Poker Update – Football is a sport that reaches hundreds of millions, possibly even billions, of people all over the world, with hordes of fans tuning in to see the top clubs play. The game’s global reach and appeal has not gone unnoticed by many poker and gaming companies, who view football as one of the many ways to market their brands. This has led to a number of sponsorship deals between gaming companies and some of the world’s top football clubs, many of which are still going today. Here are the most prominent gaming/football partnerships that are currently in…

iGaming Business – UK bookmaker Ladbrokes warned today (Thursday) that its full-year financial results for its online operations would be well below expectations. Ladbrokes, which brought forward its trading update from October, said that its digital business would post full-year operating profit of between £10 million (€11.9 million/$16 million) this year in comparison with a market forecast of £27.5 million. By 10am this morning, Ladbrokes’ share price had fallen by nearly 8%. “Our digital earnings have been disappointing reflecting a lack of competitiveness in sportsbook, lower margins than planned and a greater disruptive impact than expected from the transition necessary…

The Daily Journal – The odds on New Jersey successfully legalizing sports betting in the state continue to get longer and longer. But officials might as well keep rolling the dice and hoping for the best. A three-judge federal appeals panel last week rejected New Jersey’s effort to overturn a ban on sports betting in all but four states — Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana — that had signed on for the right to conduct sports betting in the early 1980s. New Jersey had its chance too at that time, but didn’t bother. Now, however, state officials see sports betting…

iGaming Business – Online casino game 5050Sports, which incorporates officially licensed archive video clips, has launched on the BetVictor platform. 5050Sports gives players a straight ‘yes or no’ choice as to whether an incident will occur; for example ‘Does the player score the penalty?’ or ‘Will it be a boundary?’ Once the selection has been made, a short video clip is shown relating to the question and the bet outcome is determined within five seconds. 5050Sports uniquely incorporates classic highlights from international football, world championship boxing, world cricket, tennis, darts, snooker, greyhounds and motorsport. Fixed stakes start at £1 and…

Casino City Times – When a federal appeals court this month rejected New Jersey’s challenge of the federal ban on sports betting, bookmakers and casino operators were left wondering what’s next. The arguments made by the state were that the Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 that restricts sports gambling violates the state’s sovereign rights and is unconstitutional. “We had a mission to pass Internet gaming, exchange wagering and sports betting,” Bill Pascrell, a partner with Princeton Public Affairs Group Inc. in Trenton, N.J., said during a panel discussion Tuesday on sports betting and fantasy sports at the Global…

iGaming Business – US horserace betting site BetAmerica has launched Fanex Sports, a real-money fantasy sports betting site where players can bet on their fantasy teams and win financial gains in return. Sports on offer include NFL Football, Major League Baseball and NBA Basketball, with PGA Golf and horse racing to be launched soon. The major media broadcasters such as Yahoo, ESPN or CBS all offer their particular versions of the product and online fantasy leagues and sports betting represent big business in the US. BetAmerica is hoping to tap into a market that generated US$470m in revenues in 2012…