North America

Updating the market, Toronto TSX listed operator Amaya Inc has informed that it has been granted approval by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) for the renewal of state igaming services for its PokerStars and Full Tilt brands. Amaya renews its New Jersey licensing, which was first granted on 30 September 2015, for the state provisions of PokerStars …

As part of a deal with the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) daily fantasy sports operators DraftKings and Fanduel are dropping college sports from their offerings across all states, effective from the end of this week. This dual decision follows months of talks between the companies and the NCAA. NCAA president Mark Emmert said this in a statement issued on …

Mobile touchscreen esports received a huge boost this week with the revelation that live streaming service Twitch has signed a deal with Vainglory’s developer Super Evil Megacorp. The terms of the partnership will see the Vainglory Championships broadcast and promoted via Twitch for at least the next three years. It’ll also see a multi-million dollar investment from both companies, and …

Gaming developer FlowPlay has announced the launch of All Star Daily Fantasy, a virtual currency-based daily fantasy sports (DFS) game. The free play element ensures that it’s fully legal across states in the US, which is a major plus right now amidst the ongoing legal battles between real money DFS operators and state attorneys. The game is now live in FlowPlay’s flagship …

Toronto TSX listed online gambling operator Amaya Inc has confirmed that CEO & Chairman David Baazov is “taking an indefinite paid leave of absence from the company, effective yesterday”. Issuing a corporate statement Amaya governance detailed that Baazov had opted to take voluntary leave from leadership with a view to prepare for his management takeover of Amaya assets. Furthermore, Baazov …

Esports organisation Major League Gaming (MLG) has outgrown its old venues and will be moving onwards and upwards with its first esports event in a professional sports arena this week. Ordinarily the home of NHL side Columbus Blue Jackets, the Nationwide Arena will this week play host to thousands of screaming Counter-Strike fans baying for virtual blood instead of the usual …

The week leading up to the Good Friday break has not been kind to Toronto TSX listed Amaya Inc, who saw its share price drop 20%, closing on Thursday 24 March at CAD $15.4. Following last week’s allegations of five counts of insider trading made against CEO David Baazov by the Quebec Securities Regulatory Authority (AMF), multiple financial analysts have downgraded …

Ex-Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is backing a body hoping to purchase embattled identity and user verification provider Jumio, pledging a reported $3.7 million towards financing its ongoing operations. Jumio, which has igaming/betting clients including Betfair and Mr Green, had entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings allowing for US high courts to manage its assets. Issuing its Chapter 11 filing, Jumio management claimed …

Gaming and esports company Unikrn has today announced that over 30 million Unikoins, the virtual tokens on its platform, have been used to wager on esports matches and tournaments worldwide. Never one to miss out on a reason to celebrate, Unikrn is introducing Connekt, a fun, new way for users to earn more of these Unikoins by playing three of today’s most popular titles; League …

Matchbook has partnered with the charity Raising for Effective Giving (REG) and as a part of the new partnership a market has been opened on the Dan Bilzerian cycling challenge. The question is will the poker professional be able to cycle from LA to Las Vegas (around 278 miles) in under 48 hours? Whether he does or doesn’t Matchbook will donate …