Updates

The future is here, Cortana Everywhere, a Speech-Driven Digital Assistant As The New Universal UI

Published

10 years ago

May 19, 2015

There was a time when the search box was promoted as a universal user interface. That was the mantra and of course the marketing message of the former enterprise search company called Fast Search & Transfer. This company has been acquired by Microsoft in 2008 and there is no need to mention what its development is today.

With the proliferation of smartphones, smart watches and, soon, numerous other connected devices — the so-called “Internet of Things” — the once familiar search box (and mouse and keyboard) will necessarily give way to speech or perhaps a digital assistants such as Cortana as a successor User Interface.

Microsoft is seeking to enable this with its ambitious Project Oxford, a set of APIs and SDKs for developers that enable them to add a range of advanced capabilities to their applications.

These tools include facial recognition APIs, speech-to-text and text-to-speech processing in multiple languages, image recognition to identify objects and images and what the company calls “Language Understanding Intelligent Service” (LUIS). LUIS promises an advanced natural language understanding and “intent detection,” but is invitation only for now.

The longterm result could be that developers of all sorts of devices could build speech and computer vision into their products, delivering the equivalent of Cortana on everything from televisions to assembly line equipment to household automation systems. All such implementations would be customized to specific tasks and backed by cloud-based artificial intelligence.

This will enable developers to create models for your application to better understand intents like “turn on the lights”, or entities such as “start a new jog/walk/hike/bikeride”. Tune your model with in-depth performance visualizations . . .

Use the pre-built, world-class models to recognize entities like places, times, numbers, temperatures, and to also handle common requests like “set an alarm for 8 AM”. Immediately enable personal assistant functionalities by using a selection of Cortana understanding models.

The bottom line is that LUIS essentially enables Bing’s “intelligence engine” and Cortana-like capabilities to extend to any app on any device.

Google is doing something similar by integrating action buttons (i.e., “buy“) and transactional capabilities into search and Google Now.

What could all this mean for the gambling industry?

Imagine playing using a casino app and wanting to switch games, or using a sports betting app and wanting to make a quick bet. You could just say “5 Euros on Messi to score first” or “I want to play blackjack”.

This would be interesting to see and it would quickly catch on. We just have to wait.

Zoltan "Hawkie" Tundik

With an experience of over 8 years in the online gambling industry, as an affiliate, later affiliate manager and consultant, I consider myself a veteran of the industry and can guarantee that you will be served with the most accurate information.

Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 (25-26 March)

Conferences

We are sponsoring the prizes at ASEAN Gaming Summit Poker Freeroll

Published

7 years ago

December 19, 2017

Zoltan "Hawkie" Tundik

We are excited to announce our first event sponsorship and we would like to thank our friends at All-In Translations for the opportunity and initiative. As a strategic partner of Asia Gaming Brief (organizers of ASEAN Gaming Summit), the honor is even higher. (see EEGMedia/EEGEvents engages in strategic partnership with Asia Gaming Brief)

It was great to see that All-in Translations will once again host the official poker tournament of the ASEAN Gaming Summit in March and we want to make it even more interesting for the players by giving some prizes on behalf of our company.

The tournament is a freeroll for delegates attending the conference and we will be sponsoring the prize pool with no less than three packages of great value.

Prize 1 (worth $1600): 1 Seasonal ticket for a company representative which includes access to 5 EEGEvents in 2018.

Prague Gaming Summit – 29.03.2018
Mare Balticum Gaming Summit – 08.05.2018
Vienna International Gaming Expo – 30.05 – 01.06.2018
Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference and Awards– 25-26.09.2018
European Gaming Congress – 16.10.2018

The ticket includes access to the conference/seminar, complimentary lunch and access to all networking sessions.

More details about the events can be found on the official landing page of the events division: www.eegevents.org

Prize 2 (worth $550): Tickets for 2 EEGEvents in 2018 for a company representative.

The winner can choose from the above list of events.

Prize 3 (worth $900): Featured radio spot for 3 months and interview on iGaming Radio

The player who wins this gets the opportunity to present the company with a radio spot which will be streamed during peak hours on iGamingRadio.com. The radio spot can be created by the representative’s team or by the team at the first online radio dedicated exclusively for the b2b sector of the online gambling industry. A selected representative will also get the chance to take part in the Innovation Talks monthly show and discuss the latest innovation in the industry.

As you may already iGaming Radio is the first online radio streaming gaming related news exclusively through daily shows, interviews and press releases. The aim of the station is to keep its audience connected 24/7 with the online gaming industry by playing awesome music and serving the news first hand.

You can tune in on www.igamingradio.com

About ASEAN Gaming Summit

TECH TRENDS, CONVERGENCE, STRATEGY, RETURN ON INVESTMENT
20-22 MARCH, 2018, CONRAD MANILA, PHILIPPINES

The ASEAN Gaming Summit draws together the region’s leading operators, regulators and suppliers, who are successfully developing the next generation of gaming offerings, both terrestrial and online.

From new-style integrated resorts, addressing the premium mass market, to sports betting innovations and online gaming, this event is for anyone with an interest in this dynamic region.

Mark your calendars for 20 -22 March, 2018.

For any questions about the 2018 conference, send an email to [email protected] or visit the official website www.aseangaming.com

About All-In Translations

All In Translations is the only Language Service provider offering such a large variety of languages (70+) combined with a true enthusiasm for iGaming, hence their slogan “We speak your iGaming language”.

They are now a market-leading provider of language services to the iGaming industry. Their high-quality standards and service level are ISO certified and trusted by several of the biggest platform providers, developers, operators and affiliate marketers. The team helps companies like Playtech, William Hill, Betfair, Microgaming, Interblock, Betsson and many more to boost their online presence and grow their brands internationally.

The subject of iGaming has been their bailiwick since the company started up in Malta in 2008, meaning that all their linguists and project managers have both a strong knowledge of and a genuine passion for casino games, poker, sports betting, lotto, bingo, trotting, backgammon, roulette and more.

Visit their official website for more details: www.allintranslations.com

News

European regulators to ban binary options and crackdown on spread betting

Published

7 years ago

December 18, 2017

Zoltan "Hawkie" Tundik

European regulators revealed plans to outlaw one of the most popular trading products available to the public.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) wants to ban the sale of binary options to retail clients.

The prohibition is part of a wider clampdown on the spread betting sector that would also see contracts for differences leverage (CFD) limits – the amount of risk/reward a retail investor can expose themselves to – dramatically reduced.

One year ago, City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), surprised the spread betting sector by unveiling its own plans to protect retail investors. A number of other European regulators followed suit and during this summer the matter was passed onto ESMA, so changes could be imposed Europe-wide.

ESMA said it will conduct “a brief public consultation in January 2018” on its plans. Once put in place, it would be the first time ESMA has used so-called “intervention powers” in financial markets.

The changes may come as a blow to some spread betting firms, which have booked bumper profits during 2017.

Others, of which CMC Markets has been very vocal on several occasions, believe the clampdown will help business by forcing rivals that focus on “lower-value” customers out of business.

EEG iGaming Directory

William Hill airs concerns over NYX-Scientific Games deal

Published

7 years ago

November 10, 2017

George Miller

William Hill has said that it is to consider its options regarding Scientific Games’ proposed acquisition of NYX Gaming Group.

In September, Scientific Games agreed to acquire NYX for approximately CAD$775m (€525m/US$609.2m), in a deal it said would lead to the creation of a “global digital gaming and lottery powerhouse”.

However, William Hill has now said it will look in detail at the deal in regards to contractual rights it obtained when it enabled NYX to purchase OpenBet.

William Hill said “no decision has been made at this time” and, despite reports, “refutes in the strongest terms that any anti-competitive measure have been requested or is being demanded”.

The company added: “William Hill confirms that it has issued a conversion notice to convert its holding of convertible preference shares and has commenced legal action in order that it may also vote such shares at the special meeting of shareholders.

“William Hill does not wish to make any further comment on those proceedings at this time, other to confirm that it will continue to act in the best interests of its shareholders.”

William Hill owns and controls 6,800,000 ordinary shares of NYX and £80m of preference shares of NYX Digital Gaming, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of NYX.

Theses shares are initially convertible into approximately 40,723,339 ordinary shares of NYX, based on an initial conversion price of CAD$3.67 per ordinary share.