Launches and sign-ups 12 September 2012
A round-up of the egaming industry's launches and sign-ups from the last seven days (6 September to 12 September 2012).
Betclic Everest announces Playtech agreement
Betclic and Everest poker brands will join Expekt on iPoker network.
Betclic Everest has signed an agreement with Playtech covering its Everest and Betclic brands, the French egaming operator has confirmed.
The two brands will move their poker offerings onto the software provider’s iPoker network before the end of the year, joining the operator’s other dot.com brand Expekt. eGR understands that Betclic Everest subsidiary bet-at-home, which sits on GTECH G2’s International Poker Network, will be unaffected.
It comes after a steady six-month liquidity decline, which has seen Everest Poker’s seven-day average liquidity dip from around 1,000 to fewer than 600 cash players (according to Pokerscout).
BetVictor acquires trading solutions business
London-based Botsphere was founded by Oddschecker creators, and provides trading solutions to operators including Betfair and Betfred.
Gibraltar-licensed operator BetVictor has acquired London-based trading solutions company Botsphere for an undisclosed amount.
The business, which currently provides trading solutions for BetVictor as well as other operators such as Betfair, which last week attracted attention after eGR revealed it had closed down the accounts of traders tied to rival operators following investigations into high data usage.
It also provides solutions for Betfred and Boylesports, and was set up in 2006 by Oddschecker founders Stewart Vassie and Julian Leach.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Perform acquires German media company
Live streaming and sports media provider Perform Group has completed the acquisition of German media company Sportal, home to the Sportal.de sports news portal, for an undisclosed amount.
The company, which is anticipated to boost Perform’s presence in the EU member state, provides content for news sources such as Spiegel and RTL.de, and reported revenues of 1.4m for the year ended 31 December 2011.
RocketPlay launches social sportsbook on Zynga platform
Social sports betting operator RocketPlay has announced the launch of its Sports Casino app on Zynga’s dot.com as part of a partnership which also sees the game published on the Facebook platform.
The app, which has been launched to coincide with the beginning of the US sporting season, allows players to place virtual bets using real-time odds on a number of sports including American football, baseball and European football, as well as playing casino side-games such as video poker, slots and blackjack.
GTECH G2 lets US operators play for free-play poker deal
GTECH G2 has announced a poker tournament at Las Vegas’ G2E conference for US and tribal casinos to have the chance to win installation of a free-play poker platform.
The prize includes free website design and services, with the gaming software and services provider aiming to give an operator the product to kick-start its online gaming business.
Betfair launches freeplay casino in Canada
Betfair has announced plans to launch a freeplay gaming website in Canada in order to drive awareness of its casino brand.
The UK operator, best known for its market leading exchange betting offering, has teamed up with games supplier Play’n Go to launch the site, which is set to go live in the coming months.
Unibet hires agencies for UK advertising campaign
Unibet has appointed two new media agencies to manage its £2m UK advertising account in preparation for a new campaign launch in 2013.
According to industry trade magazine and website Campaignlive, London media agency Goodstuff has been chosen to oversee Unibet’s media planning and buying, while Albion “ which has also worked with Betfair “ is to handle its UK advertising account.
LVS and Lotsys ink Israeli deal
La Française des Jeux’s British and French-based subsidiaries LVS and Lotsys have been successful in their joint bid for the Israeli Sports Betting Board (ISBB) online betting tender.
Initially an online only deal, with LVS and Lotsys supplying the board with an internet betting system, there is an option to extend the agreement to cover both retail and online.
Betfair signs MoU with cricketing body
Exchange operator Betfair has signed an information sharing agreement with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), covering all county cricket and England international matches.
Aimed at dealing with “betting integrity related issues”, the memorandum of understanding will see Betfair share relevant customer and transactional data with the ECB, with the operator describing the move as “A safeguard against any betting integrity issue within cricket.”
Bingo added to DoubleDown Casino
IGT-owned Double Down Interactive has added a freeplay bingo game to its Facebook casino application.
The DoubleDown Casino app is already one of the most popular on the social networking site, with 5.2m monthly active users (MAU) playing casino-style games and online versions of IGT’s slots such as Cleopatra and Da Vinci Diamonds.
Hard Rock launches virtual casino with Double Down
Double Down has expanded its partnerships with land-based casinos into Las Vegas, teaming up with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino to add a virtual casino on its site.
The social game developer, owned by gaming machine supplier IGT, has signed a series of tie-ups with casinos across the US in recent weeks, including Jacobs Entertainment casinos and Casino Del Sol Resort in Arizona. The deals are based on a revenue sharing agreement.
Swedish egaming operator Betsson has agreed to collaborate with the country’s gaming institute (Spelinstitutet) on a pilot study focusing on responsible gaming. The study will potentially lead to the development of a self-help tool for problem gamblers looking to change their gambling behaviour or stop gambling completely. Betsson CEO Magnus Silfverberg said: “We are primarily interested in contributing to the development of preventive tools that would prevent or limit the harmful effects of gambling. This is why we see an excellent fit between the online self-help tool developed by Spelinstitutet and Betsson’s plan for responsible gaming development.”
Casual games developer Karma Gaming has inked a deal with online lottery business Jumbo Interactive to develop interactive number pickers which incorporate games from the Canada-based company’s existing suite. Initially launched at an online level only, the partnership will later be expanded to cover mobile and tablet gaming. Karma Gaming CEO Paul LeBlanc said: “We think combining the best of casual gaming with the timeless appeal of winning money through lottery is a winning formula.”
Power 50 operator the Hong Kong Jockey Club has announced the launch of an iPad app, allowing players to place bets directly from tablet devices. As with the operator’s existing mobile version, the app will also contain race information such as schedules and statistics.
Codere has become the latest Spanish-facing operator to go live with an online poker offering. The predominantly land-based company has launched its Tu Victoria offering on GTECH G2’s Spanish Poker Network, and has also introduced an online sports betting arm.
Gamesys brand JackpotJoy has launched a free slots app on the iTunes app store. Titles including Tiki Island and Jungle Jump are available on the app, which also allows players to connect with their Facebook account.
Sportsbook operator Samvo has signed up to the FIFA Early Warning System, aimed at protecting the integrity of professional football. It joins other operators such as mybet in signing up to the system, which addresses suspicions of match fixing and irregular betting patterns at the earliest stage.
The Racing Post was named the winner of Ladbrokes Affiliates‘ Euro 2012 competition after “going the extra mile” to provide the operator with new depositing players. betting.racingpost.com edged out pokerstrategy.com and apuestasdeportivas.com to take the top prize of a two-day hospitality pass for two people at London venue The Brewery.
Slots developer Sheriff Gaming has released a new 3D slot, entitled Gold Raider – Finding the Throne of Skulls. The five-reel slot carries a variety of bonuses, and Sheriff spokesman Eric Roskamp said: “Perhaps most importantly, it has an outstanding mathematical model which we are incredibly proud of and which will undoubtedly increase player values for our customers.”
Financial spread betting provider Spreadex has made the move to 24-hour trading and cut spreads to 1 point on a number of its financial markets including UK 100.