Launches and sign-ups 2 July 2014
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (26 June to 2 July 2014)
PokerStars could be live in New Jersey within months
Operator could be licensed and up and running in the Garden State by autumn following sale to Amaya
PokerStars could be offering online casino and poker products in New Jersey as early as this autumn following the proposed sale to Amaya, eGRunderstands.
Parent company the Rational Group, which in December had its gaming licence application suspended for two years by the New Jersey regulator, is currently engaged in the licensing process in New Jersey with its US$.4.9m takeover by the Canadian supplier due to complete in September.
And sources in New Jersey have confirmed to eGR that should the deal go through the state regulators are expected to approve the licence application with a potential go-live date as soon as this autumn.
The Division of Gaming Enforcement’s decision to block the Rational Group’s application was primarily due to concerns over Stars’ founder Isai Scheinberg, who still has pending criminal charges against him following the Black Friday indictments in 2011.
Rational Group targets Italian online casino market
PokerStars owner Rational Group is preparing to launch its Full Tilt online casino in Italy for the first time as it continues to extend the brand across regulated Europe.
It is understood that Rational has applied to the Italian regulator for the necessary permit and, if successful, will launch the casino via the fulltilt.it domain, which is currently a holding page for the site.
However, when asked to comment on the licence application, a spokesperson for Rational remained tight-lipped on the prospect of entering the Italian market.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Quickspin adds William Hill to UK client roster
Swedish slots provider Quickspin has signed a deal with William Hill to supply the operator its full suite of games as it continues its aggressive push into the UK market.
The deal will see the Gibraltar-licensed operator gain access to Quickspin’s entire portfolio of slots games including Big Bad Wolf, Firestorm and Treasure Island.
William Hill becomes the latest UK operator to partner with the game development studio, adding to the likes of bet365, Ladbrokes and Gala Interactive.
Danske Spil acquires local gaming operator
Denmark’s former gambling monopoly Danske Spil has expanded its footprint in the country’s egaming market after acquiring 60% of Aalborg-based developer and operator Cego.
Danske Spil has purchased a majority of common shares in the firm in order to gain access to its casino games portfolio and player databases from Cego’s online sites, including komogvind.dk and spilnu.dk.
According to Danske Spil, the deal will “consolidate and strengthen” its leading position in Denmark, with the former monopoly currently estimated to hold approximately 60% of the total betting and online casino market.
Winamax exceeds expectations with sportsbook launch
French poker operator Winamax has said it has exceeded expectations with its new Paris Sportifs sports betting product, released last month.
Winamax built the product in-house and launched it prior to this summer’s World Cup having set an internal target of capturing 5% of the French sports betting market by the end of its first year.
However the operator said it had met this target within two weeks and has subsequently plotted a marketing drive for the product to tie alongside a new poker campaign which will launch later this year.
Eurobet launches Evolution’s live mobile casino
Gala Coral’s Italy-facing sports betting brand Eurobet has launched a mobile-only live casino service after partnering with software supplier Evolution Gaming.
The deal is currently limited to Evolution’s suite of smartphone and tablet-based products with Eurobet having launched mobile versions of the supplier’s live roulette, blackjack and baccarat tables earlier this week.
Although Eurobet operates a desktop casino product in Italy it has not yet opted to receive live casino products for the platform, however Evolution said the operator could choose to integrate the products on desktop in the future.
SBTech bolsters casino content with new deals
Platform provider SBTech has bolstered its casino content by agreeing new deals with a host of major suppliers.
Net Entertainment, Betsoft Gaming and iSoftBet will all provide casino games to SBTech, adding to the content already supplied by Microgaming.
SBTech also signed with virtual sports betting supplier Kiron Interactive, marking SBTech’s first launch of virtual sports games.
Camelot unites Lotto brands for new marketing drive
UK National Lottery operator Camelot is uniting all four of its core brands for a new marketing drive starting this weekend.
As of this Sunday the National Lottery’s Instants, Lotto, Thunderball and Euromillions products will be advertised under the new tagline of “Play Makes it Possible”, designed to advertise the charitable causes that Camelot supports.
Outdoor and digital adverts will support a new TV advertisement that displays various projects the operator has donated funds towards, including the London Aquatic Centre which hosted swimming and diving events during the 2012 Summer Olympics.