Launches and sign-ups 25 February 2015
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (19 February to 25 February 2015)
William Hill kicks-off Aus rebrand
UK bookmaker migrates its Australia-facing Sportingbet customers to new williamhill.com.au site as part of new brand strategy
William Hill will this week take its “first step” towards creating a unified brand in the Australian online wagering market as it rebrands Sportingbet Australia under the William Hill moniker.
The UK operator will launch williamhill.com.au and will begin to migrate Sportingbet customers across to the new website.
Sportingbet is the first of the firm’s Australian businesses to be rolled into the William Hill brand, with Centrebet and Tom Waterhouse to follow in the coming months.
The company today also announced it had secured the naming rights for the Sandown racetrack in Victoria, which will be known as William Hill Park from 28 February onwards.
LeoVegas launches UK ad campaign
LeoVegas has launched its first major television advertising campaign in the UK as it looks build on 12 months’ progress in what it described as an “exceptionally tough” market.
The Malta-based mobile casino operator teamed-up with London-based ad agency Now to create the 30-second advert, which will be screened on both satellite and terrestrial television channels across the UK.
The advert, which was launched on Friday, introduces consumers to LeoVegas mascot and “king of mobile casino” Leo the lion, who is shown attracting the attention of passers-by as he visits a barbers.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Bwin.party-backed fund sells stake in Gaming Realms
NewGame Capital, the investment vehicle backed by bwin.party and Foxy Bingo founders Patrick Southon and Simon Collins, has divested its entire stake in gaming operator Gaming Realms.
In a statement to the market last week, Gaming Realms said it had been notified by NewGame that it no longer held an interest in the group having placed its holding with new and existing shareholders.
Michael Buckley, chairman of Gaming Realms, thanked bwin.party for the support it had offered the group since its involvement.
Deutsche Telekom preps sports betting launch
German telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom has taken aim at the German sports betting market after acquiring a 64% stake in Deustche Sportwetten (DSW), from the operator of one of Austria’s leading sportsbook brands.
The telecoms firm, which owns T-Mobile, had previously formed a strategic partnership with DSW owners Österreichische Sportwetten, which was one of the 20 operators to receive a sports betting licence from the Hessian Ministry of the Interior in October 2014.
But this week Deutsche Telekom announced the acquisition and said it would launch tipp3.de using DSW’s existing licence focusing on football, Formula 1 and basketball markets when it goes live later this quarter.
Tatts Group prepares UBET launch as online sales soar
Tatts Group said it will beta-launch its unified UBET brand this quarter after the Australian operator reported double-digit sales growth from its online business in H1 2015.
The Melbourne-based firm said sales from its digital wagering business for the six months ended 31 December 2014 increased 13% year-on-year, accounting for 25% of all sales, while its online lotteries arm grew 18%.
Total group revenues, which includes the operator’s larger land-based business, increased 1.2% year-on-year to AU$1.5bn and the firm also posted EBITDA growth of 4.2%, up from $265m in H1 2014 to $276.1m this year.
Snai launches in-running streaming service
Italian operator Snai has launched a new online sports streaming service to bolster its in-running offer and keep pace with its foreign and local rivals.
Snai Live, which was added to the snai.it site last week, will provide account holders with more than 500 streamed events per month, including action from the German, Swedish and Polish football leagues as well as a large number of ITF tennis tournaments.
The introduction of the streaming service, which will only be available to funded accounts, comes after the operator recently increased the number of in-running betting opportunities on site.
Winamax unveils new player chat functionality
French online poker operator Winamax has unveiled a new chat functionality on its desktop client as part of the firm’s ongoing community-led poker strategy.
Winachat, which launched at the start of the month, appears as a separate tab in the lobby, and enables players to communicate with other Winamax account holders outside of individual poker games.
The operator’s business development manager Jimmy Le Tissier toldeGaming Review the move was in line with the firm’s focus on the community aspect of poker.
Fantasy sports suppliers GFM and cleverTV have announced a deal to launch a new digital agency it claims will be the largest network of fantasy and prediction games in the MENA region.
GFMcleverGAMES will aim to expand its client roster which already includes the likes of News UK and The Telegraph to drive greater volumes of engagement and revenue.
“I am delighted to announce our new joint venture business today since I believe it will significantly enhance our ability to deliver great work to our trusted clients and partners both in the UK, Europe and MENA territories,” Peter Sakal, CEO of GFMcleverGAMES, said.
“The combination of a twenty year heritage in absolute reliability of service combined with proven creative talent is very compelling,” he added.
Scandinavian venture capital firm Optimizer Invest’s Catena Media company has acquired LJFK Ltd and its Dutch/Belgian facing affiliate network for an undisclosed fee.
Malta-based LJFK Ltd currently operates over 450 sites and Optimizer Invest claims the deal will see Catena Media become one of the biggest company’s in the egaming affiliate sector
“By acquiring LJFK Ltd we further strengthen our position in the gaming industry,” Henrik Persson, partner at Optimizer Invest, said.
“Now we will reach new important markets, especially the Netherlands and Belgium where LJFK have large market shares,” he added.