Launches and sign-ups extra 9 October 2015

Smarkets opens new London office, receives Irish licence

Exchange operator Smarkets is in the process of relocating to a new headquarters after securing new office space in London’s St Katherine Dock.

Smarkets said the move comes at a time of “phenomenal” growth with revenues having risen by 400% in the space of a year and that it planned to hire an additional 75 staff to meet growing demand.

The firm said the firm should have completed the move from Old Street to its new 10,000 sq ft location by the end of Q4.

“Our new headquarters serves as a cornerstone of our commitment to innovate the betting industry as a whole, and reaffirms our promise to contribute innovation and jobs to the UK economy,” Jason Trost, Smarkets CEO, said.

Meanwhile, the firm has also gained a licence for Ireland’s recently regulated online betting market, a move which Trost said would enable punters to take advantage of its competitive commission rates.

“Our expansion into the Republic of Ireland enables us to offer more customers better odds and a market low commission of 2%, which is drastically lower than other online competitors,” he said.

Betfred to revamp Tote Jackpot

Totejackpot operator totepool, owned by Betfred, has announced some changes that are being made to the bet from next week.

From Tuesday the totejackpot will comprise of six races from one or more race meetings. This change will allow totepool the freedom to select six competitive races on a daily basis.

The enhancements are designed to create bigger pools and bigger rollovers and give customers more opportunities to win a life-changing sum for a modest outlay.

The measures are being implemented to drive an uplift in totejackpot turnover that has stagnated in line with a fall in field sizes. This has inevitably contributed to a drop in average pool sizes and dividends which totepool are committed to reverse.

The six totejackpot legs will be confirmed a day in advance and distributed in the usual manner across all channels. However for the major meetings at Cheltenham and Royal Ascot the jackpot is likely to stay at the one meeting.

Greentube Agrees Content Partnership with Unibet

Greentube, the interactive business unit of NOVOMATIC, has reached a content agreement with Unibet to supply the operator with its gaming product portfolio.

NOVOMATIC´s blue chip slot games such as Book of RaTM deluxe, Lucky Lady´s CharmTM deluxe, Sizzling HotTM deluxe and many more genuine slot classics will be made available to Unibet’s large customer base.

David Craeghs, Unibet’s product manager, said: “We are happy that we are in a partnership with such an established and globally respected industry player and are looking forward to launching a strong roadmap of games in the very near future.”

EveryMatrix consolidates its infrastructure with F5 Networks technology

Gaming solutions and platform provider EveryMatrix has consolidated its infrastructure after employing data traffic management firm F5 Networks technology.

To keep up with its growing number of clients, EveryMatrix stepped-up and incorporated F5 Networks’ advanced solutions which manage a high number of multiple connections, while maintaining high security over its network resources.

Reel Island signs up with White Hat Gaming

Reel Island has become the latest operator to join the gaming platform of White Hat Gaming, the casino content and platform provider.

Reel Island, owned by Flip Gaming, launched this month and offers a wide range of promotions and a huge selection of games from suppliers such as Net Entertainment, NYX, Leander, Aristocrat, Thunderkick, Ezugi, and many more as well as the chance to win 7 figure progressive jackpots.

Following the deal with White Hat Gaming, Reel Island will now be able to offer their players over 500 slot games, an array of table games, and a live casino powered by NetEnt.

“White Hat Gaming is thrilled to partner up with Flip Gaming, who are respected throughout the industry. Reel Island is sure to make an immediate impression with players thanks to its eye-catching look and feel, and its superb choice of games,” Marc Weinberg, White Hat Gaming CMO, said.

Zynga launches new mobile ad platform

Social gaming giant Zynga has developed and launched a new advertising product that aims to deliver ads in the form of mini games.

SponsoredPLAY has been developed by Zynga’s recently launched Studio E, an in-house studio which focuses on new ways of driving high engagement and game brand integrations.

Zynga said SponsoredPlay offers players value in the game they are playing in exchange for engaging with brand advertisers.

“At Zynga we believe the next wave in mobile advertising will be SponsoredPlay,” VP of global grand sales, Julie Schumaker, said.

European Commission funds betting industry backed player education project

The joint EU Athletes and regulated betting sector’s pioneering player betting integrity education programme has received a huge boost in funding from the European Commission.

The five-year-old programme has received €488,305, ensuring that it continues for another two years, kicking off in January 2016 until the end of 2017.

EU Athletes programme is backed by the private betting sector trade bodies, the RGA, EGBA and ESSA, which between them will also commit additional funding on top of what has already been committed by the European Commission.

EU Athletes will now set about developing and implementing a range of new and existing tools to communicate its 5 key concepts: know the rules; don’t bet on your sport; be careful with inside information; fixing any part of a match is a serious offence; and report anything suspicious.

Karma Gaming launches mobile fantasy for lotteries

Social and casual game developer Karma Gaming has launched a mobile fantasy sports product specifically for state lotteries in the US and Canada.

FrontRow enabled players to purchase tickets from their local lottery retailers, scan the code into the cell phone using the FrontRow app, and pick from a variety of sports and games.

One the player has selected a contest, they can then pick their favorite teams and the app automatically assigns a roster based on their choices.

Once the games has started, customers can follow the progress their mobile device in real-time. If they win, the customer can take their ticket back to the retailer and claim their prize.

“FrontRow is designed for lotteries to capitalize on a huge gap in Fantasy Sports currently,” Jay Aird, co-founder and CIO of Karma Gaming, said.