Launches and sign-ups 22 February 2017
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (16 February 2017 to 22 February 2017)
LeoVegas makes M&A debut with €6m Winga acquisition
Operator expands into Italian market for the first time after agreeing deal to acquire Winga.it from Paf
LeoVegas has completed the first major M&A deal in its history after acquiring Italy-facing operator Winga from Paf for €6.1m.
The all-cash deal for Winga.it will see the Stockholm-listed operator make its debut in Italy, while it also plans to gradually roll-out the LeoVegas brand in the market.
Winga recorded revenues of €8m last year, with approximately 50% derived from the company’s live casino business, but according to a statement today is currently showing a negative result.
However, LeoVegas said it had identified a number of areas to turn Winga’s current fortunes around, including adopting a data-driven approach to marketing and utilising its mobile technology.
William Hill adds ITV7 predictor game to racing sponsorship deal
William Hill has extended its horseracing partnership with ITV to include sponsorship of the broadcasting company’s new ITV7 predictor game and ITV Racing app.
The ITV7 competition was launched ahead of Saturday’s meet at Ascot and enables customers to win up to £100,000 for correctly selecting the winning horses in each of a day’s seven races.
Existing William Hill customers can use their account to log-in to the weekly competition, while those without an account with the firm can enter for free online or via the new ITV Racing app.
The operator is already the headline sponsor of ITV’s new racing coverage having secured an initial one-year deal in December to sponsor its live broadcasts of almost 100 days of racing across its main ITV and ITV4 channels.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Colossus Bets launches Syndicates betting product
Colossus Bets has launched a new product that enables groups of players to purchase tickets into Colossus jackpots.
Colossus Syndicates is now live on the firm’s B2C site, colossusbets.com, with an enhanced version set to be rolled out across the Colossus B2B partner network in the coming weeks.
The product will enable punters to get more tickets into jackpot tournaments, for example, boosting customer engagement as more entries stay alive throughout a sporting event.
PokerStars starts alpha testing eSports-inspired poker format
PokerStars has started alpha testing for a new eSports-inspired version of poker that gives players greater ability to influence the game.
PokerStars Power Up, which has been developed from scratch by the operator, offers powers like Reload – where players can redraw selected hole cards – or Engineer – where a player can choose the deck’s next card from three options.
The format has been tested for the last six months by a group of experienced poker players and gamers in an effort to “break the game in every possible way”.
Matchbook to expand markets and live betting following platform switch
Matchbook has completed the migration of all sports onto a new proprietary betting platform, with football the final sport to be switched over last Tuesday.
The platform, which has been in development for more than a year, was initially launched with horseracing in July, with other sports being shifted over gradually.
Matchbook told customers the new platform would mean faster bet-placement times, a more reliable and resilient website and more markets and live betting.
888 extends online partnership with WSOP
888 has signed a sponsorship deal with the World Series of Poker (WSOP) to remain the exclusive online provider of WSOP qualifier satellites and promotions until 2018.
The two-year deal marks the third year in a row 888 has sponsored the largest poker tournament in the world.
888 also provides the software behind the WSOP.com online poker brand in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware.
Sporting Index secures Authorised Betting Partner status
Sporting Index has agreed a deal with British horseracing to become an Authorised Betting Partner (ABP).
The agreement will nominally run through March 2019, although the ABP scheme will likely become defunct this April when a new horseracing levy is expected to be introduced.
However the deal will mean Sporting Index gets at least two months of ABP benefits, including the use of a kitemark across assets, central promotion through media campaigns and discussions with racing on the composition of the fixture list.