Launches and sign-ups 24 September 2014
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (18 September to 24 September 2014)
Bet365 launches regulated Italian site
Sportsbook, casino and poker site marks operator’s latest dot.country launch
Bet365 has finally launched its regulated Italy-facing site after months of speculation over the firm’s plans to enter the market.
The operator’s dot.it went live this week and features a full range of sports betting markets, casino, live casino and poker products.
It is the latest dot.country launch from bet365 with the operator already holding licences in Spain, Denmark and Australia, having submitted an application in Bulgaria and seeking a sports betting licence in Germany.
Bet365 faces a challenging operating environment in Italy, with the sports betting market showing significant decline in recent years.
Winner plots UK push under new licence
Playtech-run operator Winner is set to ramp up its UK presence following the launch of a new GB-licensed site and a new partnership with Premier League football team West Ham United.
The company launched its new Winner.co.uk site earlier this month after the site’s operator PT Entertainment Services, a Playtech subsidiary, gained a full UK licence at the end of August.
The news follows earlier reports that Titanbet had launched a new UK site, also operated by PT Entertainment Services, ahead of the UK’s new regulatory regime which is to go live on 1 October.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Tombola launches game development academy
Online bingo operator Tombola has announced it has hired its first in-take of graduates following the launch of its new games developer training academy.
The Tombola Academy has been launched in partnership with Sunderland College and will be based out of its Wearside headquarters which is currently home to 200 employees.
And Tombola has revealed it has hired an initial group of 19 apprentices and graduates with the operator pledging to educate and train the new recruits in the art of online game design and development.
Tipp24 launches US lottery venture
Tipp24 has launched US lotteries venture Lottovate, a B2B platform supplier that will offer lottery operators in the country a digital strategy.
Lottovate has been established to develop and manage digital operations channels for existing lotteries by either targeting firms that have yet to launch online or those which need to optimise current systems.
The firm offers end-to-end channel management, including content and customer lifecycle management, player acquisition, CRM and analytical tools, and has been designed to target what Lottovate considers to be a gap in the US online gaming market.
Bullish BetEasy targets Aus market share
Sportsbet founder Matt Tripp’s BetEasy brand was officially launched with week with the aim of “winning the hearts and minds” of customers in the competitive Australian online sportsbook market.
Tripp acquired BetEzy.com.au earlier this year having seen out a three-year non-compete period, and is now planning to aggressively go after market share with BetEasy.
A new desktop site and iOS app was released on Tuesday morning, with a tablet-optimised product set to follow in the coming months. BetEzy customers will be transferred to the BetEasy.com.au platform.
888 adds live streaming to sportsbook
888 has underlined its intention to build upon its recent sportsbook growth after signing an agreement with sports rights agency Sportsman Media Group for a range of live streaming services.
The service, which 888 has called BetWatchWin, went live last week and is available to customers based in the UK and Ireland.
In order to gain access to live pictures, 888sport customers must either have funds in their account or to have placed a bet to the value of at least £1 on any market during the 24 hours leading up to the event.
Eurobet begins football marketing push
Gala Coral’s Italy-facing brand Eurobet has launched a new national advertising campaign as it attempts to plug-in to the emotions felt by football fans and leverage its links with Italian football.
The new multi-channel campaign bears the slogan “Football lovers bet on it” and feature televised adverts broadcasted by the country’s major television networks such as Mediaset and SKY Italia.
The adverts include slow-motion footage and images of football action the operator said had specifically been chosen to be evocative and replicate the emotions football fans go through during a regular football fixture.