iGaming Business – Paris-based casual games developer Pretty Simple’s hidden-object adventure game title Criminal Case has been named as the ‘Game of the Year 2013’ by social network Facebook. According to the VentureBeat.com website, Criminal Case topped a list of 23 games that Facebook regarded as the best of 2013. Selected by Facebook staff, the list is based on user ratings, Facebook implementation, growth and overall quality. Criminal Case, which combines crime scene investigation with sharing mechanics, grew organically during the first half of the year, while content updates and additional cases also helped drive growth in the second half…

Philly.com – The Golden Nugget Atlantic City was given permission by New Jersey casino regulators Friday to begin offering Internet gambling. The state Division of Gaming Enforcement cleared the casino to start offering online gambling as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Regulators kept the Golden Nugget restricted to trial play when six other casinos were cleared to begin offering full online gambling last month. The Golden Nugget said at the time it was working out glitches with its system and would not open until it was ready to give its customers a first-class experience. That time is now, said Tom Pohlman,…

Poker News – PayPal, a company that processes roughly eight million real-money transactions per day, has been linked with a suspect in the UltimateBet coverup. John Mehaffey of USPoker.com discovered that PayPal shares customer information with Iovation, an online fraud prevention company headed by CEO Greg Pierson. In May, Travis Makar, an UltimateBet whistle-blower, released these audiotapes that implicate UltimateBet founder and CEO Pierson along with Russ Hamilton in the cover-up of the infamous cheating scandal. According to PayPal’s private policy, Iovation is on a list of “non-exclusive examples of the actual third parties to whom we currently disclose your…

iGaming Business – Affiliate software provider NetRefer has announced the launch of bookmaker William Hill’s new affiliate programme through its Performance Marketing software suite. William Hill Online’s Affiliate United programme will feature a range of tools that NetRefer said would be able to support chief marketing officers, marketing and affiliate managers and affiliates. The new programme offers fully managed online hosting, advanced media tracking, dedicated customer support and account management, flexible reward plans, attractive affiliate commissions, on-time payments, extensive reporting and other marketing tools. “This is a very important chapter in our business, and we are very excited to be…

Forbes – The recent round of match fixing allegations causing anxiety in European football circles is a reminder that sport betting has become a real problem child for the gambling industry. Banned in most markets around the world, with the notable exceptions of the UK, France, Spain and Italy, it continues to be a huge illicit industry. According to sports data analysts Sportradar, worldwide sports betting revenues are now worth anywhere between $700-billion and $1-trillion a year, with only a tiny fraction of this amount passing through the coffers of national exchequeurs. About 70% of that trade is estimated to…

iGaming Business – Gaming content supplier Realistic Games has agreed a deal with William Hill to provide the bookmaker with online and mobile games. Under the agreement, initially six new slot titles will be made available to players via William Hill’s mobile and games tabs. A roll out of Realistic Games’ full catalogue will follow. Games will be delivered on Realistic Games’ in-house ReGal server via an Openbet RGI integration. Titles that will be available to William Hill customers include Super Graphics Upside Down, Pentagram, Tutankhamun, Snakes and Ladders, Double Bubble and Sunset Reels. “Our strategy has always been to…