Launches and sign-ups 29 August 2012
A round-up of the egaming industry's launches and sign-ups from the last seven days (23 August to 29 August 2012).
Tain poker to integrate with InstaDeal
Various poker skins to offer fast-fold poker from Swedish company.
Egaming platform provider Tain has begun integrating InstaDeal’s fast-fold poker offering into its portfolio of poker sites.
Tain is the latest partner to integrate the offering after Plus-Five Gaming, and will see a selection of predominantly iPoker skins including BetnGo and Parimatch take on the fast-paced online and mobile poker variant. A spokesman for Tain told eGaming Review “As with all integrations to the Tain Commons Platform, once a gaming platform is integrated it will technically become available to all Tain skins. Who will come first is yet to be found out.”
Two former iPoker skins, Pokerhuis and Gutshot Poker, became InstaDeal partners in May after moving their primary poker offering to the Enet and Merge networks.
Foviance acquires Seren to form agency powerhouse
eGaming Review’s exclusive product and games reviewer merges with Seren Partners to create industry’s largest service design agency.
User experience and analytics consultancy Foviance Group, eGaming Review’s exclusive product and games reviewers, has acquired Seren Partners to create one of the industry’s largest service design agencies.
The business will trade under the Seren brand with all 70 employees based from its Shoreditch offices from September 17.
The newly merged business boasts a client list including Barclays, Vodafone, Microsoft, Everything Everywhere, Camelot, O2, Sky, as well as 18 gaming companies including Ladbrokes and will be led Ben Langdon.
APAT signs up as latest ISPT partner
Partnership covers four live events, while online qualifiers for Wembley tournament will be held through APAT site.
The Amateur Poker Association and Tour (APAT) is the latest organisation to partner with the International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) after agreeing a live and online deal.
The agreement covers four live events, including the European Championship of Amateur Poker, held in Nottingham over the last three days. The ISPT has been named as sponsor of the events, a role held by Betfair in 2010.
In addition to the live partnership, which saw ISPT UK representative Stephen McLean attend in a promotional capacity, qualifiers for the ISPT will be held on Apat’s online poker room, part of GTECH G2’s International Poker Network. Apat launched its online offering after taking control of the software and player database of former IPN skin Poker.co.uk in July.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Webis subsidiary signs California racing deal
AIM-listed firm’s pari-mutuel operation EWS to supply betting services of standardbred harness race meetings for the next five years.
Webis Holdings subsidiary Watch and Wager has signed an agreement with the California Exposition & State Fair (Cal Expo) for the lease and operation of standardbred harness race meetings for the next five years.
Watch and Wager, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Webis’ pari-mutuel (tote) operation, European Wagering Services (EWS), received a licence to operate betting for race meetings at Cal Expo from the Californian Horse Racing Board (CHRB) yesterday. The five-year term will commence on 1 September 2012. The CHRB has also approved Watch and Wager’s application to hold 16 race meetings in 2012, with the first meeting to take place on 2 November 2012.
AIM-listed Webis said in a statement that the deal “helps fulfil a key aspect of its strategy to extend EWS’s presence in the US following the company’s move to San Francisco”.
Net Entertainment launches games on Android
Seven games already available on iOS “ future games will be offered on both platforms.
Net Entertainment has launched its seven mobile casino games on Android devices, with all future games to be made available for both Android and iOS platforms.
The first wave NetEnt Touch games, including Gonzo’s Quest and Jack Hammer, were released for iPhones and iPads in late 2011, and the same titles will now also be available on Android devices.
LCG in KAX spread betting collaboration
Spread betting group to launch CitySpreads in October with Gambling.com owner.
London Capital Group (LCG) is set to launch a new spread betting venture in October in partnership with KAX Media, the London-listed company has announced.
CitySpreads will see LCG’s technology partnered with the marketing and advertising expertise of media group KAX, which acquired the gambling.com domain from Media Corporation for £1.5m last year.
KAX Media chief executive Charles Gillespie said of the deal: “LCG stood out as the obvious choice for our expansion into spread betting. We are very excited about the project and look forward to realizing all the potential behind this great name with the great team at LCG.”
Online betting exchange Betfair has signed up with promotors Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Sport to become the official partner of boxing on Sky Sports. Matchroom Boxing will stage 20 shows over the two-year contract, with the deal seeing Betfair play a role as title sponsor at all of Matchroom Boxing’s upcoming fight nights.
Microgaming has announced the launch of the third instalment of its Untamed Series of video slot games “ Untamed Wolf Pack. The release follows Untamed Giant Panda and Untamed Bengal Tiger, both launched earlier this year. Meanwhile OMI Gaming has launched three new mobile games. Benny The Panda, Princess Fortune and Jungle Fruits have all been “approved in principle” by the AGCC.