Retail

Lord Justice Kim Lewison (UK Appeals Court) has granted US professional poker player Phil Ivey the right to appeal to overturn his lost £7.7 million High Court case against Genting Casino UK regarding his baccarat winnings at Crockfords Club Mayfair. The appeal relates to Ivey’s substantial win during a two day period in 2012 at Crockfords playing Punto Banco (a …

Reporting on its year to date performance (period ending 30 September), Gala Coral has recorded Group EBITDA earnings of £205 million, just 1% ahead of 2014’s £202 million. Gala Coral governance stated that corporate performance had remained strong despite encountering significant regulatory headwinds and a tough comparative period which featured no World Cup to boost company performance. The operator maintained …

Issuing a short statement on Friday (27 November), Paddy Power Plc and Betfair Group Ltd have both announced that the planned £6.2 billion merger deal will be put to vote on 21 December. Both operators are set to host ‘extraordinary meetings’ in which investors will cast their votes on whether to progress the merger. Preparing for their shareholder vote, Paddy …

David Goldblatt’s ‘The Game of Our Lives’ has won the 27th William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award”. The awards’ judging panel described the book as an “exceptional winner”, beating a strong shortlist of five other contenders to win the £27,000 prize. ‘The Game of Our Lives’ is a study of modern football and its impacts on wider society …

Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage Tracey Crouch will be amongst the speakers at the third annual Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) Harm Minimisation Conference. The conference will be held at the King’s Fund, Cavendish Square, London on Wednesday 9 December 2015 and the overall theme is minimising gambling-related harm in Britain. This year the programme will focus on the range …

Updating the market Athens listed lottery and gaming systems provider INTRALOT Group reported a 3.8% increase in consolidated revenues to €1.38 billion for its year to date (Q1-Q3 2015 – period ending 30 September) corporate performance. Like many European listed operators, INTRALOT 2015 performance has been impacted by weakening € exchange rate. The firm would report EBITDA earnings of €132 …

Spanish gambling operator Grupo CIRSA has continued its strong 2015 momentum, reporting profits up 16% to €280 million for its year to date performance (period ending 30 September). The Barcelona based operator would record a 19.5% revenue uplift to £1.2 billion driven by sufficient expansion in its Latin American markets notably Costa Rica and Peru. To date, the operator maintained …

The New York State Gaming Commission is reported to be considering new equine drug testing regulations following its fines against race trainer Steve Asmussen. US animal rights organisation PETA had undertaken a probe investigating Asmussen’s training methods. The investigation points the finger at the trainer and his assistant, Scott Blasi, with 14 allegations of equine doping during the 2013 Saratoga …

The Responsible Gambling Trust, the industry-funded organisation that commissions research, treatment and education initiatives around problem gambling, has commissioned NatCen Social Research to conduct a follow-up to a survey of bookmaker loyalty card holders first published in 2014. Researchers will measure problem gambling rates and study reasons for behaviour change since the original survey. The 2014 survey of bookmaker loyalty …

Betfred governance has confirmed the closure of its Wigan Tote Park  call centre, in a move which will effect more than 100 employees, the majority part time workers. The operator confirmed that it found jobs for seven of the fourteen full time staff affected by the closure. The Warrington based bookmaker will look to close the Wigan call centre by …