This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.
A.C. says: As the title indicates, this article covers the history of baccarat. There’s no discussion of the casino edge, which is 1.06% on the banker bet, 1.24% on the player bet, and 14.44% on the tie. As stated, the play of the hands is determined by the game’s rules and there are no player decisions beyond which bet to make. Because of its long history, many interesting stories are attached to the game, one of which, the Phil Ivey/Kelly Sun edge-sorting saga, is touched on in this article (a movie about this, titled The Baccarat Machine, is in the works). LVA members can read much more about Ivey/Sun in the newsletter archives and more baccarat-related stories (along with some awesome baccarat art) can be found in our book, The Art of Gambling Through the Ages. The article states that mini-baccarat has “lower odds.” This appears to be an editing error, as mini-baccarat and “big bac” have the same rules. The author likely meant to say that the “limits” are lower, which is usually the case.
This article was written by Sean Chaffin in association with 888Casino.
Player or Banker: The History of Baccarat
What is essentially a simple game that has been around for centuries is viewed by many as a high-class game played by those in the upper echelon. Many may think of a tuxedo-clad James Bond playing the game in some fancy Monte Carlo casino salon.
But baccarat is fairly easy to follow and play with Italian and French roots and remains highly popular centuries after the game was introduced in European gambling houses. This article details the complete history of the game from its roots in high-end gambling houses to private games to eventually thrilling gamblers in Las Vegas.
The PokerStarsEuropean Poker Tour (EPT) Paris has been taking place all week long, and there has been a lot of action. We recently talked about much of it in the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which you can listen to here.
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team has been on-site to offer live updates from a slew of EPT Paris tournaments. Here’s a look at five of the most exciting hands captured in our live updates from the EPT Paris.
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Three Clocks, Two Check-Raises & One Double for Guilbert
Johan Guilbert
On Day 2 of the EPT Paris €5,300 Main Event, it was Level 15 (2,000/4,000/4,000) when Johan “Yoh Viral” Guilbert opened to 8,000 from middle position and Daniyar Aubakirov three-bet to 17,000 from the hijack before Guilbert went deep in the tank when the action got back around. Someone eventually called clock and Guilbert called soon after.
Guilbert checked on the flop of and Aubakirov continued for 9,000. Guilbert sat perfectly still for over a minute before pushing out a stack of chips for a check-raise to 23,000. Aubakirov called.
The turn brought the and Guilbert’s eyes fluttered behind his octagon sunglasses as he rested his hands in his lap and thought through a decision. A table mate again called the clock and Guilbert eventually checked as the seconds wound down.
Aubakirov bet 20,000 and, right on schedule, Guilbert went back into the tank. A table mate called the clock on Guilbert for the third time of the hand and Guilbert once again check-raised with a jam of 66,000. Aubakirov called with his bigger stack.
Johan Guilbert: Daniyar Aubakirov:
Guilbert was ahead with a pair of tens and nothing changed on the river to earn the French content creator the pot as others at the table looked ready to move on to the next hand.
PokerNews own Connor Richard caught some of the hand on social media:
The tweet inspired some outrage and a lot of discussion on social media by poker pundits.
Matt Berkey: “C’mon man. I love Yoh but this needs to end. If social media has one singular good it would be to shame this type of nonsense out of existence.”
Daniel Negreanu: “I really don’t have to often because most of the tourneys I play have a shot clock, but yeah, it’s not personal. If people waste time because they think it benefits them, I will call clock if it benefits me. Fair game.”
Frank Kassela: “I have completely solved the slow play problem at any table I play at now. If they start clock burning I raise and do it much slower and much longer. They give up pretty quickly.”
Tournament Director Matt Savage took to Twitter to poll the poker community on the hand, with an overwhelming 93.5% responding that it’s ruining the game (as of publication time).
Poker player @YoHViral recently had the clock called on him 3 times in one hand. He won the pot but also started a… https://t.co/YaCvrgXo4L
— Matt Savage (@SavagePoker)
However, there was at least one player who supported Guilbert, and that was tanking advocate and practitioner Jordan Cristos.
@berkey11 The guy is thinking about what to do. If he can snap fold AA on Kxxx then he Obv has a consideration here… https://t.co/YoYqIODtPX
— 🦸♂️☀️Jordan Cristos ☀️🦸♂️ (@jcinblue)
Quad Aces for Moore
Peter Moore
Also on Day 2 of the Main Event, albeit a couple of levels earlier in Level 13 (1,000/2,500/2,500), Peter Moore opened to 6,000 and Miroslav Forman three-bet to 18,000. Moore four-bet to 46,000 with 45,000 behind and Forman re-raised for all the chips to get in the middle.
Peter Moore: Miroslav Forman:
The preflop cooler turned into a postflop sweat as the flop landed to give Moore a set but to leave Forman outs with two backdoor draws. The turn gave Forman outs to a straight before the landed on the river to give Moore quads for a double.
“Always a sweat!” Moore said as he raked in the pot. Surprisingly, he would be out a few levels later.
“So fuckin’ sick,” a stunned Moore said after his stack was counted and he had vaulted out of his seat. Once all was said and done, the Canadian was left empty-handed and with a bad beat story to tell.
Moore had gotten it in with the and he was up against Johan Schultz-Pedersen with the .
Schultz-Pedersen flopped the top pair and top kicker with a flush draw on . The turn propelled Schultz-Pedersen into the lead as Moore was left with a single out only, which never came on the river.
Zhechov Spikes River to Claim Three Bounties
Ivan Zhechev
On Day 2 of the €3,000 EPT Mystery Bounty, it was Level 14 (1,500/3,000/3,000) when Bogdan Munteanu moved all in for 20,500 from under the gun, prompting Jose Jaraiz to jam for 34,000 from middle position. Erik Bystroem was the third player to ship in his stack and he committed his last 87,500. Ivan Zhechev was in the big blind and mulled over his options before calling as the big stack.
Bogdan Munteanu: Jose Jaraiz: Erik Bystroem: Ivan Zhechev:
Munteanu had the best of it on the flop and improved to trips on the turn. Bystroem also picked up a flush draw to go along with his pair of nines. The table then erupted when the river hit the felt to give Ivan Zhechev the best hand, sixes full of aces.
“So sick,” uttered some of the eliminated players as they departed.
Click here to see who won the €3,000 EPT Mystery Bounty!
Quadruple Knockout for Ferreira Pais
Ferreira Pais
On Day 2 of the €10,200 Mystery Bounty, it was Level 14 (5,000/10,000/10,000) when Table 5 brought a spectacular five-way all-in during which the severe short stacks of Stefan Schillhabel and Raphael Da Costa was in the middle. Furthermore, Jakob Miegel and Alexandre Reard were also all-in and they were all covered by Mauricio Ferreira Pais, the man who bubbled the $25,000 PSPC earlier this month.
“Oh man, I also wanted his bounty,” another player joked as the following cards were flipped over.
Raphael Da Costa: Stefan Schillhabel: Alexandre Reard: Jakob Miegel: Mauricio Ferreira Pais:
The flop gave Ferreira Pais a gutshot which he hit with the turn to make the nuts for the time being. Reard and Miegel had outs to broadway but missed on the river as a quadruple knockout was confirmed.
Find Out Here How Money Bubble Burst in the 2023 PSPC
Three-Way All-in Leads to Three-Way Chop
Dragos Trofimov
On Day 1a of the €1,100 FPS Paris Main Event, it was Level 14 (1,500/3,000/3,000) when Joao Tomas opened to 6,000 from the hijack and Jean Labryga called from the cutoff. Dragos Trofimov jammed for 63,500 from the big blind which then prompted Tomas to move all in for 83,500. Labryga agonized over the decision before calling.
Dragos Trofimov: Joao Tomas: Jean Labryga:
Tomas remained best following the flop but Trofimov then had both of his opponents drawing to a chop after he made a wheel on the turn.
The river caused some commotion as all three players ended up with six-high straight. It was a cruel river for Trofimov as he was denied a massive triple-up.
As the junket industry in Macau is continuing to adjust to the new reality, more than 90% of people who were previously employed with junket operators have not returned to the gaming industry.
Junket Operators Staying on the Sidelines
The figure was revealed by the president of the Macau Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters, Kwok Chi Chung, who also said that the majority of junket operators are currently staying on the sidelines, waiting to see how the VIP sector would restart under the new law.
With less than 10% of junket employees returning and just a few junket operators having resumed operation so far, the prospect of the sector is unclear. Kwok noted that he was not in a hurry to resume operation with his company either.
“As the profit of all the junkets comes from a 1.25% commission (on rolling chip turnover) and there is no more profit sharing with the casino operators, we are figuring out the new start under the new gaming rules,” Kwok stated as quoted by Asia Gaming Brief.
It seems that the resurgence in visitations to the Special Administrative Region (SAR) is not helping the junket sector to recover, but is in alignment with the new reality pictured by the local government, in which Macau’s focus is shifted away from VIP gambling and into a mass-centric model, and the once gambling Mecca is re-branded as a tourist destination.
Kwok also noted that most of the former employees of VIP casino rooms would gladly return to the sector as they do not feel the same level of financial security at their new jobs as taxi drivers or local food delivery personnel, wrongfully considering that their old jobs would pay the same level as before.
Kwok admitted that VIP room operators would not be able to pay the same remuneration for their employees as the new junket law limited junket operators to one source of revenue only – the 1.25% commission – and employees cannot participate in gaming revenue share schemes.
Difficulties Finding Jobs in the Sector
Information that former VIP workers find difficulties to return to the sector was confirmed by data released by the Macau Gaming Industry Employees Home related to a survey the workers union conducted in March last year.
According to the data, 85.1% of respondents confirmed they could not find work at the time, and for 70% of those who managed to find a new job in the sector, it took them more than six months to do so.
Yet, the majority elected to start working in retail or as taxi and delivery drivers, earning far less than they have earned before and are still being owed termination compensation.
They also highlight the PokerStars EPT Paris, which has produced some big stories such as Kayhan Mokri continuing his Mystery Bounty heater. Connor Richards caught up with the up-and-coming star for an interview. Likewise, Chris Brewer won not one but two high roller titles, and PokerNews grabbed a winner’s interview with him.
Finally, Chad and Jesse talk about some upcoming plans and series including a trip to Texas and the start of the 2023 Wynn Millions.
Listen to those stories and more on the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast!
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The Bay State’s current gambling laws prohibit revenue share and cost per acquisition (CPA) agreements, effectively curtailing all affiliate programs. However, the Commission appears to recognize the value of such arrangements and has agreed to hold talks with operators before putting the matter to vote. Sportsbooks like Caesars are known for their extensive affiliate programs, so an amendment to existing regulations would be a substantial boon.
The MGC Will Hold Talks with Affected Companies
Massachusetts’ sports betting regulations currently prohibit all sports wagering operators from entering into agreements with third parties when compensation depends on the volume of clients, wagers, or the outcome of specific bets. These restrictions severely hinder all traditional affiliate schemes, restricting advertising, marketing, and branding opportunities.
The MGC recently announced an upcoming revision to that regulation, allowing cost-per-acquisition (CPA) and revenue share agreements. The regulator did not share what prompted their sudden change of heart. Many high-profile operators preparing for the 10 March online sports betting launch run extensive affiliate programs, which may have influenced the Commission’s decision.
Despite its initial confirmation, the Massachusetts regulator remains cautious. The MGC announced it would gather representatives of affected companies on 26 February to discuss the matter in-depth, collect necessary data, and gauge the overall sentiment towards current measures. On 23 March, the Commission will hold its final vote regarding the proposed changes and announce its decision shortly afterward.
Allowing Affiliate Agreements Will Significantly Bolster Operators
As 10 March draws near, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is funneling most of its resources into ensuring a smooth and hassle-free online sports betting launch. However, the ongoing efforts do not appear to have impeded its primary function, as it recently tackled its first operator violations. The current drive to allow affiliates proves that the regulator can successfully handle many different tasks, which boards well for the future.
A lift on affiliate bans would significantly benefit many leading operators eyeing the upcoming online launch. Caesars, which relies heavily on such programs, would be one of the greatest beneficiaries of the proposed amendments. The operator has already launched its sportsbook app, offering wagering fans a preview of what they can expect.
Online betting in the Bay State will commence at 10 a.m. ET on 10 March and will be available via seven licensed sportsbooks, with two more launching in May. The delayed launch has allowed the MGC to test its procedures, review its first few violations and establish a constructive dialogue with operators, which is crucial for a well-functioning sports betting market.
VICI’s savvy choice of investments continues to pay off as its shares keep rising and net income soars. The REIT maintained its momentum during the last quarter, demonstrating substantial boosts across the most relevant metrics. Such impressive financial results provide a stable foundation for the investment trust to provide its shareholders with sustainable growth and rising value.
Financials Exceeded Expectations
Q4 revenues rose an impressive 100.9% year-over-year, reaching $769.9 million. Profits for the fiscal year 2022 also grew significantly. VICI made a total of $2.6 billion, an increase of 72.3% compared to 2021. Such a substantial revenue bump coincided with a sharp increase in adjusted funds from operations (AFFO), which increased 61.7% from last year to $1.7 billion.
These metrics are generally positive for VICI’s shareholders. Net income attributable to common stockholders rose to $1,117.6 million compared to $1,013.9 million for 2021. However, per-share prices dropped to $1.27 from $1.76. VICI attributed the decline to increased CECL allowance and the higher weighted average share count, which rose 51.4% year-over-year in Q4.
High-Profile Investments in 2022 Bolstered VICI’s Momentum
Such a meteoric rise in revenue is the direct result of VICI’s many successful partnerships throughout the year. In the fourth quarter alone, the REIT invested $51.9 million in Century Casinos in Missouri, acquired assets, completed the acquisition of the remaining 49.9% interest in MGM Grand/Mandalay Bay, and made a new lease agreement with Hard Rock related to Vegas’ Mirage Hotel & Casino, among others.
We… announced and originated approximately $4.5 billion of investments…, diversifying our relationships and expanding internationally.
Edward Pitoniak, CEO of VICI Properties
CEO Pitoniak was very pleased with 2022’s results. He shared that VICI was the only S&P 500 REIT to report a positive shareholder return and was now among the top 10 REITs in the RMZ REIT Index. Pitoniak was proud of the transformational acquisitions across Las Vegas, which made VICI the leading real estate owner in the Strip, laying a solid foundation for the coming year.
We are confident that our 2022… achievements will continue to put VICI in position for sustainable accretive growth and value creation for our shareholders into 2023 and beyond.
Edward Pitoniak, CEO of VICI Properties
VICI has successfully utilized its scale and liquidity, allowing for a flexible investment approach and a carefully curated portfolio of gaming and non-gaming assets. The recent acquisitions of four PURE casinos marked the REIT’s first foray into Canada, increasing the number of its gaming properties to eleven. With more expansions planned for 2023, VICI is well underway to maintain its upward trajectory.
If you’re not already aware, PokerStars Play is a free social poker app that brings amazing poker games like Texas Hold’em, Omaha Poker, as well as cutting-edge casino games straight onto your mobile device. Even better, PokerStars has developed this app, one of the leading online poker and casino game providers across the globe!
Did we forget to mention that PokerStars Play is completely free-to-play?
PokerStars Play is available worldwide, including in the United States and Australia. Still, please be aware that it doesn’t include real money gambling or an opportunity to win real money or prizes.
PokerStars Play is Free to Play in over 80 countries
One of the benefits of downloading and playing on the PokerStars Play App is the number of countries and regions where the games are available. There are currently over 80 countries that allow local players to play free games online with Poker Stars Play. All the regional versions of the app and the games you can play are translated into the specific language of that country so you can play confidently, no matter where you are.
We’ve listed just a few of the countries where you are free to play online poker and casino games at PokerStars Play:
REGION
EXAMPLE COUNTRIES
North America
USA, Canada
Europe
France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Ireland
Central & South America
Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile
Africa & Middle East
Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
Australasia & Asia
Australia, India, New Zealand, Thailand, Philippines, The Republic of Korea
Note this is just a select list of some countries that currently offer PokerStars Play.
PokerStars Play includes fantastic online poker games
It won’t come as any surprise that the two most popular poker games are available, free to play with PokerStars Play – Texas Hold’Em and Omaha Poker! What you might not know is that as well as playing these games, poker players can also complete various Poker Challenges to earn additional chips. Once you’ve downloaded the app and started playing, you’ll receive challenges on a daily and weekly basis. These can range from making specific wagers to playing in poker tournaments and more! Each challenge contains its own progress bar so you can see how you stack up, and once you’ve completed your challenge, you’ll receive free chips to use on more games.
Another nice feature of the online poker section of PokerStars Play, is getting involved in Leagues. As a player, you’ll be placed in a division consisting of 100 players across various skill levels. Your place in the league is determined by the cumulative total of chips you’ve earned, and you can move up to the successive league if your placing is high enough at the end of the season.
You can play on a wide selection of online slots
It’s not just all about poker at PokerStars Play – casino game players are also well catered for, with a wide and varied selection of slots. Like the poker options, slots have their own menu on the main game lobby in the PokerStars Play app, so it’s extremely easy to access your favorite games and to start spinning!
Once you’ve accessed the Slots Lobby, you have the choice of either Jackpot Slots or Regular Slots. Plus, if you’re lucky enough to be a VIP Player, you will have access to the VIP Slot selection.
Once you’ve selected your chosen slot, the gameplay is super easy on PokerStars Play. You have options to Increase or Decrease your Bet, plus a Max Bet option to set the maximum bet at a specific amount. You can either manually hit Spin to start spinning the slot or use the Auto Spin option to set automatic spins.
PokerStars Play Reward Your Loyalty
Player rewards or loyalty schemes are familiar to online casinos, but PokerStars Play goes one better by awarding you with experience points just for playing a hand of poker or one of the many slots and mini-games. As you earn more and more points, you’ll climb the up the VIP program. The higher your rank in the VIP program, the more benefits you’ll access.
In addition to these rewards, every player can spin the Ad Wheel, just by watching an ad. You’ll get a reward each time you spin the wheel, and if 5 ads are watched within 24 hours, a bonus reward is given. For new players, you’ll see Daily Log-In Rewards available to you in the main lobby for the first 7 days of opening your account.
Play on scratchers to get even more rewards
One of the standout features on PokerStars Play, is the addition of some of the added extras, alongside the poker and casino games on offer. Case in point, check our the scratchers, which you can access from the main app lobby screen.
Every player is awarded a free scratcher each day, but you can also earn another free scratcher by watching an ad. If you match three symbols on a scratcher, you can win free chips to use on any of the games in the app. You can also purchase premium scratchers that unlock bigger and better rewards!
So that’s our Top 5 reasons to download and play on PokerStars Play... what are yours? Download now to find out!
Last October, a criminal gang from Hong Kong was arrested after it was discovered that it had collected HK$40 million ($510,000) using an illegal gambling platform run by the members of the organization.
Now, further proving its ongoing efforts to crack down on the triads that are usually connected to illegal gambling, sex and drug trafficking, the authorities in the special administrative region have announced the results of another impressive operation with code name Levington.
Hong Kong Police Sparing No Effort to Block Triads’ Income Sources
The police forces’ investigation around the city was intended to disrupt the sale of drugs, as well as brothel and gambling activities controlled by gangs and triads. The authorities’ efforts were also aimed at stopping illegal debt collection along with illegal money lending. The operation, which was led by the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, resulted in the successful confiscation of illegal cigarettes and drugs along with weapons, cards, and gambling chips.
This was possible after police forces forcefully shut down 15 different gambling dens and two brothels and busted a storage center in Tin Shui Wai that was hiding contraband cigarettes.
The same authorities that announced they would adopt a zero-tolerance policy for the illegal activities of triads arrested a total of 234 suspects.
The bust covered dozens of suspected members belonging to a number of triad factions such as Sun Yee On and 14K triads. The list included 206 Hong Kong residents and 12 people with origins in mainland China. The other 16 individuals who were busted used temporary identification documents which allowed them to stay in Hong Kong without having a job there.
The 137 men and 97 women were busted on suspicion of wounding, money laundering, criminal intimidation and damage, possession of offensive weapons, drug trafficking, processing illegal cigarettes, illegal gambling activities, and operating vice or gambling venues.
The Police Confiscated HK$2M in Gambling Chips
Besides the HK$220,000 (US$28,039) worth of illegal narcotics that were confiscated as a result of the special operation, the authorities also got their hands on HK$5.9 million ($752,000) from illicit cigarettes and HK$2 million ($255,000) from confiscated gambling chips. The Hong Kong Police Force also managed to successfully seize HK$1.93 million ($246,000) worth of cash, two vehicles, and illegal weapons.
In 2022, the police authorities were handed 2,554 reports regarding crimes related to triads in Hong Kong, a number that was 35.3% higher compared to the previous year’s figure. In September 2022, three police officers in Hong Kong faked a raid in order to protect an unlicensed casino. After their actions were discovered and reported to the police by an undercover officer, the trio was arrested and sentenced to a few months in prison.
The UK Gambling Commission’s (UKGC) fresh data showcases the way players’ overall gambling behavior has been influenced by the environmental changes taking place in Great Britain.
The UKGC data has been carefully sourced and collected from important operators in the industry. However, the report is not a comprehensive one, which means the commission has not sourced data from all existing operators in the UK. The report covers the period between March 2020 and December 2022, inclusive. The commission advises against any comparisons made with the industry’s sets of data based on statistics.
This is because the current dataset also includes bonuses and free bets and it is not a complete one in terms of participating operators. The information was collected from a number of online and brick-and-mortar licensed betting operators that are oftentimes found on the high streets in Britain.
The main purpose of the fresh release was to allow a comparison between the third quarter of the financial year 2022-2023 with the third quarter of the financial year 2021-2022. Ultimately, the report wishes to establish the way the gambling market has changed over comparative periods throughout the years.
Gross Gambling Yield Down by 2%, Total Bets and Spins Up
The latest UKGC operator data has shown that the online total gross gambling yield (GGY) has gone down 2% in the period between October-December 2022, compared to the same quarter in the previous year. GGY represents the amount that operators retain after paying players’ winnings and before deducting their operating costs.
According to the fresh datasets, Great Britain’s GGY for Q3 2022-2023 reached the £1.2 billion ($1.43 billion) mark. At the same time, total bets and spins went up 8% during the same period on a year-on-year basis.
British operators also recorded a total number of average monthly active accounts of 3.7 million in the quarter ending December 31, 2022. The figure signals a 13% increase in the quarter compared to the numbers in the same quarter ending December 31, 2021.
At the same time, the number of total bets and spins went up 2% reaching the 3.4 billion mark between Q3 2021-2022 and Q3 2022-2023. Licensed betting operators’ GGY went up 5% to £560 million ($670 million) when comparing the same two quarters.
Customer and Operator Interactions and Slot Sessions
The UKGC report also shows that the number of customer interactions recorded in the third quarter of 2022-2023 went down 10% to 2.9 million when compared to the same quarter in 2021-2022. Most of these interactions have preserved their automated characteristics. At the same time, the number of direct interactions recorded by gaming operators went up by 32% on a YoY basis.
Slots GGY went up 2%, reaching £582 million ($696 million) between the third quarter of 2021-2022 and the third quarter of 2022-2023. The total number of spins also recorded an 8% growth.
The number of online slot sessions that were longer than 60 minutes recorded a rise of 11%, reaching the 9 million mark for the first time since the dataset started to be released to the public.
During the same quarter under discussion, players also engaged in 21% more gambling sessions. Even more, the report shows that 6.5% of all sessions were longer than the 60-minute limit. This represents the lowest percentage since March 2020, when the UKGC initiated the collection of data from operators.
Finally, players engaged in shorter gaming sessions, with the average length of a gaming session being two minutes shorter, from 19 minutes to 17 minutes when compared to the YoY data for the same quarter.
Earlier in the week, the UKGC announced that while it would not be enforcing affordability checks on operators, the latter will need to personally implement these checks on their customers.
SOFTSWISS was a pioneer in the online crypto-casino movement and continues to assert dominance in the arena now. Being the leader of a multi-metric solutions company focused on cryptocurrency gambling puts the company in a unique position to analyze the state of Coins in iGaming. In addition to more than a decade of experience, the company presumably has access to more data than anyone else on the subject through the provenance of its Game Aggregator and Casino Platform. The company has about 700 clients using one or both of those solutions.
In addition to annual reports, SOFTSWISS also publishes quarterly updates. While the just-in-time information is valuable, the annual reports tend to reflect longer-term trends better.
The current trends in digital coin gambling for the year 2022 compared to 2021 are not exceptionally rosy nor is the current trend toward returning to fiat currencies for online gambling seen recently. Caveats should be stated before digging into the numbers too deeply: All data comes from SS customers; partway through the year they introduced a coin-to-fiat converter and all bets placed in fiat currencies, even if the deposit and withdrawals were cryptos, were counted as fiat bets.
The value of Bitcoin and Ethereum which are the two biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap fell 65% and 67% year on year.
Overall, crypto betting fell nearly 15% but Ether increased its share of the total bets made against Bitcoin. We’ll dig into that in a moment as well.
Crypto trends in iGaming are inextricably tied to the macroeconomy and crypto’s place in it. That said, many players may have been reluctant to use digital currencies thanks to the chaotic events it was involved in including November’s FTX debacle. The overall crypto climate was basically unstable for most of the year, but gambling on the company’s platform did increase appreciably when taking fiat currency into account.
The company’s platform saw a 31% increase in total bets made in 2022 over those made in 2021. Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) increased 36% over 2021 numbers.
The platform handled over 20 billion euros in bets during the second quarter alone last year including fiat and cryptocurrencies. That number continued to grow throughout the year. The average bet placed increased by some 35% in Q2 2022 compared to the same quarter in 2021.
Contributing to the rise in numbers may have been an increasing number of SOFTSWISS game aggregator clients, new partnerships with 18 game studios and three new providers accredited in Malta, and the consistent geographical expansion of existing clients.
GGR rose 36% in 2022 from 2.4b EUR to 3.3b – much of that might be attributable to the explosive Latin American market expansion with SS working steadily to help clients capture the nascent lucrative market. Looking at the phenomenal growth of fiat betting as well as revenues compared to less-than-stellar crypto performance we see BTC and ETH moved in different directions. Bitcoin’s slice of the total crypto pie lost 7.4% percentage points over the year while Ethereum gained in popularity among players by 3.7%.
Chief Operating Officer at SOFTSWISS, Vitali Matsukevich commented: “The fact that we see an increasing number of new fiat projects does not diminish the power of the already established worldwide community of crypto players. There is still a strong drive for iGaming operators to implement and expand payment methods supporting digital coins. iGaming tech providers will still be focused on developing new crypto-centric tools. For example, we’ve launched the In-Game Currency Conversion feature allowing the crypto audience to enjoy all available games through automatic conversion of digital coin bets into fiat wagers.”
Fiat bets accounted for 76% of all bets on the platform by the end of 2022.
The top three digital currencies used along with their share of the total were
Bitcoin – 72.7% Ethereum – 13.6% Litecoin – 5.5%
DOGE picked up in popularity as did LTC while USDT nearly doubled its share from 1.7% of all crypto bets to 3.7%. Bitcoin Cash fell off the top six list and was replaced by XRP at an inaugural .7% share.
CEO Matsukevich expressed optimism for 2023 and asserted that players will not abandon crypto thanks to its decentralized nature, transaction speed, and anonymity.
He added: “Despite all digital coin fluctuations, crypto has already gained a significant share among players and operators and has become an integral part of the market. For this reason, SOFTSWISS continues to strengthen its partners’ projects, whether fiat or crypto, with new innovative tools and solutions, providing operators with security, reliability, and top-level service.”
Source: SOFTSWISS, an invitation to view the report, February 23, 2023
The post SOFTSWISS Recaps the State of Digital Coins in iGaming appeared first on Casino News Daily.
and Aubakirov continued for 9,000. Guilbert sat perfectly still for over a minute before pushing out a stack of chips for a check-raise to 23,000. Aubakirov called.
and Guilbert’s eyes fluttered behind his octagon sunglasses as he rested his hands in his lap and thought through a decision. A table mate again called the clock and Guilbert eventually checked as the seconds wound down.
river to earn the French content creator the pot as others at the table looked ready to move on to the next hand.
to give Moore a set but to leave Forman outs with two backdoor draws. The 
turn gave Forman outs to a straight before the 
.
river.
flop and improved to trips on the 
river hit the felt to give Ivan Zhechev the best hand, sixes full of aces. 
river as a quadruple knockout was confirmed.
flop but Trofimov then had both of his opponents drawing to a chop after he made a wheel on the 
river caused some commotion as all three players ended up with six-high straight. It was a cruel river for Trofimov as he was denied a massive triple-up.
