May 28th, 2009 by admin
The Greek OPAP company, which has a contentious state monopoly in the country’s gambling industry, has posted a positive Q1 2009, with revenues and net profits both up.
Revenues in the period grew 6 percent over Q1 2008 to Euro 1.46 billion, whilst net profit year-on-year rose 3.5 percent to Euros 215.7 million. The company reported EBITDA down .09 percent at Euros 299.5 million as a result of higher distribution costs. Declining Stihima revenues re sulted in a fall in sportsbetting revenues of 8.4 percent.
Christos D. Hadjiemmanuil, OPAP’s chairman and chief executive, commented: “The weakness in our Q1 sports betting results relative to the same period in 2008 is explicable by a very dissimilar seasonal pattern of sports events; we expect a partial correction in April and May.
“Moreover, the rejuvenation of our numerical games has contributed to their improved performance in the early months of the year, making us optimistic that we will achieve our profitability target for 2009,” he added.
May 21st, 2009 by admin
The release of the UK Gambling Commission’s latest edition of its ongoing Gambling Prevalence research has been followed by news that the UK National Lottery Commission has initiated an additional and independent study of possible underage gambling on the lottery.
National Lottery wagering dominated the remote gaming activity section of the latest Gambling Commission report.
Swiss-Press reports that the National Lottery Commission initiative is motivated by a desire to better understand the habits of underage gamblers who play the UK’s national lottery, and to this end it has commissioned the Ipsos MORI research group to conduct an in-depth study.
“The major study is designed around the underage play of the National Lottery,” reports Swiss-press.com. “[It] will also provide a much expanded survey of the gambling preferences of the 12 to 15 year-old youth demographic.”
Ipsos MORI will apparently be supported in the endeavour by the UK’s Salford University, which will provide technical and academic support, and will sample a group of almost nine thousand youths to measure levels of underage lottery play. A similar study conducted in 2006 will be used as a reference and benchmark for the new research.
Persons under the age of 16 years are expressly prohibited from playing the National Lottery.
May 16th, 2009 by admin
Hundreds of column inches have been devoted to the unhappy story of online poker room Cardspike and its questionable association with senior executives of the Casino Affiliate Program company and this week the saga dragged to a close as the operators advised players that it was about to close its doors.
In an email to players, CardSpike advised:
“We are contacting you to confirm that Cardspike.com will be shutting down all operations effective May 31, 2009. Deposits will no longer be accepted into your account effective immediately.
“You can cash out your account at any time before May 31, 2009 by your preferred method. After May 31, 2009, your account will be cashed out and the balance remitted to you via the method you used to deposit.
“Thank you for your past support.”
But almost as an afterthought came the sting in the tail, which is being interpreted by many as the final deceit from the company - it read:
“*Note – The minimum withdrawal amount is $50. In light of these circumstances we can manually process a withdrawal for less than $50 but there will be a processing fee of $40.”
This is seen as prejudicial to those players that happen to have a low balance in their accounts, by placing them in such a position that the “processing” charges exceed the worth of their current balance.
In a long-running story replete with questions of integrity, conflicts of interest and downright deceit, the end has apparently matched the beginning in those areas.
May 14th, 2009 by admin
A very sensational marketing gimmick in the poker industry came from BestPoker.com. It gives all the qualifiers for its “Poker in the Sky” inaugural tournament a lift up to 150 feet off the ground using a big crane. The platform will raise 22 final qualifiers over the Kungstradgarden in the center of Stockholm. This unheard of promotional idea was conceived to generate publicity for the poker tournament.
To add further to the excitement, the first prize for this literally sky high event is a brand new Kawasaki motorcycle. Other major prizes include a Scott sports utility vehicle or SUV, an iphone, a wristwatch, and an Xbox. This unique poker event will take place May 13th and will last for an estimated four hours.
The VIP manager at BestPoker, Magnus Bjuggren, says that the “Poker in the Sky” was planned for quite some time and is designed to blow away the competition. Magnus adds that this is their way of rewarding their pool of talented poker players by giving them something unforgettable while playing their favourite game of poker.
The heady days of the prior InterPoker extreme poker challenges are revived with this derring-do shows and exotic locations. BestPoker.com admits the possibility of holding similar attention-grabbing events that will capture the public’s imagination and awe.
The marketing manager of BestPoker is Robert Arfvidsson who says this could just be the first of a series of such eye-catching events. The company also plans to introduce this wild but safe concept to other European cities and even to South America. This will add impetus for the Stockholm winner to defend his or or championship title in succeeding poker events.
May 11th, 2009 by admin
The fifth annual Machelle’s Backstreet Spring Relay for Life Poker Run sets out Sunday, May 17.
Whether on motorcycle or in a car all are invited to take the 123-mile trip to raise money for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.
Twice a year, Machelle’s Backstreet and Dawn’s Apostle Creed X Three Relay for Life team host a fundraising poker run. The last spring poker run raised nearly $7,000.
May 8th, 2009 by admin
Gov. Ed Rendell’s chief of staff is taking over as chairman of the Gaming Control Board, and his legislative affairs secretary is assuming the position of chief of staff.
Rendell on Friday appointed Greg Fajt (fyte) to head the gambling agency and Steve Crawford to be his top administrator.
Crawford is a native of Columbia County who’s served in the Rendell administration since 2003.
Fajt is a former state representative from Allegheny County and was revenue secretary under Rendell for four years.
The personnel changes were disclosed last month. They took effect Friday.
