China’s biggest listed internet company, Tencent, has announced that it is to acquire a 28% stake in South Korean online gambling and mobile gaming firm CJ Games for $500 million (€363.2 million). Under the agreement, Tencent said that it would acquire a mixture of existing and newly issued common stock, making it the third-largest investor in CJ Games after Bang JH and CJ E&M Corp. The Chinese company said the deal would allow it to expand its online and mobile gaming business and grow its presence overseas. In addition, CJ Games will be able to establish a foothold in the…

Video game icon Atari is emerging from bankruptcy to jump into the world of social casino gaming. The publisher is partnering with virtual games company FlowPlay on Atari Casino, a series of classic casino games such as poker and blackjack that carry themes from classic Atari games including Asteroids, Centipede and Missile Command. The games will be available on the Web, as well as Facebook and mobile devices this fall. “Entering social casino gaming is a logical next step for us given its appeal across multiple generations and its natural fit with the casual audience,” says Atari CEO Fred Chesnais….

Press of Atlantic City – Raising the standards for companies processing Internet gambling payments could encourage banks and major credit card companies to accept more deposits, adding millions to the state’s fledgling industry, one executive told Trenton lawmakers Monday. Testifying in favor of a bill that would encourage foreign Internet gambling companies to set up operations in New Jersey, Chris Thom, chairman of Secure Trading Inc., told a state Senate committee that a critical component of the legislation would require Internet gaming payment processors to go through New Jersey’s stringent licensure process. Currently, state law requires the processors, which act…

iGaming Business – US distributor KGM Gaming and gaming content developer Spin Games have announced a successful launch into the New Jersey online gaming market, in accordance with a previously announced deal with land-based operator Caesars Interactive Entertainment. As reported by iGaming Business in December 2013, the two companies agreed to provide Caesars Interactive Entertainment with a remote gaming server and game titles for its online gaming operations in the US state. Under the licensing agreement, the ROC, HTML5 remote gaming server technology will be utilised along with a range of games developed in the platform. “Thanks to our team’s…

Poker News – As February came to a close, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell made history by inking a poker-only interstate compact. It was the first of its kind, and both Sandoval and Markell were eager to welcome more states as online poker is legalized throughout the country. There were only two issues with the signing; New Jersey was self-excluded, and there was to timeline for implementation. “I’ve had conversations with New Jersey,” Sandoval said when asked about a partnership with the third and final state offering legalized and regulated online gaming. “We’d love to have…

Las Vegas Review Journal – A bill to restore a ban on online gaming was introduced Wednesday in Congress, adding another layer to the big-money battle over whether gambling should be allowed on the Internet. The bill by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah., seeks to reinstate federal law to prohibit “all forms of Internet gambling.” It comes in the wake of a December 2011 Justice Department opinion that the relevant law, the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, covers only sports betting. That opinion dramatically changed the landscape, sparking moves by states, casino interests and technology vendors…