IGB Affiliate – The media world was buzzing on January 9, 2014, when the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA (locally known as the Sixers) and the New Jersey Devils of the NHL became the first major US-based professional sports teams to sign a sponsorship deal with an online gambling company, PartyPoker. To learn more about the story behind this ground-breaking deal, and what it means for the future of online gambling in the United States, iGB Affiliate spoke exclusively to Scott O’Neil, CEO of the Devils and Sixers. How will the PartyPoker brand be integrated into the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers teams,…

Online Poker Report – On the day of the session deadline for the introduction of bills, two efforts to regulate online poker in California surfaced from the legislature. The first is effectively a re-introduction of SB 678, which was backed by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. The bill number is listed as SB 1366. No sponsor is identified on the bill but I assume it’s State Sen. Lou Correa (D-34), who authored SB 678. AB 2291 is supported by a wide-ranging consortium of tribes, including the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians,…

iGaming Business – MPN, the online poker network of internet gaming software provider Microgaming, has announced the launch of its inaugural MPN Poker Tour (MPNPT). The MPNPT will debut in London this spring before moving on to visit a number of other locations around Europe. Each festival will feature a deep-stacked €550 ($756.7) Main Event as well as a number of lower-value Side Events. In addition, the MPN said it would also bring a number of exclusive online innovations to the live poker environment, such as giving players the chance to earn achievements for taking part in events and enabling…

Las Vegas Review-Journal – U.S. Sen. Dean Heller said Thursday he expects legislation to be introduced in the next month or so to outlaw all Internet gaming except online poker, putting a stop to what he called “the wild wild West” of gambling if every state were allowed to operate online games of chance that compete with Nevada casinos. Heller, R-Nev., also said he believes Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson, who is waging an all-out campaign to stop Internet gaming, makes some good points, including how widespread online gambling could cause social ills and how online competition could…

Poker News – After an attempt to regulate online gaming last November did not succeed, the Portuguese government has already pledged that it will be ready to approve a new piece of legislation by the end of February. Público, Portugal’s leading newspaper, reports that the changes were anticipated in a memorandum of understanding that Portugal’s government sent earlier this week to Europe’s troika (European Commission, European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund) for presenting some of the measures planned to help the country’s growth. Although it is still unclear how the government intends to regulate Portugal’s online gaming and betting markets,…

Poker News – PokerStars is one step closer to offering real-money poker games to Bulgarian players after the Bulgarian State Gambling Commission (SGC) granted the poker room an online gaming license on Wednesday. “Bulgaria is full of promise,” said PokerStars’ Head of Corporation Communications Eric Hollreiser. “Poker is extremely popular in the country and recently we have seen some notable results from Bulgarian players including Dimitar Danchev, who won the 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event for $1,859,000.” The decision to grant PokerStars an online gaming license represents a new, tangible sign of Bulgaria’s determination in launching online poker, as…