Business/Financial
PokerStars Parent Company Amaya to Begin Trading on Nasdaq
(Reuters) - Amaya Inc, the owner of online gambling sites PokerStars and Full Tilt, said on Wednesday its shares will begin trading on the Nasdaq on June 8 after getting exchange approval.
The world's largest publicly traded online gaming company, now in the running to buy London-listed online gambling company Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Plc, disclosed in March it sought a Nasdaq listing to broaden its shareholder base outside its Canadian home market.
Amaya Quarterly Results Boosted by PokerStars Acquisition
(Reuters) - Canadian gaming company Amaya Inc, the owner of online gambling sites PokerStars and Full Tilt, reported a massive jump in revenue and an adjusted profit on Thursday, on the back of its pivot to focus on the burgeoning online gambling market.
Montreal-based Amaya, which transformed itself in 2014 after it acquired PokerStars and Full Tilt through a $4.9 billion buyout of Rational Group, has been selling or spinning off its non-core assets over the last few months.
Optimal Payment Solutions to Acquire Skrill for £800m
AIM-listed Optimal Payment Solutions has announced it is set to acquire Skrill (formerly Moneybookers) for a cool £800m, which translates into $1 billion US and some change.
Skrill is the leading alternative payment solutions company in the online gambling space. Both companies produced earnings of $90m last year. Optimal was slated to have an enterprise value of well over £1bn. They are also seeking a move to the LSE's FTSE-250 Midcap Index.
Las Vegas Sands Gets Downgraded as Macau Fears Grow
Credit Agricole on Wednesday morning downgraded Las Vegas Sands Corp. from a buy rating to an outperform rating. Many analysts having growing fears over casino companies with exposure in the Chinese gambling hub of Macau following a recent crackdown by that country’s government.
The firm has also downgraded shares of Wynn Resorts, Limited, another company with operations in Macau, from a buy rating to an outperform rating.
In the midst of the crackdown, gaming revenue is forecast to decline.
MGM Stock Falling on Macau Concerns
MGM Resorts International shares were down 3.01% to $20.97 in late morning trading Monday as concerns continue over China’s Macau gambling hub taking a revenue hit.
Gaming revenue is forecast to decline on fears of the impact from a crackdown by the Chinese government.
"Macau is in a tough spot. We believe dividends will be slashed across the board," Zhou, analyst Jamie Zhou of the Hong Kong-based firm Macquarie Securities told Bloomberg.
Fantasy Sports Site DraftKings.com Exclusive Deal With UFC ‘Imminent’
One of the powerhouses in daily fantasy sports, DraftKings, is reported to be close to an exclusive sponsorship deal with the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).
Colin Neville, vice president of the venture capital firm The Raine Group in NYC, first disclosed the pending UFC deal during a conference in New York City on Monday.
Gary Loveman to Step Down as Caesars CEO
LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — Caesars Entertainment Corp. chief executive Gary Loveman announced Wednesday he will hand the reigns of the casino-hotel empire to former Hertz rental car CEO Mark Frissora, effective July 1.
Unregulated Bitcoin Could Soon Become Regulated in New York, California
New York’s Department of Financial Services came out with a revised set of rules to regulate companies that buy, sell, hold, and transfer bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
Bitcoin or Bit Con: $730 Million Bitcoin Heist May Have Been Inside Job
As more and more online gambling websites mull over the anonymous digital currency bitcoin, there appears to be good reason why said companies have had reservations up to this point.
Business Insider in the UK reports that Japanese authorities are investigating whether a $730 million heist this past year could have been an inside job.
From Poker Player to Bitcoin Miner: Chris McAlary Talks Coin Cloud ATM
Chris McAlary tells CalvinAyre.com he decided to start the Bitcoin mining website Coin Cloud ATM following the events of April 15, 2011 in which three of the world’s largest online poker sites were forced to make abrupt exits from the US market, a result of indictments leveled against several key executives from each company.
Irish Businesses Flourish in Tough Eurozone Economy: Paddy Power Leads the Way
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has seen strong returns over the past month whereas much of the Eurozone is encountering a weakening.
Ireland businesses in general have been flourishing amidst the tough economic times throughout Europe. Both the nation’s major airlines, Ryanair, the biggest in Europe, and Air Lingus, continue to thrive.
Fanduel Joins Forces With Lakers, Draftkings the Broncos and PlayMLF Golden State
It’s been an active week for the fantasy sites teaming up with professional sports teams. We’ve seen FanDuel.com cut a deal with the LA Lakers, Draftkings join forces with the Broncos and PlayMLF.com partnering up with the Golden State Warriors.
Macau Still Hurting in November
Macau gambling revenues appear to be stagnant in the month of November so far following a poor performance in October.
Caesars Looming Bankruptcy: Can’t Make Debt Payments
Caesars Entertainment Corp confirmed in a regulatory filing that it is contemplating bankruptcy as it will be unable to repay debts by the fourth quarter of 2015 without restructuring.
NHL Enters Into Multi-Year Exclusive Deal With DraftKings.com
The National Hockey League has just entered into a multi-year exclusive deal with one of the world’s largest daily fantasy sports contest sites, DraftKings.com. The agreement calls for DraftKings.com to become the official daily fantasy sports site of the NHL.
United Airlines to End Atlantic City Service
United Airline has announced it will be ending flights to and from the struggling seaside gambling community of Atlantic City just eight months after first offering said flights.
The company issued a statement Friday saying the service between Atlantic City and two of its hubs – Houston and Chicago – were “no longer sustainable”.
Bout of Bad Luck, Boosted Revenues Cause Betfair Share Price to Rise
A 22 percent revenue increase to £119m helped share prices rise nearly 3 per cent to £12.46 in early trading on strong second-quarter results.
Much of the rise in revenue directly correlated with strong World Cup results favoring the bookmaker though its active customer base also rose 30 per cent.
Breon Corcoran, Betfair's chief executive, suggested the firm’s focus during the second quarter had been on "maintaining this momentum".
Ladbrokes Sees 94pc Jump in Profits
Ladbrokes has been struggling to keep pace with market leader William Hill in the growing online gambling market and Glynn's position has appeared under threat.
The impact of the football World Cup helped to boost operating profit to 33 million pounds in the three months to the end of September, almost double the equivalent figure of 17 million in 2013.
"The changes and the investments we made in the business are starting to be reflected in the results," Glynn told Reuters, saying the company was "on track" for full year targets.
DraftKings Partners With New England Patriots: First Deal of its Kind in NFL
The popular daily fantasy sports site Draftkings.com has partnered with the New England Patriots. The partnership is a first for any professional football team with an organization operating in daily fantasy sports and it was inked just hours before Thursday night’s game against the Jets.
Rochester NY Rivals Silicon Valley as New Tech Epicenter, Fantasy Sports Hub
In an interview conducted with Gambling911.com’s own Thomas Somach this week, Seth Young, COO of Star Fantasy Leagues, revealed neither he nor the two co-founders have any intention to move their thriving fantasy sports business out of Rochester, New York, calling the city “
Taj Mahal to Close if Judge Does Not Approve Cancelation of Union Contract
In what could prove to be yet another blow to Atlantic City's stuggling casino industry, billionaire investor Carl Icahn has warned that the famed Taj Mahal will need to shut its doors should a bankruptcy judge fail to cancel the casino’s lucrative union contract this coming Friday (October 17, 2014).
Early FanDuel Investor: ‘Fantasy Sports is Finally Mainstream, Massive’
Paul Martino is Managing Director of Palo Alto-based venture capital firm Bullpen Capital and, these days, he is most excited about his early investment in FanDuel.com, a provider of daily fantasy competitions that continues to attract considerable cash infusions, most recently a $70 million windfall from Shamrock Capital Advisors.
Fantasy Sports Biz FanDuel.com Becomes the Biggest Tech Startup in UK
Guess which Edinburgh company is now the largest UK startup tech firm. Would you believe it’s none other than Fantasy Football behemoth FanDuel.com?
Bitcoin Set to Revolutionize Online Gambling
The average price of Bitcoin has settled in between $400 and $500 without the extreme upswings and downswings we witnessed earlier in the year, suggesting stabilization of the anonymous online currency.
Carl Icahn to the Rescue of the Taj Mahal, Betfair to Remain in NJ
Carl Icahn, who already has interests in one Atlantic City casino, is looking to possibly infuse money into the troubled Trump Taj Mahal, but only under certain conditions.
$5 Billion in Bitcoin Fantasy Sports Contests Annually: Victiv.com Joins the Fray
Bitcoin + Daily Fantasy Sports contests could amount to big bucks. Try $5 billion.
Fantasy Sports has always seemed like a promising area for Bitcoin acceptance, suggests Kenny Spotz of the CoinTelegraph.com.
More Trading Activity at Bwin.Party Raises Eyebrows
As first reported by Gambling911.com on Friday, at least one Director in publicly traded Bwin.Party bought shares immediately after earnings. Within a day of those shares purchases, the company started to buy back shares in the open market.
Helmut Kern, Non Executive Director, bought 60,000 shares in the company on the 3rd September 2014, just one day prior, at a price of 92.42p. The Director now holds 60,000 shares.
“On the surface, there should be red flags raised here,” a Gambling911.com source following the unusual trading activity suggested.
4 Mistakes to Avoid When Building Reputation in the Online Gambling Industry
In online gaming – and any other business, little is more important to a company than their reputation. It drives sales, brings in new customers, and allows a business to flourish.
The problem is that many businesses make several mistakes while trying to build their reputation. These mistakes sabotage their efforts, and, in many instances, lead to a reputation that is far worse than the one their company had when they began their public PR efforts.
Atlantic City Scores Gets Over 1000 Job Applicants After Casino Closures
Four casinos have either shut down or are in the process of shutting down in Atlantic City but at least one local business has scored big from these sudden closures.
SCORES Atlantic City, the legendary gentleman’s club, has realized a 40% increase in job inquiries over the past two weeks.
Nearly any position you can think of has witnessed a jump in applications including security, hostesses, bartenders, barbacks, entertainers, and DJs.
Bwin.Party Trading Activity This Week has Some Scratching Their Heads
At least one Director in publicly traded Bwin.Party bought shares immediately after earnings. Amazingly, within a day of those shares purchases, the company started to buy back shares in the open market.
“It’s immoral and unethical for Directors and Management to ‘front run’ a corporate buyback in a matter of hours,” a source tells Gambling911.com.
A la Wikipedia, front running is a practice whereby a stockbroker executing orders on a security for its own account while taking advantage of advance knowledge of pending orders from its customers.
