Launches and sign-ups 10 April 2013
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (4 April to 10 April 2013).
Zynga launches real-money gambling in UK
Cash poker and casino offerings developed in partnership with bwin.party now available to UK customers.
Zynga has announced the launch of its first real-money gambling products, with the UK-facing ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino now live.
The sites, developed in partnership with bwin.party, come with download or browser versions available and a range of sign-up bonuses and free cash for deposits.
In a post on Zynga’s company blog chief revenue officer Barry Cottle described the launch as the first part of a strategy to move into a number of licensed territories.
“Our long term vision is to offer our players the next generation of real money games on multiple platforms in regulated markets worldwide,” Cottle said.
PokerStars launches US-facing freeplay dot.net app
PokerStars, the online poker giant bidding to take over the Atlantic Club casino in New Jersey, has launched a free-to-play mobile app in the US for iOS and Android devices.
The PokerStars.net app, which is also available to download in all markets, pools liquidity from smartphone and tablet users across all markets for its Texas Hold’em, Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo games.
The launch is the first from the Isle of Man-licensed operator aimed at the US market, albeit on a free-to-pay basis, since it settled its civil case with the DoJ in July 2012 and acquired its former rival Full Tilt Poker.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Favourit announces global iOS launch
Australian social betting platform Favourit has announced the global launch of its iOS platform, aiming to build on its existing web and mobile offerings.
Favourit, which aims to act as a “Facebook for the sports betting world”, allows fans to bet on sports including football, basketball, rugby and Australian-rules football. Players can place virtual currency or real-money bets through partnerships with a number of international bookmakers including Paddy Power and its Australian brand Sportsbet, and TABcorp’s Luxbet subsidiary.
The app also features Favourit’s proprietary TipTracker feature to follow global betting trends and view betting tips from leading tipsters or friends, while users can gauge tipsters’ expertise using the Bet IQ feature, which rates bettors on their successful punts.
iPoker adds anonymous tables
Playtech’s iPoker network has added anonymous tables on certain skins, in a move in keeping with recent efforts to improve network ecology.
The tables are already available at various stakes on the TitanPoker skin, while other skins such as recent additions Betclic, Everest and Betfair either have already introduced or will introduce the option until it is eventually available across the entire network.
“We offer these tables where we believe it serves the purpose we have defined for them; allow our players to play freely without having to worry about being tracked or “targeted” by others,” iPoker operations manager Asaf Younger told eGaming Review.
SkyBet launches rakeback on its poker site
eGaming Review operator of the year SkyBet will be introducing rakeback for the first time on its poker site Sky Poker from 1 May.
The UK-focused firm has previously only offered players a ‘cash for points’ reward scheme, and the move comes despite a general industry move away from the rakeback model.
“There is a certain segment of the market that rakeback is attractive to, and this is something we have made more visible within Sky Poker Rewards,” Richard Milner, head of Sky Poker, said.
Oklahoma tribes to launch real-money online casino
Two Oklahoma tribes have been given the green light from the state Governor to operate a real-money online casino that takes bets from non-US players.
An internet casino run by the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, Pokertribes.com, was taken down last Friday after Governor Mary Fallin ruled that the state gaming compact did not allow for an online wagering site accepting US players.
However a new agreement has now been reached allowing the tribes, which run two land-based casinos in Oklahoma, to operate a real-money site accepting international players, with the state receiving 20% of revenues generated. The deal also covers other tribes with state gaming compacts.
Betradar launches Live Sports Centre solution
Sports data provider Betradar has announced the launch of Live Sports Centre, a new solution which will allow egaming operators to offer live data and graphics during sporting events.
The solution is available online and across iPhone and iPad devices, while a web-based mobile version is also in place.
“We took a conscious decision to focus on high flexibility [so] bookmakers are able to pick and choose between the available components to perfectly suit their needs,” Erik Lorenz, managing director of sales with Betradar parent company Sportradar, said.
NextGen Gaming signs Tropezia Palace slots deal
NYX Gaming Group subsidiary NextGen Gaming has agreed a deal to integrate its games portfolio into the Tropezia Palace online casino.
The agreement provides the Curacao-licensed casino with slots titles including Doctor Love and Snake Charmer, as well as some DC-branded slots content from CryptoLogic, including Superman and Green Lantern.
Malta-licensed operator Pololo Gaming has become the first partner to take on mobile fast-fold poker and casino integration from InstaDeal.
The agreement sees Pololo able to offer cash games and tournaments from the Alderney licensed business, while also benefitting from the integration of mobile casino content – including slots and table games – from PlayNGo,
Bwin.party has spun off its in-house payments business Kalixa, to allow it to focus on winning new business outside of the gambling sector. Kalixa has unveiled three new payment products including its “Kalixa Pay” e-wallet and a mobile point of sale device. CEO Ed Chandler spoke of the company’s desire to “trim the fat” by minimising the number of providers needed in the payments chain.
Pool betting provider TotelFootball has followed recent agreements with Betfred and AsianLogic by offering football clubs the opportunity to introduce private fantasy betting pools for fans.
“Our new feature can cater for clubs of any size [and] whether a club has a home attendance of 50,000 or 50 our game can prove a worthwhile stream of added revenue,” business development director Keith McDonnell, said.
Net Entertainment has released a new five-reel slot, Lucky Angler, for mobile devices. The fishing themed game is a mobile version of Lucky Angler: A Snowy Catch, which chief product officer Simon Hammon said “has proved hugely popular as a video slot”.
ID verification company GB Group has expanded its reach to New Zealand, Singapore and Luxembourg, meaning the business – whose services are used by egaming operators including 32Red – now provides verification in countries responsible for 55% of world GDP.