Roulette Corner Bet ᗎ Odds, Payouts, Rules & How-To’s

Four Corner Bets on an European Roulette Betting Table


This inside bet has many similarities with other types of inside bets, and even with some outside bets. However, it has many characteristics that set it apart from any other bet on the roulette table. It comes down to the unique combination of payouts and odds, which can be achieved with a small number of betting chips.

High rollers who want to cover almost the entire betting table can save a lot of time by using a corner bet in roulette. Yet, that’s only a hint of its characteristics and advantages. In the links below, you will find the main topics of this blog post about the roulette corner bet.

Of course, you can use corner bets when playing at online roulette sites or in land-based casinos, as well as on all types of table layouts. The basic rules are that the roulette corner bet includes four numbers at once. There are other alternative ways (betting types) to achieve such a combination, but the corner bet is the most typical one. Find out more about its characteristics in the next paragraph.

Characteristics of a Corner Bet in Roulette

As you can see from the table below, there are not many differences in the corner bet rules between the three main roulette table layouts – European, French, and American. A roulette corner bet allows you to select a maximum of six corners on the table, for a total of 24 numbers, which makes four numbers per corner bet. This is a similar table coverage as many outside roulette bets.

You need to place only one chip on the corner between four numbers to count as a corner bet. It is important to place the chip in such a way that it is in the middle (crosshair) of the lines surrounding four numbers. Any other placement would count as another bet, such as a street, split, or six-way bet.

❎ Table Layout 📜 Rules 🎲 Odds 💰 Payouts
Corner Bet in European Roulette Place a chip on the corner of four adjacent numbers on the table. 10.8% 8 to 1
Corner Bet in French Roulette Same rules as in the European roulette table. 10.8% 8 to 1
Corner Bet in American Roulette Same rules as in European roulette, except that the house edge is a little higher. 10.5% 8 to 1

Another main characteristic of this bet is that the payout is the same on all the roulette table types – 8:1. This sets it among the most rewarding roulette inside bets. The odds levels are also the same, although the American roulette table offers slightly lower odds due to the additional double zero sector. Shortly put, you can easily and quickly cover a lot of sectors on the table by using corner bets in roulette.

Payout Ratio of Corner Bets in Roulette

Now, let’s focus on the corner bet payout in roulette, as it is one of its greatest advantages. It comes down to an 8:1 payout if the ball lands on a winning number. For instance, if you bet £10 on a corner bet including numbers 7, 8, 10, and 11, and the ball lands on number 7 – you will win £80. Here are more highlights about the corner bet payout in roulette:

  • The corner bet payout in roulette is recommended for experienced players.
  • You can achieve higher payouts with fewer chips on the roulette betting table.
  • The betting time is shorter, and the betting process is easier.
  • High rollers can easily combine a corner bet with other high payout bets.
  • Playing high-stakes roulette at high-limit tables is more convenient for corner bets.

In comparison to other less risky bets, such as Odds/Evens or Black/Red that pay out 1:1, the corner bets in roulette are much more rewarding. However, they cannot be compared to the highest paying bets with a ratio of 35:1, for example, for a straight-up bet. That’s why the corner bet payout in roulette is considered somewhere in the middle.

Odds Levels of the Roulette Corner Bet

With the high payout rate comes the low odds of winning. Let’s face it – there are 37 sectors on the European Roulette wheel, and hitting one of four numbers is rather unlikely. The American version of the game even has an additional, double-zero sector. However, the option to bet on four numbers at once allows you to ramp up your betting sectors quite efficiently.

If you use the maximum of six corner bets on the roulette table, you will select basically 24 numbers out of 37. That’s why you have such high odds of winning if you use all six corner bets at once. In the next table, you can see a comparison of the corner bet with other similar roulette betting types.

↗️ Comparison with Similar Bets 🎲 Odds of Winning ✔️ Pros ❌ Cons
Basket Bet 10.8% Same payout as the Corner bet; can be used for betting on the zero sector. A higher house edge on American roulette; can be mistaken for a Straight Up Bet on number 4.
Six-Way Bet 15.8% Allows you to bet on six numbers at once. Higher odds of winning. A payout rate of 5 to 1; can be easily mistaken for a Street bet.
Voisins du Zéro 37.8% Significantly greater odds of winning. Smaller payouts; available only on a table with Announced bets/Racetrack.
Tiers Du Cylindre 32.4% Covers the equivalent of three corner bets at once. Available only on roulette tables with a Racetrack.

The roulette corner bet has many significant advantages over other similar bets. For instance, European Roulette gives an average hit rate of 70% if all the six corner bets are used at once. You should also keep in mind that the odds of winning decrease in the long term if you don’t change your betting types.

It is important to point out that the top line bet (also known as the basket) is basically the same as the four number bet (also known as Transversale de Quatre), which offers the same odds levels as the corner bet. However, they can’t stack in multiple bets throughout the betting table.

Roulette Corner Bet Strategy Tips

Some of the greatest benefits of corner bets are that you can use them in a wide variety of roulette betting strategies. However, some strategies are more suitable for corner bets than others. For example, the Martingale roulette betting strategy is very convenient, as it is a progressive strategy requiring you to double your bets on every loss. Here are some other great betting strategies and bits of advice.

  1. Make sure that the corners don’t overlap in adjacent corner bets.
  2. Use betting progression (double your bets) on every losing round.
  3. Play with corner bets on roulette tables with live dealers.
  4. Avoid using corner bets in roulette in the long term.
  5. Lower your profit/loss stop thresholds upon using roulette corner bets.
  6. Follow the betting history and the hot/cold number statistics.
  7. Use corner bets in a combination with other riskier bets.

Another top roulette corner bet strategy is to follow the hot/cold number statistics. When you see a number that has a greater chance of winning – you should include it in a corner bet with three adjacent numbers. Of course, you should also always remember that roulette is a game of chance, and the outcome of the game depends almost entirely on how lucky you get.

Corner Bet As a Part of Other Bets in Roulette

If you didn’t know that you can use any roulette corner bet strategy as a part of other bet types, then you will learn something new. It comes down to a mixed betting strategy that can potentially help improve the total winning odds of your bets, as well as the overall payout ratio. After all, combining bets is one of the greatest benefits of playing roulette.

For example, you can add the roulette corner bet in a Martingale strategy, but also by placing an additional basket bet. Therefore, you can turn one of the corner bet downsides into an advantage. You cannot include the zero number in a typical corner bet, but in combination with a basket bet, you can (including numbers 0, 1, 2, 3). For example, many live games or NetEnt online roulette tables offer you the chance to try this specific betting approach.

Another great tip is to include corner bets in roulette while placing a voisins du zero bet on the racetrack. You don’t even need to make a separate corner bet, as the numbers 25, 26, 28 and 29 are already featured in the voisins du zero bet.

Roulette Corner Bet Q&A

If you would like to find out more about the corner bet payout in roulette or how to use it in a Martingale strategy, for example, please read the following questions and answers. This FAQ section includes the most important things you need to know about the roulette corner bet.

1️⃣ What is a corner bet in roulette?

A corner bet in roulette is a unique opportunity to place a wager on four different numbers, at once. This is one of the main characteristics of the roulette corner bet, as it also offers great payout rates with great odds against winning.

2️⃣ What is the corner bet payout in roulette?

When you play roulette, you can use a wide variety of betting types, and each of them has different odds levels with the same payout rates. The corner bet payout in roulette has a rate of 8 to 1. This is somewhere in the middle when compared to other bet types.

3️⃣ What are the odds against winning a corner bet in roulette?

The odds of the corner bets in roulette are pretty high. They are almost the same in European, French and American Roulette. You should keep in mind that with a corner bet, you can simultaneously bet on four numbers out of 37, so the odds of hitting a winning number are, simply put, decent.

4️⃣ How to use corner bets in roulette?

There are many ways in which you can use this type of bet. For instance, some of the top roulette corner bet strategy tips include a combination with other betting types, such as a street or a six-way bet. Also, you can remember that a roulette corner bet is suitable for any progressive betting strategy.

5️⃣ Is corner bet better than Red/Black bets in roulette?

Yes, it is better, as the corner bet payout in roulette is 8 to 1, while the payout of a Black/Red bet is 1 to 1. Of course, there are other reasons, but you can also use similar bets to the corner bet in the roulette with great payouts and odds against winning. Examples include the Full Completes bet.



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Craziest Gambling Tattoos [PHOTOS] | Weekly Slots News

gambling tattoos


gambling tattoos

Gambling tattoos come in many forms but they all have one thing in common: the love of the game. Designs range from the demonstration of luck and representing their favorite game to showing off their biggest win at the tables. Common examples include 21 from blackjack and a lucky number on the roulette wheel.

People with gambling tattoos show that they are not afraid to take risks and that they love to seek thrills that many others stay away from.

Other people get gambling tattoos to try and tempt Lady Luck to take their side in other aspects of their lives, such as their relationships and careers. They may even look to their tattoo as a source of inspiration during times when they need it the most.

While onlookers may see a gambling tattoo and think it’s bad news, those that really understand will know that gambling is part of their lives.

When you’re on a heater, gambling can be one of the most exciting experiences. There’s nothing quite like having to make a decision that can make you a hero or go home empty-handed.

But while gambling can give people a way to achieve financial freedom beyond their wildest dreams, for some, it can be a source of pain. Gambling tattoos for these people serve as a reminder that they made it through some dark times, using them as inspiration that they can overcome anything that comes their way.

Here are a selection of awesome gambling tattoos that will make you want to get one for yourself.

the royal flush

Let’s start with something of a classic – the royal flush. It’s the best hand in poker and makes for a great gambling tattoo. Notice that the suits are spades too. The ace of spades is the most famous card in the deck, making this gambling tattoo even more profound. The artist has also gone out of their way to bring the design to life, with the rose made of high-value notes adding a touch of glamor. It also represents the love that this person has for gambling, with the dice underneath showing that he isn’t afraid to take chances in life.

The Joker

While the main theme of the tattoo is not linked directly to gambling, the design is still something to behold. The Joker is synonymous with taking big risks in order to get what he wants. He strikes fear into everyone he comes up against. The three aces at the wrist is also a well-known symbol of gambling, being a very strong hand in a number of games. Again, you can tell the wearer is a fan of spades, with this suit at the front of the other cards. You can tell that the designer spent a lot of time with this gambling tattoo and the end product was well worth the wait!

woman’s face

This gambling tattoo shows that the wearer is a big fan of the industry. We love how the roulette wheel blends into the woman’s face, indicating that it’s become a part of her identity. If you look closely, you can make out a mask around her face too. It shows that she takes the games seriously, preventing her from showing tells to her opponents. The way that the woman is holding the hand shows confidence. This tells us that the wearer is proud of their gambling ways and will probably not let anyone tell them otherwise. It’s another fantastic job by a very talented artist.

king of hearts

The first thing that meets the eye with this gambling tattoo is the vibrant colors. The way the artist blends the red into the design is amazing and it really brings the whole tattoo to life, particularly on the king of hearts. The subtle details are remarkable so deserves high praise for the job they have done. While some of the numbers on the roulette wheel are not true to industry standards, it still looks great and will serve as an awesome topic of conversation. We are sure that the person lucky enough to wear this gambling tattoo has a number of stories to share.

Sin City

Everyone knows that Las Vegas is the home of gambling. The welcome sign is world famous, welcoming millions of players every year to the city. This gambling tattoo pays homage to Sin City with this amazing design. The wearer clearly wants to show that he loves it and has spent a lot of time in the parlor to show it. But we are sure he is more than happy with his investment! There are a number of classic Vegas and gambling sections, such as 777 from the slots and Lucky 15 on the roulette wheel. The artist cleverly uses shading to show to the different colors of the numbers on the wheel too, making this gambling tattoo one of our favorites.

gamble for fun

This gambling tattoo is a little bit different to those already on this list. While the others are more serious, the design has a cartoon feel to it, showing that the wearer likes to gamble for fun rather than taking it too seriously. Pocket aces make an appearance here, but interestingly without the ace of spades, showing that he doesn’t care too much about the details. As long as he’s having a good time, he isn’t too bothered. Nevertheless, the artist makes the wheel, in particular, look awesome and the dice are a nice touch too.

Las Vegas

There’s an awful lot to break down in this tattoo – and that’s why we love it! The seductive woman at the top of this gambling tattoo shows that the wearer enjoys the social side to Las Vegas more than the actual gambling. The welcome sign makes another appearance in this design, acting as a barrier between the wearer and the woman. Perhaps this is the challenge that he enjoys the most? Further down and we see the four aces as well as the word ‘paradise’ circling around the arm. The artist has done a fantastic job with this gambling tattoo, with few splashes of color here and there to make it even more spectacular.

best gambling tattoos

This gambling tattoo must have taken ages to get done! The intricacy makes it one of the best gambling tattoos we have ever seen. The tiger on the chest shows that this gambler is fierce and not afraid to lay it all on the line. Next to the wheel is a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, a drink very much connected with the gambling world. There are also two unorthodox cards on show, namely the 3 of hearts and the 8 of diamonds, which must have a special meaning to the wearer. Even the fire blazing on the forearm has been designed very well. This design has got pretty much everything you would want from a gambling tattoo.

deeper meaning

Here’s an example of a gambling tattoo that has a deeper meaning than just how much they love the game. The wearer shows he has had a past with gambling, with the relationship perhaps not being the greatest. They have definitely gone through something and the artist has shown it with real class. With an ode to the future, the shows that they have got through their troubles, wearing them on their sleeve with pride. The watch is a touch of genius, showing that time heals all wounds, with the rose made from money as a touching tribute to the game.

classic gambling tattoo

The person that wanted this gambling tattoo to be simple, effective, bold and to the point. In our opinion, the artist has nailed it. With the ball in the roulette wheel falling into the 13 pocket, the wearer must have an attachment to this number. Perhaps they won big or something memorable happened when they hit the magic number? 13 is unlucky for some but obviously not for this person. And with the welcome to Las Vegas sign combined with the ace king of spades, this serves as an instant classic gambling tattoo.

 the glitz and glam of Las Vegas

This gambling tattoo is the first on this list that isn’t centred around one particular object. Instead, the artist has taken inspiration from the glitz and glam of Las Vegas. The multiple stars across the arm emphasise the awe and wonder of gambling and how it can make you feel on top of the world. No matter if it’s with cards or dice, there is money to be made and a great experience to enjoy. There is a mixture of different suits mixed into the patterned stars, detailing the variety possible. This is a gambling tattoo worthy of a place on this list for this aspect alone.

queen of hearts

The majority of this gambling tattoo is made up of the queen of hearts herself – although if you look closely, you can see that she isn’t too friendly though. Her majesty is aiming a gun right into the middle of your forehead, showing that the wearer of this tattoo isn’t playing around when it comes to gambling. They are playing to win, with the queen showing little to no emotion on her face. On the wrist, lucky 7 wins again, but perhaps the location has another meaning. The wrist is where people wear a watch, so perhaps it is a sign that the timing of the win was significant? If not, it still looks awesome!

contrasting elements

Here is another gambling tattoo that makes the most of the colors available. The red dice and chips brighten up the design, emphasising the outlines of the key items. There are contrasting elements on this design to show both sides of gambling. The rolled up $100 bills show the potential for success, while the skull near the top of the tattoo shows that sometimes, it can do more harm than good. Depending on how the dice fall, anyone can experience either one. Overall, it’s a great gambling tattoo. We are sure the person wearing it is proud to carry it with them wherever they go.

one hell of a ride

The theme of this gambling tattoo follows on from the previous example. Again, there are elements showing how gambling can impact your life. The woman shows that the gambling life is sexy, glamorous and one hell of a ride, while at the same time linked to the cause of pain for so many, highlighted by the skull intertwined with the woman. And of course, the roulette table is the reason behind both. Sometimes the ball will land in your favor and sometimes it won’t. The artist has blended both together very well, not to mention how precise their work with color.

the eye

Here is an original gambling tattoo well worth talking about. Let’s start with the most obvious talking point: the eye. By the looks of things, it belongs to a woman and its expression shows that she is wary of how the roll of the dice can impact someone’s fortunes. You can really feel the emotion here. There is a handwritten caption above and underneath the dice that could, perhaps, have a personal meaning but it’s too hard to tell. One thing is for sure: this tattoo has a purpose. The artist has captured the wearer’s feelings towards gambling incredibly well.

 thrill of the roulette wheel

We think the person wearing this gambling tattoo must either enjoy the thrill of the roulette wheel or they had a big winning session. The artist has set the wheel on fire as it spins, indicating that they must have been on a heater. But looking at the wheel itself, the actual design is spectacular. While there may not be any numbers with each pocket, his work more than makes up for it, with the grooves and shading looking incredible. Towards the bottom are the ace of spades, dice and a stack of chips, showing that they enjoy other games too but considering the size of the roulette wheel, this is their favorite game.

Queen of hearts

Here’s another really cool gambling tattoo. It features another queen of hearts, but compared to the design of another on this list, she seems a lot more welcoming. She seems to have a hint of a smile breaking through her pouty lips, indicating that the person wearing the tattoo likes to flirt with the edge between winning and losing. It’s also likely that the wearer’s favorite suit is hearts, due to the fact that there are hearts covering the queen’s eyes, as well as the statement ace of hearts card she holds. There is a lot to like about this gambling tattoo and the artist deserves a lot of credit.

love to gamble

This gambling tattoo ticks pretty much every box. Roulette wheel? Check. Dice? Check. 777? Check. A stack of chips? Check. What else do you really need? For this person, clearly not anything else. They don’t need a tattoo that tells a story. They just want something that shows they love to gamble and try out any game that comes their way. The artist is showing that it doesn’t matter if they win or lose. With the stack of chips being the largest element of the tattoo, as long as they have money to play, they’ll be ok.

overseeing eye

Here’s another gambling tattoo with the focus being on an overseeing eye. It looks like it has seen many things and has become sad. The cards and dice underneath, it suggests that this person has had issues with gambling in the past and no longer feels the same way about it as they once had. As the candle burns, it shows that there is only a certain amount of time before your luck runs out and you lose. This is always the risk that comes with gambling and the artist has done very well to capture this image. There’s nothing more that needs to be said.

Win some, lose some

Does any other gambling tattoo sum up the whole experience more than this? ‘Win some, lose some’. Truer words were never spoken. But it’s this thrill that keeps people coming back for more, time and time again, with the hope of coming away with rolls of money tucked away in the back pocket. The text is interesting too. The word ‘Win’ is bigger than the word ‘Lose’ so this suggests that this person looks at gambling with a more positive outlook. Maybe the amount of money rolled up is how much they have won in the past? Either way, it looks fantastic.

darkness

This gambling tattoo gives the impression that it is dark and not to be taken lightly. The outreaching hand from the darkness indicates something sinister, with the alcohol and burning cigar adding to the chilling experience. Pocket aces are the best starting poker hand but even they can lose from time to time. And in a game with people you don’t want to be on the wrong side of, the thought of losing is enough to shy away from the action. The artist has done a great job at showing the power that gambling can have over people if not treated with care and managed properly.



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Eponarescue – Gambler’s Den – Best Gambling, Poker, Slot Casino Resources

Eponarescue - Gambler's Den - Best Gambling, Poker, Slot Casino Resources


How big a business? Sports Betting generated 490 billion US dollars in revenue during 2019, and this is forecast to rise to 770 billion dollars by 2025. However, it is generally held that this amount is eclipsed by the amount of money wagered on the illegal market.

Due to its unregulated nature, estimating the amount of illegal sports bets wagered each year is tricky. However a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Report recently estimated that 1.7 trillion dollars is wagered on illegal sports betting markets each year.

In other words, the value of the illegal sports betting market is over three times that of the regulated market. As the UNODC Report notes, organised crime’s involvement in illegal betting is equivalent in value to its involvement in drug, human, or arms trafficking.

Of course, the FAPL wants nothing to do with the illegal betting market, or its connections to criminality. But as we approach the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic, clubs are increasingly desperate for revenue. As such, many could be forgiven for being hypnotised by dollar signs.

Rule J.5 of the FAPL Handbook requires its clubs to notify the league about betting partnerships, but the League doesn’t regulate such partnerships. It also doesn’t regulate which betting companies can advertise at its grounds. This is a concern, as the dividing lines between legal and illegal betting are becoming increasingly blurred.

Jingle Balls

Twenty six sports betting websites appeared at the 20 FAPL stadiums over the Christmas period. Nine of these 23 betting companies advertised at more than one FAPL game, resulting in 63 separate sports betting company adverts on LED perimeter boards during the 20 game period. 

As most LED boards feature a rolling display involving under 15 companies, at some games this involved an almost constant display of gambling advertising during the 90 minutes of on-field play. Some games featured doubly-stacked LED boards equivalent to the height of a player on the TV screen.

At Aston Villa versus Chelsea on Boxing Day, five gambling companies advertised on perimeter LED boards in a near constant parade. In addition, OB Sports received extra coverage as Villa’s Sleeve Sponsor and Parimatch received match day branding due to its partnership with the club.

The level of betting company advertising during FAPL games makes a mockery of a ‘whistle to whistle’ TV ban voluntarily agreed by betting companies in 2019, and hailed as a success by the Betting and Gaming Council. It also calls in to question whether proposed UK Government crackdowns on betting sponsorship in football will be effective, unless they include LED perimeter boards.

Blurred lines

As well as appearing in English, OB Sport’s perimeter advertising at Villa Park also advertised OB.com in Mandarin. The advertised link redirects to www.obao76.com, which is entirely in Mandarin. Online gambling is illegal in China, however it is possible that the site may targeting Mandarin speakers in other countries.

According to a Mandarin disclaimer at the bottom of its homepage, OB.com – or obao76.com – is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). According to the disclaimer, the OB.com brand is owned by Opel Entertainment. 

A search through the MGA and PAGCOR internet sites doesn’t reveal any licences granted to OB.com or Opel Entertainment. None of the OB.com domains are listed on the MGA’s list of licensees. This raises questions as to whether the site is licensed at all.

Information about Opel Entertainment is hard to come by. However a popular Chinese singer, Jeff Chang, was recently forced to defend himself after it was reported that he had agreed a contract to promote a sports betting company. In a 30 December post on Chinese social media platform Weibo, Chang clarified that he had terminated the contract in March 2021, which was limited to local use in The Philippines.

The sports betting company concerned with Chang’s faux pas? Opel Entertainment. The company also owns Oub121.com, again in Mandarin, which has exactly the same site layout as obao76.com and proudly displays its sponsorship deal with Aston Villa at the bottom of the page. 

Accessing this website outside of Asia isn’t easy. Once registered using a Chinese mobile phone number, Oub121.com allows users to create a virtual wallet, which can be recharged using crypto currencies, many of which[1] also advertised at FAPL grounds over the Christmas period. Once this is done, a betting window appears which allows users to both watch, and bet on, live sporting events. 

As perviously mentioned, online gambling is illegal in China. It would therefore appear that in this particular case, FAPL perimeter LED boards have been used to advertise an application that allows Chinese residents to illegally place online wagers on sporting events.

Opel Entertainment isn’t the only company advertising sports betting to Asian audiences. W88.com is Crystal Palace’s betting partner, and also appeared on the LED perimeter boards at Crystal Palace vs. Norwich and Leicester City vs. Liverpool on 28 December. 12bet also appeared on the LED perimeter boards during Palace’s game against Watford on 28 December, advertising in both English and Mandarin. 

At Wolves’ foggy 19 December game against Chelsea, MX128.vip was advertised in Mandarin in doubly-stacked LED boards, with static advertising boards promoting gambling companies appearing above this. The MX128.vip site appears to be inaccessible from the UK, where it redirects to ManBetx.uk. 

The reason for advertising the .vip domain in Mandarin is unclear. However in September 2020, the British Gambling Commission warned that it would consider banning ‘VIP customer’ schemes seeking to attract high value customers, as operators were failing to protect them from overspending. 

ManBetx is owned by Vivaro, which operates a number of domains including Lovebet, which advertised at the Leicester City vs. Liverpool game on 28 December. Could ManBetx.uk be seeking VIP Asian customers through advertising at FAPL grounds? The company failed to respond to questions.

The licence roulette wheel

So how are companies such as Opel Entertainment allowed to advertise their sports betting OB.com brand in Great Britain if they aren’t licensed there? For nine of the 23 betting brands advertised over the Christmas period, the answer lies with a company based on the Isle of Man.

OB.com’s UK-facing site, www.oubao.co.uk, mentioned that it is ‘powered by’ TGP Europe, which is regulated by Great Britain’s Gambling Commission. The same is true for Fun88.co.uk; SBOtop.co.uk; SportsBetio.co.uk;  Stake.uk.com; 12Bet.uk; HTHBet.co.uk; LeyuBet.co.uk; and i8Bet.co.uk.

TGP stands for The Gaming Platform (TGP), its internet site reveals. TGP Europe is not a gambling company, but a technology company that builds websites for clients. Its client page doesn’t mention its involvement with HTHBet, LeyuBet, or i8Bet, however its Gambling Commission licence page does.

This lists 31 domains, 14 of which are afforded ‘White Label’ status. This includes the nine betting operators powered by TGP Europe that advertised at Premier League grounds over the Christmas period. ‘White Label’ status allows a company licensed by the Gambling Commission to contract provisions of its licensed activities to third parties.

Under Article 1.1.2 of the Gambling Commission’s Licensing Conditions and Code of Practice, licensees are responsible for ensuring that third parties are ‘bound by the same licence conditions and subject to the same codes of practice as the licensee’. TGP Europe may have done this for the UK-facing domains listed on the Gambling Commission site, however not all sites connected to the nine TGP Europe brands are UK facing.

As previously mentioned there are questions about whether OB Sports’ Mandarin site, which featured on FAPL LED perimeter boards over the Christmas period, is licensed at all. At Everton’s game against Brighton on 2 January, i8Bet advertised in English, Thai, and Mandarin. Its UK site has yet to launch, but it was able to promote the Thai version of its site, which mentions that it is based in Costa Rica.

Online gambling is illegal in Thailand. Yet as the screenshot on the right shows, the Thai language version of its internet site offers odds on FAPL games, including on events such as corners and bookings. A disclaimer on its internet site mentions that it is the customer’s responsibility to ensure that gambling is legal at their location. Of course like OB.com, another brand in the TGP Europe stable, i8Bet may just be advertising to speakers of Mandarin and Thai.

HTHBet.co.uk is another gambling brand powered by TGP Europe. However at Leicester vs. Liverpool on 28 December and at Manchester United vs. Burnley on 30 December, HTH367.com also advertised in Mandarin. The site now redirects to HTHBet.co.uk but at the time of the match, redirected to a Mandarin version of the site that features the same interface as the Mandarin version of OB Sport’s site[Picture HTH2].

The HTH367.com internet site is geoblocked in the UK, however it mentions that HTH is the Global Official Partner of Manchester United; the Official Partner of Leicester City; the Official Regional Partner of AC Milan; the Official Regional Partner of Wolfsburg; and the Official Asian Sponsor of Lille. An ‘About Us’ section of the website mentions that the site is owned by a company called China Experience Technology (华体会). Its corporate website lists its address as RCBC Plaza, Tower 2, Manila, Philippines. The building confirmed that it doesn’t have China Experience Technology, 华体会, or HTH registered as holding offices in any of its buildings.

Like obao76.com, HTH367.com mentions that it is licensed by the MGA, PAGCOR, and the BVI Financial Services Commission. Like obao76.com, a search through the MGA and PAGCOR internet sites doesn’t reveal any licences granted to China Experience Technology or HGH. None of the HTH domains are listed on the MGA’s list of licensees.

Fun88 is another gambling brand powered by TGP Europe. At Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace on Boxing Day it advertised Fun369.com, which redirects to J9.com, the international basketball federation’s (FIBA) new betting partner. As previously reported, there are serious questions about whether this site is licensed at all.

However at Chelsea’s victory over Tottenham in the Carabao EFL Cup semi-final on 12 January, the Mandarin advertised Fun88 domain had changed to Fun279.com. This links to a Mandarin sports betting application listing Fun88’s shirt sponsorship with Newcastle United and an Asian betting partnership with Tottenham. 

In November, Tottenham renewed its partnership with Fun88. We asked the club if it was aware that adverts at its Stadium were used to promote J9.com.

Ghost chasing

TGP Europe’s registered address is a small office above a betting shop on the Isle of Man. Google maps reveals that this is an address for a bookmaker.

From such a small base, can TGP Europe be expected to have effective oversight of all the gambling brands promoted by its partners at FAPL grounds? It doesn’t even appear to have effective oversight of its partners. 

Yabo Sports, a TGP Europe client, boasts Manchester United; Hertha Berlin, AS Monaco, Leicester City and Bayern Munich amongst its partners, which also include the Argentina national team; Italy’s Serie A; and the Copa América. It appears that its site has now been rebranded as Betvision.com, another site ‘powered by’ TGP Europe, after questions were raised about the identity of executives that appeared at sponsorship launches.

There appears to be no mention of Yabo Sports on Manchester United’s internet site or on Serie A’s list of partners. However, Hertha Berlin lists YaYu.com on its partner list, which is geoblocked from UK access. A media statement mentions that YaYu is a ‘leading provider of online sports entertainment services’. however the site can be accessed through Google Translate which shows that it is a gambling site that has connections to OB Sports, which appears to offer sports betting opportunities.

Another new arrival on the scene is Midnight Gaming, whose W88 brand is Crystal Palace’s sleeve sponsor. As mentioned, it appeared on LED perimeter boards at the London club’s 28 December game against Norwich City; and at Leicester City’s game against Liverpool on the same day.

The Gambling Commission lists an address in Poole, Dorset, as the company’s head office. This is also the address of another company licensed by the Gambling Commission to supply remote gambling software, AliQuantam Gaming Limited. The same Poole address is also listed as an office by gambling payment platform Hexopay.

A search on Google Maps reveals that AliQuantam Gaming is the only company registered at this address. AliQuantam’s internet site reveals that it is a gaming platform provider, similar to TGP Europe. However, the UK government’s Companies House lists AliQuantam Gaming as dissolved in 2010.

Companies House lists Midnight Gaming as owned by AliQuantam and a previous company name, Sporting Black Limited. It also shows that Midnight Gaming transferred its address from London to Poole in September 2020. It also confirms that the main company Director is Alan Hilliard Ehrlich.

Analysis of Companies House documents reveals that Ehrlich resides in Israel and in 2013, was Head of Poker Networks at PartyGaming. In 2011, PartyGaming merged with Bwin, and is now operated by Entain. 

A ‘Hilly Ehrlich’ was mentioned as the Business Development Manager of W88.com by Wolverhampton Wanderers, when it announced its partnership with the betting brand in 2018. This interview confirms that ‘Hilly Ehrlich’ was also Head of Poker Networks at PartyGaming.

In addition, AliQuantam Gaming appears to be behind an old website linked to both W88 and BR88. Again, the Poole address of AliQuantam Gaming is listed. BR88 was confirmed as Villa’s sleeve sponsor in 2019. Hilly Ehrlich was also mentioned when the club agreed a separate deal with W88 in June 2019.

AliQuantam’s internet site mentions that it is licensed in Malta. However a search of the MGA’s internet site for either AliQuantam, Midnight Gaming, or BR88 again yields no results. An internet search suggests that W88 may be owned by Marquee Holdings, whose shareholders are listed in the Panama Papers. 

W88 isn’t the only company connected to FAPL advertising mentioned in the Panama Papers. Vivaro, which operates ManBetX and LoveBet, is also listed. Of course, being listed in the Panama Papers only shows that companies hold offshore bank accounts and doesn’t suggest any criminal activity. 

The analysis above is designed to show the difficulty that FAPL clubs have in establishing who is behind the betting brands that advertise on their shirts and at their grounds. And if top FAPL clubs have difficulty, it can be assumed that the problem is likely to be worse further down the football pyramid. So what do the FAPL and the Gambling Commission have to say about the situation?

Not my job

The FAPL only regulates the visual aspects of LED perimeter boards, and advised The Sports Integrity Initiative that it is up to clubs to ensure that they remain within the law. There are no restrictions on use of double LED boards, as utilised for Wolves vs. Chelsea through the home club’s partnership with ADI. The FAPL said it doesn’t permit use of virtual technology to replace advertising featured on LED boards with other brands in non-UK TV markets, although this appears to be contradicted by observers.

LED boards are not sold centrally, but some FAPL clubs use third party agencies[2] to sell aggregated minutes via multi-club packages. This perhaps explains why LED perimeter advertising at some stadiums appears to be very similar. 

‘Online gambling operators are required to hold a Gambling Commission licence to transact with British based consumers’, read a reply from a Gambling Commission spokesperson to a series of questions. ‘If we find an unlicensed operator acting illegally we will take action. A sports body engaging in sponsorship arrangements with an unlicensed remote operator may be liable for the offence of advertising unlawful gambling if the remote gambling activity isn’t blocked to consumers in Great Britain and that this is clear to consumers. 

We’re of the view that the best way for sports bodies to protect themselves against this risk is to ensure that they only promote gambling operators licensed by us. It is for the owner of the advertising space to satisfy themselves that they are not committing the offence of advertising unlawful gambling.’

Most of the betting brands that featured at FAPL stadiums over the Christmas period have a UK-facing site, often licensed through a White Label agreement with a third party. However as shown above, many of these also have overseas facing websites and mobile applications.

Who is responsible for ensuring that all of these overseas facing websites, often advertised in languages other than English, are legitimate? According to the FAPL, the Gambling Commission is responsible. According to the Gambling Commission, the FAPL clubs are responsible. 

The opaque situation that surrounds White Label domains perhaps explains why the UK Government is reviewing their status as part of its Gambling Review. Concerned about gambling’s relationship with sport and football in particular, UK Gambling Minister Chris Philp will meet with sporting bodies next week. England’s Football Association has already prohibited betting companies from streaming FA Cup games after Bet365.com’s current deal expires at the end of the 2024/5 season.

Of course, it’s perfectly legitimate for FAPL clubs to have legal, regulated Asian betting partners. However this article demonstrates the difficulty that clubs face in assessing who is behind such companies, and in ensuring that such partners are not advertising illegal services in foreign languages. And until the FAPL and British Gambling Commission reassert control over this area, draconian restrictions are a real possibility.

1. AstroPay, which advertises in a video on its gaming page that it is an expert in ‘hard to reach’ markets such as Brazil and India, advertises on FAPL LED boards. BitCi also advertises on FAPL LED boards, as did Socios.com at Crystal Palace’s 28 December game against Norwich, despite a 22 December Advertising Standards Authority ruling that an Arsenal advert for the company breached its Social Responsibility Code. Kyber Network, Alchemy Markets, CorPay and other cryptocurrency products also featured on FAPL LED perimeter boards.

2. We could only find one third party agency used to sell LED perimeter boards at FAPL grounds – Project11.





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Putting Bills Into a Machine

Putting Bills Into a Machine


Before playing a video poker machine, I typically load it with $500 or $1,000 in bills or tickets. I do this for a number of reasons:

  1. I keep records of how much I win or lose each day. It’s easier for me to remember round numbers. If I’m playing a $2 game, ($10 a play), it’s common to be up or down several hundred dollars in a session. If I add another hundred-dollar bill as needed, it can be difficult to remember whether it’s four or five of those so far.

    For each additional bill, I could record it on my phone (I use the Notes app on my iPhone), but I can keep thousand-dollar increments straight more easily. If I go in for $3,000 or more in a session, I write each $1,000 play as I go.

  1. For a time-sensitive play (such as 5x points during Monday Night Football), I want to have premade tickets. It’s time intensive to insert hundred-dollar bills one at a time. If I put them into the machine I’m playing, sometimes the bill acceptor fills up during the play, robbing me of valuable playing time. So I’ll create $1,000 tickets on a slot machine. If that starts to get close to being full (I can easily hear this), I’ll just cash out of that machine and move to another. I might start my play with five or ten $1,000 tickets in my pocket.
  1. Some casinos, like the South Point, pay off all jackpots in cash. They do not use ticket-in-ticket-out tickets. When I was playing $1 Ten Play Quick Quads ($60 per play), W-2Gs were fairly frequent and the amount of cash I had in the machine was always emptying out — whether I was winning or losing. For one of those plays on a day I planned a long sesion, I’d begin with multiple $2,500 tickets in my pocket — perhaps $20,000 to $40,000 worth. 
  1. If there’s a vacant machine immediately to my left, I’ll play the game with my right hand only and feed bills into the adjacent machine until I reach an appropriate-sized ticket — or I run out of bills. Vacant machines on my right don’t work as well due to the location of the bill acceptor, but I can usually switch to the right-most machine and now the empty machine is on my left.
  1. Sometimes casinos will create and sell you premade tickets — sometimes $1,000 — sometimes any amount you like. I’ve used this option several times in the past. I know full-well that if I give them $20,000 to start with an ask for tickets, my name is going on a CTR (Currency Transaction Report). This does not concern me. I file as a professional gambler, get a large amount of W-2Gs, and will not be under suspicion as a money launderer.

None of what I’ve just said should surprise regular readers of my columns. The reason I’m mentioning it again is a friend of mine, a strong player, was musing out loud about the number of players he sees playing one $20 bill at a time. If they build it up to $100 or more, they’ll cash out, put it into their pocket, and insert another $20 bill. My friend was questioning why players do this.

I can think of two major reasons, coming under the general headings of Money Management and Security. For those of you who read this column on the www.gamblingwithanedge.com page, there is plenty of room for comments. Please feel free to add to my list of reasons. Perhaps an entirely new reason. Perhaps a nuance to a reason already mentioned.

  1. Money management. Most players play under circumstances where the house has the advantage. These know from bitter experience that they will usually lose. Every time they run out of credits and have to insert another bill or ticket, this gives them an opportunity to leave the machine. Sometimes they actually do leave the machine. They know that when they have lots of credits still on the machine, they rarely think about leaving.
  1. Security: On most machines, people walking by can tell how much money you have in credits. If someone sees you have, say, $2,300 in credits, they may well take note of what you look like and are wearing and consider meeting you later in the parking lot. A person with $80 in credits wouldn’t run the same risk.

I assume these people aren’t keeping accurate records of their gambling (Most people don’t). It’s possible for people to accurately record their cash-on-hand before they enter a casino (perhaps $384), and then count their money when they leave (perhaps $214). In this case, simple arithmetic tells them they have lost $170 (assuming they didn’t spend money on anything other than gambling.) It’s not hard to record this number — but most people don’t. For me, I would have started with $1,000, ended with $830, and recorded the -$170 figure. And then moved along to a different casino. 

I further assume, perhaps incorrectly, that these people are more concerned with today’s score and not paying too much attention to their year-to-date or lifetime-to-date scores. 

We all know people for whom it is like pulling teeth to open up their wallet and bring out a $20 bill. For these folks, it’s probably money-in-the-bank for them to enter only one bill at a time. It simple hurts too much for them to keep putting twenty after twenty into the machine. 

For me, my score at this casino today is just a number. I’ll record thousands of minus numbers and thousands of plus numbers throughout the year. There’s not much emotion attached to this process. BIG numbers, either plus or minus, generate some emotion out of me, but relatively small numbers barely register at all. 

If my annual score is negative, especially two or three of those years in a row (Which hasn’t happened yet, but might in the future.) that requires some self-evaluation. I’ll deal with that when it arises, if it does. I can see how people whose scores are negative four years out of five can adopt a totally different set of rules for themselves than I do.

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Gambler’s Diary XXVI – Vegas (2/3)


Cobb salad 

 

I cannot sleep. It has been a week since I arrived in Vegas and my inner clock is bust. Everything else is bust too, I am like the reversed King Midas – everything I touch turns to dust. My one bullet to the 10k PLO went faster than the migraine attack I had before the tournament, 25k PLO was the same thing, only with two bullets.

For a week I have been sleepwalking through the casino halls, and nothing feels quite like it should. I feel numb, and the more I lose the number I feel. And I lose all the time. After busting my first $65k depo I transferred another one, collected it and was left with $70 000 in cash that I threw on the top of my bed. All mine, all hard earned from the online grinds and gotten here with a 2% vig on a BTC transfer. Just looking at that pile of cash should have made me feel something. Excited perhaps? I could not really remember, but I did remember that a trick like this had worked before. This time, it did not. It was just a pile of paper. And it smelled the kind of smell when paper gets wet and dries again, a little bit rotten perhaps. 

Fuck it

I marched to one of Wynn’s boutiques and bought a pair of sneakers worth $1100. Nothing feels like anything anyway so why not? After the purchase I came back to my hotel room, put the shoes on and ogled myself through the mirror. The shoes reminded me of an old ad campaign run by a finish affiliate Pokerisivut.com which was just a sticker that said, “this too was bought with poker winnings.” I used to love that campaign. Way back then, when I received my laptop/screen or whatever with my VIP-points the most important part was to show off the sticker to my family. There was even a giant version of the sticker (which was more like a flag) hung from Jeans’s apartment balcony for the whole of Helsinki to see. These shoes brought me back to that time when I saw that flag for the first time. Time when I dreamed of being a poker professional and hoped to get an invite to one of the parties that that place must have hosted many times. 

“Huh, this too was bought with poker winnings” I muttered proudly. And then it happened; the absurdity of the moment was so strong that it restored my consciousness, and I could see myself truly again; a somewhat fat pale man with ridiculously expensive shoes, muttering to himself in front of a mirror next to a giant pile of cash. 

What the fuck is this? 

And the inner monologue, that was momentarily lost, started at once: You could have saved someone’s life with that money, you know.

Yeah. I know.

Days in Vegas followed a pattern: I would wake up next to a half-eaten Cobb-salad. This salad had two key factors that I had to evaluate every morning before making any decision about it: 1. It had been at room temperature for the last 8-hours, and contained chicken, blue cheese, and mayonnaise. It was certainly a health hazard even if my hotel room was set to a chilly 65°F. But: 2. Cobb-salad from the Wynn’s room-service cost $40,84.

… Often, I would end up eating the Salad.

After battling with the salad, I would try to do an exercise of some sorts (either gym or golf), then do a quick visit to my room for some mindfulness, which, the longer the trip went, turned more into a prayer for a winning session than anything even remotely meditative. When all of that was done, I usually got into the tables and got my ass handed over to me. Then back to the room, order a 40$ cobb salad & repeat. It was weird and numbing but at least since I bought the shoes, I started to feel a bit like myself again – mostly just like a dick though. 

There was still one more tournament to go; $5k half and half. A tournament that I very much looked forward to, partly because of the more comfortable $5k buy-in but partly also because I thought that it would draw a far softer field than anything I had played before.

I finished day one of the HA with a strong stack. All my tournament predictions had come true: I was playing more relaxed, and the field was insane (not getting coolered helped a ton too). Before we started day two, I shared a breakfast with Eelis, Joni and Niklas who also had made it to day two. 

“Wouldn’t it be funny if all of us made it to the final table?” someone said.

“Haha, yeah that would be insane”

There were still more than one hundred players remaining so all of us knew that it would be next to impossible for all of us to end up there. 

But… as I am sure some of you already predicted…

 

Niklas, I, Joni, and Eelis before the final table. I am wearing the shoes that brought my consciousness back (would not recommend).

Sadly, I was the first to bust out. My last hand was in NL, which is my weaker game. CL from an early position opened with a min-raise. I was on BB (with a BB ante) and around 14 big blinds looking at KhJc. Others fold, I defend. Flop comes Ks Tc 3h

Bingo

I check, he bets one-third, I call.

Turn: Qc – I check. He jams 1,3x the pot.

Ugghhh 

I did not feel good about the hand – holding the Jack of clubs is not great but… I did not have the heart to make the fold either. I have read too many 2+2 high stakes NL threads to know for a fact that a pair never folds in this weird two card game, and I had top pair – basically the nuts. So, I called, the villain showed KQ, the river was a blank and GG’s. 

I cashed for $42 000, ordered four beers (two for me, two for others) and headed straight to the rail. Seeing your good friends dominate and play for a bracelet while drinking beer and partying right next to the action is an experience, I would not change for anything.

When it was all said and done, Eelis had taken down his first bracelet and more than $500k in prize money. 

(Joni got fifth and cashed for $125k)

Winning. Photo by: PokerGo

The untold secret of the poker world (at least with us Finns) is that IF you ever manage to win a bracelet – you will cover the bill for the rest of the night. Sadly, Eelis was – despite his very recent 500k+ cash – a cash broke. Luckily, I had 10k in cash, which I quickly gave to him combined with a WhatsApp message adding 10k to his debts. Immediately after handing the cash out to him, I took $400 out of the pile for “Quick Muling & other purposes – just you know, if you’re not close by…”

He looked stunned.

“…Oh, it’s only a start – believe me “, I continued.

He had no options but to laugh. The audacity was too much. Also, he was a bracelet winner. Why would he care? 

We went to the Wynn’s lobby bar, and I used the $400 for the first round. Life was good.

And then we partied the night away. 

 

 



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Halloween Slots for Crypto Players

Halloween Slots


Looking for new Halloween slots to play? You’ve come to the right place as we’ve listed here four new online slots that are perfect for all kinds of players. After all, blood-sucking vampires, cute pumpkins, and howling werewolves never get old.

#1 The Wolf’s Bane Slot (NetEnt)

  • Paylines: 10
  • Reels: 5
  • Jackpot: 50,000 coins
  • RTP: 96.74%
  • Minimum/Maximum Bet: 0.1/10

The Wolf's Bane Slot Screenshot 1

Some of you may be wondering how this game is related to The Wolf’s Night, which was earlier promoted by NetEnt. Well, these two games are the same. Just before launching it, the Swiss-based game provider made a last-minute change. It dropped “Night” from the original name and replaced it with “Bane.” Although with a new name, The Wolf’s Bane has the same game specifications and features.

You will enjoy this game, especially with its free spins, Wild substitutions, and Pick-and-Click feature. The sounds and effects will also surely send chills to your spine. Want to try this game? Play The Wolf’s Bane slot here for free.

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3 Halloween Slots That Will Keep You Awake with Huge Wins

#2 Vampire Desire Slot (SG Digital)

  • Paylines: 50-100
  • Reels: 5
  • Jackpot: 250,000 coins
  • RTP: 96%
  • Minimum/Maximum Bet: 0.1/500

Vampire Desire Screenshot 1

Barcrest has once again created an online slot for SG Digital. Vampire Desire slot is not to be outdone by other Vampire-themed games as it boars a 5×3 structure with paylines ranging from 50 to 100! Unlocking the Mighty Reels mode opens the gates for you to access another set of five reels that give away double rewards. Vamp It Up Bonus and Lock It Link Bonus make this new game all the more exciting and rewarding. Check out our Vampire Desire slot review here.

#3 Hot Hot Halloween Slot (Habanero)

  • Paylines: 50-100
  • Reels: 5
  • Jackpot: 250,000 coins
  • RTP: 96.70%
  • Minimum/Maximum Bet: 0.01/25

Hot Hot Halloween Screenshot 1

Whoever said Halloween can never be cute is wrong. Habanero just proves this with its new online slot. But Hot Hot Halloween is no ordinary game. You’ll win only if same symbols land on a horizontal line and adjacent to one another, with each reel having its own multiplier. Its “Hot Hot” feature instantly doubles your wins as all symbols can be counted as two. It also offers six to 12 free games for more chances of winning in every spin. Try your luck with Hot Hot Halloween slot here.

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Celebrate Dia de los Muertos with 3 Online Slots Made for the Occasion

#4 Vampire Hunters Slot (1x2gaming)

  • Paylines: 25
  • Reels: 5
  • Jackpot: 170,000 coins
  • RTP: 96%
  • Minimum/Maximum Bet: 0.25/100

Vampire Hunters Screenshot 1

1x2gaming renews its offerings in time for the Halloween, with its own take of a Vampire-themed slot. Vampire Hunters, which has 5×4 layout, gives as many as 18 free spins through Scatter symbols. You can also unlock bigger rewards by triggering the Bonus Games. View our Vampire Hunters review here.

Meanwhile, those who love to play zombie slots will also enjoy the mobile-first game called 1 Left Alive slot by 4ThePlayer.com. 4ThePlayer Commercial & Marketing Director Henry McLean told BestBitcoinCasino.com that 1 Left Alive slot is among the popular games distributed to its partner casinos.


All these four new Halloween slots are now available in leading fiat money and crypto casinos. Which one of them are you most excited to play? Check out our game reviews on BestBitcoinCasino.com and follow us on Twitter and Telegram for new and relevant updates on online blockchain and crypto gaming.

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Celebrate Frankenstein Friday with These 3 Slot Games





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Slots.lv casino review: Bonus codes and tips

slots-lv


slots-lv

 

Established in 2013, Slots.lv boasts a large range of games, casino favorites, and benefits requiring only an internet connection and a smartphone to get started.

There’s countless games to get involved with from the slots you’d expect to the table games and scratchcards that you wouldn’t – there’s plenty around to play. The site may lack in live dealer games, but it more than makes up for it in countless other areas. 

There’s countless new players bonuses, loyalty rewards and special rewards that can be claimed by any player that takes a fancy and with such an appetizing package from Slots.lv, you’d be mad not to!

Whether you’re on the lookout for a safe and secure place to play, a series of great promotions or even a place to play with your bitcoin – Slots.lv stands as a great site that provides an enjoyable gaming experience for everyone!

 

When it comes to the number of games available, you won’t be disappointed when logging in at Slots.lv.

There’s a huge number to pick and choose from at your disposal (over 400 to be exact) so there’s bound to be something to catch everyone’s attention. There’s plenty of familiar titles and casino favorites to try your hand at, all organized under the following categories, making it quick and easy to navigate what you’re wanting to play: 

  • Most popular slots
  • Slots
  • Table games
  • Video Poker
  • Specialty
  • New Games
  • Exclusives

Slots.lv is particularly interesting in its software approach as the site opts for a variety of well-known software providers to appeal to the masses. Whether you’re a fan of the Realtime Gaming franchise or much prefer the likes of Net Ent, you’ll have everything you need under one roof. 

Struggling to get to grips and want a little bit of a try-before-you-buy before wagering real money? Look no further, there’s plenty of free to play slots available including basic 3-reel slots and the more action-packed 5-reel video slots that we all know and love. 

If you fancy a break from the reels, you’re in luck with plenty of other table games available from the site to break up play and let you spread the bankroll around different games. There’s the option of:

  • Video poker 
  • Blackjack 
  • American and European roulette 
  • Craps 
  • Bonus bingo
  • Keno 
  • Scratchcards
  • And many more

But for all that is good at the site, there is, unfortunately, a lack of live dealer games so you’ll have to go elsewhere if you’re looking for a fix of the realtime stuff.

Overall, with a strong selection of slots, software packages, and other table games and scratchcards, there’s more than you could ever need at Slots.lv.

 

Mobile capability

slots-lv

When it comes to playing on the mobile, slots.lv does not yet boast a downloadable app – but can be played through the browser on smartphones and tablets.

With a website designed with mobile-first in mind, it’s easy to navigate and play your favorite games from your fingertips with just an internet connection required. You’ll find a marginally smaller selection of games when compared to the desktop equivalent to fit the shrunken screens, but with the top slots available you’re unlikely to miss the bigger screens.

Loading times on the sites are quick and the graphics crisp, perfect for the handheld slots and table games. Just log in on your browser of choice and tap away to play.

 

Promotions and bonuses

slots-lv

Sign up to Slots.lv and you’ll be entitled to a pair of fantastic rewards with some serious price tags. 

$5,000 welcome bonus 

The $5,000 welcome bonuses boasted by Slots.lv stands as one of the biggest bonuses that we’ve seen at any casino to date – but it’s not quite as simple as you may have first thought.

Instead of a simple matched deposit of $5,000 in a single hit, Slots.lv works with a total of 9 100% match bonuses distributed as follows:

  • 1st deposit: 200% match bonus up to £1,000
  • 2nd through 9th deposit: 100% match bonus on each up to £500

It may sound good on paper, but it’s always vital to check out what the wagering requirements are saying before making any huge deposits.

As we can see with Slots.lv, there’s a large 35x bonus + deposit wagering requirement before withdrawal so it’s unlikely that you’re going to see anywhere near that 100% bonus when the time comes for withdrawal. The wagering requirements can be seen below:

  • Playthrough required for withdrawal: 35x bonus + deposit
  • Playable on slots, keno, and scratch cards only

$2,000 welcome bonus 

The second welcome bonus comes in at a slightly lower, but still eye-watering bonus of up to $2,000 free when you sign-up and deposit at Slots.lv. 

The bonuses can be claimed as a series of 100% match bonuses distributed as follows:  

  • 1st deposit: 100% match bonus up to £500
  • 2nd through 7th deposit: 50% match bonus up to £250

However, the same is true with this bonus and there’s a lot to be said for the wagering requirements with a massive 120x bonus + deposit before you’re able to withdraw any of your pennies. The wagering requirements can be seen below:

  • Playthrough required for withdrawal: 120x bonus + deposit
  • Playable on blackjack (except single deck, double deck, and Zappit blackjack) and video poker

Loyalty rewards

slots-lv  

As you’d expect with any modern online casino, there’s a variety of options available to you when looking for a loyalty scheme to reward you for your time spent on the digital gaming floor. 

With Slots.lv, you’ll get one of the best loyalty rewards systems around, especially if you’re a player that enjoys the high stakes games.

As soon as you sign up you’re entered into the lowest (silver) tier of the 3-tier loyalty scheme with gold and diamond as the respective higher levels. Start playing at the casino and you’ll see your level increase as your stats increase, you can see the goals required in the table below: 

 

Benefit requirement Gold  Diamond 
Min. no of points in a single month and subsequent monthly target  77,777 777,777
Min, no of points to maintain level  75,000 every 3 months 500,000 every 3 months 
Monthly bonus for reaching target £100 £1,000
Additional perks  Birthday gift, exclusive offers, VIP service Birthday gift, exclusive offers, VIP service, personal VIP host

 

Loyalty scheme available for Slots.lv

Work your way through the levels to reach a monthly bonus of either £100 or £1000, depending on your level as well as a birthday gift, exclusive offers, VIP service and personal VIP service for those that reach the criteria.

Don’t say they don’t look after you!

 

Special rewards

slots-lv

It’s not just the new player bonuses and loyalty rewards that you’ll be able to claim when playing online at Slots.lv, but a whole host of other special rewards available to all players. 

Facebook freebie 

Keep social with Slots.lv and like them on Facebook, share their profile picture and send a message with your account number and you’ll receive a $10 bonus. 

Naturally, there’s a wagering requirement with 100x the bonus with winnings capped at $100, but that doesn’t take away any of the enjoyment from the slots-only bonus. 

Note: A deposit is needed to be able to claim the bonus described. 

Sweet Thursdays 

On Sweet Thursdays, make a deposit on this special day of the week, play through it before midnight and you’ll receive a bonus up to $20.

That’s not all though, deposit $50 and you’ll receive a $5 bonus, $75 for a $10 bonus or $100 for a $20 bonus. It’s important to note that only the first deposit of the day will count and there’s the additional 20x bonus wagering requirement present before you can withdraw your winnings.

Note: available to play on slots only.

Mobile casino bonus

If you’re a high roller that loves to play from their smartphone, you’re in luck with the mobile casino bonus available at Slot.lv.

Wager $500 or more on the site in a given Monday-Sunday week and you’ll receive a $25 bonus. As with everything so far, you’ll be expected to play for 60x the bonus before withdrawing your winnings and as they’re capped at £100, you’re not going to be bagging a huge win.

Note: the bonus is only available on slots, keno and scratch cards with winnings counting towards meeting the wagering requirements. 

Progressive jackpots 

If there’s one thing that die-hard slots players love it’s the progressive jackpots that online casinos have to offer and when playing at Slots.lv, you’ve got plenty of different choices available.

Pick from over 30 different progressive jackpots ranging from $5,000 to $500,000 depending on how lucky you’re feeling. You’ll be happy to know that they’re won pretty regularly too and there are even players managing to bag multiple jackpots in the same gaming session.

The progressive games available are packed to the brim with excitement and coming from the top software providers, you’d expect nothing less. You may not claim the jackpot every time but you’ll enjoy yourself chasing it down.

 

Deposit/withdrawal methods

slots-lv 

When it comes to the banking methods at Slots.lv, you’re spoiled for choice with any of the following options available to use: 

  • Bitcoin 
  • Visa/Mastercard 
  • Bank wire
  • eCheck 
  • Money Transfer 
  • Bank Transfer

Deposits can be made instantly to the casino regardless of the banking method chosen, however, minimum deposits can vary between banking methods. Withdrawals will easily be withdrawn in a matter of minutes when you’re using bitcoin, but will be processed between 4 and 10 days depending on the banking method opted for. 

However, it’s the less common banking method bitcoin that’s making the biggest splash at slots.lv. The cryptocurrency has shot to fame almost as fast as it has to value and the site has opted to keep bang on trend with the option to use the digital currency when wagering.

You’ll find bitcoin to be fast and secure with no transaction fees when depositing and withdrawing, but it’s the cost at the slots that’s perhaps the most appealing benefit. You’ll have access to the cheapest deposit option making it the best way to transfer your money in and out of the site. Not only that, but as bitcoin is decentralized there are no banks, government agencies or third parties involved so it’s you in charge of your funds.

If you’ve got any questions surrounding the banking methods available and any of the terms and conditions that surround them, you’re able to call the customer service team for peace of mind and assistance with everything money-related.

 

Security and fair play

slots-lv

When it comes to the security of the site, you’ll be right to be a little skeptical with only minimal history in the relatively young slot provider.

That being said, dive into the details and you’ll find Slots.lv to be operated by Lynton, Ltd, functioning with a Curaçao Gaming License, ensuring fully fair gaming for all players. This can be taken as gospel for the site with the assurance that all operations surrounding the casino as legal and trustworthy so there’s nothing to worry about when gaming.

Additionally, you’ll find that the site has been certified by the Gaming Associates to be recognized as a safe and secure site so there’s going to be no nasty surprises to worry about when cashing out any winnings.

When looking at the slots, you’ll even see the random number generator (RNG) certified as being completely random and completely fair. Imperative when looking to vouch for the safety of any new site.

 

Criticism in the safety

Despite the high level of certification that the site boasts, there is some criticism in the safety with a lack of documentation surrounding the information disclosing the determination average game payouts.

Instead of the expected values, you’re greeted with a vague reference to eCOGRA annual evaluations. It’d make a little sense if the site was recognized by the organization, but take a visit to the lists and you’ll see no mention of Slots.lv.

It’s a little bit strange, to say the least, but it’s nothing worth being put off.

 

Conclusion

All in all, despite its relatively youthful state, Slots.lv does have a huge amount to offer players that decide to sign up and deposit at the casino.

First and foremost, you can have confidence in the safety of the site with operation by Lynton, Ltd and a Curaçao Gaming License that squashing any safety concerns of the online casino. Combine this with the certification by the Gaming Associates and there’s a lot to be said about safety and privacy.

Not only is the site one of the few of the larger bunch that are still accepting players from the US, but with several sophisticated software providers including Realtime Gaming and Net Ent, there’s a fantastic choice of high-quality games. 

With a pair welcome bonuses that’d make even the most seasoned gambler weak at the knees (albeit with large wagering requirements), a great loyalty scheme and plenty of special rewards available, there’s plenty to get excited about. Throw in the mobile browser capabilities that the site boasts and you’ve got yourself a great online casino.



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bet365 and Genius Sports Unveil Partnership Extension

bet365 and Genius Sports Unveil Partnership Extension


The fast-growing innovative sports technology company, Genius Sports Limited, announced it extended its partnership with bet365.

Genius Sports Extends Existing Deal with bet365

A statement released by Genius Monday reveals that the company inked a long-term extension of its collaboration with bet365, agreeing to deliver high-quality official data for thousands of events. Under the extended partnership, Genius will provide its exclusive portfolio of official data rights for bet365. This portfolio includes leading sports leagues such as the NFL, AHL, CFL, the Premier League, NASCAR and more.

Genius Sports Limited, the official data, technology and commercial partner that powers the ecosystem connecting sports, betting and media, has clinched a long-term extension of its official data partnership with bet365,

reads a statement released by Genius Sports

Currently, Genius is designated as the official data partner of the Mid-American Conference. As a result, the company explained it will offer “the first and only official data feed for betting on NCAA sports” for bet365. Last but not least, the partnership extension will see the duo benefit from Genius’ innovative betting products backed by its tracking and augmentation technology called Second Spectrum.

The Extension Brings Excitement for Genius

Sharing his excitement about the latest announcement, Genius’ CEO, Mark Locke, said that the partnership extension with bet365 reaffirms the company’s goal to offer innovative and engaging betting products for its customers. He acknowledged that there are thousands of events from different sports leagues every year. Locke added that the new collaboration will deliver high-quality data for bet365. In conclusion, he predicted that the collaboration will create immersive and first-of-its-kind experiences for millions of sports fans in different betting markets around the globe.

Expanding our partnership with bet365, the largest sports betting brand in the world, demonstrates our commitment to delivering the most innovative and compelling products for our customers.

Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports

Earlier this year, bet365 and Genius expanded their collaboration to include additional streaming solutions. This helped bet365 develop more diverse content while at the same time strengthening the duo’s B2B relationship. More recently, Genius inked a strategic exclusive data and integrity partnership with the Australian Professional Leagues. The announcement came last week and saw the company become the exclusive Official Data Partner of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men and the Liberty A-League Women. At the same time, Genius agreed to protect the integrity of sports under the terms of the deal.



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gambling advertising at Premier League grounds

gambling advertising at Premier League grounds


How big a business? Sports Betting generated 490 billion US dollars in revenue during 2019, and this is forecast to rise to 770 billion dollars by 2025. However, it is generally held that this amount is eclipsed by the amount of money wagered on the illegal market.
Due to its unregulated nature, estimating the amount of illegal sports bets wagered each year is tricky. However a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Report recently estimated that 1.7 trillion dollars is wagered on illegal sports betting markets each year.

In other words, the value of the illegal sports betting market is over three times that of the regulated market. As the UNODC Report notes, organised crime’s involvement in illegal betting is equivalent in value to its involvement in drug, human, or arms trafficking.

Of course, the FAPL wants nothing to do with the illegal betting market, or its connections to criminality. But as we approach the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic, clubs are increasingly desperate for revenue. As such, many could be forgiven for being hypnotised by dollar signs.

Rule J.5 of the FAPL Handbook requires its clubs to notify the league about betting partnerships, but the League doesn’t regulate such partnerships. It also doesn’t regulate which betting companies can advertise at its grounds. This is a concern, as the dividing lines between legal and illegal betting are becoming increasingly blurred.

Jingle Balls

Twenty six sports betting websites appeared at the 20 FAPL stadiums over the Christmas period. Nine of these 23 betting companies advertised at more than one FAPL game, resulting in 63 separate sports betting company adverts on LED perimeter boards during the 20 game period. 

As most LED boards feature a rolling display involving under 15 companies, at some games this involved an almost constant display of gambling advertising during the 90 minutes of on-field play. Some games featured doubly-stacked LED boards equivalent to the height of a player on the TV screen.

At Aston Villa versus Chelsea on Boxing Day, five gambling companies advertised on perimeter LED boards in a near constant parade. In addition, OB Sports received extra coverage as Villa’s Sleeve Sponsor and Parimatch received match day branding due to its partnership with the club.
The level of betting company advertising during FAPL games makes a mockery of a ‘whistle to whistle’ TV ban voluntarily agreed by betting companies in 2019, and hailed as a success by the Betting and Gaming Council. It also calls in to question whether proposed UK Government crackdowns on betting sponsorship in football will be effective, unless they include LED perimeter boards.

Blurred lines

As well as appearing in English, OB Sport’s perimeter advertising at Villa Park also advertised OB.com in Mandarin. The advertised link redirects to www.obao76.com, which is entirely in Mandarin. Online gambling is illegal in China, however it is possible that the site may targeting Mandarin speakers in other countries.

According to a Mandarin disclaimer at the bottom of its homepage, OB.com – or obao76.com – is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). According to the disclaimer, the OB.com brand is owned by Opel Entertainment. 

A search through the MGA and PAGCOR internet sites doesn’t reveal any licences granted to OB.com or Opel Entertainment. None of the OB.com domains are listed on the MGA’s list of licensees. This raises questions as to whether the site is licensed at all.

Information about Opel Entertainment is hard to come by. However a popular Chinese singer, Jeff Chang, was recently forced to defend himself after it was reported that he had agreed a contract to promote a sports betting company. In a 30 December post on Chinese social media platform Weibo, Chang clarified that he had terminated the contract in March 2021, which was limited to local use in The Philippines.

The sports betting company concerned with Chang’s faux pas? Opel Entertainment. The company also owns Oub121.com, again in Mandarin, which has exactly the same site layout as obao76.com and proudly displays its sponsorship deal with Aston Villa at the bottom of the page. 

Accessing this website outside of Asia isn’t easy. Once registered using a Chinese mobile phone number, Oub121.com allows users to create a virtual wallet, which can be recharged using crypto currencies, many of which[1] also advertised at FAPL grounds over the Christmas period. Once this is done, a betting window appears which allows users to both watch, and bet on, live sporting events. 

As perviously mentioned, online gambling is illegal in China. It would therefore appear that in this particular case, FAPL perimeter LED boards have been used to advertise an application that allows Chinese residents to illegally place online wagers on sporting events.

Opel Entertainment isn’t the only company advertising sports betting to Asian audiences. W88.com is Crystal Palace’s betting partner, and also appeared on the LED perimeter boards at Crystal Palace vs. Norwich and Leicester City vs. Liverpool on 28 December. 12bet also appeared on the LED perimeter boards during Palace’s game against Watford on 28 December, advertising in both English and Mandarin. 

At Wolves’ foggy 19 December game against Chelsea, MX128.vip was advertised in Mandarin in doubly-stacked LED boards, with static advertising boards promoting gambling companies appearing above this. The MX128.vip site appears to be inaccessible from the UK, where it redirects to ManBetx.uk. 

The reason for advertising the .vip domain in Mandarin is unclear. However in September 2020, the British Gambling Commission warned that it would consider banning ‘VIP customer’ schemes seeking to attract high value customers, as operators were failing to protect them from overspending. 
ManBetx is owned by Vivaro, which operates a number of domains including Lovebet, which advertised at the Leicester City vs. Liverpool game on 28 December. Could ManBetx.uk be seeking VIP Asian customers through advertising at FAPL grounds? The company failed to respond to questions.

The licence roulette wheel

So how are companies such as Opel Entertainment allowed to advertise their sports betting OB.com brand in Great Britain if they aren’t licensed there? For nine of the 23 betting brands advertised over the Christmas period, the answer lies with a company based on the Isle of Man.

OB.com’s UK-facing site, www.oubao.co.uk, mentioned that it is ‘powered by’ TGP Europe, which is regulated by Great Britain’s Gambling Commission. The same is true for Fun88.co.uk; SBOtop.co.uk; SportsBetio.co.uk;  Stake.uk.com; 12Bet.uk; HTHBet.co.uk; LeyuBet.co.uk; and i8Bet.co.uk.

TGP stands for The Gaming Platform (TGP), its internet site reveals. TGP Europe is not a gambling company, but a technology company that builds websites for clients. Its client page doesn’t mention its involvement with HTHBet, LeyuBet, or i8Bet, however its Gambling Commission licence page does.

This lists 31 domains, 14 of which are afforded ‘White Label’ status. This includes the nine betting operators powered by TGP Europe that advertised at Premier League grounds over the Christmas period. ‘White Label’ status allows a company licensed by the Gambling Commission to contract provisions of its licensed activities to third parties.

Under Article 1.1.2 of the Gambling Commission’s Licensing Conditions and Code of Practice, licensees are responsible for ensuring that third parties are ‘bound by the same licence conditions and subject to the same codes of practice as the licensee’. TGP Europe may have done this for the UK-facing domains listed on the Gambling Commission site, however not all sites connected to the nine TGP Europe brands are UK facing.
As previously mentioned there are questions about whether OB Sports’ Mandarin site, which featured on FAPL LED perimeter boards over the Christmas period, is licensed at all. At Everton’s game against Brighton on 2 January, i8Bet advertised in English, Thai, and Mandarin. Its UK site has yet to launch, but it was able to promote the Thai version of its site, which mentions that it is based in Costa Rica.

Online gambling is illegal in Thailand. Yet as the screenshot on the right shows, the Thai language version of its internet site offers odds on FAPL games, including on events such as corners and bookings. A disclaimer on its internet site mentions that it is the customer’s responsibility to ensure that gambling is legal at their location. Of course like OB.com, another brand in the TGP Europe stable, i8Bet may just be advertising to speakers of Mandarin and Thai.

HTHBet.co.uk is another gambling brand powered by TGP Europe. However at Leicester vs. Liverpool on 28 December and at Manchester United vs. Burnley on 30 December, HTH367.com also advertised in Mandarin. The site now redirects to HTHBet.co.uk but at the time of the match, redirected to a Mandarin version of the site that features the same interface as the Mandarin version of OB Sport’s site[Picture HTH2].

The HTH367.com internet site is geoblocked in the UK, however it mentions that HTH is the Global Official Partner of Manchester United; the Official Partner of Leicester City; the Official Regional Partner of AC Milan; the Official Regional Partner of Wolfsburg; and the Official Asian Sponsor of Lille. An ‘About Us’ section of the website mentions that the site is owned by a company called China Experience Technology (华体会). Its corporate website lists its address as RCBC Plaza, Tower 2, Manila, Philippines. The building confirmed that it doesn’t have China Experience Technology, 华体会, or HTH registered as holding offices in any of its buildings.

Like obao76.com, HTH367.com mentions that it is licensed by the MGA, PAGCOR, and the BVI Financial Services Commission. Like obao76.com, a search through the MGA and PAGCOR internet sites doesn’t reveal any licences granted to China Experience Technology or HGH. None of the HTH domains are listed on the MGA’s list of licensees.

Fun88 is another gambling brand powered by TGP Europe. At Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace on Boxing Day it advertised Fun369.com, which redirects to J9.com, the international basketball federation’s (FIBA) new betting partner. As previously reported, there are serious questions about whether this site is licensed at all.

However at Chelsea’s victory over Tottenham in the Carabao EFL Cup semi-final on 12 January, the Mandarin advertised Fun88 domain had changed to Fun279.com. This links to a Mandarin sports betting application listing Fun88’s shirt sponsorship with Newcastle United and an Asian betting partnership with Tottenham. 

In November, Tottenham renewed its partnership with Fun88. We asked the club if it was aware that adverts at its Stadium were used to promote J9.com.

Ghost chasing

TGP Europe’s registered address is a small office above a betting shop on the Isle of Man. Google maps reveals that this is an address for a bookmaker.

From such a small base, can TGP Europe be expected to have effective oversight of all the gambling brands promoted by its partners at FAPL grounds? It doesn’t even appear to have effective oversight of its partners. 

Yabo Sports, a TGP Europe client, boasts Manchester United; Hertha Berlin, AS Monaco, Leicester City and Bayern Munich amongst its partners, which also include the Argentina national team; Italy’s Serie A; and the Copa América. It appears that its site has now been rebranded as Betvision.com, another site ‘powered by’ TGP Europe, after questions were raised about the identity of executives that appeared at sponsorship launches.
There appears to be no mention of Yabo Sports on Manchester United’s internet site or on Serie A’s list of partners. However, Hertha Berlin lists YaYu.com on its partner list, which is geoblocked from UK access. A media statement mentions that YaYu is a ‘leading provider of online sports entertainment services’. however the site can be accessed through Google Translate which shows that it is a gambling site that has connections to OB Sports, which appears to offer sports betting opportunities.

Another new arrival on the scene is Midnight Gaming, whose W88 brand is Crystal Palace’s sleeve sponsor. As mentioned, it appeared on LED perimeter boards at the London club’s 28 December game against Norwich City; and at Leicester City’s game against Liverpool on the same day.

The Gambling Commission lists an address in Poole, Dorset, as the company’s head office. This is also the address of another company licensed by the Gambling Commission to supply remote gambling software, AliQuantam Gaming Limited. The same Poole address is also listed as an office by gambling payment platform Hexopay.
A search on Google Maps reveals that AliQuantam Gaming is the only company registered at this address. AliQuantam’s internet site reveals that it is a gaming platform provider, similar to TGP Europe. However, the UK government’s Companies House lists AliQuantam Gaming as dissolved in 2010.

Companies House lists Midnight Gaming as owned by AliQuantam and a previous company name, Sporting Black Limited. It also shows that Midnight Gaming transferred its address from London to Poole in September 2020. It also confirms that the main company Director is Alan Hilliard Ehrlich.

Analysis of Companies House documents reveals that Ehrlich resides in Israel and in 2013, was Head of Poker Networks at PartyGaming. In 2011, PartyGaming merged with Bwin, and is now operated by Entain. 
A ‘Hilly Ehrlich’ was mentioned as the Business Development Manager of W88.com by Wolverhampton Wanderers, when it announced its partnership with the betting brand in 2018. This interview confirms that ‘Hilly Ehrlich’ was also Head of Poker Networks at PartyGaming.
In addition, AliQuantam Gaming appears to be behind an old website linked to both W88 and BR88. Again, the Poole address of AliQuantam Gaming is listed. BR88 was confirmed as Villa’s sleeve sponsor in 2019. Hilly Ehrlich was also mentioned when the club agreed a separate deal with W88 in June 2019.

AliQuantam’s internet site mentions that it is licensed in Malta. However a search of the MGA’s internet site for either AliQuantam, Midnight Gaming, or BR88 again yields no results. An internet search suggests that W88 may be owned by Marquee Holdings, whose shareholders are listed in the Panama Papers. 

W88 isn’t the only company connected to FAPL advertising mentioned in the Panama Papers. Vivaro, which operates ManBetX and LoveBet, is also listed. Of course, being listed in the Panama Papers only shows that companies hold offshore bank accounts and doesn’t suggest any criminal activity. 

The analysis above is designed to show the difficulty that FAPL clubs have in establishing who is behind the betting brands that advertise on their shirts and at their grounds. And if top FAPL clubs have difficulty, it can be assumed that the problem is likely to be worse further down the football pyramid. So what do the FAPL and the Gambling Commission have to say about the situation?

Not my job

The FAPL only regulates the visual aspects of LED perimeter boards, and advised The Sports Integrity Initiative that it is up to clubs to ensure that they remain within the law. There are no restrictions on use of double LED boards, as utilised for Wolves vs. Chelsea through the home club’s partnership with ADI. The FAPL said it doesn’t permit use of virtual technology to replace advertising featured on LED boards with other brands in non-UK TV markets, although this appears to be contradicted by observers.

LED boards are not sold centrally, but some FAPL clubs use third party agencies[2] to sell aggregated minutes via multi-club packages. This perhaps explains why LED perimeter advertising at some stadiums appears to be very similar. 

‘Online gambling operators are required to hold a Gambling Commission licence to transact with British based consumers’, read a reply from a Gambling Commission spokesperson to a series of questions. ‘If we find an unlicensed operator acting illegally we will take action. A sports body engaging in sponsorship arrangements with an unlicensed remote operator may be liable for the offence of advertising unlawful gambling if the remote gambling activity isn’t blocked to consumers in Great Britain and that this is clear to consumers. 

We’re of the view that the best way for sports bodies to protect themselves against this risk is to ensure that they only promote gambling operators licensed by us. It is for the owner of the advertising space to satisfy themselves that they are not committing the offence of advertising unlawful gambling.’

Most of the betting brands that featured at FAPL stadiums over the Christmas period have a UK-facing site, often licensed through a White Label agreement with a third party. However as shown above, many of these also have overseas facing websites and mobile applications.

Who is responsible for ensuring that all of these overseas facing websites, often advertised in languages other than English, are legitimate? According to the FAPL, the Gambling Commission is responsible. According to the Gambling Commission, the FAPL clubs are responsible. 

The opaque situation that surrounds White Label domains perhaps explains why the UK Government is reviewing their status as part of its Gambling Review. Concerned about gambling’s relationship with sport and football in particular, UK Gambling Minister Chris Philp will meet with sporting bodies next week. England’s Football Association has already prohibited betting companies from streaming FA Cup games after Bet365.com’s current deal expires at the end of the 2024/5 season.

Of course, it’s perfectly legitimate for FAPL clubs to have legal, regulated Asian betting partners. However this article demonstrates the difficulty that clubs face in assessing who is behind such companies, and in ensuring that such partners are not advertising illegal services in foreign languages. And until the FAPL and British Gambling Commission reassert control over this area, draconian restrictions are a real possibility.

1. AstroPay, which advertises in a video on its gaming page that it is an expert in ‘hard to reach’ markets such as Brazil and India, advertises on FAPL LED boards. BitCi also advertises on FAPL LED boards, as did Socios.com at Crystal Palace’s 28 December game against Norwich, despite a 22 December Advertising Standards Authority ruling that an Arsenal advert for the company breached its Social Responsibility Code. Kyber Network, Alchemy Markets, CorPay and other cryptocurrency products also featured on FAPL LED perimeter boards.

2. We could only find one third party agency used to sell LED perimeter boards at FAPL grounds – Project11.



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WSOP 2022: The largest poker series ever

WSOP 2022: The largest poker series ever


The WSOP 2022 series has just ended with enormous figures. Below you can find the most interesting ones of it.

1. The event

The live WSOP 2022 series was held between May 31 and July 20. The first interesting thing is that it was held in a new venue called Bally’s Lass Vegas Casino, which was rebranded and renovated for the WSOP 2022 series this spring. The hotel changed its name to a brand new one – Horseshoe Casino.

2. The figures

We can definitely say that this year of the WSOP series will be one of the best in terms of figures for sure.

In terms of prize money this 53rd Annual World Series of Poker awarded a monstrous $333,362,004 in prize money that is beating the previous record which was attained in 2019 by nearly $50 million (!). This jaw-dropping figure was reached in 88 live bracelet events.

Regarding the live bracelet this is a really huge number thereof however, it was introduced by the organizers that besides the live bracelet events there were held 13 more online bracelet event, However, it shall be noted that to these online bracelet events only players from New Jersey and Nevada were eligible to access. Therefore, of course, the prize pool and the entrants were not so high as in the live event however, there were still really good figures in both respect ($13,017,963 in prize money and 15,767 of entrants).

The series drew 182,662 entrants — that is over 50% more than the previous 2021 series which was hit by the COVID pandemic. Moreover, the WSOP 2022 Main Event – itself – pulled in 8,663 entrants for a prize pool of $80,782,475 in total.

In terms of buy-ins this year represents a high-end with an average amount of $11,000.

According to one of the chief official of World Series of Poker this 2022 year was a historic one for the series and was a real specialty for the poker community as well.

Below you can find the raw numbers of the WSOP 2022:

WSOP 2022 Live Series Stats

  • Live Bracelets: 88
  • Prize Pool Awarded: $333,362,004
  • Avg Prize Pool: $3,788,205
  • Total Entries: 182,662
  • Avg Entries: 2076
  • Avg Buy-in: $11,156
  • Fees Collected: $31,543,560

Furthermore, there are some more interesting figures that makes this year WSOP really special:

  • this was the first time that the total prize pool surpassed $300,000,000;
  • 25 players became millionaires during this series in 2022; and
  • 71 out of the 88 live bracelet events produced a prize pools of at least $1 million.

3. Winner

Probably the last thing what remains is who is the lucky (and pro) enough to be the winner of this magnificent event. This poker player is Espen Jorstad of Norway who won the 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event. On the way of doing so, he defeated Australia’s Adrian Attenborough duelling the heads-up of the series. By being the winner, Jorstad took home a prize of $10 million. To reach that monumental achievement he needed to outlast 8,662 (!) other player.

All the above are true examples that this event will (or probably already) have a page in the history book of poker.

If you like to participate in the WSOP event, you do not have to wait a year. The WSOP online series will be held at GGPoker from the 14th of August to the 27th of September with a 33 bracelet event. If you do not have a GGPoker account, you can create one via rakerace.com.





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