SKY BETTING EXPANDS IN YORKSHIRE
2015-01-26
The online gambling services of Sky Betting and Gaming look set to expand following reports in the Yorkshire Business Daily that the company is to create 90 new jobs at its Leeds head office.
Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners bought the business from Sky late last year (see previous InfoPowa reports).
Sky management told Business Daily that the company has rapidly expanded over the last 12 months, and the new positions have been created in a range of departments across the business, including technology, product development, marketing and customer service.
Managing director Richard Flint confirmed the expansion following the GBP 800 million CVC deal, and said that Sky will provide comprehensive development and training to the new employees to help them grow the skills needed for the continued operation of the online gambling business.
TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP IN POKER-STYLE ONLINE FANTASY LEAGUE 2014-02-19The UK fantasy sports and
NFL Picks social gaming provider PickLive has announced the launch of what it claims is a unique poker room- style fantasy Champions League game in partnership with the Telegraph Media Group.
The deal will allow the Telegraph to offer its current 200,000 fantasy players the opportunity to play for a four-figure cash prize using a poker room-based contest with a fusion of fantasy sports for the group stages of the Champions League starting this week.
David Galan, CEO of Picklive said: We have been working with the Telegraph for some time in the provision of the hugely popular daily fantasy sports games which typically last for one match on the Premier League. However given the competiveness and interest in the Champions League, many of the punters that play our games asked for a mini tournament on the next round of this competition.
Steve Stiles, interactive sports manager at the Telegraph Media Group added: This Champions League contest will offer 200,000 Telegraph Fantasy Football managers a compelling way to test their virtual selection and managerial skills in every match throughout the knock-out stages of the Champions League, culminating with a big-money Grand Final on Saturday, May 24.
HIGH ENERGY POKER PRODUCT FROM FRENCH OPERATOR2013-08-16French online poker operator Winamax launched its latest offering, dubbed Expresso, this week, offering punters the chance to win random prizes ranging from two to 1,000 times their buy-in on three-handed, hyper turbo sit-and-go poker games.
With a maximum jackpot of Euro 10,000 its an attractive offer and buy-ins range from Euro 1 to Euro 10.
The product features a random draw when a game starts, which determines the size of the prize pool and the winner taking home the entire amount.
Expresso is available to play on all mobile devices and the desktop software.
DEBATE CONTINUES ON NEW JERSEY TAX HARVEST FROM INTERNET GAMBLING2013-04-25The debate around how much tax New Jersey will reap from legalised online gambling in the state (see previous InfoPowa reports) continued this week with the publication New Jersey.com publishing comparative figures from a number of studies.
The Christie administration's projection - based on estimates by the traditionally conservative Wells Fargo analysts - is that online gambling will raise $180 million in state tax revenues in its first year, but that differs substantially from other professional studies, the publication observes.
New Jersey.com notes that industry research firm Gambling Data, estimated in a recent study that overall online gaming revenues in Year One would reach $261.9 million. At a 15 percent tax rate that would generate $39.3 million in money for the state.
And in late 2010, a study by Econsult Corp. commissioned by the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, estimated $210 million to $260 million in "short-run" revenues, working out to $31.5 million to $39 million in state tax revenues.
The Wells Fargo Securities report also suggested that initially revenues might not be quite as high as those anticipated later on, remarking: "...in the near term, we believe the New Jersey online market could generate between $650 million and $850 million," suggesting tax revenues of up to $127.5 million.
Entering the fray Monday, state Sen. Paul Sarlo commented: "I consider the $180 million number to be completely erroneous - it's not a number that has any credibility."
Treasury Department spokesman Bill Quinn acknowledged that there are "widely varying [revenue] estimates," adding that the fact that Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey are introducing the first legal online gambling sites might provide a "novelty factor" boost to each.
POKER PLAYER IN COURT CLASH OVER TOURNAMENT WINNINGS2012-12-31Back in 2010 poker pro Paul Carr placed second in a major Irish live poker tournament, taking home almost Euro 313,000, but this month he found himself in court fighting to reclaim Euro 36,000 of his prize, which he had left in the care of his friend Jason Ahern.
The money ended up in Irish police hands following an unsuccessful drug raid on premises occupied by Ahern's girl-friend, where it was seized as suspected fruits of criminal activity. Ahern immediately claimed the money was not his, and that he was safe-keeping it for Carr, who backed up the claim by saying that the money was part of his big win in 2010.
The case earlier this month in the Limerick Circuit Court is the result of a previous dispute through the lower District Court, where Carr opposed a government attempt to have the money forfeited to the state. The police had earlier been granted a court order to hold the money whilst its origins were investigated.
Carr has been playing in live poker tournaments since 2008 and has a career record that shows repeated small wins in a long list of tournaments, with the 2010 Irish Open being his most successful, and the source of his largest career payday.
In the latest development, the Limerick Leader newspaper reported that the prosecution asked Judge Carroll Moran for an adjournment to the New Year to allow it to call as a witness Paddy Power, the gambling company which organised the tournament where Carr made his big win.
Appearing for Carr, lawyer Michael Collins opposed the adjournment and questioned the need to have a witness from Paddy Power give evidence during the proceedings, saying that the winnings were legitimately made during a legal poker tournament, and that the issue has nothing to do with online gambling.
However, Judge Moran granted the state application for an adjournment, indicating he will fix a date to hear the full case in January 2013.