Europe

LeoVegas confirmed that its first Cheltenham had “exceeded all expectations”, after watching 2/9 favourite Douvan come 7th in the Champion Chase on a triumphant day for the bookmakers. Less than a year after launching in time for Euro 2016, the Swedish-based mobile gaming specialists acknowledged that whilst a hit could be around the corner, Ruby Walsh’s disappointing start to the …

Industry venture capital firm Velo Partners has invested $700,000 (£575,000) in eSports studio Blinkpool developer of eSports game ‘BlinkPredict’. The UK-based VC that has funded numerous growing new enterprises within betting and igaming, makes its first eSports-centric investment in Blinkpool. Releasing a corporate statement, Velo Partners stated that Blinkpool could become a billion-valuation enterprise by becoming the firm that bridges …

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) warns parents over the perils of gambling linked to video games, calling for adults to be vigilant to the dangers of gambling associated with video games. Its warning follows the publication of a Commission paper on virtual currencies, eSports and social gaming (http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/Virtual-currencies) The UKGC explains that there has been an increase in the popularity …

With just seven weeks to go in the Tipster Challenge 2016/17, sponsored by Betting Gods, we head to Cheltenham for day two at the Festival. Harry Lang, Marketing Director at Pinnacle, has been given a second bite at the cherry this week after last week’s abandonment at Fontwell. He will be up against sixth placed Stephen Harris of bettingexpert and …

Industry games and content provider Yggdrasil Gaming, who announced in January that it was entering the Italian market, has partnered with GVC Holdings’ Italian-facing gaming brands to integrate its video slots directly into the operator’s bwin.it and Gioco Digitale sites. Entering the Italian market with GVC will see Yggdrasil’s portfolio of HTML5 games being offered in the country for the first …

Updating Playtech Plc investors, company founder Teddy Sagi has filed an order to sell 13 million shares through his investment vehicle Brickington Trading limited to London hedge fund Boussard & Gavaudan. Sagi will sell the equivalent of 4.1% equity in Playtech Plc at a price of 872.5p per share, closing a £113 million funding round. Following completion of its sale, …

A year on from a £10 million hammering on the opening day at last year’s festival, the bookmakers ended day one at Cheltenham 2017 with a narrow lead. There was a short odds success for Altior (1/4) in the Racing Post Arkle and a small loss for bookies from 5/1 winner Buveur D’Air in the Stan James Champion Hurdle, but …

Nearly two years in development and having taken up significant corporate funding, Frankfurt Xetra-listed bookmaker mybet Holdings has announced the upcoming full launch of its in-house developed IT platform. Updating investors, mybet CEO Markus Peuler detailed that the platform would be ‘put into full operation on 21 March’, making it the biggest infrastructure release in mybet’s corporate history. Following a …

Gaming Innovation Group has announced the launch of its latest online casino property LarryCasino.com, based on the popular ‘Leisure Suit Larry’ video game series. LarryCasino.com will be launched through industry online marketing and player acquisition subsidiary iGaming Cloud. The brand character of Larry Laffer was a popular but hapless 1980s/90s video game character, who fronted the PC gaming adult entertainment …