North America

Toronto listed Intertain Group has confirmed the completion of its £425 million acquisition of UK Gamesys operations. Intertain will inherit all Gamesys brands including leading online bingo and games operator Jackpotjoy and subsidiary brands Virgin Games, Botemania (Spain) and Starspins. In February Intertain had moved on its acquisition intentions for Gamesys, by putting forward a $650 million deal for all …

The NBA will provide its perspective on the evolving US sports betting sector at GiGse later this month in San Francisco, California. Dan Spillane, the NBA’s Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, will feature in a session entitled ‘understanding the evolving stance of sports leagues on legalization of sportsbetting’. The session will take place on Tuesday, April 21 from 10.00-10.45. GiGse will …

Having confirmed a $250 million investment venture by Walt Disney Co, daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings has further announced that it has extended and expanded its partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB). The expansion of services and promotion sees DraftKings host co-branded exclusive daily fantasy games. MLB will further boost its association with the operator by offering players exclusive prizes …

GTECH SpA has today completed its $6.4 billion acquisition of Nevada based gambling technology provider International Game Technology (IGT) , finalising its nine month acquisition process. The acquisition hurdles will see GTECH and IGT operate under the corporation name International Game Technology. The merged company will begin trading its new share on the New York Stock Exchange later today. Last …

After the Easter holiday break, team SBC’s Social Gaming editor Rasmus Sojmark caught up with iGaming industry expert Melissa Blau to discuss new venture FastFantasy which aims to transform the burgeoning US daily fantasy sports market by simplifying its play and game mechanisms. Through iGaming Capital Blau has become one of igaming’s best renowned consultants, helping numerous new ventures enter …

Nevada gambling enterprises have welcomed the hearing of Senate Bill 443 which aims to extend sports betting services beyond state borders, by allowing licensed gambling enterprises to network their services through partner entities. Bill 443 was heard last Tuesday by a Senate Committee, its framework would authorise the formation of outer state business entities where customers would be allowed to …

The Easter holiday break has provided further bad news for embattled New York listed Chinese sports lottery operator 500.com, as Chinese authorities made a new announcement regarding the sale of online lottery services/products. A joint public communication led by China’s Ministry of Finance and eight other governmental bodies stated that all lottery sales serviced through online verticals or through third …

International media and entertainment provider Walt Disney & Co (Disney) has announced that it will invest $250 million in daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings. The investment venture will see Disney own approximately a 27% stake in DraftKings. The Disney investment represents a huge coup for DraftKings, who are expected to partner with Disney owned sports media provider ESPN, the US’ …

GTECH SpA governance has announced that the company has cleared all preconditions for its merger with International Game Technology (IGT). GTECH will now be able to complete its merger with IGT operations, following its $6.4 billion acquisition which was first announced in July 2014. The merger of the two gambling technology companies is set to become effective on Tuesday 7 …

During yesterday’s 2014 earnings call Amaya Gaming CEO David Baazov indicated that the company was exploring entry into the burgeoning US fantasy sports market. Baazov indicated that Amaya views a great cross over fit between Poker and daily fantasy sports consumers. Baazov stated that the company would look to launch fantasy sports operations by the second half of 2015, targeting …