Full Tilt yet to process US cashouts; Playtech and Hills reach resolution

17th May, 2011

Full Tilt yet to process US cashouts; Playtech and Hills reach resolution

Full Tilt Poker has confirmed that all money won in promotions has been credited to player accounts, however the site is still yet to begin processing cashouts for US players. According to a Full Tilt representative, known only as “Doug”, posting in the Pocket Fives poker forums, “FTP's international business operations are returning to normal while we focus on ensuring the safe and orderly return of US player deposits.” Last week Pokerstars revealed that it had paid out $100m to US players within a month of Black Friday.

Playtech and William Hill have reached a resolution which the two parties hope will lead to the discharging of February’s injunction. Under the terms of the resolution, Playtech will now be permitted to licence its software to another unnamed UK operator, believed to be Ladbrokes. James Hollins, analyst with Evolution Securities, said: “We regard the newsflow as highly positive for both William Hill (call option retained, with greater product flexibility) and Playtech (partner agreement secured, with ability to provide software products to Ladbrokes).

Live dealer provider Evolution Gaming has been awarded a licence in Italy for its live casino product, the first of its kind to be issued by regulator AAMS, according to the company. Evolution already has deals in place with Microgame and 888, and the approval will see Italy’s first live casinos open in July. For more on live dealer developments in Europe, read last week’s blog post from Aces-Hi webmaster David.

Independent gaming research and professional services firms – H2 Gambling Capital (eGaming Review’s exclusive data partners), Gaming Edge Associates, and New Jersey-based Spectrum Gaming Group – have combined their expertise to form data and strategy consultancy Global iGaming Advisors (GiGA), a “single-source solution for companies seeking success” in US internet-gambling market when it regulates in the future, according to the new group. GiGA will offer clients high-level data and market analysis, strategy and planning and pre-licensing suitability and readiness consultancy and support, business launch and implementation support as well as leverage its global networks of offline and egaming operators and suppliers, to name a few services.

Doyle Brunson is set to leave poker site Doyle’s Room, according to fellow sponsored pro Steve Gross who told CardPlayer the former World Series of Poker champion “wants out because of the potential legal ramifications.” Doyle’s Room, which left Cake to join the Yatahay network in January, continues to accept US players, with the network experiencing a more than 200% rise in traffic year-on-year, according to PokerScout.

Media Corporation has sold the Sport.co.uk domain to an unnamed party for £200,000 in cash. Media Corp’s Eyeconomy online advertising division will continue to manage the sales function for the portal, which generated revenues of £62,000 and losses of £107,000 in the year to September 2010. Media Corp’s sale of Sport.co.uk follows its disposal last month of the Gambling.com domain for US$2.5m (£1.5m) to affiliate business KAX Media. Media Corp chief executive Justin Drummond said: “The sale of Sport.co.uk brings another boost to the Group’s cash reserves and removes another loss-making business from our diverse online publishing business.”

Spanish gaming company Codere has recorded a 23.9% year-on-year increase in gross operating profit for the first quarter of 2011. The bingo hall operator, which filed a legal challenge against Bwin in February over its sponsorship of Real Madrid, has also seen sales rise 21% to €305.9m.

Bet365 will be the first licensee for four new slots games from GTECH G2, according to the software provider. The full-feature fruit machine games – developed by UnionJackpots – have all been added to GTECH G2’s online portfolio.

The Hippodrome Casino, set to open this year in London, launched an online poker and casino offering today. The site, operated on behalf of the casino by Gaming Media Group's InTouch Gaming white label business, is powered by Boss Media software.