Wednesday news round-up 05/02
This week’s news in brief contains updates from PokerStars, Sky Bet, Ladbrokes, Mecca and 888
Rational Gaming has updated its free-to-play version of its PokerStars app on the Google Play Store to allow players to purchase play money chips. The “dot net” versions of the poker sites contain no links to the real-money sites, but permits in-app purchases for the play money site. PokerStars Facebook app is still in beta, but uses liquidity from the dot net poker site and a full launch is expected soon. Social gaming is a key area of focus for PokerStars in 2014 with the firm investing heavily in the sector in a bid to take on Zynga Poker.
Software firm Yggdrasil Gaming has launched its first mobile slot game, Jokerizer iSENSE, with the game now live across the Nordics on EuroSlots.com, SpilleAutomater.com, Norgesspill.com and CherryCasino.com. The desktop version of Jokerizer was launched in November 2013 and the mobile version includes unique features such as âtap reelsâ, which enable players to stop autoplay at the touch of a button. âThe game was heavily promoted on television in the Nordics during the Christmas holidays so it was only natural that it should also be the first of our products to be adapted to mobile,” Fredrik Elmqvist, founder and CEO of Yggdrasil Gaming, said.
888 said increased “mobile penetration” had helped it grow its casino business by 15% year-on-year in its Q4 results released last week. “We have continued to enhance our mobile and tablet product offering in this increasingly important growth sector of the industry and source of customer acquisition. This has contributed to the Group delivering a very pleasing 19 per cent increase year on year in real money registered customer accounts across Casino, Poker and Sport,” an 888 statement said.
Sky Betting and Gaming said its mobile focus was a big factor in a 27% year-on-year revenue rise for the six months ended 31 December. Speaking with sister magazine eGaming Review, Sky Betting and Gaming managing director Richard Flint highlighted the importance of the operatorâs strong mobile products. âMobile investment across all of our products is something weâve done well and has driven our growth,” he said. He also added the launch of seamless login on its mobile apps had been a major factor in improving its gaming performance.
Rank Group chairman Ian Burke said the firm would revamp its Mecca Bingo mobile product after recording a 40% drop in profits from the vertical for the six-month period ended 31 December 2013. Mecca Bingo mobile revenue for the period increased by 24% year-on-year with the platform now responsible for 22% of total revenue for the brand. “During the period updated mobile (phone and tablet) apps have been developed and released with a focus on side game improvements,” a Rank statement said.
Ladbrokes has updated its flagship sports betting app to include live streaming of sports as it continues to boost its mobile presence in the UK market. The iOS app added live video streaming on a range of sports to its existing horse racing streaming coverage today as well as adding a new quick results section. The UK-based firm has also upgraded its Football Coupons app with a number of bug fixes and improved functionality with no need to re-login when depositing or withdrawing.