Black Immigrant Daily News

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. May 4, 2022: Three Jamaicans currently play in the English Premier League, but there is no shortage of Jamaicans plying their trade in English football as the total, including for all four English divisions, is now at 24. Let’s take a look at some of the Jamaican players currently having the biggest impact in the English Premier League.

Michail Antonio

Michail Antonio was born in Wandsworth, London, and initially hoped to play for England at an international level, but crucially remained on the bench when called up in 2016. This meant he could still represent Jamaica after obtaining his Jamaican passport. The 32-year-old made his debut for Jamaica in the 3-0 defeat against Panama in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification fixture on September 5th, 2021. He plays for West Ham United in the Premier League and is the club’s all-time Premier League goalscorer. Antonio is now a regular for Jamaica, although his three goals in the World Cup qualifying campaign were not enough to help the nation finish higher than sixth position in the table.

Ethan Pinnock

Ethan Pinnock was born in Lambeth, England, and represents Jamaica by virtue of his father being Jamaican. The 28-year-old defender plays for Premier League Brentford. He made his debut for Jamaica in 2021 in a friendly international against the United States, which the Reggae Boyz lost 4-1.

Kingston-born winger Leon Bailey began his career at the Phoenix All Stars Academy. The 24-year-old played in Austria and Slovakia before starting his professional career with Genk, followed by Bayer Leverkusen. He plays for Aston Villa in the Premier League and made his debut for Jamaica against Honduras in 2019.

The popularity of soccer in Jamaica

Soccer is highly popular in Jamaica, though it does have to compete with cricket. The popularity of soccer in Jamaica reached fever pitch when the Reggae Boyz qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 1998 with Deon Burton, who played in the Premier League with Derby County at the time, contributing five goals. Jamaica was eliminated from the World Cup after finishing third in their group following defeats against Croatia and Argentina, but they did manage to win their final group game against Japan.

Nevertheless, the exploits of the Jamaica team won over soccer fans all over the world and increased the popularity of the game in Jamaica. The game has inspired a wide range of soccer-themed slots on online casinos, such as Football Star, which is available to play at the top casino apps reviewed by the review site CasinoSmash.

Jamaican-born players who have represented England

Of course, some of the greatest Jamaican-born footballers have also represented England at the international level. Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and is an England regular. Sterling recently met with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William, and Kate, on a trip to Trench Town, Kingston and took part in a football match with William.

Another Kingston-born winger is John Barnes, who was capped 79 times by the Three Lions, scoring 11 goals. His most memorable goal was in a friendly against Brazil at the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro in 1984, when he danced around the Brazil defense to score a legendary goal in a 2-0 victory.

Jamaicans in the EFL Championship

It is also worth noting that two prominent Jamaicans playing in the EFL Championship in the form of Andre Gray, striker for Queens Park Rangers, currently on loan from Watford, and Bobby Decordova-Reid of Fulham, who will be plying his trade in the Premier League next season after the London club secured promotion to the top flight.

Jamaica has produced some impressive players who have contributed to the top flight of the English game and Jamaican-born players such as Sterling and Barnes represent two of the most talented players to ever represent the English national team.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. May 20, 2022: The NBA has wanted to expand the game globally for quite some time now, and they have done so by taking baby steps in Latin America which we will discuss in this article. Since 2014, the league has been trying to build its popularity among the Spanish-speaking masses living in the United States, Latin America, and Spain. The NBA is a major name even when it comes to online sports betting, so its evolving nature is definitely something you should know about.

Steps Taken By the NBA for the Expansion

The NBA has definitely not been alone in this expansion. There are several major corporations that are backing up the league in this decision. Back in 2010, BBVA, a big bank in Spain and a company with a significant presence in Latin America, signed a four-year deal with the NBA, amounting to 100 million dollars, that pledged that the bank would become the official bank of the league. Moreover, point guard Steve Nash even did an advertisement for Wonder bread where he spoke a few words in Spanish. Currently, the product is produced in the U.S. by Flowers Foods and in Mexico by Grupo Bimbo. 

The NBA expansion in Latin America is still evolving. Several league exhibition games have been scheduled several times on that side of the border during the past two decades. Let’s take you back to 2000 and 2002. In both these years, the NBA held its pre-season games in Mexico, and Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets were brought to Mexico City for the purpose. In 2002, another pre-season game was played outside of the U.S. in the Dominican Republic, and this was between the Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves. There are more examples such as this in the later years as well. These games being held in Mexico are now a regular plan of the NBA schedule and also a crucial part of Latin American expansion.

The NBA is also getting more attention in Latin America for another reason; more players from this region are joining the teams in the U.S. In fact, you will find players from Argentina and Brazil. If you see the overall numbers, Brazil will prove to be the biggest feeder in terms of the number of players.

So, it’s safe to say that the general interest is continually growing in the Latin American region. Consider the 2012-2013 season, for example; a total of 17.6 million viewers from the area tuned in to watch the games in the league. And this number was a whopping jump from what it used to be even a year before that.

Did you hear about the latest NBA 2K Mexican Franchise? It was announced in 2021 as part of the Innovation Summit of the league, and the franchise was declared with DUX Gaming. It was decided that this new team would start playing in the spring of 2022. The expansion team’s general manager was named as Rafael Tobias Garcera Rodrigo, and as per what has come to light from the sources, the purchase price for this franchise is $25 million.

The NBA also launched an 11-day program titled NBA Week Mexico City 2021, the aim of which was to celebrate the 75th season of the NBA. The level of commitment that the NBA has shown towards Latin America over the years has definitely risen sharply. This has led to roughly 20 million people watching the games almost every day – so that’s definitely a win!

Conclusion

Now that you have reached the end of this article, you probably understand that the NBA has worked steadily and consistently to increase its presence and fan base in Latin America. This was a part of their overall plan to globalize the game of basketball, and their effort has definitely been successful to a great extent. Even before the NBA did all of this, Latin America had people who were interested in basketball, and there was talent but what they didn’t have was infrastructure, and the NBA made it possible for them. Fans all over the world are really optimistic about Latin America’s performance in the sport in the long term, but only time will tell how the region will fare after all the time and investment that the NBA has put into this.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. June 7, 2022: The online gaming world is huge. Every year, things keep getting bigger and better. We are talking about the iGaming market value being over $59 billion. In particular, in New Jersey, things are going from strength to strength. So, how is the latter half of 2022 looking for the iGaming market in New Jersey? We can drop a spoiler and say that things are looking good. But, let’s take a closer look at what is going on in the state and what you need to know.

Some Background

First of all, let’s set the scene. iGaming is a term that refers to online gambling and betting. So, while there are still brick-and-mortar casinos in New Jersey and other states, iGaming is taking over and becoming more popular. You can play anything from poker to slot machines from home. Technology is getting better by the day too, which creates a fun and realistic gambling experience.

One thing that changed the game in New Jersey was when the court battle ensued several years ago. In particular, the state made sure that PASPA or The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned. This meant that sports wagering became legal in New Jersey and this really has made a difference to iGaming in the state, as well as across the country. In particular, every year since then, New Jersey has seen a rise in revenue.

Rising Revenue

As mentioned, the revenue has been rising ever since the PASPA was overturned. Let’s take a look at some of the numbers since this can help predict how the iGaming market in New Jersey is going to develop in the latter half of 2022.

First of all, if we go back to June 2018, the revenue was $3,458,668. Then, if you jump to August 2019, there was a huge increase to $25,210,341. Fast-forwarding to January 2022 and it was an amazing $60,195,902.

So, what can we expect from New Jersey online casinos in the latter half of 2022? Well, it is fair to say that we are likely to see more of the same. In other words, revenue will continue to roll in as people enjoy iGaming and all that it offers. The market does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon, which means the rest of 2022 is not going to be any different.

There are many who thought iGaming would slow down in New Jersey since people are set to move on from the pandemic. Indeed, this was a huge factor that made people gamble at home. The brick-and-mortar casinos had to close. The only thing you could do was gamble at home. Plus, since people were not working, this was something they did for entertainment. But, despite life starting to go back to normal, people still have the same habits. They now release that they do not have to leave the house when it comes to gaming.

What’s more, technology continues to get better and better. This means that the online experience truly rivals what you can experience in a land casino. Since there are a lot of new casino and gambling websites appearing online, there is competition. Every website wants to make sure that they are able to get customers. So, they do this by offering the best technology. This is good news for players and it means that games keep improving all the time. In addition, this means games are more adaptive and optimized for mobile. There has been a huge increase in people playing games on the move. Everyone takes their smartphone everywhere and looks to their device for entertainment. As a consequence, more websites are becoming suitable for this type of gaming.

Therefore, iGaming is set to be huge in the latter half of 2022. In particular, it is estimated that the market will be worth almost $93 billion by 2023. Indeed, New Jersey is going to get a huge amount of this and even more people are going to be enjoying the online casinos and games on offer. The state has had an important role to play in the emergence of iGaming and it continues to lead the way. How often do you gamble online?

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Black Immigrant Daily News

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. June 20, 2022: While the gaming sector has always been popular, its fame and acceptance reached a new height following the global pandemic in 2020. According to statistics, the number of active gamers in the United States is expected to hit over 179.6 million at the end of 2022.

In the United States and the world at large, the popularity of the industry continues to rise. Whether playing Atomic Heart on consoles or online blackjack, the number of people open to playing games online continues to skyrocket each passing year. As the gaming industry continues to grow, it is important to acknowledge that it has been impacted by various races and tribes, including Black immigrants.

Black innovators in the industry have proactively contributed to the further development of video gaming, and we cannot help but recognize their efforts and great inputs. Some of these American innovators that have brought great changes and innovations to the video gaming industry include:

Gerald Lawson

Known as the father of video gaming, Gerald ‘Jerry’ Lawson was a black engineer who turned around the story of video gaming in the 1970s. He helped create the first video game console and its games. Lawson led his team to the creation of the Fairchild Channel F.

Nintendo and Atari easily accepted Lawson’s inspiration behind the video gaming idea. After some years working with the giant pair, he proceeded to establish his own Black gaming creation company. Lawson was born in Brooklyn, NY and died in 2011 in California.

Alice ‘Wonderwoman’ Washington

Interestingly, not all Black gaming industry advancers went into the cores of game design. A large array of other innovators played major manufacturing positions associated with building coin-operated video games. One of these includes Alice’ Wonderwoman’ Washington, evident with her impact on PCBs (printed circuit boards) inside arcade game cabinets.

Noteworthily, printed circuit boards encompass not only the game but the required technology for running it effectively. This enables arcade gamers to access their favorite games.

Alice Washingtons’s efforts towards the installation of PCBs in gaming consoles boosted the widespread acceptance of arcade games. In fact, without her implementation of PCB installation, a large majority of arcade gamers today wouldn’t be able to access their favorite games.

Neil Jones

Neil Jones is a black game developer and multi-disciplined 3D artist based in Detroit, US. Neil Jones has developed amazing games such as Dot’s Home and Clique. These games were inspired and talked about the systemic oppression against the Black race and social problems.

While developing these projects, Jones couldn’t successfully get a job offer at any video game studio. Thus, he turned the waves in his favor by going solo and enjoying the outcomes. Jones released his first video game, ‘Never Yield’, launched in May 2020 under his 3D development brand Aerial Knight.

The Never Yield project is a game which involves endless running in a futuristic Detroit, pursuing his dreams and never yielding to excuses. Amazingly, Jones’ efforts have been recognized worldwide by several publications. Some of these publications include New York Times and The Verge. Even further, Neil Jones is acknowledged in the modern history of Black gaming.

Chella Ramanan

Chella Ramanan has helped advance the gaming industry via her firm 3-Fold Games which was co-founded with Clair Morwood. Chella Ramanan and her team of developers released Before I Forget, a short, well-detailed game that enables users to play as the main character, Sunita, a dementia patient who remembers everything in bits as she constantly interacts with her surroundings.

Besides co-creating 3-Fold Games, Chella Ramanan has supported different representations within game development and video games as she also co-founded POC in Play. POC in Play is a company designed to further diversify the gaming industry.

Also, Ramanan advocated for several representations while working as a journalist. Her efforts aren’t going unnoticed as she continually pushes her gaming advocacy across well-known publications such as The Guardian and game development events such as AdventureX. In 2019, the Game Developers Heroes Awards honored Ramanan with the 2019 Progression Advocate Award.

Shawn Alexander Allen

Shawn Alexander Allen is one of the Black innovators in modern gaming history. He is a self-acclaimed ‘Hip hop obsessed’ speaker, activist, and writer who developed a great working relationship with Rockstar Games.

Some of his works include Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Grand Theft Auto V; they have all been market leaders and globally sought after. However, Allen stopped working for Rockstar Games and moved on to develop his firm, the NuChallenger.

At his new firm, he deployed an intuitive video game known as Treachery in Beatdown City. TBC underwent successful crowdfunding, after which it was deployed in 2020 on several leading platforms.

There is no denying the gaming industry has felt been impacted in a great way by Blacks worldwide. These Black innovators have left a footprint in the sands of time in the industry through their amazing works, and they are worth celebrating.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. July 12, 2022: In recent years, the Assiniboia Downs racetrack in Winnipeg, Canada, has come to be dominated by jockeys with thick Caribbean accents. Riders from Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago have flocked to the course and in 2022, over three-quarters (13 out of 17) of the competitors are from the Caribbean.

So why, exactly, has this particular racecourse attracted such a large number of Caribbean riders? What are the benefits for both parties? And should we expect to see Caribbean jockeys continue to dominate the Assiniboia Downs leaderboards for the foreseeable future? We delve into all these questions and more in this informative article.

A dwindling pool of local talent

Historically, Assiniboia Downs has relied upon homegrown talent to satisfy its quota of riders and delight its spectators. The track was first opened to the public in 1958 and in the six decades since, Canadian and American jockeys have been among the most successful. However, the changing face of society has meant that there are fewer and fewer local talents to take up the mantle going forwards.

That’s because urbanization across North America has meant more and more young people are moving into towns and cities. This leaves less people to work on rural farms, which is how most jockeys learn the basics of riding a horse – which in turn, usually leads on to racing horses. With a smaller pool of talent to draw from, Assiniboia Downs recruiters have been forced to look elsewhere.

Caribbean calling

The first Caribbean jockey to grace the Assiniboia Downs racetrack was Vassell Najair, a Jamaican rookie who came to Winnipeg over 20 years ago. The arrangement proved to be a mutually beneficial one for both parties, with Najair finding his talents were given more room to develop on a bigger stage, while Assiniboia Downs benefited from having a safe pair of hands in the saddle. Najair unfortunately passed away four years ago, but his legacy lives on through his countrymen.

Since then, there has been a concentrated recruitment drive aimed at the West Indies, with Assiniboia Downs attracting more jockeys from that part of the globe than other tracks around Canada. CEO Darren Dunn has paid particular attention to logistical issues such as immigration, flights and accommodation, making the transition to Canadian life as seamless as possible. Many jockeys normally spend the thoroughbred racing season (May to September) in Winnipeg, before going back to their native countries for the rest of the year. However, the upheaval and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic has caused some to uproot themselves and move to Canada full time – and they aren’t looking back.

A lucrative arrangement

With the attractive prize pots on offer, it’s not difficult to see why. Jamaican jockey Chavion Chow first came to Assiniboia Downs in 2008 and walked away with the leading rider title in 2015. In total, he has won some 269 races and pocketed more than $2.4 million in prize money, indicating the level of luxury that can be accessed for those successful at his sport.

Some Caribbean riders have fared even more positively elsewhere in Canada. Barbadian Patrick Husbands, for example, is a stalwart at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, where he has claimed nearly $160 million in purses after winning over 3,200 races. “The success we’ve had in the Caribbean — the talent, the skill, year after year that continues to emerge from there — is certainly a testament to the roots of racing in the Caribbean,” explains Dunn.

The fans are happy

Of course, horse racing is largely a spectator sport which generates the majority of its revenue from betting on the outcome of races. As such, keeping the fans happy is of paramount concern – but there are no issues there. One only has to see all races on horse racing and note the number of Caribbean riders competing in all of them to understand how widespread the practice has become in North America today, with the sport remaining as popular as ever.

That’s because to the average punter, the nationality of the jockey in questions matters not a jot. What does matter is their skill in the saddle and their treatment of their equine friends – as well as the outcome of the race upon which the punter is betting, of course.

With more and more Caribbean jockeys taking part in and winning horse races across North America, the future of the sport looks rosier than ever.

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