Launches and sign-ups 31 July 2013
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (25 July to 31 July 2013)
William Hill signs Microgaming content deal
Operator to diversify casino offering with casino and mobile content from Quickfire “ Playtech deal unaffected
William Hill has launched an online and mobile casino offering from software provider and Microgaming in a move the UK-based firm said would diversify and expand its product offering.
The Flash and mobile content went live on the Quickfire open platform this month and William Hill’s director of gaming James Curwen told eGR that its latest deal would not affect its existing relationship with Israeli supplier Playtech.
The operator bought out Playtech’s stake in its William Hill Online arm in April for £424m, with Playtech CEO Mor Weizer saying at the time “we look forward to our strong supplier relationship continuing”.
Net Entertainment continues UK push with Ladbrokes deal
Net Entertainment has added to its growing UK customer list by signing a multi-year agreement with Ladbrokes.
The operator, which last week launched its Playtech-powered ‘Vegas’ casino and games offering, will take on a selection of mobile and desktop casino content from the Swedish-listed provider.
It is the latest in a series of recent UK-facing deals signed by NetEnt, with 888 going live with its content earlier this month. Sky Bet is also poised to follow suit before the end of the year, following a deal initially signed in early 2012.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Bwin.party nets Belgian football deal
Bwin.party and RSC Anderlecht have announced a new partnership which sees the bwin brand become the official online gaming and betting partner of the Belgian Pro League Champions.
The operator is regulated and licensed in Belgium following an agreement signed last year with Groupe Partouche subsidiary Belcasinos which sees it offer online poker, casino and sports betting in the jurisdiction under the bwin brand.
The sponsorship package includes a series of fan-based initiatives, integration into RSC Anderlecht’s digital and social platforms, as well as the development of online and offline co-branding activities, stadium branding and access to players for marketing campaigns.
Skrill seals Football Conference sponsorship deal
Online payments provider Skrill has announced a three-year sponsorship deal with the Football Conference, taking over from Blue Square Bet.
The agreement will see the double eGR B2B Award winner become title sponsor for the three divisions, which will now be known as the Skrill Premier, Skrill North and Skrill South divisions until the end of the 2015/16 football season.
Football Conference chairman Brian Lee said of the agreement “We are positive Skrill will attract other brand names who wish to be part of our ever growing football family”.
Cancer charity to launch online gaming offering
UK cancer charity Marie Curie Cancer Care (MCCC) is to launch an online gaming platform in September through a deal with product development agency Paper.
The charity has teamed with Paper to produce paid-for lottery, raffle, bingo and instant win games, and hopes to develop the platform into a white label solution in the long term.
MCCC and Paper hope the site, which is funded by the UK government’s Cabinet Office through independent investment provider Nesta, will attract up to 100,000 users in its first year.
Microgaming’s Blaze Poker adds mini-game feature
Online gaming software provider Microgaming has announced the launch of a new mini-game feature for its Blaze Poker game on the MPN poker network.
The skill-based Blazing Cannon feature, described in a statement as “an industry first feature to online poker”, allows players to win up to 100 when the mini-game launches every time a player wins 20 raked hands.
Game users attempt to knock down tokens balanced on a house of cards and can added their winnings to their chipstack on the table to use on their next hand.
SBTech extends ComeOn partnership
Sports betting solutions company SBTech has signed a deal to provide Malta-licensed operator ComeOn with a new mobile betting platform after the companies agreed a multi-year extension to their commercial partnership.
The deal will also see ComeOn continue to receive SBTech’s sports betting products, and ComeOn is also expected to be towards the front of the queue for SBTech’s next generation live betting offering, which is scheduled to launch later this year.
“We’re excited at the prospect of being able to take another positive step into the competitive sports betting market with such a strong suite of products behind us,” ComeOn director Jovin Genovese said.
Perform signs deal with Football DataCo
Sports data firm Perform Group has partnered with Football DataCo to become its official supplier of live data to the betting sector.
The three-year deal starts from the 2013/14 football season and will see eGaming Review sports data provider of the year Perform provide live data feeds to bookmakers from over 3,000 matches.
Opta, the official media data collection and distribution partner for DataCo, was recently acquired by Perform after the AIM-listed firm raised funds of £40m through a new share pricing. DataCo markets the official match data for the Barclays Premier League, the Football League and Scottish Professional Football League.