Launches and sign-ups 23 May 2012
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (17 May to 23 May 2012).
bwin.party “very close” to launching social offering
Social gaming divison to be launched by end of May once “fairly small” acquisition is completed.
Bwin.party is in the process of completing an acquisition which will allow it to launch its social gaming offering by the end of May, co-CEO Norbert Teufelberger has revealed.
Teufelberger’s announcement came during an analyst call discussing bwin.party’s results for the three months ending 31 March 2012, when he said the company was “very close” to beginning implementing its social gaming strategy.
“We are very close to completing the whole plan. This is not only a fairly small acquisition but encompasses many other activities,” Teufelberger said.
The co-CEO was keen to stress that the purchase would be less high-profile than other gaming companies’ moves into the sector, such as IGT’s US$500m deal to buy Double Down Interactive and Playtech’s planned acquisition of CTXM and Viaden Gaming, which was later changed to a product licensing agreement.
Betfair fixed-odds sportsbook launch nears
Exchange betting operator Betfair is to launch its fixed-odds sportsbook in time for this summer’s European football championships in Poland and the Ukraine, the company has revealed.
The decision to launch a traditional sports betting product was taken in order to allow the company to strengthen its in-play and ante-post offerings. It is well known that the exchange model struggles to offer markets on live events due to the need to quickly build liquidity. UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph reports this morning that Betfair’s 4 million customers place around 30% of bets with other operators due to the exchange’s limitations.
The operator’s interim CEO Stephen Morana (pictured), who will return to his role as CFO when former Paddy Power COO Breon Corcoran joins the company on 1 August, announced the decision to develop a fixed-odds site in March this year, explaining: “Our sports exchange always has been “ and always will be “ Betfair’s core product… but we also recognise that there are certain bets at certain times that the exchange, by its nature, cannot offer.”
WMS in Jadestone acquisition
Land-based gaming machines manufacturer WMS Gaming has continued its move into online with the acquisition of Swedish developer Jadestone Group for an undisclosed sum.
The deal, aimed at enhancing WMS’ existing portfolio, is described in a release from the company as a “tuck-in acquisition” and comes just five months after Jadestone completed a management buyout from former parent company PAF.
Jadestone signed a two-and-a-half-year casino deal with Betsson in March this year, and also has B2B agreements in place with the likes of Betfair, bwin.party and Unibet.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups
Perform agrees “significant” RunningBall deal
Online sports media provider Perform Group has announced that it has agreed a deal to acquire sports data company RunningBall for up to 120m in a deal described by the company’s joint CEO as potentially the “largest and most significant” acquisition the company has made to date.
Switzerland-based RunningBall provides real-time sports data, covering over 35,000 sporting events “predominantly football “ in 2011 through its network of 1,100 scouts in more than 70 different countries. The country also has operational centres in Austria, Portugal, Cyprus and Malaysia.
RunningBall’s sports data will be used across a range of Perform’s sites, including its Watch&Bet live streaming service, Watch&Trade solution for sportsbook traders, and consumer-facing sports news portals Goal.com, Soccerway.com, Sportal.com.au and spox.com.
Gala Coral in Daily Mirror partnership
Gala Coral has agreed a £500,000 deal with newspapers the Daily and Sunday Mirror to provide their readers with free bets and other exclusive deals over the course of this summer’s Euro 2012 football championships.
It is among the first partnerships announced by the operator since it appointed advertising agency The7Stars to take charge of its media buying in December last year.
Boylesports enters App Store
Irish operator Boylesports has introduced a new mobile app to Apple’s App Store, to complement its existing browser-based mobile offering.
Available for download on the iPhone and iPad, the app features “a complete suite of betting opportunities” across various sports including football, rugby and horse racing and is geared towards in-play. It also includes fixtures, news, promotions and results from various sporting events.
Betfair launches Euro 2012 mobile app
Betfair has announced the launch of a dedicated mobile app for the 2012 European Football Championships.
Available in eight languages including English, but not including the native languages of host countries Poland and Ukraine, the app is available to download from the Apple App Store.
ISPT debut pushed back to 2013
The first event of the International Stadiums Poker Tour will now take place in May 2013, tour president Laurent Tapie and chief executive Prosper Masquelier have confirmed.
It will still take place at Wembley Stadium in London, the location of last week’s eGaming Review B2B Awards, but has now been delayed twice after Tapie had initially hoped to hold the inaugural event this month.
Hooplo to Bolt and Ronaldo-branded social games
Social games publisher Hooplo Media is to launch two new titles in partnership with Olympic 100m record holder Usain Bolt (pictured) and Cristiano Ronaldo, the most expensive footballer of all time.
Usain Bolt Athletics and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Footy! will be rolled out over the coming months, complimenting the publisher’s social cricket offering Howzat Cricket, developed in partnership with Game Ventures.
Betgenius in Betfair sportsbook management deal
Betfair has selected Betgenius to provide sportsbook management services for its newly launched fixed-odds product.
The agreement between the two companies comes with the fixed-odds offering already available in selected regions and due to be rolled out in others in anticipation of a UK launch in advance of this summer’s European football championships, which begin early in June. It will see Betgenius automate the operator’s pre-match and in-play betting from creation through pricing to settlement.
Betsafe and Stan James in fast-paced poker push
Betsafe and Stan James have become the latest operators to join the ranks of those introducing fast-paced poker offerings to stand alongside their respective traditional products.
The former, which sits on the Ongame network and was bought by fellow Nordic operator Betsson last May, has followed Unibet and iGame, as well as Betsson itself in going live with Relax Gaming’s “Fast Poker’ product.
Double Down adds Texas Hold’em poker to casino suite
Double Down Interactive, the IGT-owned social casino, has added a second poker game to its Facebook casino.
NetEnt in Boylesports deal
Net Entertainment has signed a deal to provide its gaming and casino content to BoyleSports, for the operator’s desktop and mobile platforms.
Optimal Payments in Lotus deal
Optimal Payments has agreed a deal to become an official partner of the Lotus Formula 1 team, the Neteller owner has announced.
Sportradar in tennis distribution deal
Sports data service provider Sportradar has agreed a deal with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to secure exclusive worldwide distribution rights on live data from selected official tournaments.
InstaDeal signs up Pokerhuis and Gutshot
Pokerhuis and Gutshot Poker have signed up as the newest partners of the InstaDeal network, joining the likes of Pokertube and TerminalPoker.
Buzz Sports bolsters Asian presence with Dafabet deal
In-play sports betting provider Buzz Sports has agreed a partnership with the Asian Logic-owned Dafabet brand to supply the site with its ZonePlay solution.