Bookmakers see Real Madrid as an odds-on favorite to win Thursday’s game and the odds keep moving in Los Blancos’ favor. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that Barca will miss a couple of key players, most notably, Robert Lewandowski. To learn about all the other reasons why Carlo Ancelotti’s boys are likely to win El Clasico in the Copa Del Rey, just keep on reading!

Real Madrid vs Barcelona Odds

When, Where, and How to Watch?

• Place: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain
• Date: Thursday, March 2, 2023
• Time: 3:00 PM ET
• How to Watch: ESPN+

Everything Going in Real Madrid’s Favor

Los Blancos are undefeated at home in all competitions since April last year. Their most recent game at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu saw them draw 1-1 with Atletico Madrid. It was a game in which they were the dominant force. The reason why they didn’t win is that they probably needed a rest after pulling off a major comeback just a few days earlier.

What we’re talking about is Real Madrid’s performance in the Champions League game with Liverpool, which they won 5-2 after going 2-0 down.

Their form is good and the mood in the locker room is superb. Los Blancos look satisfied with their life under coach Ancelotti, who’s turned them into real world-beaters. These guys have a chance to win three trophies this season – the Champions League, Spanish La Liga, and the Copa Del Rey.

Barca to Miss Several Key Men

Last Sunday, Barcelona suffered a shocking 1-0 loss to Almeria in La Liga. Three days earlier, they lost to Manchester United 2-1 in the UEFA Europa League, which meant the end of their continental journey. They still have a nice lead in La Liga with seven points more than second-placed Real Madrid. Still, the season is long and anything can happen in the next couple of months.

When it comes to the Copa Del Rey, Barca’s chance of advancing to the next stage looks slim. This goes especially if they get hammered by Real Madrid in the first game of the doubleheader. Unfortunately for the boys from Catalonia, such a scenario seems very likely.

The thing is that apart from not being in great form, Barca have many other worries. One of those is the absence of their scoring leader Robert Lewandowski.

In addition to the Polish scoring machine, coach Xavi also won’t be able to count on several other crucial players – Ousmane Dembele, Ansu Fati, and Pedri.

Real Madrid vs Barcelona Prediction

We’re almost 100% confident Real Madrid will win El Clasico on Thursday. Everything seems to be going in their favor at this point and they need to take advantage of that.

Pick: Real Madrid to win

This collaboration will allow Octoplay to immediately introduce five of its titles, to wit Pearly Shores, Heavy Anchor, Hot Harvest, Disco Dive, and Blazing Touch, as part of Soft2Bet’s network of partners in Europe.

Octoplay Incorporates Its Products into Soft2Bet

Soft2Bet operates as a provider of platforms and a casino operator and will further benefit from the innovative content provided by Octoplay and the company’s dedicated game server. Soft2Bet is presently licensed to operate in some of the most prominent iGaming markets, including Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, and Malta, and it has rolled out a number of distinct casino brands.

Among those are names such as CampoBet, ZulaBet, Cadabrus, YoyoCasino, and LightCasino. Commenting on this opportunity, Octoplay CEO Carl Ejlertsson welcomed the chance to further strengthen the supplier’s reach in regulated markets and reach thousands of new players. He added:

That a successful casino group and platform provider like Soft2Bet is excited about taking our games is a testament to the quality of our games and our unique product vision. We look forward to this being among the first of many deals in 2023.

Octoplay CEO Carl Ejlertsson

Soft2Bet director of gaming Daniel Mitton has confirmed that Octoplay has indeed proved to be a powerful solution and a true disruptor in the industry, making its addition all the more important. Octoplay currently holds a license from the Malta Gaming Authority and the company is working on expanding its reach in other jurisdictions as well.

Octoplay also owns a dedicated RGS platform, and it has been upping the pace of development since it launched in October 2022. The company launched a bunch of new studios as well, including Penguin King and Super Hippo, both of which are joining the provider’s efforts in picking up the pace of its development over the coming months.

As a result, SkillOnNet partner operators and their players will have access to a range of experiences brought on by BGaming. This library includes slot and arcade-style games, provably fair titles, and more.

BGaming Brings Crash and Unique Historic Games to SkillOnNet

BGaming has been able to create powerful experiences that trace their roots to traditional gaming solutions. One such game is Jogo Do Bicho, which has become a hit with Brazilian players as the online game is based on lottery games played in Brazil in the 19^th century.

The studio brings other experiences, too. One such innovative option is SpaceXY, a crash game with social multiplayer features that is very popular with new generations of players. The game is based on the traditional crash experience whereby players bet on how far a rocket can make before it crashes and burns.

The farther out it makes it, the bigger the multiplier becomes. Commenting on this new opportunity, SkillOnNet head of games Jani Kontturi said that BGaming was a great addition to the platform. He particularly praised the Jogo Do Bicho and crash-style games supplied by the company and remarked on their success in the South American iGaming markets:

This is not just a portfolio of really good games, it’s content that will engage and delight old-school gamers and emerging demographics alike.

SkillOnNet head of games Jani Kontturi

BGaming co-chief product owner Yulia Aliakseyeva was similarly pleased with this opportunity. She remarked that BGaming has enjoyed a “phenomenal year” of growth and that the company is determined to use the latest opportunity with SkillOnNet to continue growing across the board.

“We feel we’re both on the same page when it comes to casino gaming, with a commitment to content that offers something dazzling, diverse and different,” Aliakseyeva explained. BGaming has achieved significant milestones in 2022, the company reported in an update shared in December.

The 12-month period saw a serious uptake in the number of products and employees working with the company. In 2022, the company expanded its team to 120 people, from 64 in January of that same year. BGaming is committed to continuing to grow through smart business decisions such as its latest tie-up with SkillOnNet.

As a result, BETER’s dedicated esports solutions will now be extended to Fortuna Entertainment Group (FEG)’s offer and help the operator build its presence in the world of competitive video gaming betting.

BETER Extends Esports Backing with More Feeds and Odds

BETER presently covers more than 25,000 live events every year, and this extensive coverage will similarly be made available to FEG. Customers will have the opportunity to explore a wide range of games and tournaments and enjoy one of the best possible uptimes in the esports betting industry.

BETER will extend both odds feeds as well as full coverage of esports tournaments and events so that FEG can provide esports aficionados with a 360-degree experience. BETER’s esports offering is touted as one of the best in the sector, and the company has a dedicated division that is laser-focused on the fast-developing vertical.

BETER employs expert traders who are able to give partner businesses a competitive edge. The extension of their mutual partnership is an important step forward as well. The companies originally launched an alliance focused on esports in 2020.

As per the terms of that agreement, BETER has been providing FEG with 24/7 in-house tournament coverage through its ESportsBattle solutions, which offers eHockey, eBasketball, eFootball and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive games. BETER Esports general manager Evgeniy Bekker was excited to see the esports partnership between the two companies take a new, more involved shape.

Working with leading operators gives us an excellent opportunity to continue driving the iGaming industry with the best possible esports betting product.

BETER Esports general manager Evgeniy Bekker

New Opportunities for Growth in Esports

Bekker noted that he felt confident in the success of this extended partnership and noted that BETER would be helping FEG significantly enhance its esports markets and services offered to customers. FEG head of trading operations Polinský Tomáš was similarly pleased with the development.

Tomáš hailed BETER as a reliable and effective partner, and the company was pleased that it has a chance to extend that collaboration and take it a step further. “We expect plenty more achievements and successes on the market with the professionals at BETER by our side,” he concluded.  

Meanwhile, BETER has been building up its presence in the esports ecosystem. It recently teamed up with GRID and expanded its ESportsBattle solutions with the addition of Dota 2 events.

The source of the most recent self-doubt comes from the BetStop self-exclusion register which promises residents in the Down Under to actually stay away from their troubled gambling patterns. There is solid backing for the program, too, with some $40 million going down to develop it already.

BetStop Does Not Enjoy Everyone’s Trust

And as launch day approaches, many argue that the program is not as effective and is somewhat blown out of proportion in terms of costs. In fact, some members of the government believe that the existing data, consisting of Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and PDF documents, would have more than sufficed in helping gamblers stay safe.

But BetStop is coming either way, borne out of the efforts of then-New South Wales premier Barry O’Farrell who was a firm opponent of offshore gambling websites in Australia which continue to target residents to this very day. However, not all is seeing BetStop as misused money.

The Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA) has insisted that BetStop is needed and must launch as soon as technically possible. An earlier supposed rollout was plagued by technical misfires.

Then again, ACMA is now confident in the technical capabilities of the software, arguing that it can handle millions of requests per minute, making it a robust solution to leverage across Australia’s growing gambling industry.  

BetStop is not in itself a revolutionary idea, but it’s a necessary addition to the gambling ecosystem, argue supporters. Basically, it will work in the same way much of Europe’s self-exclusion program work. All licensed operators in Australia would have to verify with BetStop whether a person had been excluded because of excessive gambling habits before they allow them to register or/and access gambling products.

Once again, scepticism is to be heard from places such as the Northern Territory Racing Commission which believes that there is some room for fooling the system.

Low Tech Alternatives May Be Used for a While

For example, Alastair Shields of NT Racing Commission has said that the system is prone to vulnerabilities such as altering a person’s name, date of birth, address, mobile phone number or other operator details that could create a loophole. He told ABC News:

It is the commission’s experience that self-excluded persons who are in the grip of gambling addiction will go to extraordinary lengths to circumvent a system designed to prevent them from opening an account and using it to gamble.

Alastair Shields of NT Racing Commission

Shields has a point as other self-exclusion systems around the world have failed. GamStop was found out to have the same failings several years ago. This is not all bad news, because a solution can be implemented to prevent such instances of abuse, too.

The Northern Territory similarly believes that BetStop is a costly venture with dubious efficiency. Rather, companies registered in the state stick to the aforementioned Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and PDFs to verify whether a person is actually a gambling addict.

Therefore, BetStop may not launch immediately in the Northern Territory as the state would maintain what it calls its low-tech alternative until such a time that the new self-exclusion program is established as a security guarantor of vulnerable gamblers’ safety.