Updating its ‘France 2017’ election market, William Hill has placed Conservative candidate and former Prime Minister François Fillion as its current market frontrunner (price 4/7). This weekend Fillion surprised French political commentators by grabbing victory in the Les Républicains (French Conservatives) first primary. Fillion now goes head-to-head with Alain Juppé (former market favourite, now priced 8/1) for the election leadership …

As the industry affiliate market reaches peak saturation, leading player acquisition firm Better Collective has launched new sports betting portal SmartBets.com. SBC speaks to with Better Collective Chief Product Officer Thomas Høgenhaven, on how the SmartBets portal will challenge the market by placing big data and user engagement at the heart of its operations. _____________________ SBC: This year Better Collective …

Amaya Inc subsidiary PokerStars has announced that it has launched its first ever dedicated TV advertisement, promoting its online casino services. Launching ‘PokerStars Casino’ debut TV advertisement across UK digital stations and video streaming channels, the operator’s marketing team detailed that the campaign would focus on promoting its wide range of casino games and slots. Seeking to further extend the …

Mobile first sports betting start-up Bookee enters the market launching its unique swipe-to-bet app. The new industry player states that it wants to introduce the betting consumers to a ‘true 21st-century gaming experience’, bringing its ‘Tinder for betting’ concept to market. The Bookee app offers users a randomised ‘deck’ of suggested small-stake personally-selected bets on a range of sports, giving …

The Hampton-Alexander review, ‘FTSE Women Leaders Report’ on improving gender balance within UK FTSE enterprises has named Paddy Power Betfair in its top-20 companies for having amongst the highest proportion of females at a senior management level. The review led by Sir Philip Hampton and Dame Helen Alexander, researches the opportunities for female employees and their potential career progressions by …

European online casino games and content provider NetEnt has informed the media that a Maria Casino (subsidiary of Unibet Group) player has scooped a huge + €4 million jackpot on its marquee ‘Mega Fortune Dreams’ slot. Detailing its Mega Fortune payout, NetEnt revealed that the winner had been a 62-year-old male Maria Casino player from Sweden who had hit an …

Tracey Crouch the UK Minister for Culture, Media & Sports has expressed her disappointment at industry body the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) failure to attend last week’s ‘Commons All Party Group on Fixed-odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs)’.   The Commons meeting was set-up to discuss current UK regulatory provisions for FOBTs and potential plans to further restrict TV advertising for …

The Governance of US racing operator Churchill Downs has committed $38 million to expanding its marquee Louisville racetrack, the home of the Kentucky Derby. Starting construction in January 2017, Churchill Downs plans to build a seven-story ‘Starting Gate Suite’, which will sit besides its existing ‘Jockey Club Suite’. Announcing  the construction of its new suite, Churchill Downs governance detailed that …

The Listing Committee of the Stockholm Nasdaq has granted European igaming operator Mr Green & Co AB (Mr Green) the right to a public offering on its stock exchange. Updating the market and company stakeholders, Mr Green governance declared that the operator would target a 30 November float on the Stockholm Nasdaq moving its prime listing from the Swedish mid-size …

Paddy Power has launched its latest multi-channel brand advertising campaign ‘You Beauty’ celebrating sports’ unsung heroes. The UK-wide campaign developed by Paddy Power lead creative agency Lucky Generals sees the bookmaker drop its long term strapline ‘Paddy Power – You’re Welcome!’ and adopt new slogan ‘Paddy Power You Beauty’’. Paddy Power marketing has created two TV-spots; ‘The Steward’ and ‘The …