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www.gaming-awards.com | ISSUE MARCH 2015

FEATURE Sense & nonsense from Congress

InfinityGamingCarl Icahn takes Taj Mahal

The WIG Awards Welcome to the 6th year

John EdmundsJoins the writers rosta

Dutch founder online gambling act steps down

Finland call for online gambling review

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

PAUL SWADDLE CEO Pocket App

APP MANTHE

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EDITOR’S LETTERcontentsInfinityGaming

The App Man Interview .......................................04-07Paul Swaddle talks to Infinity Gaming Magazine

The 6th Women in Gaming Awards ................07-09New Categories announced and launched

Snese & nonsense from Congress ...................14-17Professor Nelson Rose returns with superb article

Sheldon Adelson ....................................................18-21Protector or Protectionist? Tina Thakor Rankin article

Finland politicians call for online .....................22-23gambling review

Poland relaxing ........................................................24-25Country set to ease online gambling laws

John Edmunds joins the family ........................26-28Industry veteran with his superb 1st article

EU Gambling Case Law is an ass.......................32-34Andrew Tottenham article

Marty Baird article ..................................................38-40 Spend and invest but don’t foget people

Caesars lose $1 billion in Q4...............................42-43 Casino giant latest results

Woods Talk ................................................................44-47JJ Woods speaks to Dennis Korthouwer

Connecting with us ...............................................48-49How to follow the latest news

Infinity Gaming .......................................................How and where can you read the magazine?

PROTECTOR?18

THE APP MAN

WOODS TALK

JOHN EDMUNDS

04

26

44FIND US

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Welcome to the March edition of the Infinity Gaming Magazine.

Well can you believe it a quarter of a way through the year already, it only seems like yesterday we were all celebrating the 8th International Gaming Awards! But never fear we have the 6th Women in Gaming Awards com-ing and have already launched the categories and accepting nomina-tions. Indeed let me say a big thank you to all our superb judges for the Women in Gaming Awards, you can see them inside the magazine. As for the magazine this month all I can say is wow!!! What a bumper edition, so many articles from our great writers and we welcome another who joins our ranks in the form of industry veteran John Ed-munds, welcome on board John. To start off we have the CEO of Pocket App, Paul Swaddle, what he does not know about Apps he could write on a postage stamp, so

if you want to know the dangers when developing an App read this first. We have the wonderful Professor Nelson Rose with a hard hitting look at Congress and Tina Thakor-Rankin asking if Sheldon Adelson is a protector or Portectionist, you decide. Of course we have Marty Maird with his never ending line of superb articles on customer service, he really knows his stuff Marty when it comes to keeping the customers happy. Finally but not least contributing wroter come interviewer JJ Woods and his “Woods Talk” speak to Den-nis Korthouwer.

Enjoy!

InfinityGamingEDITORS NOTES

EDITOR’S LETTER

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Christina Thakor-RankinMartin R. BairdJohn EdmundsAndrew TottenhamJJ Woods Professor Nelson Rose CONTACT USClever Duck MediaNewmarket 20 Centrix@KeysKeys Park RoadStaffordshireWS12 2HA UKTel: +44(0)1543 478 889 claire@cleverduckmedia.com PRODUCTIONClever Duck MediaNewmarket 20 Centrix@KeysKeys Park RoadStaffordshireWS12 2HA UK

PUBLISHINGInfinity Gaming Magazineis operated by© Clever Duck Media Ltd ® Company Reg. No. 687 1018(Registered in England)

ADVERTISING:Sponsorship OpportunitiesColin@cleverduckmedia.com

Business PartnershipsSvetlana@gaming-awards.com

JOIN US

byLana Thompson - Chief Editor

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 Maga-

zine 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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Q : Paul thank you for talking to the Infinity Gaming Magazine today, to start off can you explain to our global readers what is your

company Pocket App? PS: Pocket App is the largest independent app developer in the UK. Essentially we design, develop and distrib-ute award winning apps and enable ourclients to take advantage of all things mobile with our broad range of solutions. Q: You have been CEO of the company since it started back in 2011 and indeed co-founded the company, what was the reason for starting the company? PS: I felt that other companies were taking the wrong approach. At Pocket App we are a mobile company first and foremost and software developers second. By that I mean that we are mobile experts, we know that the mobile experience is different and that an individual’s mobile is very personal and we understand how to get the best out of the mobile platform. Being early adopt-ers of mobile technology ourselves means that we have expertise across the whole mobile ecosystem working with leading brands, operators, media agencies and device manufacturers. Q: In just the 4 years and some since launching Pocket App what changes in that time have you seen in the sector?

PS: : We’ve seen rapid change! There has been a pro-liferation of tablets, not only for consumer but also for enterprise use. There really has been exponential growth in the enterprise market and since the start of 2010 tablets have clearly established their place as the next generation of digital development with huge growth in sales every year, and now they seem to be more and more adopted by big enterprises. Q: What types of companies request the develop-ment of Apps, is it just technology companies or is there a broader spectrum of companies? PS: Definitely not. The request for app development comes from an incredibly wide breadth of organisations; from consumer led brands, to event companies and from engineering companies to printer manufacturers. Any organisation keen to increase their real time customer engagement through the mobile channel would benefit from a mobile app. Likewise, organisations that want simpler and more efficient customer service and sup-

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with Paul Swaddle CEO – Pocket App Ltd

Infinity Gaming Magazine spoke to Paul Swaddle the boss of Pocket App and a man who knows more about Apps than most, you could call him “The App Man”

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port, or who want to monetise pro-motional offers or even sell prod-ucts or services online could benefit from a mobile app. So requests come from companies in all sectors and range from start-ups to blue chip organisations. Q: Would you say that every com-pany can benefit from having an App or does that company need a clear perspective of what the app is for before just going out and getting their own app? PS: I think it’s important that before acompany builds a mobile app for their business,they set clear objec-tives and then build their strategy accordingly.

That is really the benefit of working

with a specialist company like ours. At Pocket App we provide all of the consultancy and support needed for our clients’ different mobile journeys. We help them understand where mobile fits within existing business functions and processes and, very importantly, how it can deliver real ROI. We think it is es-sential to a successful partnership, for us to guide our clients through their mobile strategy from initial design through to planning and development.

Q: What are the common mistakes by companies wanting to launch their own app? PS: I alluded to it slightly in the pre-vious question, but one of the most common mistakes is that organisa-tions underestimate the complexi-

ties involved in app development and sofail to work with a specialist company.Working with a specialist organisa-tion is more beneficial as not only do we help with design, strategy and consultancy, but also with the development and distribution of the app once it’s ready. Q: The App market has grown phenomenally over recent years, on average every person on the planet has 10 App on their mobile, is that going to become greater in time? PS: Mobile is the future. IDC’s mobile phone forecast predicted that total sales of smartphones would reach 1.2 billion units before the end of 2014, which was a 23.1 percent increase over 2013. Addi-tionally, in 2014 British companies building apps for smartphones and tablets were forecast to generate £4bn in revenues.This trend shows no sign of abating so I would expect to see the app market to continue to grow and for consumers to have more and more applications on their smartphones. Q: Which sector in the App world will see greatest growth, would it be Games, Education, business, which? PS: I think there is going to be growth across all sectors. Simply because regardless of your sector, increased engagement with poten-tial customers will always be key.

(Continued overleaf )

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Q: In general what tips can you offer any company wanting to launch their own app, what are the common mistakes made that should be avoided? PS: As mentioned above, my main piece of advice would be to work in collaboration with a specialist organisation and not to underes-timate the complexities that are associated with the development of mobile applications.

A specialist organisation, such as ours, will enable you to harness the latest technology, user interface de-sign and development methodolo-gies, and therefore deliver a mobile app that works across all mobile devices and operating systems. Q: Since Pocket App launched back in late 2011 how has the company grown and do you spe-cialise in any specific areas? PS: Our specialism is mobile and so we help organisations across all sectors. If I had to pick out some sectors in which we are particularly knowledgeable I would say sports,

mHelath, logistics and user activa-tion and retention. Q: You recently visited the Mobile World Congress, what new and exciting technologies were there? PS: As always it was great to attend Mobile World Congress to see what we can expect over the coming months and years.

Wearables and the Internet of Things were still very much high on the agenda, but something else which was also very interesting was the development made around au-tonomous vehicles. I don’t envisage that there will be any significant impact before the end of 2015/2016 but these will definitely be the areas of interest and innovation. Q: Will we all be living our lives on mobile more and more in the future do you think and in what areas is there still expansion pos-sible? PS: It may sound like a cliché, but the only certainty is change. Hav-ing said that, smartphones have

penetrated every aspect of our daily lives. Not only are they the fastest selling gadgets in history, eclipsing the growth ofthe mobile phones which preceded them, but about half of the adult population now owns one and by 2020 it will be around 80%.

The real power of smartphones comes from their size and connec-tivity, realistically, their size makes them the first truly personal com-puter and with that in mind I would expect mobile to continue to enrich lives and reshape industries. Q: Before we let you go Paul, you are a techno geek, if there was one thing you could just make happen in technology to make lives better what would it be? PS: For me it is not the tech per se, but rather what you do with it. For me it’s really about about enabling. So I would like to see more impacts in the education space, as this has the potential for the biggest long term impacts…… oh and a really cool thin computer watch, just because!

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW PAUL SWADDLE CONTINUED

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6th Women in Gaming Awards

Meet the Judges

Britt Boeskov – COO Unibet

Christina Thakor-Rankin – Gaming Consultant

10 Leading ladies from the World of Gaming will Judge entries in all categories. Nominations are now open, nominations are FREE to enter. The WIG is here to inspire, motivate and recognize the huge importance of women in the Gaming sector.

Emma Lindley – Director of Confyrm Inc

Lee-Ann Johnstone – Head of Acquisition & Merchant marketing for NETELLER at Optimal Payments

Lyndsey Barrett - VIP Operations Director Les Ambassadeurs Club

Onika Russell – Head of Payment Services at Ladbrokes

Rhonda Whittaker – Corporate Com-munications Manager at GTECH

Tammy Schuiling -Marketing and Communications Consultant

Tracy Cohen – TCSJOHNHUXLEY Di-rector of Marketing / AGEM Director of Europe

Una Murga – Online Gaming Industry Executive

15 Categories: Affiliate Manager of the Year - Affiliate Team of the Year- B2B Excellence Award - Employee of the Year - Excellence in Customer Service Award- Hidden Talent of the Year (Online or Land Based)- In-dustry Achiever of the Year (Online or Land Based)- Innovator of the Year - Inspiration of the Year - Leader of the Year (iGaming) - Leader of the Year (land based) - Star of the Future - Marketing Excellence Award B2C- Team of the Year (Land based or Online) - Industry Pride of the Year

FREE TO ENTER - CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR FULL DETAILS

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2015

FREE TO ENTERNOMINATIONS OPEN NOW

GAMING-AWARDS.COM/WIG

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S uncity Group which is the largest VIP junket operator in Macau wants to invest in a new casino resort in Vietnam’s largest island. The

southwest island of Phú Quốc is 155 miles from Ho Chi Minh City and the CEO of Suncity has already met local officials on the island to bring the companies plans fur-ther according to local reports. The report also says that the province’s vice chair Nguyen Thanh Nghi has welcomed Suncity Group’s inter-est and has invited the group to submit an official plan of the resort for consideration. The move comes as Macau struggles with declining revenues and an estimated two year wait for the world’s largest gambling hub to recover. Suncity which has seen their VIP number plummet are interested in looking at new opportunities and the Vietnam resort is one of those such opportunities.

GAMING NEWS

Suncity looks at Vietnam island casino resort

Carl Icahn takes full control of Taj Mahal

Carl Icahn has been granted full control of the Trump Taj Mahal after a bankruptcy judge in Dela-ware approved the Chapter 11 reorganisation of Trump Entertainment Resorts over to the billionaire property investor.

In total Icahn was owed $290 million by Trump Entertainment Resorts and was their most senior investor, which he has now swapped for all the stock in the casino resort. Icahn says he wants to keep the name of the resort and refurbish it back to an excellent standard along with keeping the 3,000 employees.

“We hope to emerge with a healthy balance sheet, a solid platform from which the Trump Taj Mahal can emerge as the leading gaming destination in Atlantic City,” Trump Entertainment attorney Erez Gilad told the judge.

Safecharge reports “outstanding” year

Safecharge had an outstanding 2014 said Chairman Roger Withers after the payment services provider announced their first annual report as a public listed company.Revenues stood at $76.9 million for the year com-pared to $43.2 million in 2013, representing a rise of 78%. Profits jumped 79% for 2014 to $44.5 million for the year.The payment services firm said that its cash bal-ances at the end of the year totaled $146.5 million, which represents huge growth on the$11.8 million in 2013.“It is a privilege to present such an outstanding set of results in our first year as a public company,” Withers said

“I congratulate David Avgi (chief executive officer) and the whole of the SafeCharge team, for an excel-lent performance during a landmark period for the group.“We entered the year trading strongly with financial strength to pursue our stated M&A strategy.”

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INFORMATION

The iGaming Post News site

Social Media

The App Store iOS & Android

The iGaming Post is an online, interna-tional, daily newspaper for the gaming industry. It strives to cover all the latest headlines, delivering them seamlessly through smartphones, laptops and tablets all day, every day. The iGam-ing Post prides itself in reaching out to global readers, from online poker play-ers to the industry executives.

To find out how your company can advertise contact our sales team

Between The Infinity Gaming Maga-zine, The iGaming Post and the Inter-national Gaming Awards our network of followers on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin account for over 10,000 industry professionals and customers interested in the gambling industry.

To find out how your company can advertise contact our sales team

Subscribe to the iGaming Post & The Infinity Gaming Magazine for FREE reaching more than 10,000 global industry readers. Advertising in the magazine and news site can help your business get seen by the decision makers that count. With the iOS and Android App our publications reach a potential 500 million readership.

To find out more about advertising contact: media@cleverduckmedia.com

Just search for us in the App stores “infinity gaming magazine”

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P addy Power the Irish bookmaker has reported record profits for the past year showing a pre-tax profit of €167m which is a rise of 21% from 2013,

with revenues rising 18% to €882m. With such a bumper year the bookmaker said that it will be paying out an extra €8 per share, or €392m, on top of the dividend. The firms retail business profits soared by 50% to €21.2m on its 565 units operated in Ireland and the UK. While reporting the annual results the company known for its comical marketing said it had overcome sports betting results which “had more ups and downs than Taylor Swifts love life. “2014 was an excellent year for Paddy Power with robust double digit growth in stakes, revenues and profits, and a marked increase in customer acquisition,” said chief executive, Andy McCue. “We are strongly positioned in the key growth areas of online and mobile, whilst also benefiting from a differentiated and resilient retail pres-ence. Our distinctive brands and deeply rooted market-ing capability are core assets. “As I look ahead, the pace of change in the sector and in the wider consumer environment is intensifying. We continually develop and adapt to anticipate the needs of customers and maintain an edge in the market.

“Time and again we see that product is the key factor in attracting and retaining customers. We have re-organ-ised the business to significantly sharpen our focus on product differentiation and innovation, and to increase in-house development. This, combined with clear investment priorities, will pave the way for sustained performance and market leadership.

Paddy Power report huge annual rise

GAMING NEWS

Greek government could offer online gambling licenses to foreign operators

In a report from the Financial Times the newly elected government in Greece the Syriza party has sent a letter to EU finance ministers on a plan to raise new taxes by selling online gambling licenses to overseas operators. The leaked document to the Times says that letter composed by Syriza Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis in it he offers ways of reducing the huge debt owed to the EU on raising more taxes and one of those is to offer

online gambling licences to foreign operators in a bid to raise €500 million extra in taxes. A total of seven new tax raising ideas were outlined and one of which is online gambling, the tax to overseas operators would be the same as other operators in the country, however the new licensees would have to use recognized payment processors controlled by the Greek Central Bank.

Taylor Swift

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