The first non-Russian online betting brand – Bwin enters Russia

The multinational sports betting and gaming group GVC Holdings PLC and DIGITAL BETTING LTD, supported by Rambler&Co, the Russian media group, are proud to announce that Bwin enters Russia with the launch of bwin.ru, the first non-Russian online betting brand officially licensed and operated in the country. As Bwin enters Russia, Bwin.ru will offer its clients an innovative product for ...

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NIGA Tradeshow and Convention projected to generate over $5 million

Held in Las Vegas from the first time from 17-20 April, the National Indian Gaming Association's annual show is on track to be the largest gathering to date.

NFL Ready to Commit $89 Million to Social Injustice Causes, Punts Veterans and Breast Cancer

The NFL is taking drastic measures to prevent further protests of alleged social injustices and police brutality against people of color by committing at least $89 million over the next seven years to programs working to combat such discriminations.

Ongoing kneeling during the singing of the national anthem has turned some fans away and kept the professional football league in the political headlines for all the wrong reasons, or right reasons depending on one’s view.

But this week’s Monday Night Football hit a season ratings low, and all three Thanksgiving games last week saw a big drop in viewership compared to 2016. The New York Giants and Washington Redskins game was the least-watched NFL turkey day telecast sine 2012.

In Las Vegas, that’s translating into reduced interest at sportsbooks, where handles have subsequently decreased. The NFL, old faithful for oddsmakers and casinos, was recently surpassed by the college game in three consecutive weeks, and it wasn’t even close.

Football is the top betting attraction at Nevada sportsbooks, accounting for about 37 percent of total wagers each year. But as NFL continues to lose fans, college football is taking in more bets.

“Their product isn’t very good these days,” William Hill Chief Oddsmaker Nick Bogdanovich said of the NFL recently.

Despite the drop in NFL handle, overall betting continues to increase at Silver State books. Total handle across all sports is expected to surpass the $5 billion mark in 2017, which would mark the industry’s eighth consecutive record high.

Saving Face

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has received much criticism for allowing the kneeling protests to continue. From owners to President Donald Trump, the football boss’ reputation has taken yet another hit, but he’s still poised to sign a contract extension that’s reportedly worth almost $50 million.

In what’s almost certainly an effort to take players’ protests of social injustices off the gridiron, ESPN says the NFL is ready to commit $89 million over seven years to projects dealing with criminal justice reform, law enforcement and community relations, and education.

Philadelphia Eagles player Malcolm Jenkins, a representative for the Players Coalition that worked on the social injustice deal, said he will end his on-field national anthem protest should they money come from the NFL. “If the league continues to come through or deliver on their word, then I see no need to go back to what I was doing,” Jenkins explained.

Primary Charity

The Players Coalition has requested that the vast majority of the charitable NFL donations goes to the Hopewell Fund. The nonprofit says on its website that it helps “donors, social entrepreneurs, and other change makers quickly launch new, innovate social change projects.

According to its IRS paperwork, the Hopewell Fund received just $6.5 million in contributions last year.

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Charles Johnson Leads WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee $1,675 Main Event Final 16

The behemoth field of the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee $1,675 Main Event was reduced to just 16 players on Sunday night after an action-packed Day 2 of play. The tournament attracted a total of 957 entries over two starting flights played on Friday and Saturday.

Action on Day 2 developed quite quickly and it took three levels of play for the money bubble to burst. The Main Event featured a guaranteed prize pool of $1 million, which was exceeded by nearly half a million thanks to the great interest in the tournament. The amount of $1,435,000 was generated in prize money and was split into 99 portions, min-cashes starting from $2,943. Milan Dragic was the first player to leave with a payout.

Brad Albrinck, the player who was crowned the victor of last December’s edition of the tournament, was eliminated on Day 2. Luckily, the player made it into the money. He busted in 21st place, good for $11,857.

Final Day Action

The 16 remaining players are set to return to the host casino, Harrah’s Cherokee, at noon local time. They will be seated at two tables initially, and will have to play down to a final table and then to a winner. Each of the hopefuls is guaranteed a minimum cash of $14,226. And each of the top three finishers will leave with a minimum six-figure payout of $124,515. The winner will receive the amount of $272,744 as well as a WSOP Circuit gold ring.

The 16 survivors will be led by Charles Johnson, who bagged and tagged a total of 2.38 million in chips on Sunday night. This would be the Georgia-based player’s fourth cash from the WSOP Circuit. He has not won a gold ring from the series before, but has now secured himself with an excellent position to try to win the Harrah’s Cherokee gold piece and title.

Johnson catapulted himself into the leading position late on Day 2. The player collected a massive pot by eliminating Robert Hankins towards the end of play. Hankins, an eight-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner, ran into Johnson’s set with pocket queens to leave the tournament in 18th place, good for $14,226.

Ryan Jones, who is known to be a Harrah’s Cherokee regular, finished second in chips last night with 1.935 million. The player is vying for his second Harrah’s Cherokee title after he won one back in 2015. He bested a field of 786 entries back then to eventually collect his first-ever gold ring and the amount of $235,804. Jones has won one more Circuit gold piece over the course of his poker career.

In February 2017, he emerged the victor in the WSOP Circuit Rio Las Vegas $1,675 Main Event for his second piece of WSOP Circuit jewelry and the amount of $269,327. Jones now has nearly $600,000 in winnings from Circuit tournaments.

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Brad Albrinck Eyes Back-to-Back Title in WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event

Brad Albrinck is looking to lock a back-to-back title in the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event. The player topped the tournament’s field this time last year and secured himself with a good starting position on Day 2 of this year’s edition of the event.

The player entered the event on its second of two starting flights. Day 1B was played on Saturday at the host venue Harrah’s Cherokee in Cherokee, North Carolina. After 15 levels of play, Albrinck finished third in chips with a total of 316,500. Here it is important to note that the player is vying not only for a back-to-back title, but also for his third WSOP Circuit gold ring.

Aside from last year’s triumph in the Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event, when the player collected $275,877 in addition to the gold piece, he also captured a piece of WSOP Circuit jewelry in September 2013. Back then, the player bested the field of another Main Event, the $1,675 buy-in tournament at Horseshoe Cincinnati in his hometown. He also scooped the amount of $221,994 for his victory.

Currently, Albrinck has nearly $748,827 in live tournament earnings from the WSOP Circuit. The player has cashed in 20 events within the series over the course of his poker career. It is yet to be seen whether he will be able to score a back-to-back victory, but one thing is for sure – this will not be an easy task as the player will certainly face fierce competition.

Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event Sees Great Interest

The Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event featured a guaranteed prize pool of $1 million, which was more than exceeded due to great interest among players. The tournament attracted a total of 957 entries who generated a prize pool of $1,435,500. The top 99 finishers will receive a share of the money. The winner will be awarded the amount of $272,744 and the coveted gold ring, of course.

Day 1B of the event was played on Saturday and saw 579 people enter it before registration was closed. Participants played 15 levels throughout the day and by the time the final one was completed, Philipp Salewski had accumulated the largest chip stack. The player bagged 336,000 in chips and was followed by Matthew Higgins with 326,000 and Albrinck.

Day 1A chip leader Nathan Gentry will enter Day 2 action as the overall chip leader. The player will start the third day of the tournament with a total of 399,500 in chips.

Notables who will return for more action at Harrah’s Cherokee include Robert Hankins, who is vying for a ninth WSOP Circuit gold ring, Mark ‘Pegasus’ Smith, and Mike Wang, among others. Other notables, with some of them being ten-time gold ring winner Maurice Hawkins, seven-time gold ring winner Cory Waaland, and three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner David Bach, were less lucky and were eliminated during the Main Event’s earlier stages.

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Paddy Power Ad Banned for Being “Socially Irresponsible”

It’s a good bet that British online wagering site Paddy Power will produce a controversial advertisement and the company did not disappoint recently.

An ad aired on television in August was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for being “socially irresponsible.” The violation of the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising ruling was posted on the regulatory body’s website on Wednesday.

In the 30-second spot a casino security guard is shown singing made up lyrics to the song “Papa Loves Mambo” while eating a sandwich. One of the lines says, “Yeah I’ll have a spin on it, when I’m on break, the daily jackpot’s looking great now.” He then is shown using the company’s slot games on his phone.

The ASA received two complaints from viewers that said this promoted gambling at work. Paddy Power officials disagreed pointing out that the guard was on a break and only spun once. They also contend that the code does not apply to gambling in a casino and should be exempt.

The regulators rejected that argument and ordered them to stop showing the commercial. The added in their ruling that it violated the standards.

“Because the ad featured gambling in a working environment, which was prohibited under the BCAP Code, we considered the ad portrayed gambling behavior that was socially irresponsible,” the ruling read.

Mayweather Ad Backfires

This is the third action against the company in two years. In July 2016 the ASA received 12 complaints about what they thought were claims about bets on a horse racing festival. They agreed it was misleading and ordered the company not to run the ad in its current form.

Paddy Power received a much stronger rebuke in August when it had a print ad about the upcoming Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight at TMobile Arena in Las Vegas that month.

The ad had the headline “ALWAYS BET ON BLACK” alongside an image of the African American boxer.

Nine people filed formal objections that said it was derogatory and racially insensitive. The online bookmaker said it was a pun and a reference to a roulette saying. “It was not used in a derogatory, distasteful or offensive manner and the overall tone of the ad was light-hearted and humorous,” an official explained. The ASA again decided against the operator.

History of Controversial Commercials

The irreverent online gaming website has a history of pushing the envelope of good taste. They have had several questionable advertisements throughout the years.

One was of two elderly women in a cross walk with circles near them. One says 2-1 and the other says 4-1. There is oncoming traffic and the caption says, “Let’s make things more interesting.”

Another showed transvestites at a horseracing track for Ladies Day and suggested attendees try and “spot the stallions from the mares.”

In March the site was looking for a person to become Head of Trump Betting, lampooning the president with odds on everything from how long his presidency would last and if he would grow a Hitler mustache.

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WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Main Event set to take place next week

Starting on December 5th, the Bellagio Resort & Casino of Las Vegas will play host to the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Main Event. The casino began hosting the World Poker Tour in late November, offering players several exciting poker tournaments to enjoy. The Main Event will begin on December 5th, finishing up on the 10th once the winner is crowned. The Main Event has a buy-in of $10,400, with players provided 30,000 in starting chip stacks. Blinds will increase every 90 minutes until the final table begins. Players will be able to renter the event through Level 9. Late registration will also be provided. The best of the best in the poker world have won the WPT Five Diamond Poker Classic in the past including Daniel Negreanu, David Rheem, Antonio Esfandiari and more. The final table of the tournament will be filmed for TV, with players hitting the felt in the final round on December 10th. Players who want to try and qualify for a seat to the Main Event can do so by taking part in $1,100 satellites at the Bellagio. The special satellites will run from the 3rd to the 6th. On top of the Main Event, there will also be high roller events taking place as part of the WPT next weekend. Event #16 will begin on Friday December 8th, with a $25,000 High Roller tournament starting at 2pm. On Saturday, December 9th, a second $25,000 High Roller tournament will begin at 2pm with Event #17.