Venture Beat – Zynga has withdrawn an application for a gambling license in Nevada. Ever since Don Mattrick became chief executive in July, the company has deemphasized its effort to create real-money gambling games in the U.S. It’s instead focusing on nongambling versions of games such as Zynga Poker. Zynga still has a huge following for its Zynga Poker social casino game on Facebook and mobile. But it’s no longer is pouring resources into real-money gambling in the U.S., where online gambling games are inching their way into legality on a state-by-state basis. Zynga said back in July that Zynga…

iGaming Business – Satoshi Live has launched what it claims to be a first-of-its-kind interactive casino for the Bitcoin virtual currency. Satoshilive.com will allow players to use their Bitcoin-funded accounts to deposit the virtual currency, use it to play their favourite interactive and live games and then withdraw their winnings in Bitcoins. The company said the new service would feature interactivity that no other Bitcoin casino could offer. To enable this, Satoshi Live’s proprietary video streaming technology has been custom constructed from scratch, which will allow gamers on the site to interact directly with dealers via live video streams. The…

iGaming Business – US gaming and lottery technology firm Scientific Games has gained approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission for its acquisition of slot machine provider WMS Industries, but social gaming company Zynga has withdrawn its application for an interactive gaming licence in the US state. The acquisition deal was first approved by WMS stockholders in May of this year and is expected to be completed this autumn, subject to the approval of gaming regulatory authorities and customary closing conditions. “We are pleased to have received unanimous approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission and thank the Commission and the Nevada…

[three_fifth padding=”0 15px 0 15px”] [/three_fifth]The new movie “Runner Runner” is set to open soon, and the American Gaming Association looks to use this movie to help spur the US Congress to take legislative action for online gambling. J Todd speaks directly with the President of the AGA, Geoff Freeman, about how the movie will be used, and the thoughts behind using this film as an opportunity. See our related stories about the AGA coming under fire for it’s use of the “Runner Runner” poker movie, and poker pro Antonio Esfandiari speaks on shooting for the film.

Online gambling revenue which groups poker, casino game and betting is a fast-growing sector in the world. In 2012, the sector generated global receipts of 25 billion euro, according to the consulting firm H2 Gambling Capital; or an increase of 7.2 % compared with 2011. Online casinos generated 17% of this gross receipt, while online poker which is in continual decline presented only 13%. Always according to H2, online gambling represents 8% of receipts, on the whole sector of gambling in 2012. The European market is the main growth driver of the sector of online gambling, with a penetration rate…

iGaming Business – The online gaming and betting sector generated a global gross win of €25bn in 2012, an increase of 7,2% on 2011 which compares with 3.1% growth recorded  by the land-based gambling sector in 2012, industry figures published by iGaming Business’s new and exclusive data partner H2 Gambling Capital reveal. The igaming sector accounted for 8% of all gross gaming revenues generated by the gambling sector in 2012, a figure that is set to reach 11.1% by 2018, H2’s figures showed. That percentage is currently generated mainly by European markets, where interactive gambling has a penetration rate of…