iGaming Business – Ladbrokes has confirmed that it will be closing 40-50 betting outlets in the near future as it looks to optimise its retail estate in “secondary locations”. The move is likely to be replicated by other high street bookmakers in the UK, the company said, as the industry looks to reduce the number of retail outlets it has opened in the past few years. “Having expanded in the last two years and opened shops in higher footfall locations we are now looking to optimise the estate by closing 40- 50 loss making shops in secondary locations,” the UK…

The parent company of Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars is hoping to enter into the world of sports betting. Full Tilt was recently expanded to include roulette, blackjack and other casino games and now the Rational Group is planning on adding a sportsbook to the site. When this is done it will make Full Tilt Poker the first Rational owned site to offer a complete range of gambling options. A spokesperson for the Rational Group said that the company is “exploring opportunities to enter global sports betting markets to enhance our online gaming offerings.” At present Rational is talking to…

Reuters – William Hill, Britain’s largest bookmaker, said on Monday it was sticking to a planned timetable to replace its veteran CEO in 2015, despite a media report it wanted a successor in place this year. The company said it still envisaged a new CEO would take over next year, the previously announced retirement date for Ralph Topping, who has spent over 43 years with the firm, and became CEO in 2008. The Times newspaper reported on Monday that the bookmaker was seeking to replace Topping a year earlier than expected and would look to hire someone from outside the…

Independent – After a season when the game lost its innocence on the back of former Longford Town midfielder Colly James being found guilty of trying to influence a fixture, the League of Ireland director is flashing red lights in front of every player, alerting them to the severe sanctions they face if caught cheating. “If we hear of anything untoward, we’re going to go after that player and if guilty, they’ll get a life ban,” said Gavin. “We aren’t naive enough to think negative things won’t go on in the future, so we’re getting the message out there –…

More exciting Soccer betting promotions coming up this week with games from the knockout stage of the Champions League and a full round of Premier League fixtures to look forward to. The action gets underway on Tuesday evening as two of Europe’s heavy hitters, Man City and Barcelona, clash at the Etihad, while in Germany Bayer Leverkusen aim to overcome PSG’s star-studded line-up. On Wednesday, Arsenal’s Champions League credentials will be put to the test as they play host to current holders Bayern Munich and Clarence Seedorf’s AC Milan entertain Atletico Madrid. Attention then turns to the weekend’s Premier League…

iGaming Business – French regulator ARJEL has announced that the regulated online gambling market in France generated €325 million ($442 million) of tax revenue for the state in 2013. The total figure, which excluded VAT, represented a slight decrease on the 2012 total of €327 million. Sportsbetting generated €79 million of the total, with €86 million generated by online poker and €160 million by horse racing pari mutuel (tote). ARJEL said that the drop occurred despite a surge of sportsbetting activity in the fourth quarter of 2013. The total amount placed on sportsbetting increased year-on-year by a record 41% to…

The topic of betting on the Olympics is back again, with the Sochi Winter Games begin this week, and while betting on the events will take place at sports books all over the world, you won’t find a single wagering option available on the Games here in Nevada. That’s because of a small stipulation in Nevada Gaming regulation 22.120-1(a) that states no wagers may be accepted or paid by any book on ‘any amateur non-collegiate sport or athletic event’. That specifically means no betting on the Olympics, a prohibition that resulted from a trade off in early 2001, as Sen….

Bet365 has been one of the top destinations for mobile gambling and online sports betting, casino gambling and yes, even online poker. The site has an excellent reputation and a dedicated team working 24/7 behind the scenes to keep the site’s offer interesting for players through various ways. One of the features which have helped the operation stay at the top of the pops for this long is their mobile offering. Betting mobile has never been as simple, straightforward and enjoyable as it is at Bet365. The mobile gambling apps offered by Bet365 cover pretty much every mobile phone and…