Launches and sign-ups 10 January 2018
The key launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (3 January to 10 January 2018)
Superbet plots Central and Eastern European expansion in 2018
EGR Intel understands the operator is planning multi-channel launches in Serbia and Slovakia to complement Romania and Poland presence
Romania-facing operator Superbet is planning to beef up its presence across Central and Eastern Europe over the next 12 months with launches in Serbia and Slovakia, EGR Intel has learned.
The company is expected to first launch in Serbia this year, while its expansion into Slovakia will occur in either late 2018 or early 2019 across both retail and online.
The roll-outs into Serbia and Slovakia come after Superbet recently expanded into the regulated Polish market, which saw it open dozens of betting shops before the end of 2017 ahead of an online launch.
However, speaking to EGR Intel, Superbet CEO Sacha Dragic said the operator in Serbia and Slovakia plans to instead launch online and offline simultaneously.
888 Poker goes live in Italy
888 has launched an Italian-facing poker site to complement its casino and sportsbook offering.
888poker.it went live last Wednesday on all platforms including iOS and Android and customers can now access all three verticals on the desktop site without having to open a new tab or window.
The operator’s plans to launch a poker product in Italy were first revealed by CEO Itai Frieberger in September 2017, as 888 looked to take advantage of the “very interesting venture” of shared liquidity across Europe, as well as the firm’s own improving product.
Italy’s involvement in the shared liquidity pool is likely to be delayed for political reasons, but 888 has gone ahead with the launch and will be encouraged by recent movements in France and Spain.
Harry Lang launches gambling marketing consultancy
Former Pinnacle marketing executive Harry Lang has launched his own gaming marketing agency called Brand Architects.
Lang left his position as marketing director at Pinnacle in December 2017, having worked in the industry since 2010 where he started out with WMS Gaming.
Since then, Lang has occupied similar roles at bwin and the Rank Group’s Mecca Bingo brand.
Lang said his new venture, Brand Architects, will offer gaming operators and B2B providers a range of services to facilitate the development of their brands and fine tune their PR capability.
Gambling.com Group enters US market with new affiliate site
Affiliate firm Gambling.com Group has entered the US betting market with the launch of its new website, www.gambling.com/us.
The new site features product reviews and will eventually cover regulated online gambling news in all US states, with an initial focus on New Jersey.
Group CEO Charlies Gillespie said: “There is great excitement in the organisation about the release of Gambling.com for the American market, as this company was founded by Americans and there are more Americans on the management team than any other nationality.
“We have been waiting since we started in 2006 for meaningful regulation to take place in the United States and while the market is still small, we feel like now is the time to get involved.