Launches and sign-ups 1 February 2012
A round-up of the egaming industry's launches and sign-ups from the last seven days (26 January to 1 February 2012)
Barrière extends Caesars deal
Technology from French firm can now be expanded and developed by US operator and will accompany Dragonfish software in American market
Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) has extended its agreement with the poker arm of French casino group Lucien Barrière (LB Poker) with a view to developing technology for the US market.
The agreement will, for the most part, take precedence over the Dragonfish deal announced this morning, according to a source close to the matter. He added that 888’s B2B arm would only host one of Caesars’ brands on its platform although it remains unconfirmed which brand this would be.
“Caesars has been sold the source code to the technology by Barrière, although I believe the technology as a whole remains co-owned by Caesars and Barrière, and can use and develop the technology as it chooses,” he added.
A spokesman for 888 suggested the agreement would ultimately see Caesars operate one of its brands from the Dragonfish platform and others using the software developed by Caesars in partnership with Barrière.
Dragonfish pens poker deal with Caesars Interactive
888’s B2B subsidiary Dragonfish has extended its software licensing agreement with Caesars Interactive to supply poker software for the US market, ahead of potential American regulation.
The original agreement only covered the UK, but has been extended to the US to allow Caesars to launch real-money poker products as soon as intrastate or federal regulation is passed. The deal is non-exclusive, meaning that Dragonfish will be able to sign licensing agreements with other US customers ahead of the market opening.
888’s deputy chairman Brian Mattingley (pictured) said the deal leaves Dragonfish well-placed to develop a foothold in the US once the market opens: “888 has taken a prudent approach to regulation, which culminated in the successful review conducted by the [Nevada Gaming Commission], putting 888 and Dragonfish in pole position for the US market. This gives us a strong platform to roll out our cutting edge, turnkey solution to other potential partners as the market opens.”
Rank in talks to acquire Gala casinos
Rank Group is in talks to acquire Gala Coral’s land-based casino business, paying up to £250m for the 24 venues across the UK.
Should the deal go through, Rank would become the largest land-based casino operator in the country ahead of current leader Genting, which has 45 venues in the country. The group currently has 35 Grosvenor Casinos, and last year announced plans to expand the chain to 45 venues by 2015.
The Grosvenor chain is Rank’s most profitable division, with an operating profit of £20.2m for H1 2011, and was responsible for around 42% of the group’s total revenues for the six months. In November last year the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Rank was entitled to £253.4m from HM Revenue and Customs, related to overpaid VAT on bingo games between 1973 and 1996.
Zynga Bingo gets beta launch
Social games developer Zynga has beta-launched a social bingo game, one of the most significant moves since it launched a US$1bn IPO in December.
Set to join its Texas Hold’Em Poker offering as part of Zynga Casino, Zynga Bingo has so far only been released to a limited number of users and features a number of themed rooms including one with scenes from Farmville, one of its biggest games on the Facebook platform.
When he spoke to eGaming Review last year, Zynga Casino general manager Lo Toney explained that the company had no plans to launch a real-money offering, however a recent post from digital blog AllThingsD suggested that the social games business had begun preliminary discussions with potential partners ahead of a move into offering players cash gaming.
Stars Rush Poker equivalent could launch in February
PokerStars could be set to beta-launch its new “fast moving ring games” in February or early March, a spokesman for the operator has announced.
Posting in the Two Plus Two poker forums, a representative known only as “PokerStars Stefan” explained that “Development is progressing, but we won’t be able to have beta in January as we hoped.”
Sportingbet completes Danish acquisitions
Sportingbet has completed the acquisition of Danish-facing sportsbooks Danbook and Scandic, the London-listed bookmaker has announced.
The deal, first announced in October, will see Sportingbet pay a maximum consideration of £8.5m for the two sportsbooks, representing its growing commitment to regulated markets.
Betfair signs media deal
Betfair has appointed Arena Media to run its media planning and buying account in a deal worth up to £2m, replacing MCHI.
The Hoff adds name to OpenBet slot
Baywatch and Knight Rider star David Hasselhoff has become the latest celebrity to put his name to an online gambling product in conjunction with OpenBet and MX Gaming following wrestling star Hulk Hogan and number one darts professional Phil “The Power” Taylor.
Entraction network renamed
IGT has renamed the Entraction network the IGT Poker Network.
Endemol launches Hulkmania slot on OpenBet platform
Endemol Games UK has launched a new slot based on the professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, with the game set to go live on the OpenBet platform.
OpenBet and Zukido announce supplier deal
OpenBet has partnered with Zukido to distribute the software provider’s mobile games portfolio to its client base.
Betgenius signs banner deal with Paddy Power
Betgenius has agreed a deal to launch its Connextra video advertising product with Paddy Power.
OpenBet seals Aristocrat games deal
Sportsbook and online gaming software supplier OpenBet has signed an agreement with US land-based casino-slot provider Aristocrat to take a number of its games online and to make them available to operators through its games package releases and its subsidiary, Electracade.
Buzz Sports launches in Europe with PlanetWin365
Buzz Sports has launched its ZonePlay in-play betting product with Austrian operator PlanetWin365.
MediaCorp in online JV with Hippodrome
Media Corporation has announced that is has signed an exclusive joint venture which will see it provide online casino and poker products to the Hippodrome Casino.
Fortuna merges lottery and sports betting marketing
Fortuna Entertainment Group (FEG) is to merge its lottery and sports betting marketing divisions to improve the efficiency of its marketing activities, the company has said in a statement.
Computacenter has opened an office in Gibraltar, aiming to provide IT and infrastructure solutions to egaming operators and other companies based there. It will be run by client director of corporate and egaming Marc Fryer, who revealed that the company is aiming to recruit 7 staff by the end of the year, ultimately aiming to build a team of 20.
Gala Casino have launched a guide to gaming personalities, based on the symbols of the Chinese zodiac. The feature is part of a series of promotions to celebrate Chinese New Year, including the Dragon’s Dosh daily £500 prize giveaway.
Jackpot Party has released its latest Star Trek slots game, Star Trek 5: A Piece of the Action. It follows the launch of Track-a-Tribble, and features four Win Warp features; the Rock Creature Multiplying Wild; Enterprise Respins; Kirk’s Gone Wild and Dilithium Crystal Super Scatter.
Baccpo, a new table game combining elements of poker and baccarat, has been launched at Melbourne’s Crown Casino.