Sky Bet, the sports betting division of TV conglomerate Sky, has posted a 20% year-on-year rise in gaming revenue to £32 million (€37.9 million/$51.9 million) for the three months until the end of September 2013. In an interim financial report for the first quarter of the new financial year, Sky Bet said that the figures had been achieved despite unfavorable results at the start of the 2013-14 football season. “Net revenue growth was 20% as the sports results weren’t favorable,” Sky Bet managing director Richard Flint told the Yorkshire Post newspaper. “We grew our user numbers by more than 20…

iGaming Business – Chinese sports lottery software and systems developer AGTech Holdings’ Beijing subsidiary AGTech GOT Technology has won a tender to supply the Guangdong Sports Lottery Administration Centre with football single match betting (SMB) computerised sports lottery terminals. AGTech, which is supplying SMB terminals for the first time in China, said that its GOT terminals are compatible with all computerised sports products in the country. Guangdong currently ranks as China’s third largest province in terms of sports lottery sales during the last few years, while SMB is proving to be one of the country’s fastest growing products. “By entering…

Regulating sports betting in India is not the question. The question, as articulated by Justice Mukul Mudgal, former Chief Justice, Punjab and Haryana High Court and Chairman, SC-Probe Panel, IPL 2013 Betting and Spot Fixing Scandal is, why regulation is slow to come by. Speaking at the FICCI Conference on Regulating Sports Betting and Sports Law here on Saturday, Justice Mudgal gave several reasons for regulating sports betting with a sense of urgency. He said that the Government can earn substantial amount of revenue from taxing these activities; it is taking place in an unauthorized manner in the country which…

WWNO – Complain all you want about how sports in the U.S. are run, but the playing fields aren’t always greener on the other side. In Europe, FIFA, the soccer federation, is dealing with problems associated with the 2022 World Cup’s timing and venue. For one, after awarding the World Cup to Qatar, those running FIFA wonder now if it’d be better to play the games in winter when it will be cooler — only that’s when all the European leagues are operating. Also, in doing its due diligence, FIFA failed to appreciate that Qatar planned to build its World…

iGaming Business – Online gaming operator bwin.party has agreed a three-year deal, from 2013-14 to 2015-16, to become the official online betting and gaming partner of BC Oostende, Belgium’s most successful basketball team. As part of the deal, bwin.party will be able to create apps, games and widgets that feature the branding of BC Oostende. The company will also benefit from a range of in-stadium branding, ticket and match day promotions, as well as access to players for unique customer experiences. In addition, the operator will also be integrated into the club’s online and social media channels. “This agreement reinforces…

Even if it was legal, the amount of sports betting on the Super Bowl in New Jersey was probably significantly reduced by the Giants’ awful 0-5 start. However, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia ruled in a 2-1 decision last month that New Jersey does not have the right to legalize sports betting, a blow to the state’s casinos and horse racing tracks which would have benefited from the potential millions of dollars in revenue generated by the game being played at MetLife Stadium. Lawyers for the state had maintained that the U.S. Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of…

Wall Street Journal – Federal prosecutors are investigating whether the top executive at Cantor Fitzgerald LP’s gambling unit participated in his company accepting illegal sports bets, according to people familiar with the matter. The potential alleged involvement of Lee Amaitis—a senior executive at the securities firm who founded Cantor Gaming nine years ago—came to light after a former executive at the unit, Michael Colbert, pleaded guilty to knowingly accepting illegal wagers. His plea was disclosed in federal court documents unsealed late last month. Cantor Fitzgerald, best known as a bond brokerage, operates sports books through its Cantor Gaming unit. The…

iGaming Business – A mystery investor has acquired a near 3% stake in Ladbrokes for £37.1 million (€44.2 million/$59 million), sparking fresh speculation of a possible takeover bid for the UK bookmaker. The UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper said that the investor is Playtech founder Teddy Sagi, who made the deal either through his own account or that of Playtech, in which he holds a 49% stake. Playtech already has a relationship with Ladbrokes, having been hired by the bookmaker to overhaul its poor performing digital business – something that has been highlighted as the main cause of four profits warnings…