Launches and sign-ups 14 December 2016
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (8 December 2016 to 14 December 2016)
Betsson acquires RaceBets in €40m deal
Operator snaps-up horseracing specialist and will integrate racing product into existing sportsbook brands
Betsson has acquired horseracing betting operator RaceBets in a deal worth up to €40m, as the firm looks to strengthen its presence in the UK and German markets.
The deal, which should complete early next year, will see Betsson pay an initial €34m sum for the Malta-based operator, with an additional €6m to be paid should certain performance targets be met.
RaceBets, which holds licences in the UK, Germany, Malta and Ireland, saw its revenues for 2015 increase to €9.3m (£7.9m) and adjusted EBIT reached €3.4m (£2.9m) during the period.
The operator’s horseracing product will be added to Betsson’s portfolio of brands and is expected to be fully integrated onto its technology platform no later than Q3 2017.
Sky Bet enhances cash out product with cash bonus feature
Sky Betting & Gaming (SB&G) has unveiled a new feature to its cash out product, enabling customers to “turbocharge” their winning bets with additional cash bonuses.
Cash Out Boost is available on any bet eligible for cash out and, according to the brand’s social media account, is “completely random” when it selects which bets to top up.
The operator began promoting the new feature over the weekend and has a maximum top-up value of up to £50.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
William Hill to launch Cash In Roulette
William Hill has announced plans to launch a new casino game, Cash In Roulette, which enables players to bet over a series of spins on a roulette wheel.
The new format, created by London-based developer Be The House, lets customers place bets on outcomes like ‘two number 8’s in the next 10 spins’, or ‘14 black numbers in the next 20 spins’.
Hills said it would offer liabilities of up to £1m, with customers also able to cash out their bets much like a sports bet.
Ladbrokes Australia to launch customisable player proposition betting
Ladbrokes’ Australia-facing business has signed a deal with Digital Sports Tech to become the second operator in the country to launch a customisable player prop bets solution.
The agreement will see Ladbrokes.com.au roll-out the product in January and comes just weeks after Ladbrokes Coral unveiled Digital Sports Tech’s Player Props in the UK via its Coral brand.
Ladbrokes Australia also follows in the footsteps of MadBookie.com which became the first operator to launch the proposition betting solution Down Under back in June.
PKR continues vertical expansion into virtual sports
PKR has announced the launch of a virtual sports product as it continues its strategy to become a “multi-product gaming operator”.
The new product, provided by Kiron Interactive, is now live on PKR.com and features seven sports including football, horseracing and greyhound racing.
“We believe in quality products that offer great entertainment,” said PKR chief executive Chris Welch.
Cherry acquires remaining shares of ComeOn
Cherry AB has agreed to buy the remaining 51% shares of its recently-acquired ComeOn business, a move the operator expects will triple group revenues next year.
The group, which acquired 49% of ComeOn back in May, will buy the remaining shares of the operator for a total purchase price based on a multiple of 10 times ComeOn’s operating profit for the full-year 2016.
The initial €80m (£67.4m) Cherry paid for the shares back in July will be deducted from the final purchase price, which can be up to a maximum of €280m (£235.8m) on a debt-free basis.
Yahoo launches UK-facing DFS product
Yahoo has launched a UK-facing version of its DFS site after earning a licence from Great Britain’s Gambling Commission.
The UK site offers contests in five sports, including football, with liquidity shared across the UK, US and Canada.
The multinational tech company appears to have taken the same route as DraftKings by transplanting its US platform into the UK, rather than creating a specific European-focused product like FanDuel.
Paddy Power Betfair inks football data licence deal
Paddy Power Betfair has agreed a data usage licencing deal with Football DataCo that allows it to continue offering in-play visualisation tools on football markets.
Football DataCo provides the official data from the English and Scottish football leagues – like goal scorers, corners and yellow cards – which is then distributed to operators through Perform’s in-play product RunningBall.
Until recently this data was not considered copyrightable, but a decision from the UK Court of Appeals confirmed it was licensable information and owned by Football DataCo.
Squawka to launch FSBTech-powered sportsbook
Football data business Squawka has signed a deal with FSB Technology to launch a new online sportsbook before the end of the year, it was announced last week.
The deal will see Squawka utilise the sports betting supplier’s APIs and CRM tools, while FSB Technology will assume control of all the product’s trading capabilities.
The online sportsbook, which will enable the firm to customise the front-end, will sit alongside Squawka’s fantasy football product.