The week in B2B news (1 September 2017)
A round-up of the biggest deals, hires and product launches from egaming suppliers over the last seven days, including Habanero, Pragmatic Play and Hong Kong Jockey Club
Hong Kong Jockey Club appoints Square in the Air for UK push
Hong Kong Jockey Club has appointed Square in the Air as its UK PR representative ahead of the start of the 2017/18 Hong Kong racing season.
UK horseracing punters will now have the opportunity to bet on Hong Kong pools, the largest tote pools in the world, in all major high street betting shops.
In 2016/17, the Hong Kong Jockey Club reported record turnover of £11.5bn, while a standard Sunday meeting at Sha Tin would see greater turnover than the four days of Cheltenham Festival.
Bill Esdaile, MD at Square in the Air, said: “Hong Kong racing is the envy of the world, so it’s a huge honour for us to be working with the Hong Kong Jockey Club as their UK representative.”
Codere signs greyhound data deal with Sports Information Services
Spanish bookmaker Codere has signed a five-year deal with data supplier Sports Information Services (SIS).
SIS will provide Codere with live pictures, commentary and data for horseracing and greyhound racing across the operator’s retail portfolio.
All UK-licensed betting offices will take the new greyhound service from January 2018.
Peter Lucas, trading director at Codere, said: “With increased demand for greyhound racing in our market in recent years, SIS’s new greyhound service provides our customers with high quality content, at times that suit them.”
Videoslots.com hires 100th employee
Videoslots.com employees celebrating the staff century
Online casino operator Videoslots.com has hired its 100th employee after a period of rapid growth.
The firm said its team has doubled in size over the last 12 months due to customer demand.
Videoslots.com has hired staff in its content, payment and customer support departments as it continues its strategy of maintaining strong local presence in newly-entered markets.
Alexander Stevendahl, CEO at Videoslots.com said: “The pace at which we are growing is testament to our current employees and the great, innovative work they are doing in pushing the online casino sector forward.”
Pragmatic Play releases Pixie Wings slot game
Slot developer Pragmatic Play has boosted its portfolio of online casino games with the release of Pixie Wings.
The character-driven 4×5 video slot features a racing game through a fantastical kingdom where a King, Queen, Prince and Princess go head-to-head.
The firm said well-paced pay-outs will encourage longer play sessions and players can identify with the game’s colourful characters through a set of unique bonus features.
Yossi Barzely, head of business development at Pragmatic Play said: “I am certain our players and partners will love the captivating animations and bonus systems as they journey across the game’s magical kingdom.”
Ikibu launches in Germany
German is the fifth language available on Ikibu’s casino website
Online casino operator Ikibu has launched its German website.
German will be the fifth European language available on the casino website alongside English, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish.
The Malta-licensed operator launched less than a year ago and the firm has said including the German language will help Ikibu become the reference point for online casino in Northern Europe.
Ikibu CEO Rafael Rios said: “Germany is the most populated country in the European Union so it made sense to give all the German players the option to enjoy the Casino Journey in their native language.”
Habanero unveils latest slot game Scruffy Scallywags
Table games provider Habanero has released its latest offering in the shape of Scruffy Scallywags.
The firm said the 5×3, 25-line slot follows the nautical adventures of a group of pirates on the trail of the legendary Kraken, with bottles of rum leading the way to a bounty.
Scruffy Scallywags is the latest offering from the supplier’s HTML5 portfolio of more than 75 slots.
Toni Karapetrov, head of corporate communications at Habanero, said: “With stunning graphics, crystal clear sounds and a gripping storyline to boot, Scruffy Scallywags is one of our most exciting titles to date.”
Bethard Groups pens deal with Authentic Gaming
Bethard has signed a deal with casino games supplier Authentic Gaming.
Authentic Roulette allows land-based operators to live stream games from casino roulette tables to an unlimited number of online players via the supplier’s network of B2B clients.
The Authentic Roulette product has recently been integrated with Mr Green and Hattrick Sports Group and will be made available across the Bethard’s online portfolio.
Adam Vella, head of products at Bethard Group, said: “Authentic Roulette is an innovative product that will allow us to better cross-sell sportsbook punters to casino.”
Glück Games releases 90 ball bingo game
The new Bingo 90 offering from Glück Games
Glück Games has released its new bingo game, Bingo 90.
Bingo 90 offers players the chance to win a top prize of €500k and the ability to play with a strip of six tickets simultaneously.
Players can choose from a range of stake levels and switch to a rapid-paced ‘Quick Play’ mode.
Glück Games’s CEO, Robert Lenzhofer, said: “We’re very much looking forward to releasing this 90-ball version; a format which is particularly popular with UK players.”