Poll: Playtech right to pursue media strategy

Playtech’s decision to widen its net and form online gambling partnerships with media brands should pay dividends, according to a large number of respondents to this week’s eGaming Review poll.

Last week the software supplier set out a three-pronged growth strategy in which it will seek to forge an increased number of media partnerships as a means to drive growth throughout the rest of the year and beyond.

The company recently announced it had struck a deal with UK publishing giant Trinity Mirror in relation to the provision of its Virtue Fusion bingo platform while it also plans to build an online sportsbook and casino offer for an unnamed Italian media company.

“I will say broadly the Trinity Mirror and Italian media brand [deals] are not one-offs,” Playtech CEO Mor Weizer (pictured) told eGR last week. “This is part of our strategy and definitely something that’s in line with what we’ve communicated,” he added.

According to Weizer, media companies have the potential to deliver a greater upside compared to traditional gaming operators, particularly during a period of increased regulation and tighter margins.

And 42% of respondents to this week’s poll believe Weizer is correct to focus on media partnerships, with media brands said to be an attractive and lucrative alternative to traditional e-gaming firms.

Roughly a third of readers (31%) were slightly more cautious but still believed media tie-ups offered some potential, albeit not as much as established gaming operators.

Meanwhile a quarter of respondents (27%) questioned the Playtech strategy, having suggested that growth will come from core gaming clients rather than media partnerships.