Monthly Archives: May 2020

What Will the Future of Live Casinos in the USA Look Like After COVID-19? – Poker News – CardPlayer.com

Posted: May 14, 2020 at 5:13 pm

The concept of live casinos has been around for quite a while, and many casino goers immediately liked the idea of having a land-based casino experience on their device. Although live dealer games were popular before the coronavirus pandemic, their popularity absolutely skyrocketed with many casino lovers being confined to their homes.

However, the land-based casinos are thinking about reopening their doors with certain measures in force in order to comply with social distancing regulations. Lets see what these measures are and how they would affect live casinos in general.

Casinos in Nevada Will Reopen, but Must Follow Guidelines

According to CasinoUSA.com which offers list of live dealer online casinos for players from USA such as live Blackjack and live dealer roulette casinos that governor of Nevada Steve Sisolak ordered all casinos and other venues to close their doors to visitors in mid-March. The final deadline for reopening was extended, causing land-based casinos in the state to lose millions of dollars in revenue.

Its no wonder why venues are now looking forward to reopening for visitors once again. They would not be able to operate, however, unless they follow the guideline proposed by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Essentially, all casinos that want to work will have to follow several rules. For example, games such as blackjack, baccarat, roulette, craps, and poker will only allow a limited number of players at the same table.

Moreover, workers will have to disinfect all critical surfaces regularly. These are the surfaces that many people come in contact with when playing casino games. On top of that, only a limited number of guests would be allowed, and no big groups of people should be let into casinos at once.

Basically, the rules come down to this clean as often as possible and make sure that social distancing takes place.

Nightclubs and restaurants will not work until further notice.

With all this in mind, can casinos in Nevada (or anywhere else in the world where they open their doors to visitors) expect casino goers to come flocking in?

People Will Still Fear Going to Casinos

The philosophy of casino operators who operate land-based venues is rather simple its better to have at least some revenue than to have none. Although they probably expect that visitors would not take long to decide to go to their favorite casino, the reality seems a little bit different.

The truth is that the lockdown has taken a toll on people, and fear isnt going to go away for some time. This could actually affect land-based casinos for months, if not years to come.

Once casinos reopen, they would have to reduce the number of patrons who can be at the casino at the same time. However, even when the maximum number is allowed, casinos would have trouble reaching the numbers that they had before the coronavirus.

People would gradually have more courage to go out and visit casinos, so the number of visitors will increase in time. Yet, theres no exact estimate of how long that period would be before it returns to the pre-corona state.

Live Casinos Will Become More Popular

Live casinos had been popular even before the coronavirus pandemic took place. Ever since the concept was invented, the popularity has been increasing. Therefore, its only natural to assume that people would continue to be more interested in this type of entertainment than before, regardless of the pandemic.

Sure, the popularity increase might not be as high as the past couple of months, but theres definitely going to be one in the future. The real reason live casinos are so popular is not actually related to coronavirus in any way.

We simply have to accept the idea that a concept such as a live casino is something that really has the power to disrupt the industry as we know it.

Online casinos offered us virtual games that are replicas of games that we found in land-based casinos. How live casinos offer much more than that they offer the land-based experience on the web, just a couple of clicks away.

In other words, instead of dressing up and traveling to the nearest land-based casino to play a couple of hands of blackjack, you can have exactly the same thing on your PC or mobile.Its the Social Factor That CountsThe real question here is why are live casinos getting popular in the first place? The real answer is not in technology or games. In fact, we have to deal with human psychology here.

Namely, when we play games such as blackjack or roulette, we often dont play them for the sake of playing. As a matter of fact, we dont even play them for the sake of winning money. Instead, we play them for the sake of socializing.

Hanging out with other people plays a huge part in casino games. What many casinos on the web didnt have in the past was the human touch. This caused many players to quickly get bored with some table and card games where their only opponent was the algorithm.

At one point, someone understood this flaw and came up with the concept of a live casino.

They decided to live stream live dealers directly from a casino or from a special studio and add the social part to online casino games. Nowadays, live dealer games are part of almost every casino on the web, and they offer a whole new level of entertainment, especially because they offer a perfect mixture of land-based and online casinos.

Final Thoughts: Are Land-Based Casinos a Thing of the Past?

Its difficult to make any kind of prediction regarding online and land-based casino industries. Big casino cities such as Las Vegas and Macau are going to be gambling centers for many years to come, despite experiencing some obstacles on the way.

Its also true that the popularity of online casinos, especially live casino sections, could directly influence the number of people who visit land-based casinos. Yet, it is always uncertain to predict whether such a thing would happen at some point.

Read more here:

What Will the Future of Live Casinos in the USA Look Like After COVID-19? - Poker News - CardPlayer.com

Posted in Online Casino | Comments Off on What Will the Future of Live Casinos in the USA Look Like After COVID-19? – Poker News – CardPlayer.com

Sweden urged to rethink restrictions as searches for ‘unlicensed casino’ surges 700% – European Gaming Industry News

Posted: at 5:13 pm

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Speaking at PM:GO: In Touch with the Future, Parimatch CEO Sergey Portnov opened the floor to questions on topics ranging from why Parimatch and Conor McGregor are a great match, how to survive in a crisis, to predictions for the betting industry and sport in the wake of COVID-19. In typical fashion, Sergey spoke candidly to give the audience insights into some of the most pressing industry issues as well as his plans for Parimatch

The esports boom

Parimatch is one of the few betting companies to have already shifted its focus to esports and we are now looking to consolidate our position in the sector. Parimatch has a dedicated team with influential leaders responsible for our development strategy for esports. We will continue to seek out sponsorship deals in the esports sector and innovate our esports offering. The reality is that esports is here to stay and this is not just a temporary attempt to participate and jump on the hype bandwagon. Esports is in our DNA, it is our top priority.

With sports fixtures cancelled across the world, many sports fans have turned to esports, and the popularity of esports will continue perhaps even with the return of sports matches. Looking to the near future, it might be that traditional sports matches are held without crowds of people. For the betting industry, it actually doesnt matter. We just need the match to take place and to be broadcast. Looking further ahead, there will likely be plans drawn up to avoid having to stop all sport like this again, and there will be conditions agreed for how the sport industry can continue to operate if faced with another situation like the one were in now.

At Parimatch, we are also considering creating our own sports, to increase the opportunities for betting and entertainment for our players. For example, we could broadcast penalties, involving just a player and a goalkeeper. During normal times, you dont have these kinds of ideas which is why a crisis can be an opportunity to innovate.

Emerging from a crisis stronger and faster

With sports fixtures cancelled around the world, betting companies are seeing the majority of their players fall away. The challenge is how to engage wider audiences with simulated sports and this is a challenge shared by all bookmakers who have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Some operators will withstand this crisis better than others, because they have adapted their business model, by pivoting to online casinos or adding alternative sports such as FIFA and table tennis.

Although Parimatch has been affected, we are poised to be one of the structural winners to emerge from the crisis, as we are adapting and finding new solutions so that we remain one step ahead. In every sector, this is great time to optimize your business, identify weak spots in the company and fulfil goals that have been put off.

For me personally, I feel comfortable during a crisis, maybe because I love fighting and it has given me the fighting spirit that you need to prosper during difficult conditions. My advice to those who struggle is to always stay calm to avoid being guided by emotions and making rash decisions under pressure. A person who can distinguish between truth and artificial pressure will be right in their decisions.

Parimatch & The Notorious: A meeting of minds

Our contract with UFC was a prerequisite for Conor as our brand ambassador and Conor is picky, he doesnt just collaborate with any brand for money. It was our connection to UFC that initially attracted him. But why did Parimatch choose Conor? Firstly, because there a few examples of celebrities who have really changed their industry. Conor is one of those few people he has made the UFC popular globally, bringing MMA into the mainstream. In fact, Conor is the face of MMA, and has attracted millions of fans to UFC not just because of his fighting skills, but for what he does

outside the ring. He can gather a crowd of people at a click of a finger you could say he is a great magician! That kind of power and energy is what we wanted for our brand.

In the ring: Beating the competition

At Parimatch, we of course keep an eye on our competitors, but we mostly compete with ourselves not on a personal level, but on a company wide scale. We are focused on meeting our own goals, and not trying to copy competitor products, no matter how great they are. We know our weaknesses as a business and we know how to fight them.

For Parimatch, the main priority is solidifying our position as a technology company. Already 99.9% of our business operates online and 70% of it is mobile based. However, we want to become a leading technology business, and not just within the betting sector. We want to be a role model for related industries. We know this may take a few years, but we are confident that we will do it and will become one of the very few betting companies to have made a major technology breakthrough.

Related

The rest is here:

Sweden urged to rethink restrictions as searches for 'unlicensed casino' surges 700% - European Gaming Industry News

Posted in Online Casino | Comments Off on Sweden urged to rethink restrictions as searches for ‘unlicensed casino’ surges 700% – European Gaming Industry News

Which is the Best Online Casino Game for You? – DailyGame

Posted: at 5:13 pm

When we look at the whole gaming culture, there are a couple of good reasons why online casinos are so popular amongst the masses. Firstly, unlike some of the more tedious, lengthy, and often complicated video games, online casinos appeal to every type of player, beginner or professional. Then, there is the obvious charm of making money from casino games, something that you cannot do with video games unless you participate in tournaments.

While playing on online casinos is straightforward, one needs to be careful about joining the right one. An excellent tactic to make sure you choose the very best is by reading reviews. For example, the review of Slots lv Casino will inform you that it has been in the market for seven years, offers excellent bonuses, has a fantastic rewards program, and works brilliantly on mobile phones. This makes it a safe and profitable option to start your online casino journey. Now, once you have the website locked down, it is time to look at all the different games that are typically available through online casinos.

Slots are the easiest of casino games, and perfect for beginners. Nowadays, there are a variety of online slots in play, from the classics 5-reels to video and progressive slots. A special mention goes out to progressive slots as the jackpots in these games are genuinely life-changing. The best part about slots is that they require hardly any knowledge, are entertaining, especially the themed ones, and can be enjoyed when you have little time on your hands.

One of the most popular card games, poker requires some talent and is meant more for amateurs or professionals. Most online casinos offer their patrons the option of rooms that range in playing level and budget. Moreover, if you want to hone your skills, without competing with others, there is the possibility to play one-on-one live poker with a dealer.

When we look at the entire gambling industry, the one negative that some people say about online casinos is that they are not social enough. Still, in the battle between online and land-based casinos, the former has risen exponentially over the last decade, by merely making itself more and more social in nature. Take bingo, a popular game that one can now play online while interacting with other players through chats. Its the perfect casino option for those who like to mingle while making money.

Lotteries are for everyone, irrespective of who you are or how much you know about online casinos. Digital scratch cards and classic lotteries are common across most leading gambling websites. They are a fast and comfortable way to make money while you are still in your bed in the morning or even during your lunch break at work.

Looking at the growing interest in sports across the globe, many online casinos have now started offering sporting odds to their customers. These are usually for major competitions like the Premier League, Wimbledon, the Dubai Cup, or NBA finals. Sports betting is quite simply a hoot and adds an element of thrill into gambling, especially if you are a fan of any particular sport. However, it is always recommended that you bet on sports only after analysing the teams or players. This way, your wager is well-thought and has a higher chance of being profitable, in the end.

See the rest here:

Which is the Best Online Casino Game for You? - DailyGame

Posted in Online Casino | Comments Off on Which is the Best Online Casino Game for You? – DailyGame

Global Online Casino and Game Software Market is anticipated to grow at a strong CAGR by 2025 – Germany English News

Posted: at 5:13 pm

The latest Online Casino and Game Software market research added by Market Study Report, LLC, delivers a concise outline regarding the potential factors likely to drive the revenue growth of this industry. The report delivers valuable insights on market revenue, SWOT Analysis, market share, profit estimation and regional landscape of this business vertical. Moreover, the report focuses on significant growth factors and obstacles accepted by market leaders in the Online Casino and Game Software market.

.

Request a sample Report of Online Casino and Game Software Market at:https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/2601251?utm_source=germanyenglishnews.com&utm_medium=AN

The latest research report on Online Casino and Game Software market is a compilation of details pertaining to the segmentation of this business that is expected to accumulate substantial incomes and register significant annual growth rate over the foreseeable duration. The report precisely evaluates the Online Casino and Game Software market and in doing so, delivers valuable insights with regards to industry size, revenue estimates, sales capacity, and more. Additionally, the report also assesses the segments as well as the market drivers influencing the commercialization portfolio of this vertical.

Additional key understandings mentioned in the report include:

Ask for Discount on Online Casino and Game Software Market Report at:https://www.marketstudyreport.com/check-for-discount/2601251?utm_source=germanyenglishnews.com&utm_medium=AN

The Online Casino and Game Software market in terms of topographical development:

The Online Casino and Game Software market research report predicts quite some revenues over the foretold timeline and comprises additional data regarding market dynamics such as factors affecting industry outlook, challenges and opportunities present in this vertical.

For More Details On this Report: https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/global-online-casino-and-game-software-market-2020-by-company-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2025

Some of the Major Highlights of TOC covers:

Executive Summary

Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis

Development and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Online Casino and Game Software

Key Figures of Major Manufacturers

Related Reports:

1. Global Managed Pressure Drilling Services Market 2020 by Company, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2025This report includes the assessment of Managed Pressure Drilling Services market size for value and volume. Both top-down and bottom-up approaches have been used to estimate and validate the Managed Pressure Drilling Services market, to estimate the size of various other dependent submarkets in the overall market.Read More: https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/global-managed-pressure-drilling-services-market-2020-by-company-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2025

2. Global Managed Network Services Market 2020 by Company, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2025Managed Network Services Market Report covers a valuable source of perceptive information for business strategists. Managed Network Services Industry provides the overview with growth analysis and historical & futuristic cost, revenue, demand and supply data (as applicable). The research analysts provide an elegant description of the value chain and its distributor analysis.Read More: https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/global-managed-network-services-market-2020-by-company-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2025

Related Report : https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/coal-to-liquid-fuel-market-size-2020-to-2025-status-and-trend-by-companies-regional-outlook-2020-05-05

Contact Us:Corporate Sales,Market Study Report LLCPhone: 1-302-273-0910Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150 Email: [emailprotected]

Continued here:

Global Online Casino and Game Software Market is anticipated to grow at a strong CAGR by 2025 - Germany English News

Posted in Online Casino | Comments Off on Global Online Casino and Game Software Market is anticipated to grow at a strong CAGR by 2025 – Germany English News

Stian Hornsletten, EveryMatrix: Closing the gap from sports to casino – SBC News

Posted: at 5:13 pm

Multi-vertical operators have been keen to narrow the gap between sportsbook and casino content, boosting the cross-sell opportunity in the absence of live sports.

We asked Stian Hornsletten (pictured above), CCO for igaming software provider EveryMatrix, about appealing to sports punters with casino-integrated content.

He discussed where virtual sports fit in, how his companys game development unit has added a special version of casino games for sports bettors, and why esports will hold its audience despite benefiting, relative to other verticals, from lockdown measures.

SBC: How is EveryMatrix narrowing the gap between sportsbook and casino to deliver the best entertainment set for its clients?

SH: Our clients are very eager to explore new content. Operators are actively looking for more content, but they need to be creative in advancing alternative forms of entertainment to their players. Virtual sports is not a betting vertical meant to replace real sports but rather a complementary offering that, if used creatively, has the potential to bring in more revenue.

Weve seen massive three-digits growth week-over-week in our reporting, so there is solid potential for virtual sports in the long run. Some key advantages of virtuals include eliminating long waiting times associated with real-life sports events, quick access to a wide variety of content, and having an innate attractiveness for computer games enthusiasts.

Virtuals sports are a gaming category with its own complex environment, and we are providing operators with quite a lot of content choices. To date, we made available content from Global Bet, Kiron, NSoft, Golden Race, Leap Gaming, 12 Gaming, Betradar, and we are already looking to integrate another five to six additional providers.

SBC: For a sports betting punter, the volume of new games integrated through the casino isnt really of interest, it has to be something that really appeals to them. How are you cross-selling to this audience by delivering products more familiar to them?

SH: One of the big advantages of CasinoEngines is that we have more than 130 integrations. We are offering content from over 160 different game providers which have a big selection of different types of games, including slots but also many other types. CasinoEngine aggregates around 80% of all content in the market. And as mentioned, we also have a big selection of virtual sports across seven providers with another five to six in the pipeline.

We also have our esports products integrated, which enjoyed a lot of attention from both our development and commercial teams in these past weeks. OddsMatrixs esports services have really picked up and are now a rising star of the company. We started to focus on esports in early March, and weve signed 10 contracts for esports since then.

Our offering for esports events has grown a lot, especially for NBA2K and FIFA, which cumulate for 85% of the betting volumes. There is also a big appeal for traditional esports such as CS:GO. It depends on the players and the larger esports market, but all seems to be working quite well. More in-depth information can be found in The State of Esports Betting 2020 Report.

Were also cross-selling more traditional casino games such as roulette, live games and poker. I think there needs to be a combination. With CasinoEngine, operators get access to all of this through one integration. Poker, table games, virtuals, and everything in between.

SBC: You mentioned above that you consider virtual sports in the gaming category. Is this for integration purposes or how you group the content? And what else are you doing in-house to increase the cross-sell to sports from the CasinoEngine aggregator?

SH: CasinoEngine is not only a casino aggregator, we call it the iGaming integration platform. Thats what it is an integration layer with a unified API into the operators PAMs, gaming platforms and various wallets. With these integrations on the gaming side, everything goes through CasinoEngine.

We also have bingo and poker products, so its a light integration layer which gives access to everything. We launch between three and four new vendors, and handle around 600-700 vendor configurations across our clients each month. There have been a record number of configurations and changes as well a lot of new games released in the last weeks.

As cross-selling between casino and sports becomes more important, Id like to mention Slider Games, a new product released by our game development unit, Spearhead Studios.

It provides a special version of various casino games, which sports bettors can play while waiting for a new match to start without leaving the sportsbook, with only a rapid swipe motion on the screen, like on Bwin, for example. A small button added in the events screen gives permanent and instant access to casino content, such as roulette, blackjack or slots targeted to a specific local audience.

This is something that works very well; we have seen up to 20% uplift in revenues from sports players. It offers quick access to entertainment while they are waiting for the next event to start or the half time break to end. It was specifically tailored for the sportsbook market.

SBC: You mentioned the quick rise of esports. In an interview with your CEO Ebbe Groes, he said that you still want to present this as something different rather than mixing it in with sports. How do you see the way in which esports can be taken more mainstream?

SH: Our research says that showing esports separately from traditional sports works the best. This doesnt mean you cannot mix them up as there are players who do wager across verticals. Were doing both, but esports have an entire universe around them and tend to be taken very seriously by players and punters.

You could say its a more complete and more complex product. I also think that it differs a bit, as esports itself is a big market with different types of players playing games such as NBA2K or FIFA, while some players prefer classics like CS:GO or DOTA.

SBC: Everyone is, inevitably, now talking about presenting the best combination of esports, virtuals and casino games in the absence of live sports. Is this something that was always in the pipeline for EveryMatrix this year? Or like a lot of people, has the current situation brought about a change in your approach?

SH: I think the current situation has sparked a lot of innovation. When I talk to tier-1 operators, they have all got things lined up, and most know what they need to do by the end of this week or the next one, in order to close the revenue gap.

These operators must integrate alternatives since there are no sports events to bet on. I think that one of the biggest winners are esports, which already benefited a lot from whats happened in the past two months. Esports is an enduring solution and will remain of interest for a long time, especially from the numbers that we are seeing.

SBC: From a supply point of view, building in an esports offering and adding more virtuals could bring about an initial financial hit, but over time do you think operators are only going to be looking at those working across all verticals?

SH: I think that sportsbooks will have to rethink their offering. When it comes to esports, I noticed that some operators are not used to getting a lot of data sources quickly. So they are struggling to suddenly become very good at esports. At least thats the case with many of the new operators were speaking to.

For esports, we use 10-15 data sources to ensure reliability and to offer a massive number of events, over 50,000 monthly events as of April 2020, but also streaming, which is very important when it comes to esports. Sportsbook operators can turn to OddsMatrix rapid integration tab as an agile solution for adopting esports.

SBC: Just finally, if you had to guess what might happen after all lockdown measures are lifted and the world goes back to some form of normality. Will we see this blurring of the betting verticals become a permanent thing, or do you expect a return to more distinct audiences?

SH: Keeping an eye on the future, it makes sense to integrate short-term actions into a strategic business plan that can boost post-crisis performance. I think people will ultimately expand their areas of interest, even if they will go back to betting on what they used to for some extent.

This sports shutdown showed everyone that there can be a huge uplift in esports and also in online gambling vertical overall. Growth from the online casino is not only because of the lack of sports, but also due to land-based being closed and players moving online.

These extraordinary times have driven traditional players towards new wagering options, simultaneously drawing in a new audience. For those operators able to retain large shares of both, actions today will quickly turn into an enduring investment and significant revenues.

See the rest here:

Stian Hornsletten, EveryMatrix: Closing the gap from sports to casino - SBC News

Posted in Online Casino | Comments Off on Stian Hornsletten, EveryMatrix: Closing the gap from sports to casino – SBC News

Victoria Addresses Online Gambling and Bank Options – Casino Aus

Posted: at 5:13 pm

Of all Australian territories, Victoria has been the one with the most actively communicative responsible gambling organization during the coronavirus pandemic. The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation has been issuing regular notices.

The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF) warned about online gambling multiple times throughout the Covid-19 shutdowns. This was likely a response to surveys and other research that found people using online casinos and online poker sites quite a bit more than normal. Confined to their homes and without any venues to visit, they turned online for some entertainment.

The VRGF said online gambling can be the result of boredom, lack of entertainment, stress, or anxiety. Advisor Tony Clarkson said the move toward online gambling for the first time or in greater frequency can push people toward gambling, and they do so through various apps and websites.

Clarkson said, The bottom line is that gambling doesnt always relieve stress, but it can generate additional stress due to financial losses and cause a persons wellbeing to suffer.

The most recent message from the VRGF this week focused on managing online gambling. This seems to be a more relevant message, since prohibition rarely works and scolding adults like they are children is usually not received well.

The VRGF urges people to take control of their online betting and gambling, which is something supported by all Aussie online casino sites and betting operators.

One of the ways to stay in control is to limit the amount of money spent on gambling. This is quite easy with most online casino operators offer systems to put deposit limits on an account, whether by day, week, or month. Any customer service representative can assist with this type of transaction.

Players can, of course, personally set limits, especially with regard to time. Setting an alarm to limit the amount of time spend gambling is a very positive way to stay alert. It also helps to choose a more difficult online deposit option, which requires the player to make calculated moves to fund the account and requires more time to consider it.

Online sites can also provide players with account statements that track deposits and withdrawals. Some sites even provide a breakdown of the time the player spends online.

The VRGF also reminds players that they can self-exclude from an online site or many of them for a period of time or forever.

Players can also opt out of marketing messages by removing themselves from the email lists and turning off app notifications on their mobile devices and in browsers.

Financial institutions began taking steps within the past year regarding gambling transactions via credit card. Since most Aussie pokies sites do accept Mastercard and Visa credit cards for deposits, the decision is left to the individual card issuer the bank or financial institution) to make processing decisions. Some banks have chosen not to process any gambling transactions, while others simply provided an option for players to manage it themselves.

These are the options that major credit card-issuing banks provide to their customers:

According to the VRGF list, there are also a number of credit card companies that institute their own bans to block gambling transactions on credit cards. In addition to Macquarie Bank listed above, these reportedly do the same:

As for the coronavirus shutdown, Victorian officials are beginning to relax some of the restrictions.

As of this week, Victorian residents will be able to gather in group of up to five people that include family and friends and group of 10 that involve community events. Some religious gatherings are also now permitted, as well as community sports.

Premier Daniel Andrews announced the slow-but-steady reopening with caution. We have to use our common sense, he said. We have to be proportionate (and) recognize that this is far from over.

However, it looks as if pubs, clubs, and casinos will remain closed for some time. Cinemas, galleries, stadiums, and zoos may open in the second phase, with most everything else in the third phase. This third step is not exactly clear, though, but will become clearer as the first two steps find success.

Victoria showed the second-highest coronavirus cases in Australia, with 1,520 of them and 18 resulting in death. However, the downward trend in cases for weeks gave officials the confidence to start emerging from the shutdown.

Rose Varrelli

Rose Varrelli has always been passionate about online casinos, as she's been a player at a variety of places for years. Rose turned her personal knowledge and insight into a writing career. She aims to provide readers with the most up to date, informative news in the world of online casinos!

Visit link:

Victoria Addresses Online Gambling and Bank Options - Casino Aus

Posted in Online Casino | Comments Off on Victoria Addresses Online Gambling and Bank Options – Casino Aus

Online Sportsbook and Casino BETZEST goes live with payment provider PurplePay – European Gaming Industry News

Posted: at 5:13 pm

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Speaking at PM:GO: In Touch with the Future, Parimatch CEO Sergey Portnov opened the floor to questions on topics ranging from why Parimatch and Conor McGregor are a great match, how to survive in a crisis, to predictions for the betting industry and sport in the wake of COVID-19. In typical fashion, Sergey spoke candidly to give the audience insights into some of the most pressing industry issues as well as his plans for Parimatch

The esports boom

Parimatch is one of the few betting companies to have already shifted its focus to esports and we are now looking to consolidate our position in the sector. Parimatch has a dedicated team with influential leaders responsible for our development strategy for esports. We will continue to seek out sponsorship deals in the esports sector and innovate our esports offering. The reality is that esports is here to stay and this is not just a temporary attempt to participate and jump on the hype bandwagon. Esports is in our DNA, it is our top priority.

With sports fixtures cancelled across the world, many sports fans have turned to esports, and the popularity of esports will continue perhaps even with the return of sports matches. Looking to the near future, it might be that traditional sports matches are held without crowds of people. For the betting industry, it actually doesnt matter. We just need the match to take place and to be broadcast. Looking further ahead, there will likely be plans drawn up to avoid having to stop all sport like this again, and there will be conditions agreed for how the sport industry can continue to operate if faced with another situation like the one were in now.

At Parimatch, we are also considering creating our own sports, to increase the opportunities for betting and entertainment for our players. For example, we could broadcast penalties, involving just a player and a goalkeeper. During normal times, you dont have these kinds of ideas which is why a crisis can be an opportunity to innovate.

Emerging from a crisis stronger and faster

With sports fixtures cancelled around the world, betting companies are seeing the majority of their players fall away. The challenge is how to engage wider audiences with simulated sports and this is a challenge shared by all bookmakers who have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Some operators will withstand this crisis better than others, because they have adapted their business model, by pivoting to online casinos or adding alternative sports such as FIFA and table tennis.

Although Parimatch has been affected, we are poised to be one of the structural winners to emerge from the crisis, as we are adapting and finding new solutions so that we remain one step ahead. In every sector, this is great time to optimize your business, identify weak spots in the company and fulfil goals that have been put off.

For me personally, I feel comfortable during a crisis, maybe because I love fighting and it has given me the fighting spirit that you need to prosper during difficult conditions. My advice to those who struggle is to always stay calm to avoid being guided by emotions and making rash decisions under pressure. A person who can distinguish between truth and artificial pressure will be right in their decisions.

Parimatch & The Notorious: A meeting of minds

Our contract with UFC was a prerequisite for Conor as our brand ambassador and Conor is picky, he doesnt just collaborate with any brand for money. It was our connection to UFC that initially attracted him. But why did Parimatch choose Conor? Firstly, because there a few examples of celebrities who have really changed their industry. Conor is one of those few people he has made the UFC popular globally, bringing MMA into the mainstream. In fact, Conor is the face of MMA, and has attracted millions of fans to UFC not just because of his fighting skills, but for what he does

outside the ring. He can gather a crowd of people at a click of a finger you could say he is a great magician! That kind of power and energy is what we wanted for our brand.

In the ring: Beating the competition

At Parimatch, we of course keep an eye on our competitors, but we mostly compete with ourselves not on a personal level, but on a company wide scale. We are focused on meeting our own goals, and not trying to copy competitor products, no matter how great they are. We know our weaknesses as a business and we know how to fight them.

For Parimatch, the main priority is solidifying our position as a technology company. Already 99.9% of our business operates online and 70% of it is mobile based. However, we want to become a leading technology business, and not just within the betting sector. We want to be a role model for related industries. We know this may take a few years, but we are confident that we will do it and will become one of the very few betting companies to have made a major technology breakthrough.

Related

View original post here:

Online Sportsbook and Casino BETZEST goes live with payment provider PurplePay - European Gaming Industry News

Posted in Online Casino | Comments Off on Online Sportsbook and Casino BETZEST goes live with payment provider PurplePay – European Gaming Industry News

Belgium beckons as Skywind Group expands further – CasinoBeats

Posted: at 5:13 pm

Belgium has become the latest destination for Skywind Group, as the online casino content developer gains a further step in its ambitions to cement a deeper igaming footprint.

Becoming the latest in a wave of online casino agreements, with the Stars Group, Superbet, Alea, Soft2Bet and Mr Green link-ups debuted thus far in 2020, Skywind is maintaining a strategy of expanding its reach and providing support and content across numerous markets.

Progressing its global reach via Belgium market entry, the firm lauds the region as being of significant in its importance to the gaming industry as well as making huge strides in supporting the growth of the online gaming industry.

Skywind Group asserts that it has kept a strong focus on entering as many regulated markets as possible with a market-specific games strategy, highlighted by a series of IP agreements such as that of the Bloodsport movie starring Jean Claude Van Damme

This is just another step among many, said Skywind Group managing director Oren Cohen Shwartz. In the last 18 months we have entered seven regulated markets, including the UK, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Greece and Romania. We have made our statement of intent, and you will continue to see us following through.

Skywind recently sealed the latest stage of its strategic global growth ambitions after debuting a new partnership with Mr Green.

The former lauds the igaming operators strong focus on compliance as a key facet of the partnership, praising a strong focus on providing players with great entertainment value in a safe environment.

Under the terms of the agreement players of Mr Green will be able to access a range of new slots content, including Royal Rings, Aztec Respin, Big Buffalo, Super Lion and Buffalo Lightning.

Link:

Belgium beckons as Skywind Group expands further - CasinoBeats

Posted in Online Casino | Comments Off on Belgium beckons as Skywind Group expands further – CasinoBeats

Supreme Court: Clarence Thomas calls for shrinking the First Amendment – Vox.com

Posted: at 5:12 pm

Last Thursday, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that a major First Amendment doctrine should be abandoned, and that the right to free speech be significantly shrunk in the process. Its the second time hes done so in a little over a year, and at least the third time Thomas has called for a major slice of Americans free speech rights to be cut away.

His latest call to reduce free speech rights came in United States v. Sineneng-Smith, a case involving an immigration lawyer who fraudulently charged her clients a total of $3.3 million to file for a change in their immigration status that she knew they were ineligible to receive. The Court ruled unanimously, and on narrow procedural grounds, to toss out a ruling benefiting this immigration lawyer.

Though Thomas joined Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs unanimous opinion, he also wrote a separate opinion joined by no other justice. In it, he calls for the Court to reconsider its overbreadth doctrine, a First Amendment doctrine that allows courts to cast an especially skeptical eye on laws that restrict free speech. In doing so, Thomas admitted that he is now calling for the Court to reconsider a doctrine that hes supported in the past.

As a general rule, courts are reluctant to accept facial challenges to an allegedly unconstitutional law challenges that seek to invalidate the law in all of its applications rather than simply holding that the court will not apply that particular law to a particular plaintiff. The overbreadth doctrine makes it easier to bring a facial challenge under the First Amendment, and thus provides heightened protection against laws that burden free speech. Thomass opinion would permit many laws that burden free speech to remain on the books, even after a court determines that they would chill a significant amount of free expression.

Its not the first time Thomas has articulated a narrow vision of the First Amendment. In 2019, he attacked his Courts decision in New York Times v. Sullivan (1964), one of the Supreme Courts foundational First Amendment decisions, which protects journalists against malicious libel suits that could stifle a free press.

Likewise, in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (2011), Thomas suggested that children and teenagers have no First Amendment rights whatsoever. The practices and beliefs of the founding generation establish that the freedom of speech, he wrote in his Brown dissent, does not include a right to speak to minors (or a right of minors to access speech) without going through the minors parents or guardians. No other justice joined Thomass opinion in Brown.

These are serious attacks on the right to free speech. Thomass Brown opinion alone, if it were embraced by a majority of his Court, would strip free speech rights from nearly 74 million individuals.

So its striking that there is one other case where Thomas took a very expansive view of the First Amendment. In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), the Supreme Court held that the right to free speech includes the right of corporations to spend unlimited money on influencing elections. In a partial dissenting opinion, Thomas complained that Citizens United does not go far enough.

Justice Thomas, in other words, envisions a much weaker First Amendment for children, journalists, and, indeed, for much of the country. But when wealthy donors seek relief from campaign finance restrictions, Thomas takes a maximalist view of their First Amendment rights.

Thomass opinion in Sineneng-Smith involves a fairly technical doctrine, but its worth taking a moment to understand that doctrine, and Thomass critique of it, because that critique is at odds with the view Thomas takes in Citizens United.

As a general rule, federal courts hear two types of constitutional challenges claiming that a federal or state law violates the Constitution. Facial challenges seek to invalidate a specific legal provision in its entirety. If a plaintiff prevails in such a challenge, then the legal provision they challenged ceases to operate altogether.

By contrast, when a court declares that a law is invalid as applied to a particular plaintiff, that means the law cannot be applied in the specific circumstances that arose in that particular case. But there may still be other circumstances where the law can constitutionally be applied to other individuals.

Ordinarily, courts are reluctant to declare a law invalid on its face. As the Supreme Court explained in United States v. Salerno (1987), a facial challenge to a legislative Act is ... the most difficult challenge to mount successfully, since the challenger must establish that no set of circumstances exists under which the Act would be valid.

Think of it this way. Suppose a state passes a law providing that bail for all persons charged with theft shall be at least $100,000. Now suppose that two different criminal defendants challenge this law under the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits excessive bail.

The first defendant is a teenager charged with shoplifting a pack of gum from a convenience store. The second is a notorious art thief, with multiple aliases and connections across the globe, who is charged with stealing tens of millions of dollars worth of famous paintings. In these circumstances, a $100,000 bail would clearly be excessive for the first defendant. But, if anything, its probably too low for the second defendant.

Because there are at least some sets of circumstances where a $100,000 bail would be appropriate for a criminal defendant charged with theft, no one could bring a facial challenge to the state law setting this minimum bail amount. But the shoplifiting defendant could bring an as-applied challenge claiming that, as applied to their rather insignificant offense, a bail of $100,000 is excessive.

And that brings us to the overbreadth doctrine. That doctrine provides that Salernos high bar for facial challenges does not apply to First Amendment lawsuits. Rather, as the Supreme Court explained in United States v. Stevens (2010), a law that burdens free speech may sometimes be facially invalidated if a substantial number of its applications are unconstitutional.

The reason for this overbreadth doctrine is that the Court believes free speech rights to be particularly fragile. If courts allow statutes that ban some forms of speech to stand, the mere existence of those laws could frighten individuals away from exercising their First Amendment rights. As the Court explained in Broadrick v. Oklahoma (1973), the possible harm to society in permitting some unprotected speech to go unpunished is outweighed by the possibility that protected speech of others may be muted and perceived grievances left to fester because of the possible inhibitory effects of overly broad statutes.

Nevertheless, Thomas raises a number of objections to this overbreadth doctrine in his Sineneng-Smith opinion. He claims it is untethered from the text and history of the First Amendment, and that, rather than being rooted in the way the First Amendment was originally understood, the overbreath doctrine first emerged in the mid-20th century.

One of Thomass primary objections to the doctrine is that he believes the Salerno standard should apply universally indeed, Thomas criticizes the very idea that anyone could bring a facial challenge against any law. Our modern practice of strik[ing] down legislation as facially unconstitutional bears little resemblance to the practices of 18th and 19th century courts, according to Thomas.

Fair enough. Read in isolation, the new viewpoint that Thomas announced in Sineneng-Smith could be seen as a call for judicial restraint an assertion that courts should be more cautious before they toss out an act of a legislature altogether.

But in Citizens United, Thomas sang a very different tune.

The thrust of Thomass opinion in Citizens United, the landmark Supreme Court decision that gutted much of Americas campaign finance laws, is that as-applied challenges are insufficient to protect donors whose political spending is disclosed to the public, and that the Supreme Court should have declared a federal campaign finance disclosure law facially invalid.

The bulk of Thomass partial dissent in Citizens United tells horror stories about conservative donors whose donations became public, and who then suffered social or financial consequences. Thomas alleges that a handful of donors to a campaign opposing marriage equality received threats, and he claims that the director of a musical theater company who donated to this campaign was forced to resign after artists complained to his employer. Thomas also claims that a restaurant manager who donated to this anti-LGBTQ campaign was forced to resign after protesters targeted the restaurant.

A majority of the Court concluded that these incidents were insufficient reason to strike down disclosure laws on their face although the Citizens United majority added that as-applied challenges would be available if a group could show a reasonable probability that disclosure of its contributors names will subject them to threats, harassment, or reprisals from either Government officials or private parties.

Thomas, however, rejected this conclusion. The Courts promise that as-applied challenges will adequately protect speech is a hollow assurance, he wrote, adding that the advent of the Internet enables prompt disclosure of expenditures, which provide[s] political opponents with the information needed to intimidate and retaliate against their foes.

In Thomass view, disclosure laws must be struck down on their face, in order to prevent campaign donors from facing harassment.

Whatever the merits of this position which was rejected by all eight of Thomass colleagues in Citizens United it is difficult to reconcile the position Thomas took on disclosure laws in Citizens United with the broad concerns with our modern practice of strik[ing] down legislation as facially unconstitutional that he announced in Sineneng-Smith.

In fairness, Thomas does concede in his Sineneng-Smith opinion that he has previously joined the Court in applying the overbreadth doctrine. So his current opposition to First Amendment facial challenges appears to be a recent development. Perhaps, when Thomas hears another campaign finance case, he will rebuke his own analysis in Citizens United and admit that it is inconsistent with the views he expressed in Sineneng-Smith.

But, at the very least, it is enough to point out that Thomas took a maximalist approach to the First Amendment in Citizens United, and then took such a radically different approach in a more recent opinion.

A common thread running through Thomass First Amendment decisions indeed, a thread that runs through Thomass decisions on many topics is his belief that the Court has departed from the way the Constitution was understood by the generation that framed it. His primary complaint in Sineneng-Smith is that the overbreadth doctrine is untethered from the text and history of the First Amendment. Similarly, in McKee v. Cosby (2019), Thomas argues that a venerable Supreme Court decision protecting journalists from malicious libel suits was wrong because it did not apply the First Amendment as it was understood by the people who ratified it.

One overarching problem with Thomass project of trying to interpret that First Amendment as it was originally understood by the framing generation is that it is far from clear that such a thing is possible. And, if it is possible, there is considerable evidence that the framers understanding of the amendment was so narrow that modern-day Americans would find it unacceptable.

Under the English common law, which informed much of the founding generations understanding of early American law, the freedom of speech and of the press was largely understood as a right not to have the government stop an individual from publishing a particular statement. But once that statement became public, the individual who made it could still face legal consequences for their speech.

Early Supreme Court decisions interpreting the First Amendment accepted this limited view of free speech. As the Supreme Court concluded in Patterson v. Colorado (1907), the main purpose of the First Amendments guarantee of free speech and a free press is to prevent all such previous restraints upon publications as had been practiced by other governments, and they do not prevent the subsequent punishment of such as may be deemed contrary to the public welfare.

Of course, modern Supreme Court decisions reject this narrow view of the First Amendment, but they did not do so because modern-day justices developed a better understanding of how the framers understood the freedom of speech. Many First Amendment scholars have concluded that the task of figuring out that amendments original meaning is impossible. As Judge Robert Bork, the failed Supreme Court nominee and godfather of the conservative originalist movement, wrote in 1971, the framers seem to have had no coherent theory of free speech and appear not to have been overly concerned with the subject.

Yet while there is little clarity regarding the original understanding of the First Amendment, the framing generation does appear to have had very robust ideas about the legal rights of corporations. And these ideas are hard to square with the expansive vision of corporate rights that the Supreme Court, with Thomass enthusiastic support, embraced in Citizens United.

In a 2016 law review article, former Delaware Chief Justice Leo Strine and his former law clerk Nicholas Walter explain that there were no business corporations operating under so called general corporation statutes in the early United States. Rather, corporations were created by the government, and given detailed charters that their managers were obligated to follow with fidelity.

As the Supreme Court held in Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819), a corporation is an artificial being, invisible, intangible, and existing only in contemplation of law. Being the mere creature of law, it possesses only those properties which the charter of its creation confers upon it either expressly or as incidental to its very existence.

For this reason, Strine and Walter conclude, Citizens United is out of step with the original understanding of the First Amendment, not because it reads the amendment itself too expansively, but because the framers would not have understood the modern Supreme Courts conclusion that a corporation possesses constitutional rights.

Thomas claims to root his opinions in the original understanding of the First Amendment, but its far from clear that the framing generation had a coherent understanding of that amendment. And in the one area where Thomas takes an unusually expansive approach to the First Amendment campaign finance there is considerable evidence that early Americans rejected Thomass understanding of corporate rights.

Support Voxs explanatory journalism

Every day at Vox, we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you, and our audience around the world, with information that has the power to save lives. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower you through understanding. Voxs work is reaching more people than ever, but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles, videos, and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today.

See more here:
Supreme Court: Clarence Thomas calls for shrinking the First Amendment - Vox.com

Posted in First Amendment | Comments Off on Supreme Court: Clarence Thomas calls for shrinking the First Amendment – Vox.com

What words make up a true threat? Well, that depends – The Mercury

Posted: at 5:12 pm

As the COVID-19 crisis stretches on, were seeing more conflict, more protests and particularly more online rancor in the debate over how and if public officials should open up society or government restraints on gatherings, from bowling leagues and bars to religious services and retail stores.

The First Amendments protection for free speech covers most of what we may say, whether its impolite, insulting, biased or uplifting, even commentary or forcefully expressed opinions that most of us would find repulsive or repugnant.

But one area not protected as free speech is called a true threat, words that cause a person to fear for their safety or life. In a crisis, we may find things we say are taken in a different context by police, prosecutors and juries than at other, less stressful times.

Unfortunately for those trying to measure their own remarks, setting out a precise definition for what constitutes a true threat has flummoxed even the U.S. Supreme Court. The result is a division of opinion in federal and state courts across the country.

Toss in the new machinations of social media, which remove the element of face-to-face confrontation, but also provide a degree of anonymity and lack of restraints and the lines dividing protected and unprotected speech blur even more.

Speech threatening bodily harm made to a specific person standing in front of you while you have a weapon for example, holding a knife and saying I have a knife and Im going to cut your throat leaves little doubt that its a true threat.

But what if the person at whom those same words are directed isnt nearby when the remark is made, but sees it hours or days later on social media? What if the speaker sets the words to music, posts the statement as part of a YouTube video and later claims it was just a form of anger control therapy even if the intended target (think you or me) took the threat seriously?

For many years, evidence that a statement could be judged as putting any reasonable person in fear was enough to support a conviction in many courts. But in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Elonis v. United States, focused on the intent of the person making the statement, effectively saying that consideration was important and perhaps essential when deciding if the speaker was indeed issuing a true threat.

But the high court didnt set out any means of measuring intent, leaving things hanging. Two years later, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, in Perez v. Florida, where the court refused to reconsider the conviction of a man who threatened to blow up a liquor store, that while states must prove more than mere utterance of threatening words, some level of intent is required (and) the Court should also decide precisely what level of intent suffices under the First Amendment, noting that did not happen in Elonis.

All of that leaves many of us subject to state laws that dont include a requirement to consider what we might mean when we say it, just how a reasonable person would feel about our words. Got enough money or time to get to the Supreme Court? Such a conviction would seem likely to be thrown out.

Not the bright line between right and wrong that we should expect to see when it comes to criminal prosecutions.

Case in point: According to Kentuckys Lexington Herald Leader, Louisville lawyer James Gregory Troutman, 53, was charged April 22 with terroristic threatening for two Facebook posts directed at Gov. Andy Beshear.

Maybe some should ask Beshear in a press conference about his thoughts on William Goebel, Troutman was reported by police to have said in a post, For those of you who dont know the history its a good read. Goebel, shot to death in 1900, in is the only serving U.S. governor ever assassinated.

Police said Troutman also later posted, in a Facebook exchange about Beshear ordering photos to be taken of license plates of churchgoers flouting social distancing orders, With any luck the gov will be the one at whom the shooting will be directed.

Police said Troutman was threatening to commit a crime likely to result in death or serious physical injury to the Kentucky governor. But Troutmans lawyer said the man didnt say he was going to kill him.

If you were sitting on a jury considering the charges against Troutman, a 1969 Supreme Court decision in Watts v. United States might help you decide. In that Vietnam War-era case, a protester was charged with threatening President Lyndon Johnson for telling a rally that if they ever make me carry a rifle, the first man I want to get in my sights is LBJ.

The court later decided that Watts had engaged in a crude form of political hyperbole rather than utter a true threat. The justices identified what later came to be known as the Watts factors: The context in which the words were spoken, the reaction of those who heard the remarks and the certainty of the remarks.

They noted that Watts made his statements during a political rally, that those who overheard his remarks laughed and his statement was conditional rather than definitive.

Still today, some lower courts use the Watts factors to determine whether speech crosses the line into the realm of true threats, Freedom Forum First Amendment Fellow David Hudson notes.

Another kind of hyperbole: Wishing that a meteor will fall from the sky and injure or kill a certain person may well be what most of us would find hateful and morally wrong, but its safely protected under the First Amendment.

On the other hand, the Supreme Court found in 2003, in Virginia v. Black perhaps its most direct ruling about true threat that the state of Virginia could prosecute people for cross burning intended to intimidate or instill fear in others. Dissenting voices said cross burning is always unprotected speech since it can have no effect other than intimidating others, but the courts majority did not agree. Again, the intent of the speaker, as in Elonis, rather than the meaning to those receiving the message, was held most significant.

The justices did offer this definition: True threats are those statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group.

Adding to the conflicted legal views over true threats was the 2019 refusal by the justices to consider an appeal by Jamal Knox, a Pittsburgh rap music artist convicted over lyrics in a song Fuck the Police, recorded in 2012 while facing weapon and drug charges. The song named arresting officers and included lyrics saying, Lets kill these cops cuz they dont do us no good / pullin out your Glock out cause I live in the hood and Ima jam this rusty knife all in his guts and chop his feet your shift over at 3 and Im gonna fuck up where you sleep.

Critics of Knoxs conviction note that other more widely recognized artists have used similar statements in their music without prosecution and that local courts generally dont understand the role of rap music in urban culture.

Officials cited Knoxs specific identification of the officers and in 2018 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said his lyrics were threats, not political, social or academic commentary, nor are they facially satirical or ironic.

From armed protestors confronting state police officers in the Michigan capitol building to armed revelers at a Texas bar arrested in a SWAT raid, from angry crowds outside a number of gubernatorial residences to violent words on social media, the potential for threating actions and actual violence today is higher than ever.

So how to judge whether your words, expressive conduct (such as marching with signs or weapons) or violent social media posts are protected speech?

Colleagues at the Freedom Forums education unit provide a lesson plan for free to help you navigate those First Amendment true threat waters: In You Cant Say That?! you will learn about restrictions to freedom of speech in public life and the court cases that determined when and why those limits apply.

Bottom line: In the U.S., the First Amendment certainly protects your right to speak. But theres no absolute protection from the effects of what you say particularly when those words may put a specific person in fear of injury or death.

Gene Policinski is a senior fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum, and president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute. He can be reached at gpolicinski@freedomforum.org, or follow him on Twitter at @genefac.

Here is the original post:
What words make up a true threat? Well, that depends - The Mercury

Posted in First Amendment | Comments Off on What words make up a true threat? Well, that depends – The Mercury