Launches and sign-ups 12 October 2016
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (6 October 2016 to 12 October 2016)
Georgia turns to private operators to kick-start online lottery penetration
RFP to run from 12 October to 12 December with winner awarded a 10-year contract
The Georgian government has started an RFP process to choose a company to run its national lottery on a 10 year exclusive deal.
The winning company will be able to run the lottery both online and across retailers in Georgia as well as introduce new online products into the Georgian market with government approval.
It is unclear whether the contract will allow the winning bidder to offer a full suite of casino games and sports betting and poker online but a Georgian government source told EGR that discussions on product and enforcement on illegal operators will be a central part of the RFP process.
Representatives of the Georgian government plan to meet potential bidders in late October with a planned closing date for the RFP process of 12 December.
The process is being run by consultants from PwC in conjunction with the Georgian Ministry of Finance, with obvious contenders including Camelot, Intralot, IGT and Playtech.
William Hill and PokerStars-owner Amaya in merger talks
Two giants confirm negotiations underway to complete “merger of equals” with GVC also understood to have courted Amaya
William Hill and PokerStars-owner Amaya sent shockwaves through the egaming industry on Friday night by confirming they are in talks to complete what they describe as a “merger of equals”.
Following a report by Reuters, the two firms released a joint-statement to confirm they were in negotiations to create a market leader across all key egaming verticals.
“Amaya has been undertaking a strategic review of its alternatives since 2016,” the joint-statement read. “Over recent months, the Board of William Hill has been evaluating options to accelerate William Hill’s strategy by increasing diversification by growing its digital and international business.
“The potential merger would be consistent with the strategic objectives of both William Hill and Amaya and would create a clear leader across online sportsbetting, casino and poker.”
News Corp Australia buys Punters.com.au
News Corp Australia has deepened its ties with the gambling industry through the purchase of racing affiliate site Punters.com.au for an undisclosed sum.
Punters.com.au, which earlier this year won Affiliate of the Year at the EGR Australia Awards, labels itself the “digital Racing Post of Australia” with a monthly average of more than 375,000 visitors and is expected to generate revenues of £3.4m in 2016 with a profit margin of almost 55%.
CEO and founder Luc Pettett said: “When we started Punters.com.au eight years ago, we set out to challenge how horseracing was being represented, while respecting its history and traditions.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Mecca Bingo site undergoes refresh
Mecca Bingo has unveiled a major upgrade to its desktop and mobile offering, featuring new games and a redesigned front-end experience.
A new homepage has been created, with links to its bingo, slots and games all on one page.
New games have been added and each bingo room has a theme, plus the ability to bet in three bingo rooms at the same time.
Betsson to open second Malta hub
Betsson Group’s continued expansion has resulted in the firm opening an additional hub in Malta after outgrowing its existing headquarters, eGaming Review has learned.
The new base, named the Betsson E2 Hub, will see around 300 staff members from a mix of departments, yet to be confirmed, move to the new location.
The operator’s centralised operations will remain at its main headquarters in Ta’ Xbiex.
GVC boosts casino portfolio with Scientific Games deal
GVC Holdings continues to boost its third-party content portfolio after securing a deal with Scientific Games to offer its casino games across the Group’s Spanish and Belgian facing bwin.party brands.
The agreement will see the Group’s bwin, partycasino and partypoker brands integrate over 20 titles to the GVC gaming platform in the coming weeks.
“This is another big step forward for us in building a best-in-class casino for our players, wherever they may be,” Liron Snir, GVC’s chief product officer, said.
Stan James given certainty with Irish Gold Cup deal
Stan James will sponsor the next three editions of the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown, a deal which underlines parent company Unibet Group’s long-term commitment to the brand.
The newly-named âStan James Irish Gold Cup’ will take place in February next year, with Carlingford Lough going for a third straight victory in the Grade 1 jumps event.
“We’re so excited to be working with Leopardstown on such an iconic race,” said Ed Nicholson, head of racing marketing for Stan James.
GVC gets Realistic with third-party content deal
GVC Holdings continues to expand its portfolio of gaming content after signing a deal with supplier Realistic Games for as many as 40 new slots and table games.
The games will initially be made available across GVC’s recently acquired bwin.party brands; bwin, partypoker and partycasino, before being extended across the GVC stable.
The firm said the new games would bolster its offer in regulated markets while the content would also be made available to the Group’s B2B partners.
Perform extends Premier League data deal
Sports data firm Perform Group has secured an extension to its partnership with Football DataCo which will see it remain the official supplier of live data to the betting sector until the 2018-19 season.
The three-year deal starts from the 2016-17 football season and will extend its exclusive provision of live data feeds to bookmakers from the Premier League, English Football League and Scottish Professional Football Leagues.
The Group’s Opta and RunningBall brands will continue to be used to collate real-time data.
Ladbrokes gets Inspired by mobile content
Ladbrokes has struck a deal with Inspired Gaming to roll-out the supplier’s portfolio of HTML5 mobile content as the operator looks to expand the range of handheld games on offer to its customers.
Ladbrokes will deploy Inspired’s content to customers using the supplier’s Virgo RGS technology, which will give the operator access to mobile slots games including Rise of Anubis, The Guardians, and Centurion.
In addition, Ladbrokes will also be able to offer customers Inspired’s range of virtual on demand sports events, such as Rush Football Live.