News round-up 2 October 2015
This weekâs news in brief sees Bet365âs mobile revenues leap by two-thirds, while PokerStars and bwin roll out app updates
Bet365 soaring revenues and profits – which stood at £1.47bn and £406m respectively for FY2015 – were boosted by strong growth on the mobile channel. The firm said mobile sportsbook saw revenue growth of 66% and an increase in amounts wagered of 59%.  Meanwhile the firmâs strong poker performance was boosted by 47% of newly acquired players coming through the mobile channel.
In this weekâs app updates, PokerStars and bwin were among a number of operators to roll out stability updates for iOS9. Appleâs new OS gives developers more options, particularly when it comes to multi-tasking, and more operators are expected to roll out compatibility updates in the coming weeks.
William Hillâs WHLabs Shoreditch tech hub has announced the five companies accepted into its first start-up accelerator programme. The programme, run in conjunction with co-investor L Marks, will support the start-ups for three months, with each firm receiving an up-front investment of £25,000, along with 12 weeks of mentoring support and office space at WHLabs in Shoreditch and Tel Aviv. The five finalists include Asylum Labs, creator of a social bingo game and BetGame, which provides a way for online gamers and eSports fans to bet with friends.
BetVictor launched a new Android native application as it attempts to scale its presence on a platform operators have traditionally struggled to come to grips with. Googleâs ban on gambling apps in its Play store means operators have tended to focus more effort on iOS native applications, but BetVictor said its new Android app will include all major features currently present on its mobile website and iOS app. The operator said that it chose to develop the app in-house to allow for greater flexibility and to make adjustments âfar quicker than if the product was outsourcedâ.
Mecca Bingo launched a new mobile bingo game as part of an effort to create a fast-paced bingo variant targeted at younger players.Emoji Bingo was developed in conjunction with Virtue Fusion, which created a bespoke 50-ball mobile bingo engine upon which the emoji concept has been overlaid. Traditional bingo balls have been replaced with emojis and users purchase a single ticket with 10 unique emojis in each game.