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Ohio State Senators Dave Burke and Cliff Hite introduced a bill last week that would authorize the Ohio Casino Control Commission to regulate daily fantasy sports (DFS), making the games explicitly legal in the state. DFS operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel are currently active the state and happily accept Ohio customers, but legal gray… Read more »
Playtech PLC’s co-founder Teddy Sagi, the company’s largest shareholder, has sold off a sizable chunk of his stock in the company. The sale was made through his trust, Brickington Trading Limited. It was known that Sagi was going to sell some of his stock, but he decided to increase the amount from 10 percent to… Read more »
We all knew it was coming, but on Friday morning, DraftKings and FanDuel announced that they have agreed to a merger, a deal which will create a company that will have a virtual monopoly on the daily fantasy sports industry. Per the press release, DraftKings CEO Jason Robbins will be the new company’s Chief Executive… Read more »
Amaya Inc., parent company of PokerStars, announced on Monday that it has received an offer from former CEO David Baazov to purchase the entire company. The offer price is CAD $24 per share, making the total deal valued at approximately CAD $3.48 billion. Amaya’s stock price closed at CAD $18.34 on Friday, so Baazov’s offer… Read more »
In 2012, poker pro Phil Ivey and his friend, Cheung Yin Sun, won £7.7 million playing punto banco at London’s Crockfords Casino. After a delay because of a bank holiday, though, the casino refused to pay them, claiming that they cheated. In 2014, a High Court ruled in the casino’s favor and now, a three-judge… Read more »
The World Poker Tour (WPT) announced today that it helped raised more than three-quarters of a million dollars for the Cardiac Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) via the “All In” for Kids Poker Tournament held about two weeks ago. The event, which took place on October 27th at the Mandarin Oriental New York… Read more »
Less than two weeks ago, William Hill and Amaya Gaming confirmed rumors that they were discussing a potential merger. A so-called “merger of equals” would have actually been classified as a reverse takeover, as the smaller company, William Hill, would technically acquire the larger, Amaya. On Tuesday, both companies announced that the talks have ended… Read more »
The state of Georgia is bereft of any sort of legalized gambling aside from the lottery, but over the last few years, support for a new gaming industry – land-based casinos specifically – has slowly built. Last week, the Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts spoke in front of the Rotary Club of Atlanta, pitching… Read more »
The Trump Taj Mahal Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City closed yesterday after 26 years. Once the poker hub of the east coast, the Taj is no longer owned by the groping Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, but rather by billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises and is operated by Tropicana Entertainment. The Taj Mahal… Read more »
In August, 888 Holdings and The Rank Group were unable to convince William Hill to join forces with them to form a new mega-gaming firm. Now, 888’s Chief Executive is insistent that his company and Rank are not about to merge sans Will Hill. The week after the second of two proposals from 888 and… Read more »
Following DraftKings’ launch of a new daily/season-long hybrid game, rivals FanDuel and Yahoo! have introduced their own versions of DFS with a season-long flavor. FanDuel’s is called “Friends Mode” while Yahoo’s is the “Yahoo Cup.” We’ll start with FanDuel’s Friends Mode, as it most closely mirror’s DraftKing’s Leagues. Really, it is just about the same… Read more »
As former President George W. Bush once so confidently said, “There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” Or something like that. After two futile attempts to acquire… Read more »
Love daily fantasy sports but aren’t thrilled with the “daily” part of it? Well DraftKings has just the thing for you. Kind of. It is still “daily” fantasy sports, but DraftKings’ new “Leagues” injects the added twist of being able to play all season long with your buddies! Traditional fantasy sports are great fun. You… Read more »
On Monday, 888 Holdings and The Rank Group announced that they made a second proposal to acquire William Hill. William Hill announced, in turn, that it has rejected the offer. The “Revised Proposal” comes just six days after the initial proposal from 888 and Rank. Both bids had two pieces: cash and stock. The new… Read more »
About two weeks ago, gambling firms 888 Holdings and Rank Group confirmed rumors that they were teaming up to put in a bid for rival William Hill, the largest gambling concern in the United Kingdom. On Tuesday, it was announced that they not only had, in fact, put in a formal offer, but that William… Read more »
Sunday’s Hall of Fame Game between the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts may have been canceled, but the daily fantasy sports (DFS) football season for New Yorkers has not. New York DFS fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill on Wednesday that legalizes the games in the… Read more »
Caesars Acquisition Corp. and Shanghai Giant Network Technology Co., Ltd. announced Saturday that a consortium of Chinese firms has acquired Playtika, the social and mobile gaming division of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. (CIE). The deal, which was rumored to be in the works less than two weeks ago, is worth $4.4 billion. According to a… Read more »
UK-based Rank Group and Gibraltar-based 888 Holdings confirmed rumors this weekend that they have teamed up in talks to acquire competitor William Hill, the largest gambling company in the UK. No financial numbers have been made public. Both 888 and Rank issued a statement today, which reads, in part: 888 Holdings plc (“888”) and The… Read more »
For American sports fans, this time of year is the doldrums of the sports calendar. The professional hockey and basketball seasons just ended (college seasons ended a while ago), college football is two months away, and the NFL season is more than two months away. Right now, it’s just baseball, which is cool and all,… Read more »
The World Series of Poker has opened the public nomination process for the Poker Hall of Fame class of 2016. Fans can visit wsop.com to submit a nominee along with a brief explanation of why that player is deserving. After the nomination window closes, the nominees will be vetted and the top ten will be… Read more »
Merge Gaming has stopped accepting new U.S. players, according to players and two site representatives. The U.S. country option was removed from the new account form last week at Carbon Poker, PlayersOnly, Sportsbook.ag and SuperBook. The decision affects the poker platform, casino games and sports betting products. The policy may not be a permanent one,… Read more »
New York has been the most hostile battleground in the daily fantasy sports (DFS) wars in the United States, but if recent reports hold true, it appears that there may at least be some positive momentum for DFS in the Empire State in the near future. According to LegalSportsReport.com (LSR), a new DFS legalization and… Read more »
Governor Phil Bryant signed SB 2541 Thursday, officially legalizing and regulating daily fantasy sports (DFS) in the state of Mississippi. Mississippi is the fourth state to approve of DFS this year, behind Indiana, Virginia, and neighboring Tennessee. The bill took a roundabout way to become a law. In March, the bill, called the “Fantasy Contest… Read more »
A bill that would legalize and regulate daily fantasy sports (DFS) in the state of Colorado has passed through both chambers of the state legislature and is now on to the desk of Governor John Hickenlooper for final approval. The bill, HB 16-1404, was introduced in the House of Representatives on March 24th and made… Read more »
Daily fantasy sports (DFS) leaders DraftKings and FanDuel have withdrawn from another state, as Idaho’s Attorney General Lawrence Wasden declared DFS illegal. He is the 11th state Attorney General to decide that DFS constitutes illegal gambling. The two fantasy sites were to be gone from the state as of Sunday, May 1st. In a press… Read more »
