Launches and sign-ups 9 April 2014
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (3 April to 9 April 2014)
Ladbrokes to acquire second Australian operator
Deal to buy Eskander’s Betstar for AU$22m expected to be announced today after competitive bidding process draws to a close
Ladbrokes is set to make its second acquisition in the Australian online wagering market after agreeing to buy Melbourne-based bookie Eskander’s Betstar for a price eGaming Review understands to be around AU$22m (£12.4m).
Betstar owner Alan Eskander, who formed the company in 2007, began listening to offers late last year and that Ladbrokes’ bid was accepted in the past few days, according to sources close to the matter.
Ladbrokes fought off a number of rival bids including an early offer from Unibet and the recently acquired BetEasy whose final offer was submitted in late March.
The deal will see Ladbrokes, which entered the Australian market with the£13m purchase of Gaming Investments in September last year, acquire Betstar’s customer database.
William Hill completes Australian platform migration
William Hill has completed the migration of its three Australian brands onto a single platform and relaunched its Sportingbet.com.au site with a new responsive design.
The migration of TomWaterhouse.com onto the same platform as Sportingbet Australia had been underway since William Hill acquired both companies last year.
As of last week its Centrebet, Sportingbet Australia and Tom Waterhouse brands all sit on the same technology, while the latter two sites have been relaunched with a responsive HTML5 design across all devices.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Betfair launches ring-fenced exchange in Italy
Betfair has become the first operator to launch an online betting exchange product in Italy as it increases its focus on regulated markets with the firm also revealing it would stop accepting new customers in Russia.
Following an “extensive” testing process with Italian regulator AAMS, Betfair’s exchange has joined its existing portfolio of products launched in the country which include its fixed-odds sportsbook, poker and casino sites.
The launch comes after Betfair informed affiliates that it is to stop acquiring customers in Russia as of this Friday and stop marketing in the region, citing “recent developments within the Russian market”.
Daily Mirror partners Racing Post for affiliate site
UK newspaper the Daily Mirror has launched a new horse-racing focused affiliate website in conjunction with the Racing Post, sparking speculation it could soon follow rival title the Sun into the sportsbook market.
Mirrorfeebets.com launched earlier this week ahead of tomorrow’s Grand National and offers readers racing tips and results, in addition to promoting the raft of free bet offers available from its bookmaking partners such as bet365, William Hill and Ladbrokes.
According to Fergus McKenna, Trinity Mirror head of syndication and licensing, the decision to launch the affiliate site with the Racing Post is “only the first step along the road to jointly delivering something much bigger and richer”.
OPAP “working hard” to launch sportsbook for World Cup
Greek monopoly OPAP says it is “working hard” to launch its new online sportsbook in time for this year’s World Cup, despite having previously played down its chances of being ready in time for the June kick-off.
The operator last month appointed gaming supplier GTECH as its partner to launch an egaming business, starting with an online sports betting site.
GTECH fended off competition from Playtech, Openbet and 888 to win the contract and an OPAP spokesperson informed eGaming Review at the time the sportsbook would more likely be launched in time for next season’s domestic football competitions.
William Hill replaces Ladbrokes as World Darts Championship sponsor
William Hill Online has replaced rival bookmaker Ladbrokes.com as the title sponsor of the PDC World Darts Championship as part of a “seven-figure” deal.
Ladbrokes had been a sponsor of the annual event since 2003 however eGaming Review understands contract renegotiations broke down after the operator was unwilling to meet the organiser’s increased asking price.
Curtailment of the talks allowed William Hill to step in and the two-year deal begins with the 2015 championship, which starts in December at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Bwin.party and Williams Interactive sign content deal
Bwin.party has signed a deal with Williams Interactive in New Jersey to add the content supplier’s range of slot games and game engines to its real-money platform.
The agreement sees bwin.party integrate Williams’ remote game server, giving players access to games such as Zeus III, Super Jackpot Party, and Spartacus Gladiator of Rome.
Williams Interactive content will also be available to players logging on to bwin.party sites in regulated dot.com and dot.country egaming jurisdictions. All content will be available for players across desktop and mobile.
Euro affiliate LiveSport acquires SoccerStand.com
Sports betting affiliate LiveSport has acquired live score service SoccerStand.com from Enetpulse with plans to overhaul the website already underway.
A newly re-designed site was rolled out earlier this week with a new touch-screen version for mobile devices also introduced.
An Android application has been developed while work on an iOS app is also said to be under way for a site which now offers live scores and results from 27 sports in seven different language versions.
Capital Spreads launches new ad campaign
Capital Spreads has unveiled an integrated marketing campaign to promote the financial spread betting and CFD provider.
The ‘Master the up and down’ campaign, based around a surfing metaphor, launched earlier this week and is designed to attract knowledgeable traders to the site.
The spread betting, FX and CFD trading firm claimed it was “breaking the rules” of the sector by creating a “deeper connection with investors by reaching out to them in the emotional space”.