Arrests
Police in Miami Beach in conjunction with the U.S. Secret Service’s Miami Electronic Crimes Task have arrested two men moving a large amounts of cash in and out of the Bitcoin virtual currency. Experts believe this could be the first case that bitcoin vendors have been charged with a crime.
Bitcoin Price Down Nearly 7 Percent Friday: Volatility Declining, BitBet.com Debuts
The price of bitcoin had dropped approximately 7 percent Friday, quite likely on news that one of the biggest exchanges, Mt.Gox, had stopped processing withdrawals temporarily.
The price of bitcoin had fallen to $686 but rebounded later in the evening to $703, matching the day’s opening price.
Bitcoin Community May Give Up on Mt. Gox Exchange
Following yet another currency withdrawal halt at bitcoin’s most famous exchange, Mt. Gox, traders in the anonymous digital currency may finally be willing to give up on the mysterious Japanese-based operation.
Apple Removes Blockchain Bitcoin Wallet Service App
(Reuters) - Bitcoin wallet service Blockchain was removed from Apple devices.
Apple has removed popular bitcoin wallet app Blockchain from its app stores in a major setback for the popular digital currency.
As a result, iPhone and iPad users do not have any bitcoin wallet options for their devices at present.
WinCake.com Enters Into Partnership With Goal.com: Strong Investment Backing
Cake Entertainment N.V. announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Free Web Holding Ltd. to form Cake Next Entertainment Ltd. The partnership brings new investment and successful industry professionals to strengthen the company‘s efforts in building its B2B and consumer businesses, positioning the company as a major force within the international gaming entertainment space.
CBS Thursday Night Football Should Benefit Online Sportsbooks Significantly
CBS Thursday Night Football is coming during the 2014 NFL season, and while limited to one year, any success could result in an extension.
Guardian Newspaper Launches Sports Betting Site GoWager.co.uk
Move over Ladbrokes, William Hill and Paddy Power. Here comes some stiff competition from a branding concept we all know, the Guardian Newspaper. And they just entered the sports betting business with GoWager.co.uk.
Zynga Shares Rise With UBS Upgrade to ‘Buy’
Social gaming giant Zynga witnessed its biggest share price surge in nearly a year Tuesday thanks to a positive upgrade.
UBS raised its rating on the game maker's stock to "buy" from "neutral," saying Zynga's core operations had begun to stabilize under the new management team and that its $527 million acquisition of mobile game developer NaturalMotion would result in more scale and innovation at Zynga.
Rumors Abound: Zynga and BWin.Party to Join Forces in New Jersey
With Bwin.party’s social sports betting product nearing an initial beta-launch ahead of a full launch planned before the end of Q1, some stock forecasting sites are suggesting a possible partnership between both these big name firms in the state of New Jersey.
Bwin.Party is already the market leader in real time online gambling in the state of New Jersey since its launch in late November. The company enjoyed a head start over much of its competition.
Companies That Accept Bitcoin – Including Online Gambling
This week, NASDAQ.com released a listing of companies that accept bitcoin and these mainstream (some not-so-mainstream like Virgin Galactic perhaps) are listed below. But we also list online gambling companies that currently accept the anonymous digital currency as of February 1, 2014.
Wynn Approved for Online Gambling License in New Jersey: Uncertain of Plans
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) - In the decades since he left Atlantic City for the more prosperous sands of Las Vegas, casino mogul Steve Wynn has repeatedly considered a return here, only to decide against it.
This may be another one of those instances.
New Jersey gambling regulators have approved Wynn to offer an Internet gambling site in the state where he once ruled the roost. But a Wynn spokesman said plans by Wynn Interactive to offer online gambling in New Jersey are on hold as it studies the fledgling market.
Super Bowl 48 a Success for Vegas, Bookmakers
The final tallies are out and Super Bowl 48 turned out to be a big win for Las Vegas sportsbooks and offshore bookies.
Gambling911.com had already discussed how the largest bets had money coming in on the Denver spread and UNDER 47.5, both of which went in favor of the bookies.
WagerHome Tools Make Customer Management Easier For ALL Pay Per Head Agents
Anyone who is running a sports betting service, or is aspiring to do so, and wants to enter the 21st-Century way of doing business is going to want his or her players to have access to a genuine sportsbook interface, just like the "pros" use. That is possible through the phenomenon of "Price Per Head," or "PPH," and nobody in this business does it quite like WagerHome.com.
WSOP Main Event 2014 May Have $10 Million First Place Prize
World Series of Poker officials may have accidentally leaked that their will be a $10 million guaranteed 1st place prize awarded to the winner of the WSOP 2014.
If true, this would be the second largest cash prize given out during the main event.
Mobile Wagering to Grow in 2014
The desktop computer could soon be a thing of the past, as mobile traffic starts to dominate all over the world. Social network media giant Facebook that only recently started mobile advertising in the past year, rocked the business world with Mobile MAUs growth of 45 percent over the last year (to 874 million in Q3 2013 from 604 million in Q2 2012) — these include both those who are using mobile exclusively for Facebook, and those who are using mobile at some point in the month in addition to desktop.
China Gambling Propels Wynn's 4Q Profit
LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — Wynn Resorts Ltd. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled on gains in Macau, the only place in China where casino gambling is legal.
Net income for the October-December period came to $213.9 million, or $2.10 per share, from $111.4 million, or $1.10 per share, in the same months in 2012.
Excluding special items, Wynn made $2.27 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.72 per share.
More Major Retailers Poised to Start Accepting Bitcoin in Wake of Overstock Success
On the heels of Overstock.com, the Sacramento Kings, two Las Vegas casino establishments and the popular online poker room Americas Cardroom each now embracing the anonymous digital currency bitcoin, other major retailers are about to follow suit.
Canada Using Super Bowl to Help Promote Legalizing Sports Betting
(Canadian Press) - Supporters of proposed federal legislation that would legalize single-event sports betting are using this weekend's Super Bowl XLVIII to pressure senators to give final approval to a private member's bill.
Caesars May Bid for Revel Casino
(Bloomberg) - Caesars Entertainment Corp. is considering making a bid for Revel Casino Hotel, the Atlantic City, New Jersey, property that went through bankruptcy last year, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
A bid from Caesars isn't certain, said the people, who asked not to be named because deliberations are private. Offers for the property, which opened in April 2012, are due in two weeks, and no negotiations are under way, they said.
Wynn Resorts Scheduled to Report Quarterly Results
Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) will announce its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th.
Shares of Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) opened at 197.15 on Wednesday. Wynn Resorts has a 52 week low of $113.39 and a 52 week high of $216.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $195.5 and its 200-day moving average is $163.. The company has a market cap of $19.850 billion and a P/E ratio of 31.05.
Super Bowl 48 Live In-Play Betting Comes Into Its Own This Year
Bookmaker, the oldest existing North American-facing online sportsbook established in 1986, developed what is arguably the best live wagering platform on the planet and they’ll be putting this to good use with Super Bowl 48 live in-play betting expected to yield record results. If you are reading this during the big game, be sure to join here now to take full advantage of the live betting experience.
Neteller customers Targeted in Phishing Scheme
Customers of the popular online wallet Neteller were targets of an apparent phishing scheme, it was revealed this week.
Numerous customers received emails over the weekend notifying them that their accounts would be closed if they did not provide pertinent personal details. Those emails turned out to be fake.
The email appeared as such:
Dear [e-mail address]
