Launches and sign-ups 18 March 2015
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (12 March to 16 March 2015)
Bet365 launches partial cash out
Customers can opt to close a proportion of their open bet in an extension to the popular cash out feature
Bet365 has handed its customers greater control over their sports betting liabilities after becoming the first major operator to launch a partial cash out facility.
In an extension of its popular cash out feature, which launched in late 2013, partial cash out gives bet365 customers the ability to close a proportion of their bet while keeping the remainder open.
The innovation is presented using a sliding scale and enables customers to click and drag the slider to their chosen cash out proportion while an updated returns calculation is presented on-screen.
The launch is thought to be a sportsbook first and gives customers a similar level of liability control as seen on the exchanges, where customers can manage their books via the more complex back and lay functionality.
Bwin.party to launch Manchester United online casino
Bwin.party has launched a Manchester United-branded mobile casino application, with plans to roll out more skins with its other sports partners if the venture proves to be a success.
The Manchester United mobile casino will use the operator’s recently launched bwin Stadium platform, and has been personalised to include some of the football team’s star players such as Wayne Rooney.
The bwin Stadium platform has been produced by a small start-up studio in Israel, which bwin.party identified at the back end of last year.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Paddy Power looks for trouble with new ad agency
Paddy Power has placed mischief-making at the top of its agenda after appointing Beattie McGuinness Bungay (BMB) to head-up its £20m advertising account.
London-based BMB fought-off competition from M&C Saatchi, Grey London, Enter and Fold7 to secure the lucrative contract following a near five-month tender process run by intermediary Oystercatchers.
BMB replaces incumbent agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky, who had worked with Paddy Power since 2011 and recently led the Irish operator’s cheeky campaign to have former football David Ginola elected as FIFA president.
William Hill unveils first Aus advertising campaign
William Hill has kicked off its first Australian TV advertising campaign just two weeks after the UK operator rebranded Sportingbet under the William Hill moniker.
The inaugural 60-second ad was created by marketing communications firm Clemenger BBDO Sydney and follows the operator’s pledge to invest an additional £5m in marketing funds throughout the year.
The TV advert debuted last Monday under an ‘It’s Your Call’ slogan and will be followed by shorter TV spots in addition to mobile, print, radio and social media ads.
BetEasy rebranded as CrownBet
Australian online bookie BetEasy has been rebranded as CrownBet less than six months after it entered the market as the company steps up its efforts to grab market share from the likes of Paddy Power and William Hill.
The new brand, owned by a joint-venture between Sportsbet founder Matt Tripp and casino group Crown Resorts, went live this week and will offer a loyalty scheme across the sportsbook and Crown’s land-based casinos.
Crown chairman James Packer said the new brand now has the opportunity to take on the European-owned market leaders, which include Paddy Power’s Sportsbet and William Hill Australia.
Betfred named World Snooker Championship sponsor
Snooker’s most prestigious tournament will be known as the Betfred World Snooker Championship until at least 2017 after the operator signed a three-year sponsorship deal.
The event has been synonymous with bookmaker sponsors and Betfred itself sponsored the event between 2009 and 2012.
More recently Betfair and Dafabet took the spot in 2013 and 2014 respectively on a one-year basis.
Nektan to power Kerching online casino
Gaming platform provider Nektan has sealed its fourth major deal of the year after agreeing to supply UK-facing casino operator Kerching with its desktop and mobile gaming platform.
Kerching, which is licensed by both Alderney and Great Britain, has already begun migrating its real-money desktop customers on to the Nektan platform, and will start to transition its mobile player base in Q2.
To coincide with the partnership, Kerching has set aside £5m for marketing in a bid to drive customer acquisition over the next two years.
Gala Interactive signs up with Odobo
Gala Interactive has become the latest major operator to partner with Odobo and integrate its suite of HTML5 casino games.
Gala Casino and Gala Bingo will have access to up to 50 new slots titles, plus Odobo’s consumer-facing Odobo Play tool which allows developers to market their games directly to Gala customers.
The UK operator follows the likes of Coral, bet365, Betfair and Unibet in signing a content deal with Odobo.
Endemol Games has this week announced a deal with Gauselmann Group subsidiary Blueprint Gaming which will see the two company’s partner to create new online and mobile slot games.
The new will be based on Endemol Shine UK’s brands and third party licenses and includes the forthcoming launch of a new slot game based on the Austin Powers film franchise.
“Blueprint Gaming is renowned for its ability to develop games with fantastic features and compelling game mechanics,” Owain Walbyoff, MD of Endemol Games, said.
“Combining our popular entertainment brands with Blueprint’s ability to deliver great games makes for a winning partnership,” he added.