Issue N42, 2012
October 18, 2012
Poker Stars Won’t Honor FTP Affiliates
Former affiliates of Full Tilt Poker have been told clearly that they won’t be paid out any money owed to them by the online poker room, accumulated before the FTP debacle last year. An email sent round by The Rational Group, which operates Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker, announced that new owners, Poker Stars were not liable for the money due to affiliates and were clarifying this in formal correspondence. It is believed that affiliates, and player accounts liked to former affiliate accounts are owed millions of dollars.
The email stated that the only obligations placed on new owners Poker Stars when they purchased Full Tilt Poker in the three way deal with the Department of Justice, was to reimburse non US players. “Therefore, previous contractual agreements that Full Tilt Poker may have had with affiliates were excluded,” read the statement. “As such, The Rational Group is not liable and will not pay for any affiliate earnings.”
The Rational Group also said that all previous affiliate relationships would not be continued and that a new affiliate system would be put in place in the first quarter of 2013.
Microgaming Signs New Swedish Gaming Deal
Microgaming continues to make tracks in the growing regulated European gambling market by signing a deal with a new operator, Kombispel. The operator went live through an agreement with Genera Networks, which is a licensed games provider in Sweden’s tough gambling market.
“This is the first time that Microgaming has set up an arrangement with a member of the World Lottery Association (WLA) and builds the foundation to a new network," said a spokesman for the Isle of Man based online gaming software provider, Microgaming. "The union of these key industry players allows operators of Genera Networks access to a new world of games through Microgaming’s portfolio of products.”
The new deal will see Microgaming supply Kombispel, through Genera Networsks, with bingo, scratch card and lottery games.
The Director of Genera Networks, Rickard Stromberg, said that his group had been looking for a company to work with and Microgaming seemed a natural fit. He said that Microgaming’s content was world renowned and he was excited to see how Swedish players respond to it.
The Chief Executive Officer of Microgaming, Roger Raatgever added: “As well as providing us with a portal into the Swedish market, which we had not yet entered, we are excited to see how we can strengthen Genera Networks’ offering. After the first month our content is already proving as popular with Swedish players as it is elsewhere.”
Sportingbet and Will Hill on Way to Deal
After weeks of negotiations, Sportingbet and William Hill have agreed on an acquisition price, where Will Hill and GVC Holdings will purchase Sportingbet for 61.1 pence per share in a deal worth approximately GBP 530 million. The agreement came after William Hill upped a previous offer which would only have seen the group pay substantially less for Sportingbet.
The board at Sportingbet said that it would unanimously recommend the deal to its shareholders and would be working with William Hill and GVC Holdings to facilitate the creation of a formal offer, subject to agreeing on terms and conditions.
The new proposal includes a ‘mix and match’ type facility which would allow Sportingbet shareholders to choose how to receive their payout and the proportion of cash and/or shares.
Because the sides reached an agreement on the price, which allowed a previous October 16th deadline to be extended until November 13th, until which time a formal offer has to be made.
There is some speculation that a rival group will try and make a counter bid during that time, since the Will Hill offer is non-exclusive.
Super Cash Prizes in New Genting Casino Halloween Promo
Genting Casino, the popular UK based online casino, is offering 100 of its lucky players the chance to win up to GBP 15,000 in cash prizes for playing top Playtech casino games.
The Jumpin’ Jackpots promo at Genting rewards players each time they wager one pound on qualifying slot games until November 25th. With such a great range of Playtech video slots qualifying for this promotion, it shouldn’t be too difficult to make your way up the leader board and win lots of cash prizes at the end of the period.
The overall winner of the leaderboard promotion will win GBP 5,000, while the second placed player will win GBP 4,000. Third runner up will win GBP 2,000, while fourth place will win GBP 1,000.
“Play now on our fabulous jackpot games as we’ve unlocked our casino cash vault for Jumpin’ Jackpots over the coming weeks giving you the chance to win a share of £15,000 in prizes from our overall leaderboard, plus a share of £10,000 in our Community Cash Pot,” said Genting Casino in a statement.