Asian bookies, Italian and French operators break into Power 50
Asian bookmakers importing their high-volume, low margin model to Europe and poker operators with a foothold in two leading EU markets set for major growth thanks to regulation, debut in the middle order of this year's Power 50 ranking of leading egaming operators.
Asian bookmakers importing their high-volume, low margin model to Europe and poker operators with a foothold in two leading EU markets set for major growth thanks to regulation, debut in the middle order of this year’s Power 50 ranking of leading egaming operators.
In-running betting specialists SBOBet and 188Bet have marked their entrance into the fiercely competitive European market with aggressive above-the-line marketing spend this year, embarking on high-profile shirt sponsorships and betting partnerships with several English Premier League teams. The SBO Bet brand can currently be seen adorning the shirts of West Ham United, while the 188Bet logo is on the shirts of Bolton and Wigan football clubs. 188 Bet has also struck a number official betting partnership deals with several Premier League clubs.
Winamax and Gioco Digitale, two of the largest poker sites in Italy and France, also make their first appearance in the eGaming Review Power 50, at number 28 and number 27 respectively.
Having successfully defended its first-mover advantage in the Italian market against the relentless march of major players such as Playtech and PokerStars, Gioco Digitale’s purchase by Austrian-based giant Bwin for 115m this month should enable it to build upon this. Bwin co-chief executive Manfred Bodner told EGRMagazine.com the acquisition of Gioco Digitale would enable Bwin to enter the Italian market quickly with high levels of liquidity.
French and German-focused poker site and World Series of Poker table sponsor Everest Poker falls out of the top 20 this year. Parent company GigaMedia recently revealed the Everest business it put up for sale some time ago was responsible for first quarter 2009 net income falling by more than half.
Australia’s largest gaming and betting operator, Tabcorp, also makes its first appearance in the Power 50, at number 21. Tabcorp is now engaged in a sustained fight back against the attack on its market share and tote monopoly in New South Wales and Victoria by Northern Territory-licensed operators and Tasmania-licensed Betfair. Tabcorp’s campaign began with the launch of its Northern Territory-licensed fixed-odds bookmaker Luxbet.
The Power 50, positions 28-21
28. Winamax (N/A). The largest poker site in France has gross gaming revenues of around 35m and is fronted by well known French singer and actor Patrick Bruel.
27. Gioco Digitale (N/A). The company was one of the early movers in Italian online poker and has managed to hold its own against major networks like Playtech.
26. SBO Bet (N/A). SBO is one of the biggest Asian sports betting operators and its entrance in Europe has not gone unnoticed.
25. 188 Bet (N/A). 188 Bet has been even more active than SBO in marketing its name, with numerous football sponsorship and betting partnership deals.
24. Camelot (29). UK lottery operator is not higher in the list due to its single product offering. The company remains focused on corporate and social responsibility.
23. Everest Gaming (18). Parent company Giga Media has been trying to sell flagship poker site Everest Poker for some time, recent update showed first quarter revenues had dropped by half.
22. Sisal (N/A). Historic Italian lottery operator, the company joined Playtech’s poker network but doesn’t have any sports reach.
21. Tabcorp (N/A). Although technically not a monopoly anymore, Australia’s major betting and gaming operator still has huge reach down under. Its exclusive licence to operate gaming machines in the state of Victoria will soon be running out.
The eGaming Review Power 50 2009 was published this month. Positions 20-11 will be revealed tomorrow.