With a vision “to be the best gaming entertainment supplier there is”, Play’n GO is constantly busy creating fresh content that can successfully stand the test of time. Colt Lightning is one of their freshest titles expected to fall into this exact category. Thanks to its electric and innovative features and cool aesthetics, the game is ready to take the industry by storm. 

Colt Lightning Metrics Overview 

• Reels: 5
• Rows: 3-4-4-4-3
• Paylines: 576-12,348
• RTP: up to 96.24% 
• Hit Freq: –
• Max Win: 25,000x
• Volatility: High
• Min/Max Bet: 0.10-100
• Release date: February 16, 2023

A Mix of Classic Buffalo Theme with Modern-Day Elements

The first impression is of a classic, ever-green game with the popular buffalo theme in place, sprinkled with eye-catching, electrifying modern-day twists. The action is set in the great North American outdoors, in a place packed with images of rocky ridges, cacti, and plenty of scrub and lightning. 

The 10 through Ace symbols are low-paying symbols in the game. They are worth 1.2x to 2.5x the stake. The wolf, cougar, eagle, and snake symbols are high-paying symbols that bring players 2x-3x the bet. 

When seen in the base game, the colt symbol is worth up to 6x the stake. The Super Colt symbol is only visible in the free spins round. It pays 12x the stake when six identical symbols are seen popping on the reels. When landing on reels two to four, the colt turns into the wild and replaces all symbols except for the scatter symbols and the horseshoe symbols.

Colt Strikes, Rapid Re-Spins, and Super Colt Spins

The one-of-a-kind layout comes with three features that nicely complement one another during gameplay: Colt Strikes, Rapid Re-Spins, and Super Colt Spins. When the Colt Strike feature is engaged, players watch the Colt symbols increase in size and considerably boost the potential of any non-winning round. 

If the horseshoe symbol is seen landing on the third reel, it automatically engages the Rapid Re-Spins feature. The latter brings players a new opportunity to potentially enjoy a big win while seeing the height of the reel grow by one row. The maximum payout is set to 3x. 

To activate the Free Spins round, players must land all three scatter symbols. When this occurs, the original color of the colt symbol changes during the bonus round while the symbol’s value goes up two times. 

The company’s head of game retention George Olekszy spoke about the supplier’s attention to detail throughout the game and the features that turn Colt Lightning into an “entertaining game that is easy to follow”.

Last week, Play’n GO launched Legion Gold, a new slot with Mega Free Spins, Gold Re-Spins, and Multiplying Wilds. 

PA Betting Services, a leading content and sports betting data supplier, has penned a multi-year deal to provide DAZN BET with racing data for horse and greyhound racing events. This will help DAZN BET expand its offering with premium content for racing enthusiasts.

As agreed, PA Betting Services will leverage its racing distribution platform to power DAZN BET with over 50,000 meetings a year. The supplier will provide data for events from the United States, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, South Africa and Australia, effectively covering five continents.

The multi-year agreement will help DAZN BET become a leading force in wagering on sports and racing. According to the company, its recent launch in the United Kingdom attests to the renewed vitality of the market and its openness to new entrants.

DAZN BET is certain that PA Betting services is a great partner that will help the betting operator make its name known among bettors while remaining compliant with local regulations.

DAZN BET Realizes the Importance of Having Reliable Partners

PA Betting Services’ head of business development and strategic partnerships, Richard Duncan, commented on the agreement. He said that his team is delighted by the opportunity to provide another major brand with sports data. Duncan added that he is happy that so many clients have chosen to trust PA Betting Services and adopt its 24/7 racing solutions.

According to Duncan, DAZN offers sports fans a premium first-class sports ecosystem. He praised its newly-launched sports betting brand, DAZN BET, for quickly understanding the importance of working with best-in-class suppliers.

Shane McLaughlin, DAZN BET UK’s managing director, also shared his thoughts on the matter. He explained that PA Betting Services’ appealing products were exactly the reason why DAZN picked them as its sports betting brand’s newest partner.

PA Betting Services’ consistent pre-race, race-day, and fixed odds racing coverage of over 50,000 events per year, paired with their close relationships to racing’s global rights owners made them a great choice for a partner – in a new multi-year agreement.

Shane McLaughlin, MD, DAZN BET UK

DAZN BET’s Parent Company Has Been Struggling

While the new partnership is exciting, DAZN has faced some challenges in recent times. The sports media juggernaut, which hopes to one day go public, has been struggling with financial losses as it invested in key media rights.

DAZN’s ambition is to become a global media powerhouse like Amazon and Netflix and further improve the quality of its offering.

DAZN BET is the company’s sports betting subsidiary and was launched in 2022. While it has been faring well, its parent company hopes to keep it as a separate service and not rely on its proceeds.

Kindred Group’s flagship brand, Unibet, has extended its support to soccer in France to include basketball, renaming its #AuCoeurDuFootball program to #AuCoeurDuSport, seeking to deliver sports kits and equipment to 400 amateur clubs from both sports in 2023.

Saving on Sports Equipment

Titled “Sports at Heart,” the program will allow amateur football and basketball clubs to save on average of €2,500 ($2,675) on sports gear as Kindred Group continued to demonstrate its commitment to grassroots sport in France.

“Being at the heart of local communities, Kindred is a firm believer that grassroots sports plays a huge role in society,” said the head of Corporate Affairs France at Kindred Group, Adrien Julien, noting that amateur clubs were among those the hardest hit by the pandemic.

“Unibet is proud to continue to equip thousands of athletes, men and women, throughout France,” he added, stressing that all shirts provided by the brand would carry responsible gambling messages, in line with Kindred’s wider Journey Towards Zero approach.

The initiative began in 2019 in partnership with Act for Sports and during the four years, Unibet has equipped over 780 local French soccer clubs, providing support at a time when funding in amateur sports has been decimated. And now, the program is extended to include amateur basketball clubs.

Bringing People Together

Commenting on the announcement, Laurent Latour, secretary of FC Chancelade Marsac, one of the amateur football clubs which have benefited from #AuCoeurDuFootball, outlined that Unibet’s contribution “between shirts, equipment and materials,” has helped the club save around €3,500 ($3,745), an amount that is huge for a small club.

Further, the program “has helped to bring people together” as part of the Unibet Awards and through meetings with the other sponsored clubs, Latour explained, trying to portray the wider effects of the sponsorship provided by Unibet.

Unibet will provide close to 12,500 kits to 890 athletes at 100 sponsored basketball clubs and 300 soccer clubs, both men’s and women’s senior. Candidate clubs to benefit from the sponsorship will have until the end of February to apply for the program.

As one of the major players on the global gaming scene, Kindred Group operates nine brands across three continents and boasts a customer base of over 300 million, offering them entertainment in a safe, fair and sustainable environment.

The gambling group is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm Large Cap and is a member of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), as well as a founding member of the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA).

Calvin Ridley, an American football wide receiver, was suspended from the NFL for wagering on sports. The reformed player acknowledged his mistake and will now try to return to competing.

Ridley Wagered on Sports

Ridley was suspended after placing several mobile wagers in November 2021. It is known that Ridley placed around 10 bets and made a few parlay wagers. In total, the wide receiver wagered around $1,500.

Experts found out that in his playtime, Ridley had made parlays which included the Atlanta Falcons, which were his team at the time. Luckily for Ridley, investigators did not find any evidence of fraud or game information leak.

However professional NFL athletes are prohibited from betting as they might undermine the integrity of the league. Because of such concerns, Hard Rock contacted Genius Sports, the NFL’s sports data provider, and informed it that Ridley had bet. As a result, the player was reprimanded and suspended from competing professionally.

Ridley bet on his own volition, with his NFL coaches, teammates, competitors and staff being unaware of his wagering activity. According to a post he made on Twitter, the player does not suffer from problem gambling.

Ridley Began the Reinstatement Process

In November 2022, Ridley was acquired by the Jacksonville Jaguars despite still being suspended. The team believes that once the player will be a great option for quarterback Trevor Lawrence once he returns to competing professionally.

Ridley will now begin the process of returning to the league. As outlined in his suspension, Ridley became able to apply for reinstatement on February 15, 2023. The player applied for reinstatement as soon as possible and now hopes to return to the NFL.

Wagering Athletes Undermine the Integrity of Pro Sports

Athletes betting on sports are something that is widely regarded as problematic in professional competitions. Allowing professionals to wager may give them an unfair advantage over average bettors, compromising the fairness of sports betting.

In addition, wagering athletes may oftentimes be convinced to fix matches, thus undermining the integrity of professional sports as well.

Because of that, in 2022, UFC betting was temporarily banned in Ontario as the league did not follow some of the standards expected by the regulator. These concerns came amid a big betting scandal involving several professional UFC athletes and leading to the suspensions of a number of players. Soon after that, the UFC teamed up with US Integrity to improve its integrity controls.

The New York State Gaming Commission recently opened the application bidding process for three new downstate casino licenses, and the list of applicants continues to grow. Bally’s is the latest operator to submit its proposal. While the operator’s project seems sound, it will have to compete with other industry heavyweights sporting equally compelling propositions.

The Operator Has Made Extensive Plans

Bally’s proposed new casino will occupy part of Ferry Point’s Trump Golf Link. The plans place the new establishment in a prime location in the Bronx, occupying 17 of the course’s 192 acres. The operator has already reached an agreement with the Trump Organization, which gave its approval for the $2.5 billion casino project.

If Bally’s successfully secures one of the coveted licenses, it will gain the right to remove the former president’s name from the golf course, hopefully avoiding any negative associations. Bally’s Corporation chairman Soo Kim stated in an interview for the New York Times that the company was ready to proceed as soon as it received a license.

We have the right to exercise our option at any time to make a payment and essentially step into their lease.

Soo Kim, Bally’s Corporation chairman

Building a casino at Trump Golf Link presents several hurdles despite initial arrangements. Since the property is still under lease with the city, Bally’s will need to secure regulatory approval to repurpose the land. Furthermore, the course stands on a former landfill, which could complicate the construction process.

All These Preparations May Be for Naught

The above considerations would still be pointless if Bally’s does not secure one of the three available New York casino licenses. The operator will have to compete with established and successful venues like MGM-owned Empire City Casino and Resorts World New York City, which can easily upgrade. Industry heavyweights like Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts have also expressed interest.

Overall, at least ten companies have entered the contest with a spattering of projects varying in size and scope. For example, integrated resorts company Las Vegas Sands recently announced plans for a new multi-billion-dollar integrated casino project in Nassau County, western Long Island. The NYGC has kept quiet regarding their preferred specifications, so Bally’s still stands a chance.

The company is in an excellent position to pursue expansion opportunities, explaining its New York hopes. The recent preliminary Q4 and full-year results showed record profits in the Casinos & Resorts sectors, encouraging investments into these verticals. The operator’s project for a new $1.7 billion flagship casino in Chicago is proceeding as planned, recently clearing another big regulatory hurdle.

In September 2021, the regulator launched a thorough evaluation of Blue Star Planet Limited, the company behind the 10Bet brand, after an investigation uncovered that the operator had several substantial problems with anti-money laundering (AML) policies and responsible gambling. 10Bet has taken steps to remedy these shortcomings, which is why the UKGC agreed to a settlement instead of a fine.

AML and Safe Gambling Measures Were Ineffective

According to the UKGC’s public statement, Blue Star Planet Limited was responsible for several egregious license breaches between November 2019 and June 2021. An investigation and subsequent section 116 regulatory review found failings in the operator’s processes aimed at preventing Money Laundering and protecting vulnerable people. Commissioners also uncovered weaknesses in its reporting arrangements, which was a substantial aggravating factor.

Blue Star has accepted the UKGC’s findings and acknowledged its shortcomings. The company agrees that its measures to limit customer deposits and prevent overspending were too relaxed. AML risk alert limits were also too high to be effective, and many clients managed to deposit significant amounts before any risk profiling occurred. The regulator also noted that the automated restrictions meant to limit high-velocity gambling were largely inefficient.

The Regulator Urged Other Operators to Take Notice

The UKGC’s report listed several aggravating and mitigating factors which informed their final verdict. It stated that the breaches were serious and directly impacted licensing objectives. The operator’s shortcomings also likely affected clients outside the scope of the investigation. According to the Commission, Blue Star’s senior management should have been aware of these issues but did nothing to remedy them.

However, the regulator noted that 10Bet took extensive steps to mitigate the issues, recognized its failings early, and cooperated with the Commission, promoting a more lenient verdict. The UKGC claims this case should serve as an example for the wider industry and urged other operators to review their compliance procedures.

Gambling operators should take account of the failings identified in this investigation.

UKGC official statement regarding Blue Star Planet Limited

Despite the severity of the violations, 10Bet managed to get away relatively scot-free. The operator must pay £620,000, which will go towards socially responsible causes. An additional £3,571.25 will be necessary to cover the Commission’s expenses regarding the case, and Blue Star must consent to the publication of the case details.

Overall, the UK regulator has had a busy start to the new year. The Commission already fined three other operators for similar violations. Vbet and TonyBet received relatively minor punishments, while Touch Games got slapped with a hefty $7.5 million (£6.1 million) fine due to its continuous failings. Such sanctions may seem heavy-handed, but a proactive and potent regulator is necessary for a healthy gaming ecosystem.