Launches and sign-ups wrap: 30 November 2011
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (24 November to 30 November 2011).
Exclusive: PokerStars launches first mobile poker client
World’s largest poker site launches first ever mobile poker client on Italian app Store, eGaming Review can exclusively reveal.
PokerStars has launched its first ever mobile poker client on the Italian app Store, eGaming Review can exclusively reveal.
The multi-player, cash and tournament application, initially for play money only, was launched in Italy with local players able to download it for free from the country’s iTunes store.
Information on the application on the Italian app store previews features such as “hundreds of thousands of players online every day, only play money games, cash games, tournaments with games starting every moment of the day, chat functionality, multi-table, tutorials, guides and FAQs, and a filter function for all types of games (Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and Omaha Hi-Lo), levels, limits and table type”. It also suggests the app is available in Italian, English, French, Russian, Spanish and German.
PokerStars has so far only released two other apps, PokerStars Clock and PokerStars TV, both earlier this year however this is its first ever fully functioning cash and tournament mobile poker app.
PokerStars sponsors Schleswig-Holstein stadium
VfB Lübeck, a football club in Germany’s fourth division, has sold the naming rights to its stadium to PokerStars.
Formerly known as Stadion an der Löhmuhle, the ground – with a capacity of just under 18,000 – now bears the name of the poker operator’s dot.de site.
According to a statement from VfB Lübeck, the deal runs until the end of the 2012-13 season with an option to extend it for a further three years.
It marks the first time that the club has sold the naming rights to the venue, which is located in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein.
Exclusive: Oddschecker launches Oz odds comparison service
UK odds comparison site Oddschecker has signed an exclusive white label partnership in Australia with News International owned newspaper titles The Herald Sun and Daily Telegraph.
The BSkyB-owned site has built a white label website branded ‘Oddsscanner’ for the Australian newspaper group.
Soft-launched last week it compares odds from six local operators including Totesportsbet, Paddy Power owned Sportsbet, Sportingbet, Betchoice, Betstar, and Luxbet.
There are eight positions available with Oddschecker known to be in discussions with other operators to fill the two remaining slots. Pending testing Bet365 is awaiting confirmation of full approval for a Northern Territories licence in Australia. The remaining operators not featured include Betfair, licensed in Tasmania and Paddy Power owned IASBet.
Seven Days in launches and sign-ups:
Bwin.com launches instant play casino
Bwin.party component bwin.com has launched a new instant play casino, giving players access to 75 games including ‘Melon Madness’ and ‘The Godfather’.
Customers will be able to access their account without transferring chips thanks to the integration of a single wallet.
Bwin.party’s group director for casino and games Daniel Better said: “The launch of the new bwin Instant Casino marks the delivery of our first consumer-facing synergy project since the merger of bwin and PartyGaming was completed back in March 2011.”
Industry veterans launch Bet-at.eu casino
Egaming veterans with more than 20 years in the industry between them have combined to launch new online casino Bet-at.eu.
The Malta-based casino, which has gone live following a brief soft-launch period, features Chartwell games and is believed to be in discussions with a further provider to expand its slots offering before the end of 2011. Its affiliate programme is powered by NetRefer.
Reely Poker launches on EdGE platform
Leander Games has launched its new slot game Reely Poker on Gaming Technology Solutions’ EdGE games platform.
The game, one of the first to be launched on the platform following a partnership agreement with the Playtech subsidiary, is part of Leander’s Reely series of slots, and is now available to players at the likes of Unibet, Betclic, and Betsson.
Gioco Digitale launches live dealer casino
Bwin.party’s Italian subsidiary Gioco Digitale has launched live dealer casino with Evolution Gaming.
Evolution, the first live casino provider to be certified by Italian regulator AAMS, will supply Gioco Digitale with its Live Casino product, allowing players on DGCasinò.it to play live blackjack and roulette with native dealers.
Zukido launches mobile platform
Zukido has launched its new mobile platform zBox Mobile with HTML5 games of blackjack, roulette, hi-lo and scratchcards already available on the system.
GTECH G2 in deal with Xorti
GTECH G2 has agreed a deal to provide its poker and casino products to Malta-licensed company Xorti.
Boylesports and Leopardstown sign three-year deal
Boylesports.com and Leopardstown racecourse have signed a three-year sponsorship deal, according to a joint statement.
32Red chooses GB Group for ID verification
32Red has chosen identity management and fraud protection specialist GB Group to manage the verification of its customers’ accounts.
Betdaq launches customer reward programme
Betdaq has launched Betdaq Awards, a reward programme developed in conjunction promotional marketing specialist Lifestyle 360.
The awards scheme allows players to exchange loyalty points for a selection of goods, such as trips to New York and Dubai, DVD box sets and magazine subscriptions.
The programme is initially only available to UK and Irish customers of the betting exchange, but is expected to be launched in other markets in the coming months.
Viralbet signs up ice hockey star
Social betting site Viralbet, which allows players to create bets on social networks and offer them to friend groups or to the general public, has named ice hockey world champion Mikko Eloranta as its first sporting ambassador.
The Finn said: “For me it is not so much about winning money as challenging my friends with my expert knowledge about ice hockey.”
Microgaming has launched a new video slot which it describes as its “blockbuster game of the year.” Immortal Romance, which draws on the success of Thunderstruck and Lord of the Rings, includes features such as ‘Wild Desire’ which can turn five reels wild at random.
Rival Gaming has launched two new five-reel slot games, Diamonds Downunder and Aussie Rules. Both are Australian-themed slots, with the latter focusing on Australian Rules football, and both carry maximum jackpots during freespins of 75,000.
PokerStars has added German poker pro Bjorn Schneider as its newest member of ‘Team Online’. He is the 26th online pro signed by the site, joining the likes of Randy Lew, who last week won the Asia Pacific Poker Tour event in Macau.