How do you make sports gambling more addictive? Make it role playing game where you level up by completing quests of placing specific fake-money bets. And how does a sports community app like Hitpost build such a smart game? It hires lead producer Courtland Alves from games giant Crowdstar as its new CEO. After four years in sports, Hitpost is making a play for the social gaming big leagues. → Read More
This morning, as it said it would, gaming giant Zynga turned on Zynga Plus Casino and Zynga Plus Poker, its first real-money gaming sites, letting residents, initially only in the UK, deposit money to gamble online. → Read More
It may be the case that real-money gambling is inching its way to reality in the U.S., much as it has in the rest of the world, but if so it’s a phenomenally boring story. It’s hard to get excited about a sector that only ever sells the same few game types over and over, and it leads me to wonder when will real innovation ever really make its mark in this space. There’s more to life than slots. → Read More
Millions of people across the U.S. are preparing their jerseys, face paint and horrific nachos. Yes, football fans rejoice, the big game finally kicks off tomorrow in New Orleans — that is, Super Bowl XLVII, between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Franciso 49ers. The Super Bowl is always one of the biggest media events per year, and our inboxes have been flooded with “OMG this is going to be the… → Read More
Atari — the iconic company and that helped spearhead the videogames industry 40 years ago with titles like Pong, Asteroids and Centipede, as well as consoles to evolve the consumer electronics field — has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to “separate from the structural financial encumbrances” of its French parent, Atari S.A., and to seek “independent capital for future growth” in… → Read More
Betable, a San Francisco-based startup that makes it easier for casino-style game developers to offer players real money bets instead of virtual currency ones, just nabbed Jonathan Flesher. He was the vice president of business development that orchestrated Zynga’s recent partnership with bwin.party, an online gambling operator in the U.K. He’ll become Betable’s executive vice… → Read More
Would you like to bet on what may be the next big thing in games? Place a wager on real-money gambling, and you could be in for some good returns. Today, when games developer Big Fish launched a new iPhone app called Big Fish Casino, it announced it would raise the stakes in the UK by introducing real-money gambling into it (courtesy of well-backed gambling platform Betable) — making this the… → Read More
For the last three quarters, Facebook has been struggling to move the needle on its payments business, but today a new game has launched that could provide a clue to how that could change that in the future: the social network has, for the first time, allowed a gaming app on its platform that allows users to play with real money — not Facebook Credits. Called Bingo & Slots Friendzy, the app… → Read More
A new video just released by Christophe Claret finally shows the entire upcoming 21 Blackjack watch – and it is in full action. So I should probably take this opportunity to debut the watch to you. You are gonna love this one. This latest wild wonder watch by master watch maker Christophe Claret is imbued with three different Casio games, and you can play blackjack with it, as the watch as the… → Read More
Anyone who has any doubts over what will be the best-selling video game this holiday season needs to check himself. It will absolutely be Modern Warfare 2. And while I can say that without anything real being put on the line, Irish bookie Paddy Power has given the game 8/13 odds as being the best-selling game. → Read More
Even before “The Wizard” enchanted and inspired the gaming generation, gamers have sought that final prize: making a living playing video games. Unfortunately, dreams of professional-gamerism have been shown to be as elusive as dreams of being a professional gambler. Luckily, startup BringIt is attempting to make both those dreams a little more attainable. BringIt made the connection… → Read More
Here’s a handheld electronic gaming device that’s hooked directly into the Venetian’s gambling empire via a simple Wi-Fi connection. Let me be the first to say: FINALLY! The Venetian is such a dump but I love gambling there. Now I can just go lock myself in one of the rooms instead of actually hitting the (dirty, sticky, grimy) floor in person. In another stroke of genius, the… → Read More
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/player.swf?mediaId=3440591 Who here’s been watching Euro 2008? All you English lads, I’m sure, and right from your living room. Anyway, I only mention the Euros because of this neat camera technology ESPN has this year, Axis. It’s a 360-degree camera the network uses to show instant replays. It makes plain ol’ telestrators look genuinely… → Read More
Microsoft Surface debuted at Harrah’s in Las Vegas yesterday. The tables come with several programs that make throwing your money away all the more enjoyable. One such program, called Mixologists, lets gamblers create their own drink, which then presumably sends the order out to the bar. There’s also one to watch YouTube videos (oh, great), and one that lets people chat and flirt and… → Read More
This is an odd duck out of left field, if you’ll allow me to mix metaphors like I mix a cocktail. The HOP2001 by Hop-On is a Windows Mobile 6-based smartphone with a Treo-like form factor that can be used for either AT&T or Verizon Wireless, due to it’s fairly unique dual-mode GSM or CDMA architecture. While GSM/CDMA Frankenphone’s are unheard of, Hop-On nearly is, notable… → Read More
We here at the Gear are all about the sporting life. We make bets with each other on all sorts of things. I myself, for example, just lost $250 to my co-writer Vince when Paris was released shank-wound-free. You’re welcome, VV. But we’re all set to pony up on the mother of all gadget rackets: betting on the iPhone. Some say it’s bad taste, but reports are saying that BetUS.com is… → Read More
I do my best not to post actual commercials on CG, but it’s the weekend and this commercial is very silly. I’ve gotten a chance to use the product, The Original Poker Chip Customizer, a bit since the last time I wrote about it and it’s quite nice. And at $60 for the deluxe set, it’s reasonably priced as far as I can tell. → Read More
I know this is neither “gear” nor “gadget,” but I like telling you, the reader, about good software when I come across it. Software vendor Human Concepts makes OrgPlus, the go-to app for creating organizational charts. OrgPlus Live is the new Web-based version of said software. Don’t think you need org charts? Well, maybe it’s just that you don’t know any… → Read More
In the UK, gamblers are rushing to buy a £1,000 ($1,879) device that allows them to win at roulette. How does it work? Well, the gadget is made up of a time recorder, a hidden computer and an earpiece. It’s a “predictive device”, rather than a device that actually cheats directly. It’s somewhere along the lines of an aid that helps you count cards, but in this case… → Read More
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