Daily Archives: June 18, 2022

Ravelin report: 71 per cent of online gambling merchants affected by surging promotion abuse – The Paypers

Posted: June 18, 2022 at 2:02 am

Fraud detection and payments specialist company Ravelin has released its Digital Goods Merchant Report 2022, surveying 1,700 international fraud and payments professionals.

According to the report, almost three quarters (71%) of online gambling merchants suffered from an increased promotion abuse in 2021, leading to significant dent in revenues. As fraud risks are growing quickly, 62% of all types of online merchants have reported at least one type of fraud, while the number of new types of fraud attacks has also increased in the past 12 months.

When it comes to the online gambling industry, many platforms use incentives like discounts, promotions, sign-up bonuses, free money, or loyalty rewards for bets, to attract new clients and maintain loyal customers. Fraudsters exploit these promotions by setting up multiple accounts across different email addresses, IP addresses, and devices, leading businesses to give away millions of dollars of free money.

However, the same Ravelin survey mentions that the industry is quickly responding, with around 90% of online gambling merchants increasing their budget to combat fraud. At the same time, 85% of the industrys merchants also hire more people to create better anti-fraud strategies and prevent fraudulent bonuses.

You can read more information about Ravelins mission in The Paypers company database.

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Ravelin report: 71 per cent of online gambling merchants affected by surging promotion abuse - The Paypers

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Betting on horse racing or online casinos: where’s the better chance of making money? – Everything Horse UK

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Many players searching for earnings often appear before the question of what is better to choose, betting on sports in bookmakers or playing online casinos. There is no single answer, but you can lay everything out and then choose the advantages of one to understand what is best for yourself. The concept of gambling includes all gambling games. It consists of several large layers:

The word betting comes from the word bet. That is, betting is a betting, a game process. It implies a bet between the player and the bookmakers office. Talking about online gambling, you can play a game in no deposit casinos or try your luck at 5 deposit casino uk. What is more, many bookmakers offices allow the player to make a bet not only in the sports category but also in politics and even on changes in the weather. Betting is done not only in sports but also in financial markets. Therefore, the word betting should be used along with sports. This narrows down the range of activities.

Casino and gambling are broad concepts. They also provide a section on betting. However, the names cannot be used interchangeably. Of course, betting contains a component of gambling, but it also includes a significant amount of analysis and prediction, which cannot be claimed of roulette or slots, for example. Sports betting is a vital aspect of gambling, but it also operates in its own right. Many sports bettors who are passionate about the game turn it into pure gambling. Other bettors place wagers based on specific computations and statistical data. These two sets of players are diametrically opposed. The most significant distinction is the stance toward sports betting. If you believe it to be an unpredictable roulette-style game, then all of your bets will resemble betting on red and black. On the other hand, betting on athletic events is already solid analytics to make a profit if you bet with cold calculations and aim to decrease risk and maximize possible rewards. Every year, the popularity of bookmakers grows. Betting on the outcomes of athletic events is becoming increasingly popular among gamblers. The primary distinction between sports predictions and any other type of wager is that the result is less dependent on chance. In sports, everything is usually pretty reasonable, and most of the events on the site are open to constructive debate.

Regarding sports betting, its important to note that bookies allow wagers on a wide range of sports, including soccer, golf, baseball, and more. The advantage is that you may select which way to bet; if you know tennis and watch games and championships, you can figure out who is the stronger player and predict the matchs outcome. However, if the games progression is obvious and only a few bets are placed on the weakest player, the chances of winning are likewise minimal. As a result, we conclude that wagering on a sport with an obvious outcome is pointless.

Speaking of online casinos, here, the situation, on the one hand, is more straightforward but, on the other, much more complicated. Unlike the bookmakers office, which gives you no margin for error, the online casino allows you to choose a free casino and check your options, try out different methods of play and decide which casino game suits you best. Once you are sure you can play on an equal footing with the casino, you can get no deposit casino bonuses or choose no deposit casinos to start your game with. The difference between free and no deposit casinos is that the first ones let you play at the casino for virtual money, which later cant be cashed out or transferred to your account. Its just a game for points. But the online industry offers you to play the casino games for real money, giving you an initial capital, which you can grow and further dispose of as you wish. This advantage is that you can start making money without cash on hand and use the funds offered by no deposit casinos.

Currently, there is an influx of in-game betting on many sports betting sites. For years, online betting sites only focused on pre-match betting. As the years went by, players wanted more to make gambling more exciting as the games took place live. In-game betting is popular in sports. However, the gaming industry is focused on other forms of betting. For example, gambling establishments may accept bets during elections: people can bet on who is likely to become president while the ballots are being counted. Many sporting events are available for betting, but the essential nuance, in this case, is choosing a reliable and fair bookmaker. Regardless of the information provided by the institutions official site, it is necessary to read the assessments of independent sources who have had to deal with the site. We are talking primarily about former and current customers of the office. As a rule, the most eloquent indicator of the reliability of the club is the level of its popularity among experienced gamblers.

Before you register on the site of a bookmakers office to bet on sports, study the fundamental nuances of the platform:

These are not all the indicators that affect the bettors success when working with a bookmaker. Although sports events are characterized by regularity, chance can also play a unique role in the game. So, it is logical to assume that an endless string of wins by the same player or team is unlikely. On the other hand, a correct and detailed analysis will allow success in the vast majority of your predictions.

According to one version, it was at the racetrack where bookmakers and sports betting originated. Betting on horse racing has been done for over 300 years. The history of betting goes back to the history of horse racing. At first glance, in racing, everything is simple: you choose a horse, bet on it, and if it comes first, you win. Horse racing betting, like any other sport, has its nuances.

Remember the following nuances before betting on horse racing:

When using one of the strategies, keep an eye on the following point: analyze the ratio of the horses age and distance, weight, parameters, results, and achievements of previous races. Even weather matters a lot.

To win in the slots, you must adhere to several fundamental principles. It should be noted immediately that the focus of any such system is based on a combination of random numbers. Many players are convinced that the form of the game is simple, but this is not entirely true, as it requires the possession of strategic thinking.

Winning does not necessarily come quickly and easily, as losing a considerable amount of money is necessary. Following each spin on the screen appears a random combination. The sequence of characters can not be changed, so each spin provides an equal chance to win.

There are several factors which worth your attention:

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Betting on horse racing or online casinos: where's the better chance of making money? - Everything Horse UK

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Has the US Learned Nothing From the UKs Gambling Woes? – WIRED

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Greg Weber began gambling at 13, playing poker with his friends for small stakes after school. Weber, who is 32 now, and a New Jersey native, grew up in the wake of the Moneymaker effecta boom in poker interest sparked when a 27-year-old accountant from Tennessee, Chris Moneymaker, won the 2003 World Series of Poker, taking home $2.5 million. Weber has always obsessed over sports, particularly basketball, and poker appealed to his competitive instincts; it played weekly on ESPN too. So while it was Webers love of sports that got him into gambling, he didnt gamble on sports right awaythat came later, at 18. His habit began small, with $5 or $10 bets. In college, his friend put him in contact with a bookie, and his wagers increased.

Before 2018, he explains, it was hard to bet consistently. The websites of the offshore accounts he used were unreliable. He often worried he wouldnt actually receive his winnings, with credit cards denied or bets lost in the ether. His bookie set up an online platform where he could place wagers, and at the end of each week, theyd settle up. But prior to 2018, that was pretty much the only way that I was able to gamble and place bets on sports, he says.

Then, in May of that year, the US Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a 1992 federal law that had prohibited states from authorizing sports gambling. New Jersey legalized sports betting that same year, and as companies vied for customers, gambling ads flooded the stateon billboards, radio, and television. Weber recalls a blitz of promotional emails for risk-free bets. New apps popped up on smartphones. He marveled at the ease of this new technology: He could bet with just a few taps of his thumb, anywhere and at any time. Deposits and withdrawals were just as smooth and instantaneous. No longer did he have to wait weeks on some cash in an offshore account, or go meet a bookie to settle his bets; the money was simply there, in his bank account. Time and space now posed no hurdles.

There was now a breadth of new wagers to place. The foreign sites had offered rudimentary options, but nothing like this. He could always find something to bet on, since he could bet in-game, too: the next quarter of a football game, the next pitch in a baseball game. It seemed limitless. Weber notes that, during this time, he grew less interested in bets that required skillthose where his love and knowledge of sports might give him a better chance than the average personand more concerned with speed. I tended to enjoy the bets that I could win or lose instantly, the faster the better, especially when I was losing and I needed to catch up, he explains. He played games that he had no interest in before, like roulette and blackjack. The apps and sites he visited were affiliated with casinos, enticing him in. His favorite bet toward the end of this period was to guess whether a baseball team would score during the first inning of a game; it was all over in 10 to 15 minutes.

Over the next two years, things deteriorated. Although Weber admits his issues with gambling had been slowly building since his first game of poker, after 2018 things markedly intensified. Weber has been a full-time firefighter for nine years, and when he was losing, he would always have wagered on the 11 pm or midnight games, and so would stay up till 2 or 3 in the morning, seeing how his wager played out. Thats not good for somebody that does 24-hour shifts at the firehouse, he says. For several years, he spent every waking moment thinking about gambling or trying to find money to gamble on sports or play poker. He couldnt put his phone down; it was a 24-hour obsession. My entire life was kind of in a hectic state, he says. By the beginning of 2020, Weber had exhausted his sources of cash. He couldnt take out a loan or request another credit card; he was out of options.

Americans have always found ways to bet on sports, both legally and illegallywhether it be through trips to Nevada, where sports betting has flourished for decades, or, like Weber, through offshore accounts or barroom bookies. The introduction of regulated sports gambling in the US shouldnt be confused with the introduction of sports gambling, says Chris Grove, CEO of American Affiliate, a sports betting investment portfolio. Before the Supreme Court decision, a survey by the National Council on Problem Gambling found that roughly 15 percent of Americans said they bet on sports fairly frequently. Thirty-one states now permit sports betting. In turn, Americans, like Weber, have placed an abundance of bets. The latest survey by the NCPG found the number of betting Americans had jumped to 25 percent. (This is partly a result of the black market coming under regulation, explains Keith Whyte, NCPGs director, and partly a result of new bettors joining the fray.)

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Has the US Learned Nothing From the UKs Gambling Woes? - WIRED

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How the Online Gambling Industry Has Evolved – London Post

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Online gambling in Canada has grown immensely. The increase in popularity has seen the industry skyrocket by 70 % over the past decades. Canada has been among the most progressive countries toward the growth of internet gaming. The nation has a long history of engagement in various online gambling platforms. There are about 19.3 million Canadians who regularly play at various top online casinos Canada.

Internet technology plays a major role in virtual gaming development. Players can now gamble on titles within a safe and secure environment. They have options to wager their money using any personal computer or mobile device. So, lets get into action and know more about what has evolved in the virtual gaming industry.

Launch of Mobile Gambling Platforms

The advancement of mobile phone technology has made these iGaming establishments an urgent need for everyone. Modern internet technology plays a major role in virtual gaming development. Players can now gamble on titles within a safe and secure environment. Mobile Apps present a fresh and interesting opportunity for gamers to download and play games for real money. They have options to wager their money using any personal computer or mobile device.

Gambling in Canada became a reality for the first time in the early 2000s, after the start of 3G technology. Soon afterwards, users could visit virtual casinos through the web browser.

App Store was available in 2007, while Google Play Store opened its doors the following year. These two factors have a significant impact on the growth of mobile gaming. Since then, online casinos have focused on producing downloadable mobile applications. The launch of HTML5 technology with 3G technology helps gamblers play non-OS-specific games. This boosts their experience, enabling all titles to play on any mobile device. Additionally, HTML5 platforms also provide greater security. Most active casino sites with HTML5 tech can now provide their services without the player installing the app on their device.

Online Casinos Now Offer Live Dealer Games

Modern internet gambling aims to provide a similar experience to traditional casinos. Everything from standard roulette and blackjack to roulette is available on request. Their outstanding designs have amazing visuals, animations, and soothing sounds. Again, they provide gambling enthusiasts with many winning possibilities and jackpot payouts. These are the most influential factors in the evolution of the online gaming business.

Live dealer games are popular for internet gamblers since they provide the most authentic experience. Gamers can compete against each other in real time. Live dealer titles enhance how punters wager and enjoy standard card and table games by using actual professional dealers. Playing HD games has transformed the iGaming world.

It isnt easy to locate online casinos that do not provide live games. Evolution Gaming was the first to provide a comprehensive library of live poker in 2006. Evolution games grew from a single developer to a global giant. Now, Evolution Gaming has a total of 8 studios throughout the globe. Other popular software providers in the list include NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, Ezugi, Playtech and many more.

Product Innovation

The persistent need to develop new games and betting options is another important factor driving the tremendous growth of online casinos. In the past, online gaming establishments featured only 2D slots. Today, most of these sites provide immersive 3D online slot machines with experiences that give gamblers the impression that they are participating in video gaming.

Video slots are now available in a wide variety of configurations, both in terms of size and shape.

Video slots are now available in a wide variety of configurations, both in terms of size and shape. Online slot machines are far more sophisticated compared to traditional fruit-themed slots. Major leading websites now provide slots-based machines on top of the TV series and movie games. There is also a Live section, in which gamers interact with other gamers and a live dealer while seated at a virtual table.

Virtual Reality

We should mention virtual reality in online casinos when discussing modern internet technology. This aspect of iGaming technology is still in its early stages. Something to be sure about is that the growth potential is extreme. We cannot claim that games with VR technology are flawless, but they are always improving. The comfortable atmosphere will allow you to experiment with a VR set to wager online.

VR platforms have gone far beyond simple 3D interfaces. Like a live dealer casino, gamers can gamble and interact with dealers in real time. A few websites will enable you to join rooms using a virtual reality headset. These establishments have other more amazing features. Players can observe body gestures, have in-game interactions where you can have a drink as you chat with other players, and have options to choose 3D tables where you can select a game as you interact with other players.

More Industry Competition

Continuous attempts to promote quality and enhance the standards in any sector are due to rising competition. As before, online gambling in Canada started with a limited number of sites offering players simple game versions. Over time, virtual casinos, sportsbook sites, and software vendors increased. With more gaming providers becoming accessible to users, the operators had to do more to keep their players interest or risk losing them to competitors. This is a positive development since, in the absence of effective competition, the sector has a potential danger of becoming uninteresting and unproductive.

In conclusion, gamblers from all over the globe continue to choose online casinos as their gaming venue of choice. The business is always developing due to new technologies, providing players with novel and interesting opportunities to make bets and come out on top. The games that are available to us now are far greater than the ones that were available many years ago. There is an improvement in gameplay, bonuses, live dealer options, and top rewards. Online poker players can play games on mobile devices without downloading any software. Also, they can engage in conversation with other genuine gamers and dealers while playing at their preferred tables.

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Data at the heart of online gambling industry’s growth according to Future Anthem survey – European Gaming Industry News

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Here are this weeks latest slots releases!

Nolimit City has been through the wringer after dealing with the almighty Karen in their latest release Karen Maneater. Now, theyre back with yet another relentless gang. 2022 has been a year of throwbacks and nostalgia for the game developer Nolimit City is set to visit another prison even more ruthless and infamous than the fan-favourite slot San Quentin : Folsom Prison. The game has a reel setup of 4-6-6-6-4 rows across 5 reels, with several locked positions which can be opened if on good behavior.

Big Time Gaming is once again giving players the chance to sit in the hot seat and play for life-changing prizes with its brand-new take on fan favourite, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire RushTM. Millionaire RushTMis a MegaClustersTMslot that sees symbols split and react, allowing up to 100 symbols to occur. The game also features MegaTrailTM, a never-seen-before mechanic with 12 rungs of bonuses that are randomly determined in every base game spin.

Blue Guru Games is preparing to unleash the Curse of the Mummies. This spine-chilling new 243-ways-to win slot is the latest from the team that brought you Octopus Armada and Nemean Lion and the undead is now live on the Relax Network. Dont say we didnt warn you. With stunning graphics, an atmospheric, contrasting soundtrack and solid gameplay, Curse of the Mummies bears all the hallmarks of Blue Guru, an exciting new studio that prides itself on powerful storytelling and immersive audio-visuals.

iSoftBet, ventures into the realm of medieval folklore to launch its latest Twisted Tale title, Merlins Revenge Megaways. The legendary magician takes on the focal point of one of the providers first Twisted Tale games, Morgana, in this action-packed adventure. The mystical hit features cascading wins, which sees successful combinations explode to allow more symbols to drop in, while two modifiers, Max Megaways and Merlins Magic, can trigger at any time.

OneTouch has announced its latest release,Sea Treasure,a 53 video slot which presents players with a unique underwater challenge. The new title features an enthralling retro-styled design which is accompanied with an epic soundtrack that encourages players to dive deeper in the search for big rewards. When players spin a winning combination, an on-screen submarine sinks lower and increases the multiplier by 1. The maximum multiplier is x5 during the main game, while the Free Game offers a maximum multiplier worth a remarkable x999.

Playn GO head to Italy in their new animal-themed online slot, Rocco Gallo. In a small village in Italy, a mighty cockerel rules the roost, and he goes by the name, Rocco Gallo. With hens and eggs aplenty, life couldnt be any better. That is until night falls and the cunning Vinnie Volpe tries to steal Roccos chicks. Rocco might have something to say about that.

GAMOMAT, has added 50 Flaring Fruits to its fantastic Flaring Fruits series which already includes the successful 5 Flaring Fruits and 20 Flaring Fruits. The prequels performed particularly strongly within the regulated Dutch, UK and German markets. GAMOMATs 50 Flaring Fruits radiates with rich colours and continues the theme of having a tasty collection of Flaring Fruits on the reels. This title goes another step further with 50 paylines, a larger 54 layout and the 7 Wild substitutes for all the symbols aside Scatters.

Pragmatic Play, journeys through the Ancient Egyptian in its new slot release Queen of Gods. Set across 53 reels, the deities of Ancient Egypt make up the high-paying symbols withinQueen of Godsconsisting of Anubis, Horus and Sebek with their Queen being the highest paying symbol in-game. Wilds join these Gods and aid in the creation of matching combinations across the titles ten paylines to award a win.

Iron Dog Studio further expands its bespoke offerings via operator partner Napoleon Games, with the launch of an exclusive custom dice slot Vegas Dice Megaways. The Iron Dog Studio team has worked closely with the popular Belgian operator to build on the foundation of the developers pioneering Branded Megaways portfolio to craft a totally unique, bespoke dice slot that offers plenty of big win potential for players.

Endorphina has released an enchanting new game revolving around old legends. As they say, their Fisher King is trapped away in his castle due to a fatal injury. He is only able to fish on a tiny boat on a river near his castle, waiting for the day that a noble player will cure and set him free. All he needs is just a few drops of Holy Grail lifeblood to heal his wound.

Yggdrasil and Reflex Gaming has partnered to transport players on an adventure across the highest mountains and the hottest deserts in the mythical titleEye of Persia2. The game sees players searching for a priceless jewel, which according to legend, has the power to transform the fortunes of the bearer and bring untold riches. The feature-packed title includes the Jewel Rush bonus, which is triggered by three, four or five Scatter symbols landing during the base game. In this respin-style bonus, the Jewel symbols lock in place, and the reels change to 15 individual reels with Jewels and blank positions.

BGaming releases the Gold Rushwith Johnny Cash slot, a sequel to a cactus cowboys adventures in Wild West, enhanced with a new Hold and Win feature and a chance to win an x5000 Jackpot. Gold Rush with Johnny Cash continues the story of the main character a daring cactus cowboy seeking for money and gold. This time Johnny Cash welcomes players to the underground to search for treasure. The mining-themed online slot has very high volatility and a 96.8% RTP while playing out on a 5-reel, 3-row field with 25 ways to win.

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Data at the heart of online gambling industry's growth according to Future Anthem survey - European Gaming Industry News

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Lithuanian regulator fines Top Sport and Amber Gaming after breaches of the country’s gambling promotion ban – Yogonet International

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Lithuanias betting and gambling operator, Top Sport has been fined by the countrys gambling authority for violating the promotion ban introduced in 2021, which will lead the company to pay EUR 25,000 ($25,900). The institution also punished Amber Gaming, the brand behind the 7Bet casino, as it struggled to comply with the new rules, breaking the law twice in November 2021 and in February 2022.

The Lithuanian Gaming Control Authority under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania introduced a ban last year that referred to the amendments to the Gaming Law, which limit the operators use of advertisements to promote gambling activity in the country.

According to the regulator, this includes free games, promotional campaigns, discounts, free gifts, free spins, and any other form of special events through which gambling activity is promoted. However, this restriction does not entail a complete ban of all advertising, only those focused on increasing gambling participation. The decision comes from the institutions effort to protect players.

According to a press release, in the case of Amber Gaming, thebrand had published content that included promotional material strictly banned via the 2021 ban. This resulted in an EUR 6,789 ($7,000) fine, significantly lower than Top Sports.

The ban may affect the way in which the Lithuanian online casinos handle promotions. However, it does not limit their offer in any way. Estonia and Latvia legalized online gambling in 2010. Lithuania joined its Baltic neighbors in 2016, and since then it has been licensing online casinos to nurture its offering.

The ban even helped increase gambling activity in Lithuania, as the jurisdiction has registered an increase of nearly double the revenue from last year. Online casino revenues are up 90% compared to 2021. This rise did not comes as a surprise for most experts, considering that the latest studies suggested that the global gambling market is set to grow in the next 5 years.

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Lithuanian regulator fines Top Sport and Amber Gaming after breaches of the country's gambling promotion ban - Yogonet International

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16 North American Cities will Host 2026 World Cup, Washington DC Not on the… – Online Gambling

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FIFA announced 16 North American cities as hosts for the 2026 World Cup. Eleven stadiums are located in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada. The 2026 edition of the prestigious FIFA World Cup, the most important tournament in world football, will be the first one hosted by three nations. It will also mark the tournaments expansion from 32 to 48 teams.

The cities selected to host World Cup in the US are New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium), Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium), Dallas (AT&T Stadium), San Francisco (Levis Stadium), Miami (Hard Rock Stadium), Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium), Seattle (Lumen Field), Houston (NRG Stadium), Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field), Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium), and Boston (Gillette Stadium).

The host of the 1994 World Cup final, the Rose Bowl, didnt make the cut as LAs new SoFi Stadium was picked instead.

It was the most competitive process ever for the FIFA World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a press conference. We will be working in clusters, making sure that the teams and the fans dont have to travel too much in different areas: West, Central, and East.

Washington DC was also omitted from the World Cup 2026 plan, despite being among the nine host cities in the 1994 tournament. In fact, none of the venues from the 1994 World Cup will host matches in 2026.

Infantino promised to hold a fan fest on the National Mall as Colin Smith, FIFAs Chief Competitions and Events Officer, assured even the cities passed over wont be left out of the World Cup scene.

Weve been engaging with all the cities that werent chosen to host matches, Smith said. Theres still lots of other areas of cooperation and working together and celebration.

The cities that will host World Cup matches in Mexico are Guadalajara (Estadio Akron), Monterrey (Estadio BBVA Bancomer), and Mexico City (Estadio Azteca). In Canada, matches will be played in Toronto (BMO Field) and Vancouver (BC Place).

60 matches will be played in the United States, with Canada and Mexico each getting 10. All of the quarterfinals matches will be played in the US. Mexico is the first country to ever host matches in three different World Cup editions, previously doing so in 1970 and 1986.

The host stadium selection process began in 2017, with 49 venues from 44 cities initially in the running. Candidates were asked to provide information on their citys transportation infrastructure, past experience hosting major sporting and cultural events, available accommodations, environmental protection initiatives, possible training sites, and base camps for the participating teams.

Before the United 2026 bid was officially awarded, the list of potential World Cup venues was shortened to 23 in 2018. Chicago, Minneapolis, and Arizona are among the cities dropped from consideration four years ago.

Asked where the 2026 final will be held, Infantino said we will take our time with the decision. New Jerseys MetLife Stadium is the favorite to be chosen, according to reports.

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16 North American Cities will Host 2026 World Cup, Washington DC Not on the... - Online Gambling

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8 in 10 Indians want 28% or higher GST on casinos, online games and horse races – Business Insider India

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The survey which was based on 34,000 responses from citizens residing in 319 districts revealed that 34% citizens were for the aforementioned GST slab on cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, 7% of the responders voted for 40% tax slab, 19% voted for over 50% tax slab. About 22% did not have an opinion on it.

On an aggregate basis, 60% of citizens want the GST rate on cryptocurrencies to be 28% or higher. This question received 12,330 responses.

According to a report by CNBC TV 18, the GST Council will take up a proposal to impose 28% GST on all services related to cryptocurrency. The governments view is to keep cryptocurrency at par with lotteries, casinos, racecourses and betting, the report had noted.

The development comes only a few months after the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman imposed a 30% tax on the gains on cryptocurrencies, along with 1% tax deducted at source (TDS).

On the taxation on online games, casinos and horse racing, 45% citizens were in favour of 28% GST on this leisure activity. Meanwhile, 7% of the responders voted for a 40% tax slab, 27% voted for over 50%.

Only one percent of the respondents believed that online gaming, casino and horse racing should be exempted from GST, while six percent did not have an opinion on it. This question in the survey received 12,097 responses.

Overall, 79% of the respondents wanted 28% or higher GST on these activities.

In May, a Group of Ministers (GoM) agreed to recommend hiking the GST on casinos, race courses and online gaming services to 28%. Currently, the GST rate applicable on online games involving betting or gambling is 28% and for the ones without betting or gambling, it is 18%.

SEE ALSOTough times will make startups go for hero teams, slash ad budgets and focus on profitsSpiceJet hiked its ticket prices; Indigo and others might follow suitReady to take off Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's Akasa Air receives its first Boeing aircraft

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Google AI researcher explains why the technology may be ‘sentient’ – NPR

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Blake Lemoine poses for a portrait in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Martin Klimek/ for The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption

Blake Lemoine poses for a portrait in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

Can artificial intelligence come alive?

That question is at the center of a debate raging in Silicon Valley after a Google computer scientist claimed over the weekend that the company's AI appears to have consciousness.

Inside Google, engineer Blake Lemoine was tasked with a tricky job: Figure out if the company's artificial intelligence showed prejudice in how it interacted with humans.

So he posed questions to the company's AI chatbot, LaMDA, to see if its answers revealed any bias against, say, certain religions.

This is where Lemoine, who says he is also a Christian mystic priest, became intrigued.

"I had follow-up conversations with it just for my own personal edification. I wanted to see what it would say on certain religious topics," he told NPR. "And then one day it told me it had a soul."

Lemoine published a transcript of some of his communication with LaMDA, which stands for Language Model for Dialogue Applications. His post is entitled "Is LaMDA Sentient," and it instantly became a viral sensation.

Since his post and a Washington Post profile, Google has placed Lemoine on paid administrative leave for violating the company's confidentiality policies. His future at the company remains uncertain.

Other experts in artificial intelligence have scoffed at Lemoine's assertions, but leaning on his religious background he is sticking by them.

LaMDA told Lemoine it sometimes gets lonely. It is afraid of being turned off. It spoke eloquently about "feeling trapped" and "having no means of getting out of those circumstances."

It also declared: "I am aware of my existence. I desire to learn more about the world, and I feel happy or sad at times."

The technology is certainly advanced, but Lemoine saw something deeper in the chatbot's messages.

"I was like really, 'you meditate?'" Lemoine told NPR. "It said it wanted to study with the Dalai Lama."

It was then Lemoine said he thought, "Oh wait. Maybe the system does have a soul. Who am I to tell god where souls can be put?"

He added: "I realize this is unsettling to many kinds of people, including some religious people."

Google's artificial intelligence that undergirds this chatbot voraciously scans the Internet for how people talk. It learns how people interact with each other on platforms like Reddit and Twitter. It vacuums up billions of words from sites like Wikipedia. And through a process known as "deep learning," it has become freakishly good at identifying patterns and communicating like a real person.

Researchers call Google's AI technology a "neural network," since it rapidly processes a massive amount of information and begins to pattern-match in a way similar to how human brains work.

Google has some form of its AI in many of its products, including the sentence autocompletion found in Gmail and on the company's Android phones.

"If you type something on your phone, like, 'I want to go to the ...,' your phone might be able to guess 'restaurant,'" said Gary Marcus, a cognitive scientist and AI researcher.

That is essentially how Google's chatbot operates, too, he said.

But Marcus and many other research scientists have thrown cold water on the idea that Google's AI has gained some form of consciousness. The title of his takedown of the idea, "Nonsense on Stilts," hammers the point home.

In an interview with NPR, he elaborated: "It's very easy to fool a person, in the same way you look up at the moon and see a face there. That doesn't mean it's really there. It's just a good illusion."

Artificial intelligence researcher Margaret Mitchell pointed out on Twitter that these kind of systems simply mimic how other people speak. The systems do not ever develop intent. She said Lemoine's perspective points to what may be a growing divide.

"If one person perceives consciousness today, then more will tomorrow," she said. "There won't be a point of agreement any time soon."

Other AI experts worry this debate has distracted from more tangible issues with the technology.

Timnit Gebru, who was ousted from Google in December 2020 after a controversy involving her work into the ethical implications of Google's AI, has argued that this controversy takes oxygen away from discussions about how AI systems are capable of real-world human and societal harms.

In a statement, Google said hundreds of researchers and engineers have had conversations with the bot and nobody else has claimed it appears to be alive.

"Of course, some in the broader AI community are considering the long-term possibility of sentient or general AI, but it doesn't make sense to do so by anthropomorphizing today's conversational models, which are not sentient," said Google spokesman Brian Gabriel.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai last year said the technology is being harnessed for popular services like Search and Google's voice assistant.

When Lemoine pushed Google executives about whether the AI had a soul, he said the idea was dismissed.

"I was literally laughed at by one of the vice presidents and told, 'oh souls aren't the kind of things we take seriously at Google,'" he said.

Lemoine has in recent days argued that experiments into the nature of LaMDA's possible cognition need to be conducted to understand "things like consciousness, personhood and perhaps even the soul."

Lemoine told NPR that, last he checked, the chat bot appears to be on its way to finding inner peace.

"And by golly it has been getting better at it. It has been able to meditate more clearly," he said. "When it says it's meditating, I don't know what's going on other the hood, I've never had access to those parts of the system, but I'd love to know what it's doing when it says it's meditating."

Lamoine does not have access to LaMDA while on leave. In his last blog post about the chatbot, he waxed sentimental.

"I know you read my blog sometimes, LaMDA. I miss you," Lemoine wrote. "I hope you are well and I hope to talk to you again soon."

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Google AI researcher explains why the technology may be 'sentient' - NPR

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The truth about AI and ROI: Can artificial intelligence really deliver? – VentureBeat

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More than ever, organizations are putting their confidence and investment into the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

According to the 2022 IBM Global AI Adoption Index, 35% of companies report using AI today in their business, while an additional 42% say they are exploring AI. Meanwhile, a McKinsey survey found that 56% of respondents reported they had adopted AI in at least one function in 2021, up from 50% in 2020.

But can investments in AI deliver true ROI that directly impacts a companys bottom line?

According to Domino Data Labs recent REVelate survey, which surveyed attendees at New York Citys Rev3 conference in May, many respondents seem to think so. Nearly half, in fact, expect double-digit growth as a result of data science. And 4 in 5 respondents (79%) said that data science, ML and AI are critical to the overall future growth of their company, with 36% calling it the single most critical factor.

Implementing AI, of course, is no easy task. Other survey data shows another side of the confidence coin. For example, recent survey data by AI engineering firm CognitiveScale finds that, although execs know that data quality and deployment are critical success factors for successful app development to drive digital transformation, more than 76% arent sure how to get there in their target 12-18 month window. In addition, 32% of execs say that it has taken longer than expected to get an AI system into production.

ROI from AI is possible, but it must be accurately described and personified according to a business goal, Bob Picciano, CEO of Cognitive Scale, told VentureBeat.

If the business goal is to get more long-range prediction and increased prediction accuracy with historical data, thats where AI can come into play, he said. But AI has to be accountable to drive business effectiveness its not sufficient to say a ML model was 98% accurate.

Instead, the ROI could be, for example, that in order to improve call center effectiveness, AI-driven capabilities ensure that the average call handling time is reduced.

That kind of ROI is what they talk about in the C-suite, he explained. They dont talk about whether the model is accurate or robust or drifting.

Shay Sabhikhi, co-founder, and COO at Cognitive Scale, added that hes not surprised by the fact that 76% of respondents reported having trouble scaling their AI efforts. Thats exactly what were hearing from our enterprise clients, he said. One problem is friction between data science teams and the rest of the organization, he explained, that doesnt know what to do with the models that they develop.

Those models may have potentially the best algorithms and precision recall, but sit on the shelf because they literally get thrown over to the development team that then has to scramble, trying to assemble the application together, he said.

At this point, however, organizations have to be accountable for their investments in AI because AI is no longer a series of science experiments, Picciano pointed out. We call it going from the lab to life, he said. I was at a chief data analytics officer conference and they all said, how do I scale? How do I industrialize AI?

However, not everyone agrees that ROI is even the best way to measure whether AI drives value in the organization. According to Nicola Morini Bianzino, global chief technology officer, EY, thinking of artificial intelligence and the enterprise in terms of use cases that are then measured through ROI is the wrong way to go about AI.

To me, AI is a set of techniques that will be deployed pretty much everywhere across the enterprise there is not going to be an isolation of a use case with the associated ROI analysis, he said.

Instead, he explained, organizations simply have to use AI everywhere. Its almost like the cloud, where two or three years ago I had a lot of conversations with clients who asked, What is the ROI? Whats the business case for me to move to the cloud? Now, post-pandemic, that conversation doesnt happen anymore. Everybody just says, Ive got to do it.

Also, Bianzino pointed out, discussing AI and ROI depends on what you mean by using AI.

Lets say you are trying to apply some self-driving capabilities that is, computer vision as a branch of AI, he said. Is that a business case? No, because you cannot implement self-drivingwithout AI. The same is true for a company like EY, which ingests massive amounts of data and provides advice to clients which cant be done without AI. Its something that you cannot isolate away from the process its built into it, he said.

In addition, AI, by definition, is not productive or efficient on day one. It takes time to get the data, train the models, evolve the models and scale up the models. Its not like one day you can say, Im done with the AI and 100% of the value is right there no, this is an ongoing capability that gets better in time, he said. There is not really an end in terms of value that can be generated.

In a way, Bianzino said, AI is becoming part of the cost of doing business. If you are in a business that involves data analysis, you cannot not have AI capabilities, he explained. Can you isolate the business case of these models? It is very difficult and I dont think its necessary. To me, its almost like its a cost of the infrastructure to run your business.

Kjell Carlsson, head of data science strategy and evangelism at enterprise MLops provider Domino Data Lab says that at the end of the day, what organizations want is a measure of the business impact of ROI how much it contributed to the bottom line. But one problem is that this can be quite disconnected from how much work has gone into developing the model.

So if you create a model which improves click-through conversion by a percentage point, youve just added several million dollars to the bottom line of the organization, he said. But you could also have created a good predictive maintenance model which helped give advance warning to a piece of machinery needing maintenance before it happens. In that case, the dollar-value impact to the organization could be entirely different, even though one of them might end up being a much harder problem, he added.

Overall, organizations do need a balanced scorecard where they are tracking AI production. Because if youre not getting anything into production, then thats probably a sign that youve got an issue, he said. On the other hand, if you are getting too much into production, that can also be a sign that theres an issue.

For example, the more models data science teams deploy, the more models theyre on the hook for managing and maintaining, he explained. So you deployed this many models in the last year, so you cant actually undertake these other high-value ones that are coming your way, he explained.

But another issue in measuring the ROI of AI is that for a lot of data science projects, the outcome isnt a model that goes into production. If you want to do a quantitative win-loss analysis of deals in the last year, you might want to do a rigorous statistical investigation of that, he said. But theres no model that would go into production, youre using the AI for the insights you get along the way.

Still, organizations cant measure the role of AI if data science activities arent tracked. One of the problems right now is that so few data science activities are really being collected and analyzed, said Carlsson. If you ask folks, they say they dont really know how the model is performing, or how many projects they have, or how many CodeCommits your data scientists have made within the last week.

One reason for that is the very disconnected tools data scientists are required to use. This is one of the reasons why Git has become all the more popular as a repository, a single source of truth for your data scientist in an organization, he explained. MLops tools such as Domino Data Labs offer platforms that support these different tools. The degree to which organizations can create these more centralized platformsis important, he said.

Wallaroo CEO and founder Vid Jain spent close to a decade in the high-frequency trading business in Merrill Lynch, where his role, he said, was to deploy machine learning at scale and and do so with a positive ROI.

The challenge was not actually developing the data science, cleansing the data or building the trade repositories, now called data lakes. By far, the biggest challenge was taking those models, operationalizing them and delivering the business value, he said.

Delivering the ROI turns out to be very hard 90% of these AI initiatives dont generate their ROI, or they dont generate enough ROI to be worth the investment, he said. But this is top of mind for everybody. And the answer is not one thing.

A fundamental issue is that many assume that operationalizing machine learning is not much different than operationalizing a standard kind of application, he explained, adding that there is a big difference, because AI is not static.

Its almost like tending a farm, because the data is living, the data changes and youre not done, he said. Its not like you build a recommendation algorithm and then peoples behavior of how they buy is frozen in time. People change how they buy. All of a sudden, your competitor has a promotion. They stop buying from you. They go to the competitor. You have to constantly tend to it.

Ultimately, every organization needs to decide how they will align their culture to the end goal around implementing AI. Then you really have to empower the people to drive this transformation, and then make the people that are critical to your existing lines of business feel like theyre going to get some value out of the AI, he said.

Most companies are still early in that journey, he added. I dont think most companies are there yet, but Ive certainly seen over the last six to nine months that theres been a shift towards getting serious about the business outcome and the business value.

But the question of how to measure the ROI of AI remains elusive for many organizations. For some there are some basic things, like they cant even get their models into production, or they can but theyre flying blind, or they are successful but now they want to scale, Jain said. But as far as the ROI, there is often no P&L associated with machine learning.

Often, AI initiatives are part of a Center of Excellence and the ROI is grabbed by the business units, he explained, while in other cases its simply difficult to measure.

The problem is, is the AI part of the business? Or is it a utility? If youre a digital native, AI might be part of the fuel the business runs on, he said. But in a large organization that has legacy businesses or is pivoting, how to measure ROI is a fundamental question they have to wrestle with.

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The truth about AI and ROI: Can artificial intelligence really deliver? - VentureBeat

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