Industry News

The house doesn’t actually always win

Published

5 years ago

January 14, 2020

Casinos are perhaps the most interesting places you could visit on the planet. Museums are nice, but casinos are great. Aside from all the natural marvels that they have rose from the depths of the Earth or the brilliant man-made structures, casinos are fascinating in their own way.

Let us tell you about one thing that makes these places worth visiting, maybe even more than once, whether or not you are a gambling enthusiast.

For a long time, these places have been like the song of a siren, that lures nearby sailors on the water of life itself. At the mere sight of a gambling spot, the first thought that crosses one’s mind is that one could get rid of one’s financial worries and struggles forever with a small investment and a bit of luck. Maybe right now you’re thinking that such don’t happen. Well, it could, and it has.

Some Lucky Gamblers

Cynthia Jay Brennan
She became one of the luckiest people on Earth in 2000, the beginning of a new millennium. And more than that, she became a new entry in the list of humans who won big in a casino. And when I say “big” I wish I could say that it were a joke, but we’re talking more than 34 million dollars in this case. Depending on your lifestyle, this amount of money could not only allow you to never work a day in your life again, but your grandchildren would also be set for life.

European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

Elmer Sherwin
Dubbed by some “the luckiest man in Las Vegas”, she is a two-time Megabucks winner: in 1989 and in 2005. That’s a bit crazy, isn’t it? And how much did luck really have to do with it? Well, Elmer’s biggest win was just about over 21 million dollars. Now put yourself in the shoes of someone who had just got richer by a huge amount. What would you do with all the money? Spend it all in one night? Invest it in some Silicon Valley start-up? Or perhaps you’re feeling a little charitable and you do something like what Elmer did and invest a considerable amount in the Hurricane Katrina relief fund?

Richie Rich
$39.7 Million: a twenty-five-year-old engineer from Los Angeles came to Vegas to support his favorite basketball team. With Vegas being Vegas, he decided to spend some time at a casino. So after he spent 100 dollars on slot machines, he became one of the biggest winners in the city. He won a sum just a little shy of 40 million dollars at the Excalibur casino in Las Vegas. Boom, just like that.

Spend some money, make some money

These three are just a few people who played in a casino and actually won. That does not mean, by any means, that everyone would; or that if you go right now and pull the lever on a slot machine you will certainly join the ranks of such winners. Nope, it doesn’t work like that, nor will ever. But what it does mean is that it is possible. Always and at any time. Even though the odds are not exactly in one’s favor, winning happens all the time. Si why not you?

What we find fascinating about this (and perhaps we are not the only ones) is that it takes very little involvement. Obviously, there are a number of different ways you could go about making millions of dollars, but very few of them are as simple as inserting a few coins/bills and pressing a button. Makes you think, doesn’t, it?

“You must spend money to make money” is another thing that people say, and it turns out that in 99% of the times that is correct. And let’s not focus only on gambling for this one. Think about starting a business or taking a journey into self-development. At first, before you can even think about the profits you can make you have to do a little spending yourself. Whether that spending is renting a workplace, hiring a specialist in advertising or business planning, it is quintessential that it all starts with something you have invested in. Even if it’s just time, energy, effort, thinking. It’s all resources. You could say it’s a “be the change you want to see” type of situation, meaning that if you want people to spend resources on your business you have to spend some of your resources first.

Online Casinos

The casino land scape is changing and while these where 3 lucky winners from players who played offline, there are tons of big jackpot winners who have played online casino slots.

The Mega Moolah jackpot winner of €13,209,300, won in October 2015, by a 26-year-old British man. The Mega Fortune, Finnish Jackpot winner who took home €17,861,800 in 2013. The Hall of Gods jackpot winner of $8.63 in 2017. These are just a few examples of some bigger jackpot winners.

Playing casino online has also become more popular and common than playing casino offline. Online casino offers you a bigger selection of slot games, no waiting times, and accessibility from anywhere. This is even more true in today world, as online casinos now also offer you the ability to play on your mobile.

In addition, given that online casinos have much lower cost (they don’t have to pay huge sums of money in rent), they also give players more beneficial offers such as free spins, free bonuses without deposit for new players, big deposit bonuses like 250% up to a certain amount. That means that if you deposit 100, the casino will give you an additional 250 to play with. For example, in Romania, Maxbet casino offers new players 100 RON, about 20 euros in free money without the need to make a deposit just to test them out.

Gambling in the USA

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – May 19-25

Published

1 day ago

May 27, 2025

Niji Narayan

gaming-americas-weekly-roundup-–-may-19-25

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa has been named the luckiest casino in the US according to a recent study conducted by Casinos.com. The resort claimed the top spot based on an in-depth analysis of Tripadvisor reviews, measuring the frequency of luck-related keyword mentions. With a 25.49% luck rate, Seminole Hard Rock Tampa topped the list thanks to glowing guest feedback, including frequent mentions of jackpots, hand pays and bonus wins. 50 reviews mentioned the word “jackpot,” and 19 even referenced a “hand pay.” Casinos.com tracked keywords such as lucky, luck, won, winning, success, jackpot, hand pay, winner, bonus, profit to determine which U.S. casinos inspired the most winning moments among visitors.

The Missouri Gaming Commission has announced that it has officially begun accepting applications for sports betting license. The Commission made the announcement following the unanimous approval of a resolution drafted Tuesday that approved the licensing process. The resolution passed after Gov. Mike Kehoe’s office reviewed it. The licensing period opens roughly six months after Missouri voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment legalising sports betting. The measure passed by less than half a percentage point, with a margin of less than 7500 votes.

Underdog Fantasy has relaunched its draft-style daily fantasy sports (DFS) games in New York, nearly two months after it withdrew all of its DFS competitions from the Empire State. The decision to withdraw all DFS contests from New York in March came after a ruling from the New York State Gaming Commission in which the commission determined Underdog was not in line with the state’s current DFS law. An Underdog Fantasy spokesperson confirmed the company is still working under a temporary license. The New York State Gaming Commission agreed to allow the company to offer its draft DFS games with the temporary license. Most DFS companies in New York operate with a temporary license.

New Partnerships

Pollard Banknote Limited has congratulated the West Virginia Lottery on the successful launch of Royal Court Riches, its first eInstant game from the Pollard Digital Games Studio. Royal Court Riches has already demonstrated strong performance in multiple markets—in its first international launch, it achieved that jurisdiction’s highest tickets sold, total sales and gross gaming revenue within its first 30 days of release. Royal Court Riches is the first in a series of games from the Pollard Digital Games Studio slated to launch in West Virginia this year.

SYNOT Games has announced a new partnership with Caliente, one of Mexico’s top gaming platforms. This collaboration marks an exciting expansion for SYNOT Games, as it brings its acclaimed portfolio of gaming content to the Mexican market. It enhances Caliente’s offerings with an extensive array of high-quality slot games such as Respin Joker, Book of Secrets, Realm of Lions and Forest Maiden, designed to captivate players and boost engagement. Caliente with its strong presence in Latin America, is the perfect partner for SYNOT Games’ expansion into the region. The partnership aims to deliver an exceptional gaming experience, combining SYNOT’s visually rich, innovative games with Caliente’s extensive reach and reputation.

The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – May 19-25 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Industry Awards

Betsson Group Nominated in 14 Categories at the Women in Gaming Diversity Awards 2025

Published

2 days ago

May 27, 2025

Niji Narayan

betsson-group-nominated-in-14-categories-at-the-women-in-gaming-diversity-awards-2025

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Betsson Group has been nominated in 14 categories at the Women in Gaming Diversity & Employee Wellbeing Awards 2025, hosted by Clever Duck Media. These include five company-wide nominations and nine individual nominations for eight of its employees.

These annual awards celebrate excellence in equality, diversity, inclusion and employee wellbeing across the global gaming industry. Since its launch in 2010, the event has solidified its position as one of the global gaming industry’s most respected diversity accolades.

The categories in which Betsson Group and its employees have been shortlisted include:

Company Category Nominations:

Best Diverse Place to Work

Community Engagement

Company of the Year (Operator)

Diversity & Inclusion

Great Place to Work Award

Individual Category Nominations:

Affiliate Leader – Shakyra Jonsson

Employee of the Year (Operator) – Lisa Mifsud

Excellence in Customer Service – Gabriella Larsson

HR Champion (Operator) – Tamara Klibadze

Innovator – Lena Nordin

Inspiration of the Year (Operator) – Lena Nordin

Positive Role Model of the Year (Operator) – Lara Lombardi

Star of the Future (Operator) – Jessica Carrillo Miranda

Young Leader of the Year (Operator) – Chellyanne Cassar

These nominations reflect the company’s ongoing dedication to creating a workplace where employees feel valued, respected and empowered to succeed. At Betsson Group, diversity, equity and inclusion are more than buzzwords; they are embedded in the company’s culture, values and daily actions. In previous years, Betsson has been recognised at the WiG Diversity Awards for Best Diverse Place to Work (2022 and 2024), Company of the Year (2019 and 2022) and for Diversity & Inclusion (2021). For the individual categories, Betsson employees have previously won Excellence in Customer Service, Star of the Future and Young Leader of the Year.

The post Betsson Group Nominated in 14 Categories at the Women in Gaming Diversity Awards 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Gambling in the USA

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – May 12-18

Published

1 week ago

May 20, 2025

Niji Narayan

gaming-americas-weekly-roundup-–-may-12-18

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Latest News

Scientific Games was recognised with three prestigious honours in the 23rd Annual American Business Awards. The global lottery company won two Gold ABA awards for its retail technology, SciQ and PlayCentral Powered by SciQ, in the Operations Management Solutions and Emerging Technology categories, respectively. Scientific Games’ recently retired VP, Instant Game Production, Joe Bennett, earned a Silver ABA Award for Achievement in Management—Manufacturing, recognising his career contributions in secure lottery instant game production. This year, more than 3700 nominations from organisations of all sizes and industries were submitted to the ABAs. Winners were scored by more than 300 professionals worldwide during a rigorous judging process evaluating innovation, integrity, effectiveness, creativity and growth.

MGM Resorts has announced that it has reached a new employment agreement with CEO & President Bill Hornbuckle through December 31, 2028. As part of his new employment contract, the Company has also agreed to offer Hornbuckle an advisory agreement at the end of the term to assist with its integrated resort project in Osaka, Japan until its opening. As CEO, Hornbuckle oversees all aspects of MGM Resorts’ strategy, operations and hospitality and gaming development projects. He leads the company’s global development efforts and its digital gaming strategy.

Minimum Deposit Casinos (MDC) has released new insights into the tightening regulatory landscape for sweepstakes-based gaming in the US. Recent moves by lawmakers in New York, Louisiana, and Montana suggest a coordinated push to eliminate or restrict these alternative online gambling models. In New York, Senate Bill 5935, introduced by Sen. Joseph Addabbo, has advanced through the legislative process and targets the operation and supply of sweepstakes-style platforms. The bill specifically addresses platforms that use two forms of digital currency — one of which can be redeemed for real-world prizes — a setup now under scrutiny by state regulators.

New Partnerships

Rush Street Interactive (RSI), in partnership with Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360), has launched a new initiative called Gaming Literacy Aiding Decisions (GLAD), an innovative programme designed to assist educators in enhancing high school student gaming literacy and promoting that cohort’s responsible relationship with this ever more socially prevalent activity. The GLAD curriculum will initially launch in New Jersey and Delaware where, this spring, RSI and IC360 have been working with educational districts on a speaker series and educator curriculum delivery. These initial efforts will help define success metrics and gather feedback to shape the programme’s future, which will ultimately be available to educators more broadly to curate the content that resonates best with students.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has selected Caesars Entertainment as the Service Provider in the Windsor Casino procurement process. This is the final procurement process in the OLG’s land-based gaming modernisation initiative. Caesars Entertainment and its predecessor companies have partnered with the OLG to operate Caesars Windsor (fka. Casino Windsor) since the opening of the temporary facility in 1994. Caesars Entertainment will assume responsibility for gaming and non-gaming operations of the Windsor casino on behalf of the OLG under a 20-year operating agreement, which is expected to begin in 2026.

The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – May 12-18 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.