Launches and sign-ups 24 May 2017
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (18 May 2017 to 24 May 2017)
Bwin hones Germany focus with Borussia Dortmund sponsorship deal
Four-year agreement with the football club in line with GVC’s pledge to return brand to head of the German market
GVC Holdings’ bwin brand has struck a four-year sponsorship deal with Bundesliga football club Borussia Dortmund (BVB) as the operator looks to strengthen its position in Germany.
Bwin was named the Champion Partner of the eight-time Bundesliga winners, in an agreement which will last until the end of the 2020-21 football season.
The deal will see the bwin logo displayed at 17 home matches at the famous Signal Iduna Park, as well as providing BVB fans with exclusive odds and content via its website and mobile products.
“As a BVB Champion Partner, bwin is back in the Bundesliga,” Stephan Heilman, bwin’s head of Germany, Australia and Switzerland, said.
Paddy Power offers bets via Facebook Messenger with new chatbot
Paddy Power has launched a new Facebook Messenger chatbot that allows punters to place bets directly through the instant messaging app.
The new product, powered by developer Onionsack, builds upon Paddy Power’s chatbot debut by allowing punters to log into their accounts, check their balance and place bets for the first time.
The bot also offers “tongue in cheek” interactions, and can provide push notifications with sporting results based on user preference.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Sky Bet strengthens partnership with NYX
Sky Betting and Gaming (SB&G) has strengthened its partnership with NYX Gaming to support the rollout of “market-leading” features and functionality across its UK and Italy-facing products.
The deal will see Sky Bet UK and Sky Bet Italia integrate NYX’s Open Gaming System, giving players access to a portfolio of more than 1,000 titles from NYX’s in-house games studio NextGen.
NYX will also work with Sky Bet’s internal game development unit Core Gaming to produce 36 exclusive games each year.
PokerStars unveils multi-vertical rewards scheme
PokerStars has unveiled a new cross-vertical rewards system, Stars Rewards, as the operator looks to deliver a more “personalised gaming experience” to players.
The new scheme awards players points for their activity across poker, sports and casino, which can then be used to buy chests containing randomised prizes.
Prizes can include cash, free sports bets, tournament tickets, casino instant bonuses, and will be based on player activity – sports bettors for instance are more likely to get free bet tokens.
William Hill flogs two greyhound stadiums to ARC
William Hill has signed a deal to sell Newcastle and Sunderland greyhound stadiums to Arena Racing Company (ARC), despite reaching an agreement with SIS earlier this year.
The racecourse group will take over the operational running of both stadiums, which host 520 greyhound racing fixtures a year, after coming in with a counter-offer in recent weeks.
ARC has also joined forces with Greyhound Media Group which will now represent the media rights of 12 greyhound tracks and, with the addition of Newcastle and Sunderland, now represents nearly 70% of the greyhound fixtures shown in licensed betting offices.
Paddys launches ‘crowd-powered’ acca
Paddy Power has launched a new offer for the final day of the Premier League season in the form of a one-off ‘crowd-powered’ treble.
The firm offered Arsenal, Leicester and Tottenham to win at 7/2, and rising to as high as 8/1 depending how many people back it.
After 1,000 customers bet it, the price rises to 4/1, while 100,000 bets was needed to reach the 8/1 max price.