News

After the recent collaboration between Video King and Parlay games, the two companies made it known that they were working on a "tribally linked class II bingo game with multi-million dollar weekly prize jackpots." Both companies brought together their assets, teams, and development skills to fuel the sole purpose of creating a unique and "tribally linked" national game.

Gambit Rewards, a loyalty gaming platform with free-to-play services, has recently announced a partnership with the fast-rising Gamelancer. The latter is a social gaming network for video games, while the former has a strong reputation for turning reward or loyalty points into free games on participating websites or platforms.

The World Series of Poker is here again. This year's tournament kicked off on May 31 and is expected to run through June 20, 2022. Notable names like Phil Ivey, a ten-time bracelet winner, have already registered for events. Movie star Vince Vaughn will feature as the inaugural Master of Ceremonies.

High 5 Games, one of the biggest software providers in the industry, recently signed a deal with DraftKings , a top American sports betting and gambling company. This deal would give DraftKings access to the heavy catalog of casino games by High 5 Games.

A new petition has been made urging Twitch to ban gambling advertisements on the platform. This is in light of the recent controversy where popular streamer, xQc, revealed that his clickthrough alone had generated $119 million for a gambling company. The petition posted on change.org has been signed off by big companies like McDonald's, Uber, and Pepsi, which also advertise on the platform.

Paysafe recently put pen to paper as regards extending its partnership with Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), which began in 2015. Before now, users of the gaming facilities managed by the OLG could use Paysafe as a payment system, but with the recent extension, they get even more.

The latest results for New Jersey casinos and sports betting show that the revenue smashed figures obtained before the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2019. The current April figures total $422 million , 20% more than last year. This impressive revenue comes from land-based casinos, and their interactive counterparts as the New Jersey gambling scene continues to rise in the aftermath of the pandemic.

FanDuel is looking to take its casino section to similar heights as its hugely popular sports betting platform. As a result, this American gambling company has resorted to the services of Asaf Noifeld to oversee its casino operations. This former managing director of PokerStars Casino has a wealth of experience in the casino business.

Glitnor Group recently acquired KaFe Rocks, a leading and global iGaming company set up in 2018. As part of the acquisition, the Group has splashed some seven-digit figures to become the primary stakeholder in Time2play – a high-valued North American affiliate website.

EveryMatrix is the latest brand to sign a patent license agreement with IGT. This deal comes just after the American iGaming behemoth sealed a broad patent cross-licensing deal with Aristocrat in Australia. The deal comes at the right time as this software provider company, since 2008, has been knocking on the doors of the US with expansion plans, which the license agreement just happens to optimize.

After a lengthy selection process, Bally's has been selected to develop Chicago's $1.7 billion casino resort. The city's request for proposal (RFP) process to construct and operate a world-class casino resort in downtown Chicago began in October 2021. Bally's beat out other top gaming companies like Hard Rock and Rivers Corporation to become the city's sole casino licensee.

On the 2nd May 2022, MGM Resorts International submitted an offer in excess of $607 million to LeoVegas AB, which, if successful, would see MGM own the total share capital of the iGaming giant. This proposition made its way to the papers as MGM headquarters in Las Vegas released an official release, notifying the general public of its intentions.

On Friday, April 22, the Elk Valley Casino officially opened its doors to patrons in Crescent Valley, California. The press release for the announcement read: “The new Elk Valley Casino opens today in a magnificent setting between the grazing meadows of Roosevelt elk and the majestic mountains and forest, all overlooking the panoramic view of the beautiful Pacific Ocean and South Beach.” The casino is a tribal-owned establishment of the Rancheria Indians and replaces the old Elk Valley Casino, which opened back in 1995.

25th April 2022 will go down as a day to remember as Hard Rock Hotel New York finally cut the red ribbon on its masterpiece in Midtown Manhattan. This debut is even more interesting as it also marks the latest hotel-casino to launch operations since the COVID-19 pandemic started.

A fire that erupted on Wednesday at a casino in Montana has resulted in the death of two individuals. Local officials confirmed the sad news at the scene, and both of the deceased have been identified. The Report and Rescue Operations Surrounding the Incident The unfortunate event took place in the morning hours at Honest Tom's Saloon & Casino in Bridger - a small town about 47 miles away from Billings.

With the current developments seen surrounding esports, including tournaments and competitions, strong calls have been raised for a consensus umbrella body for these events. At the just concluded ICE London 2022 , among the panel was the CEO of Luckbox, Thomas Rosander, who raised the call for improvements in the regulation of the fast-developing industry.

Videoslots Group has announced the launch of the Mr Vegas brand in the state of Pennsylvania. Planned for 2023, the company's debut is supported by a market access agreement with Caesars Entertainment. The mutually beneficial agreement will see Videoslots launch its Mr Vegas brand in Pennsylvania next year under the operating license of Caesars Entertainment.

FanDuel and PokerStars are now partners of Toronto-based Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Limited (MLSE). In the Friday press release for the announcement, it was revealed that the strategic partnership designates the FanDuel Sportsbook as an official sports betting partner and PokerStars as an official gaming partner.

Five tribes within Sonoma County have unanimously expressed opposition to the development of the Shiloh Casino & Resort. Last September, the Koi Nation brought forward a proposal to build a casino property in the Northern California region. The $600 million project will sit on a 68-acre plot of land in the town of Windsor.

Last month, three proposals reached the final stage for Chicago's planned multibillion-dollar casino project. Community meetings where the finalists will engage the public were scheduled from the 5th to 7th of April in three separate appointments with residents in South Loop, Near South Side, and River West.

Gaming Realms has launched its services in Québec via its partnership with the provincial iGaming operator, Loto-Québec. Like its US-facing arm, the gaming supplier will focus on its collection of Slingo Original games. Scheduled to go live first are Slingo Extreme and Blackjack Xchange.

A casino development bill for the state of Nebraska has gained approval from legislators in the first round of three votes. The bill makes provision for casinos to be established in six counties with legal horse racing tracks. If approved, this would bring commercial gaming facilities to all eastern and central Nebraska counties with existing racetracks, including Douglas, Lancaster, Adams, Dakota, Hall, and Platte.

There seems to be a new development in the current plans for the establishment of a retail casino in Chicago. In a recent announcement, Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot declared that only three proposals out of five received had made it to the final stage of a casino license application.

Top-rated software provider Hacksaw Gaming has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NetBet. The new deal lets the supplier access NetBet's.co.uk and.com websites, expanding its content to reach more casino lovers. Hacksaw Gaming, popularly known for its blockbuster slot titles including Wanted Dead or a Wild, Chaos Crew and Cubes 2, and Stack 'em, will be the latest addition to the line of software providers already in league with NetBet.

As expected, Tennessee sportsbooks recorded a low revenue post-football activities for the month of February. According to the reports, it is the lowest since sports betting launched in the state in September 2021. This comes following the NFL season’s ending and the start of the regular season games in play.

DraftKings, one of the foremost sportsbook operators, is preparing to dive into the digital atmosphere. They are launching the Primetime NFT series , an exclusive round of digital ownership to some of the most memorable events in the sports industry globally.

Betting revenue for December 2021 in Arizona hit a record amount just shy of the $500 million mark. According to a statement released by the Department of Gaming, December’s handle of $499.2m surpassed the record set in October 2021 ($486.1 million), although there was a 23.1% fall in gross revenue.

Gaming Realms is the latest company to acquire a gaming supplier license in preparation for the launch of iGaming in Ontario on April 4th, 2022. The company announced on Wednesday that its subsidiary Alchemybet Limited has been awarded a license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

Iowa’s Lakeside Hotel and Casino has announced the launch of its first wholly-owned sportsbook, DRF Sportsbook , in collaboration with its sister company, the Daily Racing Form (DRF). DRF is a New-York based horse racing-focused newspaper. It’s a leader in providing premium data and editorial coverage to sports and horse racing lovers in North America.

Las Vegas-based gambling company Scientific Games has changed its name from the aforementioned to Light & Wonder Inc. This comes after multiple divestitures completed in 2021. The company let go of its lottery and sports betting business. At the same time, it acquired casino and live casino brands as part of its efforts to focus on casinos and online gambling content.

Revenue figures for Bally's Corporation for the year ended December 31st, 2021, have been reported at €1.3bn ($1.45bn) , a significant increase from the 2020 fiscal year. Despite these strong revenue results, the company has also recorded a year-on-year increase in net losses.

Century Casinos has tabled an offer to acquire Nugget Casino Resort in a $195 million deal. On Wednesday, the casino entertainment company announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Marnell Gaming to take over 100% of Nugget Sparks LLC, which manages the property's operations.

Hard Rock International has announced that there are three sites on its radar for constructing the planned New York City casino. This development comes amidst ongoing preparations to launch its multi-million dollar Hard Rock Hotel in the Manhattan area of the city.

Pragmatic Play's latest venture in the Latin American gambling market is a partnership with One Bit Tech. On Monday this week, the casino game developer announced that it has forged a deal with the content aggregator to further expand its LatAm presence following its "recent commercial success in the region across multiple verticals." Under the agreement, One Bit Tech will gain access to Pragmatic Play's slots and live casino products and will be able to offer these games to its partners in the region.

American gambling operator FanDuel has extended its existing agreement with Evolution Gaming. The latter announced via its official site that it will continue being the sole live dealer games provider for FanDuel after both parties decided to renew the partnership, which began in 2020.

The national organization representing the US casino industry, American Gaming Association (AGA), has revealed that more than 31 million American adults will be betting on the 2022 Super Bowl. This amounts to an estimated $7.61 billion betting handle. The year-on-year increase is 38% for the betting populace and 78% for the revenue.

The Melbourne headquartered gambling provider has announced a recently concluded agreement which sees it becoming the official sportsbook partner of Alpine Canada Alpin (ACA). The press release shed light on the multi-year alliance, with both parties commenting favorably on the new development.

California's San Manuel Band of Mission Indians have recently announced the appointment of a new Chief Public Policy Officer in the person of Steve Burns. The responsibilities of this position include leading and implementing the tribe's public policy strategy on state and federal legislation and regulation.

After much anticipation, mobile sports betting is finally live in Louisiana. The launch was confirmed on Wednesday by Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns, who said, "Our goal was to have it available before the Super Bowl, so we were able to beat that target." As mobile betting launches today, it will facilitate "bets for this weekend's NFL conference championship games." Following a parish-by-parish referendum in November 2020, sports betting in the state was legalized, with 54 out of 64 parishes voting in favor.

In September of last year, Koi Nation announced plans to develop a casino property in Sonoma, California. The Native American Tribe of Northern California, on Monday, concluded a predevelopment agreement with the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma as partners in developing the planned Shiloh Casino & Resort.

Global iGaming hosting provider Internet Vikings has expanded its US presence by breaking into the Illinois market. Illinois marks the eighteenth state where the Swedish company offers its services. Having already established a firm position in 17 other states, their assertive goal to offer the finest in bespoke iGaming hosting solutions across the country is fast becoming a reality.

International Game Technology has announced that its Resort Wallet cashless gaming technology has received regulatory approval in Nevada. Expressing excitement on the part of the company, Ryan Reddy, IGT SVP Global PM VLT, Systems, Payments & Poker, said, "IGT earning Nevada regulatory approval for our award-winning, fully integrated cashless solution is a perfect bookend for a year marked with tremendous momentum for our Resort Wallet and IGTPay cashless gaming modules of the IGT ADVANTAGE system." The approval means that IGT's entire cashless gaming solution will now be available at casinos throughout the state.

Leading content provider Pragmatic Play has boosted its live casino offering with the addition of new and enhanced live baccarat tables for classic Baccarat and the fast-paced Speed Baccarat version. Yossi Barzely, Chief Business Development Officer at Pragmatic Play, said : “We’re always on the search to reinforce the strongest aspects of our games, and by adding new tables to our Live Casino products, we are able to let more players do what they love. “The fast-paced titles can now appeal to more players that enjoy the immersive nature of traditional casinos, and with consistent upgrades to our Live Casino technology, each new table brings a truly more polished and high-quality experience.” This comes amidst its ongoing LatAm push, which saw it recently partner with innovative operator Locosbet.

Seattle-based digital game developer DoubleDown Interactive is reported to have invested $1.5 million in Epic Games - an American video game developer most notable as the creator of Fortnite. Released in 2017, Fortnite is one of the most popular video games in the world and currently has over 350 million accounts and 2.5 billion friend connections.

Premier entertainment company, MGM Resorts, has revised its loyalty program to offer improved experiences for patrons at all locations across the US. Previously called M Life, the upgraded loyalty program will now be called MGM Rewards and will be rolled out on February 1st, 2022.

Stakelogic Live casino product has been awarded ISO 27001 accreditation. The International casino game developer previously received the prestigious certification back in February 2020 for its best-practice information security management systems. Stakelogic CEO, Stephan van den Oetelaar, said that the team is delighted to have the live casino product, Stakelogic Live, officially following suit.

A tax relief bill for Atlantic City casinos has passed the New Jersey State Senate, and all that remains is the final signature from Governor Phil Murphy. The decision was made Monday night, with 21 Senate members voting in favor, 14 against, and 4 choosing to abstain.

Pennsylvania sports betting revenue for November was an estimated $85 million , an all-time record. This was generated out of an impressive $760 million betting handle, the second-most ever for the state. Several US states, including America's gambling hub, Nevada, have been on a record-breaking streak in the past few months, owing to the loosening of pandemic restrictions and the return of tourism.

As of Monday, 13th December, Roto Sports, Inc, parent company of RotoWire.com has been bought over by Gambling.com , a leading digital marketing services provider in the online gambling industry. Peter Schoenke of Rotowire, while breaking the news, said, "The United States is entering a whole new world of sports fandom and combining forces with Gambling.com Group will accelerate RotoWire's growth.

On Monday, it was announced that Hard Rock International (HRI) and MGM Resorts are in talks for a deal that would hand over the operating rights of the Mirage Las Vegas to the former. The acquisition worth an estimated $1.075 billion will be finalized by Q2 2022, pending regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. “We are honored to welcome The Mirage’s 3,500 team members to the Hard Rock family,” said Jim Allen, Chairman of Hard Rock International. “When complete, Hard Rock Las Vegas will be a fully integrated resort welcoming meetings, groups, tourists, and casino guests from around the world to its nearly 80-acre center-Strip location.” The Mirage’s real estate, a 77-acre property, will be acquired under a long-term lease from VICI Properties, and HRI has indicated its intention to rebrand the property starting with the erection of a guitar-shaped hotel.

Fintech start-up DraftFuel has unveiled a new mobile app and prepaid card product designed to provide a solution to one of the most controversial topics with the gambling sector – the concept of responsible gambling. With more states legalizing sports betting, DraftFuel aims to help players wager responsibly in what was described by Co-founder Alex Cullingford as a “guilt-free” gambling experience.

Pariplay, a leading content aggregator and game developer, has signed a deal with Gaming Realms which will see the latter’s games get integrated into Pariplay’s innovative Fusion aggregation platform. Through this partnership, Pariplay boosts its portfolio within the Fusion platform, while Gaming Realms, a mobile-focused game developer, gets to extend its footprint in more established jurisdictions.

With business in Nevada returning to pre-pandemic levels, the state has reported a revenue of about $1.22 billion in October. This is 6% higher than the $1.16 billion earned in September. The state has been on a roll for the past couple of months, and this would be its 8th consecutive month with revenue exceeding the $1 billion mark.

By Wednesday, December 1st, residents of North Dakota could begin placing their first sports bets within the state, given that there are no regulatory delays. In the event of such, the launch may be pushed back to January. However, betting is slated to get off the ground fully in time for the 2022 Super Bowl, the largest sports event in the US in terms of viewership and betting handle.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida is in a legal debacle following a court ruling that deemed its compact with the state to be in violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). This ruling effectively blocks the tribe's sports betting activities as agreed in the compact.

Popular slot developer Play’n GO has released Rich Wilde and the Wandering City , the latest addition to its Rich Wilde series. This time, the game takes players on a journey to the titular wandering city, which, according to Patagonian mythology, is hidden in the valley of the Andes, somewhere between Chile and Argentina.

The 52nd WSOP began on September 30th and will run through November 23rd. The event, which is currently being held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, is more than halfway through to the end as the Main Event is almost on its final day. A total of 6,650 players entered the 2021 WSOP main event, which began on November 4th.

DraftKings has opened its permanent sportsbook on the property of Foxwood Resorts Casino in Connecticut. This new location will replace the temporary one that it adopted at the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation-operated casino back in September when sports betting launched in the state.

BetMGM yet again inks a new iGaming partnership deal, this time with New York-based Madison Square Garden Sports and Madison Square Garden Entertainment. The multi-year agreement will see the gaming operator become an official sports betting partner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) team, the New York Knicks and National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, the New York Rangers, both of which are owned by MSG Sports.

BetMGM has opened its very first retail sportsbook in Arizona. The outfit is located within Vee Quiva, one of the casino properties owned by Gila River Hotels & Casinos. As such, this also marks the first in-casino sportsbook location in the Phoenix area.

Malta-based slot game developer Yggdrasil has signed a multi-year content distribution deal with International Game Technologies, an agreement which will introduce Yggdrasil games for the first time in North American markets. Through this partnership, IGT gets exclusive access to a handful of the developer's online slots to be distributed to online casino partners in parts of the US and Canada, where online gaming has been legalized.