Endorphina launches Football SuperStar in time for FIFA 2018 World Cup Russia

Leading flash-based slot games developer Endorphina is at the top of its game with its recently released football-themed online slot, Football SuperStar. The Prague-based B2B software provider has launched the game, which features colorful graphics and innovative design solutions, just in time for the 2018 FIFA World Cup scheduled to take place in Russia from June […]

Joe Cada Leads 10 Into WSOP $3,000 SHOOTOUT Finale

The 2009 WSOP Main Event champ, Joe Cada, is looking to add a third gold bracelet to his career portfolio as he is leading a pack of 10 players into the final day of Event #3: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em SHOOTOUT.

The player already has more than $10 million in WSOP earnings and has recorded 29 cashes within the series, which certainly means that he is quite comfortable playing WSOP events and makes him a feared opponent.

Day 2 of the SHOOTOUT tournament was played on Friday at the host venue, Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. It kicked off with 50 players still in contention for the first-place payout and the gold bracelet.

Fourteen-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth was among the final 50. The player was trying to smash another WSOP gold piece record, but without much success as he eventually busted in 21st place for $6,302 in prize money.

The Day 2 hopefuls played five-handed tables until there were just ten of them left. Hellmuth, in particular, found himself playing against some very tough opponents at his table, including Ihar Soika and Eli Elezra. It was eventually Soika who came out on top of that star-studded table.

The young poker pro faced quite some comments from Hellmuth and Elezra in relation to his aggressive style. However, Soika did not lose his composure for a second, and putting pressure at the right time, he busted both his celebrity opponents. Soika will enter the final day of action seventh in chips.

Other notables that progressed into Day 3 included Sam Phillips, WSOP veteran Joshua Turner, who is about to scoop cash number 59 from the series, and Anthony Reategui, who has a gold bracelet from a $1,500 SHOOTOUT event.

Former Main Event Champs in Contention

Aside from the overnight chip leader, there is one more former World Championship winner vying for the SHOOTOUT title. Joe McKeehen, who won the Main Event three years ago, was too among the Day 2 survivors.

The player will enter Day 3 as one of the short stacks, but he still has plenty of time to recover, build a solid stack and win the tournament for his third bracelet from the series.

Action is set to resume at the host venue at noon Las Vegas time with the ten finalists. They will play until there is just a single player left who will become the winner of the third gold bracelet of this year’s edition of the WSOP. A victory is also worth $226,218 of the $980,100 prize pool. Each of the ten finalists is guaranteed a minimum cash of $14,437. Aside from the final 10 contenders, all Day 2 participants also received a cash from the tournament.

The post Joe Cada Leads 10 Into WSOP $3,000 SHOOTOUT Finale appeared first on Casino News Daily.

DraftKings enters the legal NJ sports betting market; partners with Resorts Casino

Boston-based daily fantasy sports contest provider, DraftKings, has entered the sports betting industry, namely the New Jersey market, having reportedly partnered with the first casino hotel in Atlantic City, Resorts Casino Hotel, on Friday morning. The Associated Press (AP) reports that DraftKings is one of a handful of companies that have moved quickly to capitalize […]

Finnish National Betting Agency Veikkaus Announces Massive Lay-Offs

The Finnish national betting agency, Veikkaus Oy, eliminated a total of 129 jobs after co-determination negotiations were brought to an end at the beginning of the week.

Veikkaus is currently fully-owned by the country’s Government, which has allowed to impose a legal monopoly on the Finnish lotteries and sports betting operations. According to information released by the company itself, Veikkaus has about 2 million regular customers, while approximately 400,000 people use its services every week.

The company, which is currently operated by the Ministry of Education of Finland, was established in 1940 as a result of the joined efforts of the Finnish Workers’ Sports Federation and the Football Association of Finland. Following the decision to start offering the national lottery, Veikkaus gained increasing popularity among local citizens, with approximately 70% of the Finnish people taking part in these services.

For the time being, it is the Ministry of Education which allocates the proceeds generated from the state-owned company and distributes them to various art and science projects, as well as to amateur sports. Back in 2010, Veikkaus provided the Ministry with approximately half a billion Euros to be shared with other national organizations. Gambling regulation, however, is regulated by Finland’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Co-determination talks started at the beginning of April between representatives of the employees and the company management. At the beginning of the talks the company said that up to 140 employees were at risk of losing their jobs.

Finns Are the Biggest Gamblers in Europe, Survey Says

Despite the fact that Veikkaus holds the monopoly over sports betting and lotteries in the country and the gambling sector is regulated by local authorities, Finland has been among the biggest spenders in terms of gambling. According to a recent survey, local citizens rank fourth among the biggest gamblers on a global scale, with around €2 billion spent on an annual basis on various games of chance.

A 2015 report issued by the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finnish people were the ones who wagered the most in Europe, with approximately 80% of the country’s population gambling every year.

As mentioned above, the local gambling sector is directly controlled by the Government through a monopoly controlled by the national betting agency Veikkaus. Apart from the profit brought by the company to government ministries, Vekkaus also brings over €200 million in taxes to the Finnish Government budget.

Earlier in May, Veikkaus Oy has terminated a large number of customers’ accounts due to clarification of certain bank account policies. The exact number of accounts closed has not been disclosed by the state-owned agency, but according to media reports they amounted to approximately 30,000.

This spring, Veikkaus has contacted its customers in order to inform them for the bank account policies, with the players being reached by e-mail, letters and text messages. All players were asked to make sure that the bank account used was in line with the terms of use of the national agency.

The post Finnish National Betting Agency Veikkaus Announces Massive Lay-Offs appeared first on Casino News Daily.

Japanese prefecture joins push for casinos

The latest region possibly interested in vying for one of the three highly sought-after integrated casino resort licenses that could soon be made available for Japan is home to Tokyo’s Disneyland. Proponents of Chiba, a Japanese prefecture located about 40 km southeast of the center of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay, or about 30 minutes by car […]

DraftKings makes its first sports betting deal

US daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings, has announced the agreement of a licensing partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, a move which will eventually see the company offer an online sports betting product throughout the US state of New Jersey

Macau could allow a new casino

The new Asian casino would be located at The 13 Hotel on the Cotai-Coloane border.

The post Macau could allow a new casino appeared first on Focus Gaming News.