There are so many online gambling conferences and expositions to participate in as a professional involved in internet gambling it becomes difficult to decide which ones will deliver the best results if attended.

An example of one of the many conferences in 2018 the Online Bingo and Slots Summit is where bingo professionals congregate once a year at this unique gathering.  June 12, 2018 the Online Bingo and Slots Summit will happen in London England’s Mermaid Centre, located in Blackfriars.

Delegates can expect to hear from successful bingo operators and are rewarded with insights on compliance and regulatory developments. Leading edge innovations and technology coupled with networking and connections. Right after the wrap up of the Online Bingo and Slots Summit, delegates will be able to enjoy a celebration of excellence with their colleges close by. Eighteen awards at the will be granted during the Bingo Awards at The Steel Yard while an evening of entertainment and cocktails will deliver the exciting ambiance.

Another event professionals in the field may want to attend is the seventh annual Gaming in Holland Conference which will take place June 19th and 20th in Amsterdam.  Day one of this event will focus on legal and regulatory developments in the jurisdictions involved and day two will deal with lotteries, retail betting, leading gambling brands and a panel of top executives. The agenda at this the seventh Gaming in Holland Conference will include the “Responsibility in Gaming Awards Ceremony” during an exclusive awards dinner on the 19th. Ten awards will be awarded at the event. The De Hallen Studios, Amsterdam will serve as the venue.

The most successful events are the ones where learning is a priority but attendance is mandatory. The old saying is if you want to win at the lottery you have to first buy a ticket.

Ice Hockey is fast and unpredictable when the heat is on. The current big tournament in North America is the Stanley Cup which is garnering huge attention in gambling world. Ice hockey is a very exciting sport to watch what with individual player action or the strategy of the team there are few sports that deliver the thrill that ice hockey can.

The first round of the series was fought hard and now for the second round. Similar to the beginning of the playoffs, teams all start fresh, with all possibilities presenting themselves in the next round. Confidence is one thing but momentum is another with little from game to game or series to series. Every game is a new and unique, with its own atmosphere, peculiarities and spirit. The playoffs began on April 11, 2018, three days after the 2017–18 NHL regular season ended, and it will end no later than June 13, 2018, with the Stanley Cup Finals to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup.

The winning of Lord Stanley’s Mug is a great honour for the team that wins the holy grail of hockey. Un Understanding how to bet on the Stanley Cup finals is sometimes difficult as the odds change with each game and even every penalty or fight. Scoring is amazing during these NHL playoffs. Reaching its peak May 3 with an outstanding 6.09 goals per game and it’s now at 5.85 goals heading into the Stanley Cup final.

Goaltending is the first thing a punter should look at when you’re betting totals on the NHL. If a team’s goalie isn’t playing well, goals will be had, but when a team’s goaltender is on the ball he can obtain an under victory for the punter. The team that can play stronger defense and has a better goaltender usually wins the coveted Stanley Cup. 

It is a difficult task drawing a line in the sand when it comes to moral standards and the ethics of business. Governments and social advocates are putting the goal of making sure the ethical baseline is decent.

Complying with the regulators is a good business practice that builds respect which has been hard earned by the honest online gambling operators.

Regulators such as Britain’s advertising body Advertising Standards Authority(ASA) have been doing an outstanding job keeping the citizens safe. The ASA recently announced it has  banned online games featuring wolves and fairies that are “likely to appeal to children.”

Advertising regulations stipulate that gambling ads must not be likely to be of particular appeal to children or young people, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture.

In particular the m88.com website featured three questionable games called Fairytale Legends Red Riding Hood, Fairytale Legends Hansel and Gretel, and Fairies Forest. The games featured did have animated images of a wolf, a pixie and a fairy in a forest.

The Campaign for Fairer Gambling launched the complaint and the ASA responded with the ban.  ProgressPlay, trading as m88.com, responded by requesting member login and by modifying the games to remove all images of fairies and “any other unsuitable character.” The ASA said it was happy with the interim action taken by m88.com in response to the complaint.

The ASA said this about the  Fairytale Legends Red Riding Hood game, “We considered that fairies were highly popular with young children, particularly young girls. Furthermore, we noted that the wolf was heavily stylised with exaggerated facial features and included a long muzzle, big eyes and a prominent nose.”

“We considered that the physical appearance of the wolf resembled similar characters from films and TV programmes aimed at under-18s, particularly children.”

The line has been drawn by the public on online gambling advertising, operators should take note.

The reason behind an online gambling company’s ultimate long term success is the ability to change with the times.Relying on the same old products to attract new players is not always a great strategy. There are some online betting firms that know what to do to stimulate more activity.The veteran online casino operator 888 casino has undergone a complete revamp of its web location.

The new, state-of-the-art gaming platform and web application will improve the player experience significantly. 888 casino has focused on mobile for the redesign. The new platform for smartphone and tablet play is ensured to be engaging fast and totally entertaining.

Guy Cohen, SVP of B2C at 888, commented, “888casino is a pioneer when it comes to online gambling technology, and this latest iteration of our website is intelligent, sophisticated and cutting edge. It ensures we deliver a smooth and faultless experience to our players.”

The new gaming platform has been designed to be scalable and to boost 888 casino’s  presence in regulated markets including Italy and Denmark, Spain and the USA.

The redesigned website enhances the player involvement featuring a sleek in style format with a packed portfolio of the best games, table games and live dealer titles from a slew of new suppliers.

888 is one of the world’s most popular online gaming entertainment and solutions providers and founded in 1997, 888 has been at the forefront of the online gaming industry for over a decade. 888 offers a comprehensive gaming experience including casino, poker, bingo and sports betting through a number of leading brands in regulated markets around the world. 888 can be used in 22 different languages in 176 countries worldwide. The casino is committed to an industry leading corporate and social responsibility programme, and provides a safe, fun, fair, regulated and secure gaming environment. The firm is licensed and regulated by the Government of Gibraltar, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange

Klondaika a Latvian based online casino operator has joined forces with Malta-based Altenar to provide Klondaika with a new sportsbook product just in time for the FIFA World Cup competition begins in June, The comprehensive sportsbook will let punters  wager on more than 600 markets including in-play betting on over 18,000 live events each month. Multi-lingual support and real-time data solutions will also be available for participants.

Klondaika’s head of online casino Krisjanis Kravis declared, “Klondaika is a rising star of the Latvian gaming market, so it was vital to partner up with a proven provider like Altenar for one of the prized jewels in the sporting crown,”

Kravis continued to add, “Their suite of CIS-facing partnerships and rapid-fire integration only bolsters our confidence for a successful World Cup 2018 in Russia, running on the back of the industry’s most detailed sports data systems.”

Commercial director at Altenar, Domenico Mazzola, also commented on the arrangement, “This partnership is another major milestone for Altenar as it establishes itself as the leading provider of fully managed Sportsbook platform solutions and services to major operators in regulated markets worldwide.”

The brand of Klondaika is also known as Furors, the land based casino operator established in 1993. Watching firms become quickly established just prior to the FIFA World Cup in Russia next month is a sign there will be betting records broken for the 2018 edition of this amazing challenge that only happens every four years.

David Baazov the former CEO of Montreal-based Amaya may have dodged the legal bullit once again with the fumble recently revealed by the legal team at Quebec's securities regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers​ (AMF). It was suggested that the regulator shared too much information in its proceedings against the former online gambling mogul.

Three firms, Baazov and three other executives were charged with insider trading related to the $4.9 billion USD takeover of PokerStars back in 2014. Baazov’s five charges, included influencing or attempting to influence the market price of Amaya's securities. The defence lawyers are requesting the charges to be stayed, accusing the AMF and its team of an "abusive procedure by mistakenly sharing more than 300,000 privileged documents with the defence.  And now, six weeks into the trial, the AMF wants them returned.

Lawyers for Quebec’s AMF sent an email to the defence explaining the problem.

"Following certain verifications, the AMF has noted that some of the divulged elements ... are potentially privileged,"

"As a result, we ask the judge to make an order so that they are also removed from the disclosures,"

The defence quickly filed a motion requesting a stay of charges for all defendants.

"The defendants — who are entering week six of a trial which will require at least 12 more weeks before the parties complete their proof — will no longer have access to more than 320,000 documents which had been disclosed to them," read the motion,

"Denying access to the defendants of such evidence in the middle of an ongoing trial violates their fundamental constitutional rights," concluding, "The repeated errors committed by the AMF in matters wholly within its control [lead] to the inevitable conclusion that only a stay of proceedings can put an end to these abusive proceedings,"

Daily fantasy sports betting is getting big especially in the USA where it has a huge following. One of the major suppliers of Daily fantasy sports betting opportunities is FanDuel. FanDuel is a web-based fantasy sports game and with 6 million registered users.The model consists of traditional season-long fantasy sports leagues being compressed into a free and/or paid daily, and occasionally weekly, game of skill.As of April 2016 most U.S. jurisdictions consider fantasy sports (including daily fantasy sports) a game of skill.

Now British bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair has announced it has entered into an official agreement  to acquire leading American DFS supplier FanDuel. FanDuel will be merged with Paddy Power Betfair US operations in a move that will focus on the lucrative US sports betting industry.

Paddy Power Betfair will utilize all of its existing assets in America for the arrangement along with $158 million in cash. With this Paddy Power Betfair will gain a 61% share of FanDuel’s business. FanDuel’s investors will retain the other 39% of the shares in the company. An extended agreement  has also been signed to increase Paddy Power’s ownership to 80% after three years, and to a full 100% after five years.

The cash part of the consideration will be used to eliminate FanDuel’s current debts, which stood at over $76 million at the end of March this year. It will also supply working capital to the merged USA business of Paddy Power Betfair and FanDuel.

CEO of Paddy Power Betfair, Peter Jackson, noted, that this combination will create the US industry’s largest online betting business, with a major focus on sports-based platforms and a widespread national presence.

FanDuel CEO Matt King also commented, FanDuel currently has over 40% of the DFS market share locally, according to Paddy Power, with 7 million registered players across 40 US states. Last year, the firm has earned revenues of $124 million.

The authorities in China frown on illegal activities of all sorts but of late the police have delved into illegal poker games facilitated by the use of soon-to-be- prohibited“Texas Hold’em” smart-device application.The crack down this time resulted in the detention of 39 people for allegedly engaging in personal activities that violate Chinese gambling laws.

Clarifying statements have been issued by Beijing, China-based Ourgame International Holdings Limited, the parent investment company of several business entities involved in online gaming and esports interests detailing the employees involvement.

A statement issued to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange regulators, said six employees of the poker division of its esports subsidiary, Beijing Lianzhong Interactive Network Co., Ltd. were among the 39 arrested by the authorities,

The required statement issued to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange regulators was made on behalf of three corporate global enterprises involving stock-trading interests in Ourgame. In addition to Ourgame International Holdings Limited, which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, the announcements also apply to Ourgame  holding companies Lianzhong International Holdings Limited and Allianz International Holdings Limited.
Ourgame’s stock suffered a serious drop on April 4, 2018,losing a sixth of its value on trading several times the volume of its recent daily average. The company offered no public information regarding the drop. On May 11, the company’s shares tumbled again following the recent announcements, this time losing over a fourth of their value with an even larger trading volume. The tip of the iceberg in a country that is enormous and heavily populated with gamblers.

The internet gambling industry is not immune to scandal or corruption. Even the Olympics was full of corruption at the highest levels and the banking system in the USA let us not get started. It comes as no surprise that when there are large sums of money to be had someone may break the law to get it.

The recent allegations brought against Current Cherry AB CEO and Betsson co-founder Anders Holmgren is a reality check for executives involved with betting. He was arrested by Swedish eco-crime authorities on “severe insider trading” charges and was sacked by the Cherry board after being bound over on probable cause at an initial hearing on the matter.

Cherry published a statement on May 22 which said: “During the morning, the Swedish Economic Crime Authority has performed a search at the head office of Cherry AB and in relation to this event, the company’s CEO, Anders Holmgren, was arrested. Cherry will fully cooperate with the Economic Crime Authority in the investigation. During the period of the investigation, Gunnar Lind, chairman of the Cherry Audit Committee, will be acting CEO of Cherry.”

On Wednesday, May 23, a Cherry statement advised that a formal detention request had been issued for Holmgren, who was “suspected of severe insider trading”. Cherry’s forth statement offered this: “The Board of Cherry AB has resolved to terminate the employment of Anders Holmgren as CEO and President of Cherry. Effective immediately.

Morten Klein, chairman of the board of Cherry AB commented: “Anders Holmgren has made valuable contributions as CEO of Cherry, but he is unable to perform his duties while facing accusations of severe insider trading. The board of directors has today decided to terminate his employment as CEO. In connection therewith, Anders Holmgren will also leave his assignments as board member in Cherry’s subsidiaries. As previously announced, Gunnar Lind is acting CEO and will remain in this position to ascertain that the group develops according to plan until a permanent CEO is appointed.”

The reality of law changes regarding sports betting in the USA is now being experienced with lobby groups expressing concerns about the details of the new rules of engagement.

The leading US lobbying group representing America’s casino entertainment industry, the American Gaming Association has penned an open letter to the US Congress stating it will work towards implementing state-level legislation and regulation of sports-betting activities nation wide.

The recent nullification of PASPA (the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act), has created a political issue between the federal government and the individual states. Rather than rewriting a revised version of PASPA the AGA wants the federal government to let the individual states deal with the matter as they choose. Being aware that the intent behind all the law is the same.  To stop unregulated sports betting that occurs in the US each year and capture a regulated revenue stream, with consumer protections. The AGA believes that state regulatory framework infrastructure is already in place.

The AGA declared  five principals to be included in the regulatory mandate.

Empower State Regulation: More than 40 states and 260 jurisdictions have proven to be effective gaming regulators. AGA will be a resource to state policymakers and regulators as they consider sports betting legalization. AGA will also combat any attempts by the federal government to neuter state regulatory power.

Place Consumers First: AGA encourages all stakeholders to understand the intricacies of the illegal marketplace and why consumers turn to it. AGA will promote strong consumer protections – which the illegal market fails to offer – and consumer-centric conveniences such as intrastate mobile wagering.

Strengthen Game Integrity: Rigorous sports betting regulation strengthens game integrity, a primary aim shared by the gaming industry and sporting bodies. New technologies make it possible to track legal wagering and identify suspicious activities. The gaming industry supports establishing a national data repository to share any suspicious betting information with law enforcement, gaming regulators, and sporting bodies.

Promote Responsible Gaming and Responsible Advertising: The gaming industry encourages effective responsible gaming programs in all jurisdictions that enact regulated sports betting. To this end, the gaming industry will voluntarily pursue the creation of a self-regulatory model to guide sports betting advertising.

Encourage Contracts over Statutes: Sports betting can benefit sporting bodies and gaming companies alike. The gaming industry supports strong contracts between these parties to address issues such as data and the value of other activities. The gaming industry will vigorously oppose efforts to use federal or state legislation to set basic business terms.