iGaming Business – UK bookmaker Betfred is to review its £5 million (€6.1 million/$8.4 million) ad account with the BJL advertising and PR agency after an internal realignment of the brand. According to the Campaignlive.co.uk website, the bookmaker has begun a tender and has hired agency intelligence provider Creativebrief to manage the process. BJL, which has worked with the bookmaker since 2011, has been asked to repitch as part of the review. Chemistry meetings are due to be held in early June and pitches will take place in July. A winner is expected to be announced around July 7. The…

Gaming Intelligence – The UK Gambling Commission has notified the European Commission (EC) of its amended Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice for gambling operators. The notification was received by the EC yesterday (May 28th), starting a standstill period which expires on August 29th. The notification relates to amendments to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice that reflect changes in legislation effected by the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, which extends the 2005 Gambling Act’s jurisdiction over remote gambling. FULL STORY (SUBSCRIPTION)

Las Vegas Sun – With the 2014 World Series of Poker returning this week to the Rio, Las Vegas will be flush with poker fever. For those looking to try their luck at the tables just like their favorite poker professionals, there is Bravo Poker. The app helps users track and find live poker tables and tournaments at casinos throughout Las Vegas. The app features a live stream from the casinos so users can get up-to-date information about tables, and it shows which games are being played. It also lists casino deals and promotions to help users get the most…

iGaming Business – The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a television from UK bookmaker Coral after complaints that it linked gambling to seduction. The ad features two men reading a newspaper and discussing horseracing in a barber shop before music starts to play and a woman dressed as a jockey walks in. As she walks past the men, she stops close to one’s gaping jaw with her whip while other men in the shop stare at her. A voice-over then states, ‘Get ready for today’s great offer,’ with the woman holding up a sign bearing the odds for…

Bangkok Post – As a former supervisor of an underground casino, M promised he would make me some profit. My stake was 3,000 baht. Some 50 people were playing at a townhouse-turned-casino in a district on the outskirts of Bangkok. The place is one of an estimated 1,500 illegal casinos nationwide, dozens of which operate on a franchise basis under the tycoons known as “Gold Dragon Teu” and “S Sommai”. With only one table divided into two, it was so crowded that players had to ask those in the front line to place bets for them. On very crowded days,…

USA Today – Ask a mathematician or a casino owner if you can win gambling in a casino, and the truthful answer is yes, but almost always only in the short run. Unless you’re a professional player who only plays with the long-term edge on your side, the longer you play, the more certain it is that you will lose. People get funny ideas about the way gambling works. In casinos there are games of chance (roulette, craps, keno, bingo, slots, baccarat) and games of chance and skill (poker, blackjack, video poker). A game of chance is like flipping a…