Launches and sign-ups 12 June 2013
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (30 May to 6 June 2013)
Exclusive Facebook interview: Real-money launch “a learning experience”
EMEA head of social casino predicts social network will launch RMG in other regulated markets
Facebook’s head of social casino Will Collins has described the social network’s UK-facing egaming launch is “a great learning experience”, which will eventually lead to the launch of RMG products in other regulated markets.
Speaking to eGaming Review sister publication Social Casino Intelligence, Collins explained that Facebook had deliberately made the launch a “step-by-step” process to ensure its first partners would be able to make a success of their offerings. He said the company was “at the beginning of the journey” with real-money gambling, adding that he never expected to “hoover up” huge market share from the launch as the UK is “a very established market”.
“We think that we can bring new types of gaming experiences to users, and think we’re on the right path to develop that with our partners,” he said. “I think people were expecting some kind of boom, but we deliberately moved to take this step-by-step, which is why we started with Gamesys and adding a few more partners, before taking further steps.”
Collins explained that he saw this as “the right process” for the social network, rather than open up the platform to all operators. Currently Gamesys’ Bingo & Slots Friendzy, 888’s Bingo Appy and Magic888 Casino and Bonza Slots are the only RMG offerings available on the platform.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
UK bingo ad spend on course to surpass £50m in 2013
Bingo operators’ spend on TV advertising in the UK is set to have doubled over the course of three years, according to a report from data company Nielsen.
Tombola has been the biggest spending brand between January and April this year with an outlay £2.9m, closely followed by Gamesys (£2.3m) and Cashcade brand Foxy Bingo (also £2.3m). The figures do not incorporate sponsorship deals such as Foxy Bingo’s long-standing agreement with The Jeremy Kyle Show.
The report, seen by eGaming Review, reveals that operators have spent just shy of £19m across the first four months of 2013, leaving the industry on track to more than double the £26m spent throughout 2010. The £19m spent over the first four months of 2013 represents a 48.6% year-on-year increase.
Foxy first to go live with Dragonfish iPad app
Foxy Bingo has become the first operator to go live with an iPad offering from Dragonfish, the B2B subsidiary of London-listed operator 888.
The app will initially include 90-ball bingo, as well as a number of instant games, with Dragonfish confirming that the offering will be enhanced with a new features added over the coming months. Other operators on the Dragonfish network, including Moon Bingo and Costa Bingo, are also due to go live with the app in the near future.
32Red seals football sponsorship deals
32Red has become the new sponsor of English football club Crawley Town after signing a two-year shirt sponsorship deal.
The Gibraltar-based operator has also become the shirt sponsor of Newport County for the Welsh club’s first season back in the English football league in 25 years.
Sheriff launches first mobile slots
Sheriff Gaming has released its first mobile slots, with the Amsterdam Masterplan and Spartania now available across all smartphones and tablets.
Released under the supplier’s SMART mobile brand, the titles have been reconfigured to HTML5 format to make them available across iOS and Apple devices.
Xela Holdings signs Watford FC sponsorship deal
Xela Holdings has announced a deal with Watford FC for its 138.com egaming brand to become the club’s shirt sponsor for the 2013-14 Football League season.
The Isle of Man-licensed operator’s CEO is former Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission head of egaming development Garth Kimber (pictured), who said he was “delighted to be in partnership with such an ambitious club”.
New Unibet fast-fold games launches on MPN
Microgaming has announced the launch of Unibet’s fast-fold eight player heads up game on its MPN network.
Heads Up 8 Man Blaze allows eight players to enter into a liquidity pool to challenge each other one-on-one and will replace the original Heads Up game, which launched as part of Unibet’s Blaze Poker product in May last year.
Dragonfish launches Williams Interactive slots
WMS subsidiary Williams Interactive has added a number of its slot titles to 888’s Dragonfish bingo platform, the software provider has announced.
The slots, which will be made available via Williams Interactive’s remote game server, include branded titles based on The Wizard of Oz and Bruce Lee, as well as Super Jackpot Party, a land-based slot which was among the first to be taken online by WMS’ UK-facing subsidiary Jackpot Party in 2011.
Leander launches slots with Casino777
Leander Games has launched its online slots portfolio in the Belgian market after sealing a supplier deal with land-based operator Circus Groupe.
Some of the Buenos Aires-based service provider’s most popular slots, including Megadeth, Ali Baba and Little Pigs Strike Back, have been added to Circus Groupe’s dot.be brand Casino777 via Leander’s LeGa remote gaming server.