InfinityGaming www.gaming-awards.com | ISSUE MARCH 2016
FRONT COVER - PONTUS LINDWALL ALL THE WINNERS REVEALED SPECIAL EDITION
IGA WINNERS 2016 GAMING + ARTICLES + BUSINESS+ GLOBAL+ ONLINE + NEWS+ APPS + AWARDS + etc
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10 OUTSTANDING Pontus Lindwall
12 DONALD TRUMP America’s Biggest Bet Yet?
32 38 IGA9 WINNERS All the photos & more
Opinion Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in all external articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Infinity Gaming Magazine Any content provided by our feature writers or authors are of their opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.
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4 EDITOR NOTES Lana welcomes you to the March edition of Infinity Gaming Magazine.
6 OUR WRITERS Meet our feature writers, the superb writers on our rosta.
15 ISRAEL TRIES FOR CASINOS Eilat seaside town
19 RUSSIAN TAX INCREASE
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Govt. wants to times tax by ten/1
29 PARTYGAMING FOUNDER Anurag Dikshit
THE FACTORS FUELLING THE RISE OF Mobile Gaming
35 AMAYA APPEAL KENTUCKY Ruling
WHY WOMEN NEED NETWORKING Liz Karter
37 JOHN SHEPHERD Goodbye to a legend
38 IGA9 WINNERS What a night
+ ALL THE LATEST NEWS & Opinions
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A note from the editor CONTACT US Clever Duck Media Centrix@Keys Keys Park Road Staffordshire WS12 2HA UK Tel: +44(0)1543 478 889 PRODUCTION Clever Duck Media Centrix@Keys Keys Park Road Staffordshire WS12 2HA UK
Spring is in the air and we all can take a breath
PUBLISHING Infinity Gaming Magazine is operated by © Clever Duck Media Ltd ®
Lana Thompson - Editor
Welcome to the special March edition of the Infinity Gaming Magazine featuring all the IGA9 Winners and photos.
Company Reg. No. 687 1018 (Registered in England) V.A.T reg. no 972 6372 91
Sponsorship Opportunities Colin@cleverduckmedia.com
Welcome to the latest edition of Infin-
Finally we have a farewell to our friend
ity Gaming Magazine and what a start
John Shepherd inside the magazine and
to the year we have had already! Firstly
of course all the latest news and views
what an absolutely amazing evening
from around the gambling world.
Business Partnerships Svetlana@gaming-awards.com
Enjoy the magazine.
Marketing & Advertising claire@cleverduckmedia.com
the 1st February was, congratulations to all the winners, thank you to all our charity supporters for helping us support Care International and what was
So, “To Infinity and Beyond!”
those big green hands all about.....(You had to be there).
Regards,
It truly was a magical evening and the
Lana
whole team worked superbly to ensure the very best awards evening so far, just got to see how we top that next year! In the magazine we have all our superb writers covering the world of gaming with Christina Thakor-Rankin looking at that special man, Donald Trump, , Liz Karter discussing the merits of Women Networking and the excellent Paul Swaddle doing his thing in the App business.
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The Editor
Editorial Content & PR media@cleverduckmedia.com
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Infinity Gaming Magazine Contributing Writers A magazine is only as good as the content inside and with some of the leading specialists within the gaming industry. With specialised articles covering customer service, the gaming law, new prducts, technology and current affairs with the sector the Infinity Gaming Magazine is delighted to showcase our superb line-up of contributing writers.
Christina Thakor-Rankin Christina is Principal Consultant at 1710 Gaming Ltd, a specialist betting and gaming consultancy, delivering a range of services including licensing and compliance (incl. regulation, money laundering and social responsibility), business start-up, training and strategic reengineering, project management, research, business analysis and development, to start-ups and established multi-national operators and providers, gambling regu-
lators, law enforcement and government agencies, media, and specialist interest groups and associations within the sector, in both established and emerging markets across the world.
www.1710gaming.com
Liz Karter – Psychotherapist specializing in women and problem gambling Liz Karter is a specialist in gambling and women and has worked as a therapist in gambling addiction since 2001. Liz is also author of the book “Women and Problem Gambling” published in March 2013. In January 2010 having worked with all leading UK problem gambling treatment agencies, and having successfully established the first UK groups for women with gambling addiction, Liz launched Level Ground Therapy. A treatment service in the City of London, Level Ground specialises in meeting the individual needs of women with gambling addiction.
Throughout her career Liz has been regularly consulted by the media regarding her specialisation and has made frequent national TV and radio broadcasts including This Morning, Radio 4 You and Yours and Women’s Hour and given numerous national newspaper and magazine interviews.
Paul Swaddle - CEO Pocket App A self-confessed ‘gadget geek, Paul Swaddle has been working at the leading edge of mobile technology for the past 15 years. He co-founded Pocket App in 2011 to bring the creative and technical development elements of mobile technology together under one roof. This unique approach continues to differentiate Pocket App in today’s increasingly competitive landscape.
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Working across a range of communications disciplines such as acquisition, loyalty, retention and customer development, Paul understands the importance of a strategic and coordinated marketing approach, particularly between on and off-line communications. In the past decade he has enabled brands as diverse as Kellogg’s Fruit Winders, Barclays and Loaded magazine to get the best out of mobile.
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The International
GAMING APP AWARDS
CLICK HERE http://gaming-awards.com/appawards/appcategories/
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LONDON - 2016 NOMINATIONS OPEN APP OF THE YEAR
BEST CASINO APP
BEST APP COMPANY
BEST POKER APP
BEST SOCIAL GAMING APP
BEST BINGO APP
INNOVATIVE APP OF THE YEAR
BEST APP DESIGN
BEST SLOTS GAME APP
BEST SPORTS BETTING APP
LOTTERY APP OF THE YEAR
BEST FREE TO PLAY APP INFINITY GAMING
PREMIUM CASINO GAMES www.playngo.com
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John Shepherd 1958 - 2016 A life remembered
John Shepherd was a business journalist who excelled at writing about complex financial issues in everyman’s language with a touch of trademark humour. In later roles in public relations he was able to turn a PR crisis into an opportunity for fun. His chosen business topics as a journalist reflected his own interests, in gambling, drink and sport. “He loved to party,” his wife Claire told The Independent. Shepherd was born in London in 1958. He attended William Ellis School, Highgate. Following college he worked for Barclays Bank for a short time as a trainee cashier but soon sought a more challenging role and joined the Financial Times in 1979 as a junior reporter. From the FT, Shepherd became part of the team for The Independent when it began publishing in 1986 under founding editor Andreas Whittam Smith. Joining as a business journalist, he was City Editor within a year. He covered the ins and outs of the business world with consummate ease and directness. By the end of his time at The Independent, where he finished as Business Editor, the newspaper had won the Wincott Financial Journal of the Year - regarded as
the Oscars of the sector - in 1987 and 1996.
another of his unheralded masterpieces.”
After working for corporate PR specialists Burson-Marsteller, he joined the online gambling company PartyGaming plc in September 2005.
Reynolds added, “When not in the office, he could often be found in a City watering hole sharing late-night stories with those able to keep up with his energy and joie de vivre.”
When competitor Empire Online launched injunction proceedings against PartyGaming in the Gibraltar high court, accusing the company of breach of contract, Shepherd’s media statement read: “We congratulate Empire for kick-starting the pantomime season. We remain confident of a successful outcome to the litigation.” The legal panto concluded the following year with Party Gaming acquiring its smaller rival. Peter Reynolds, who worked with Shepherd at bwin.party, told The Independent that this period “tested John’s PR management skills to the full. John’s ability to capture the mood in a simple phrase became folklore across the industry. The now infamous reference to ‘irritable owl syndrome’ when describing the attentions of SpringOwl Asset Management, a New York-based activist investor that challenged the bwin.party board in 2014, was widely believed to be
Shepherd retired from bwin.party in October 2014 to set up a PR consultancy and tend a five-acre smallholding in Somerset with his wife, Claire. Since 2010 he had been a member of the Main Cross-Gambling Industry Fundraising Committee, which has raised more than £1m for Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Critical Cardiac Unit. His family is continuing the fundraising in his memory via JustGiving. Martin Weigold, finance director at bwin. party, told The Independent, “John was a man that you wanted by your side when the going got tough. He would always keep his head in a crisis, no matter how bad things seemed to appear on the face of it. And somehow, in the midst of it all, he would manage to make you laugh with his wicked wit. John was truly a great man ... a legend, in fact.” Obituary courtesy of The Independant
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GAMING AWARD AT T H E
SAVOY HOTEL 1st Februar y 2016
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