Poker News – According to a note published by Sweden’s monopolistic company Svenska Spel, the package of “responsible gambling measures” implemented only six months ago resulted in a 6.2 percent profit loss. According to a report on 2014 Q1, “net gaming revenues decreased by SEK 186 million compared with the same period last year, moving from SEK 2.480 million to 2.293 million” and brought the Swedish gambling group an operating profit of SEK 1.243 million — SEK 83 million smaller than in 2013. “The decrease in revenues was expected,” commented Svenska Spel CEO Lennart Käll, who also added that the…

Calvin Ayre – At long last, Spain looks like it will launch its new regulated slots and exchange betting markets by January 2015. Last week, the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) informed Spanish-licensed operators that it expects to receive the European Commission’s blessing on its new slots and exchange betting regulations by June 19. Assuming all goes well, the DGOJ would then submit the final text of the regulations to the government for rubberstamping and publication. DLA Piper reported that the DGOJ is currently finishing up the technical guidelines for the new products so that operators won’t be…

Australian Gambling – A global online betting firm, which is believed to owe Australian customers in excess of a million dollars, has shut up shop and “can’t be contacted”. Gamblers from Australia, UK, India, Eastern Europe and Canada have been unable to access thousands of dollars in winnings since late last year. The company in question, Canbet, said in December the issue was due to a computer glitch and promised to pay customers as soon as it could. But angry punters, with over $20,000 owed to them, have contacted AustralianGambling with complaints about the company, which is licenced with the…

iGaming Business – US operator Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) has completed the launch of real-money slot titles from land-based, online, mobile and social games developer High 5 Games on its CaesarsCasino.com platform in the US state of New Jersey. The deal, which will see High 5 Games become CIE’s first online gaming partner in the state, will enable CaesarsCasino.com customers in New Jersey to access titles such as ‘Dangerous Beauty’ and ‘Jaguar Princess’. High 5 Games also said 34 more of its “premium” games would be made available on the CaesarsCasino.com platform by the third quarter of 2014. The announcement…

ABC 27 – First came slot machines. Then came table games. The Lottery was then expanded. Small games of chance were recently permitted in bars and restaurants. Gambling is a growth industry in Pennsylvania in recent years and the next big thing could be web wagering. Online gaming would let players sit in the comfort of their home, or on their mobile devices, and gamble. No trip to a store, bar or casino would be necessary to place a bet. State Representative Mike Sturla (D-Lancaster) says online gaming is likely headed for the Keystone State. It’s just a question of…

Mobile betting app Spogo, which let bar patrons make quick bets for a chance to win discounts, is winding down the service after the last Bruins-Canadiens game in the current series, according to an email from the founders. Scott Kirsner previously profiled the betting company, which had raised a small seed round and had a few other companies tackling similar tools. What made Spogo different from other mobile betting app was a model that focused on bar-side bets with real, edible (or drinkable) winnings. Kirsner wrote: Spogo’s iPhone app serves up a string of real-time questions about the NFL game…