Ekathimerini – Greek gambling monopoly OPAP, one of Europe’s biggest betting firms, said it expected revenue to grow by a double-digit percentage this year, thanks to the planned launch of new games. The forecast was included in a presentation released on Wednesday, a day after the company announced higher-than-expected first-quarter profit due to cost cuts and the robust performance of its sports betting game Pame Stoichima. OPAP, whose sales reached 3.7 billion euros last year, launched a scratchcard game on May 1. Chief Executive Kamil Ziegler said on Wednesday that the company would also expand into online sports betting by…

Black Friday and its aftermath have had quite an impact on the growth of poker and the US gambling market, poker in particular. The regulations which forced some of the biggest poker sites to leave the United States caused numerous problems, financial and otherwise, for sites and players who depended on the poker income. But it also left a big gap waiting to be filled once the required regulations are passed and the climate becomes more favorable. During the last year or so, things started to change for the better from that perspective, with a couple states passing acts and…

Poker News – 888 Holdings, the parent company of 888poker, recently announced record breaking revenue and pre-tax earnings for the financial year ending December 31, 2013. The company’s revenue increased by 7% from $375.8 million in 2012 to $400.5 million in 2013 thanks to a 7% increase in poker revenues ($87.5 million to $93.6 million) and a 15% increase in casino revenues ($165.5 million to $190.4 million). These substantial year-over-year increases more than offset a 16% decline in bingo revenue ($51.8 million to $43.7 million) to achieve record breaking revenue to the company. The company’s profit before tax increased by…