Launches and sign-ups 05 December 2012
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (29 November to 05 December).
Hills-GVC agree “revised” Sportingbet proposal
Bidders reach “conditional agreement” to acquire Sportingbet for a revised 56.1 pence a share in a deal valuing the company at £485m.
William Hill and GVC Holdings have reached a “conditional agreement” to acquire Sportingbet for a revised 56.1 pence a share in a deal valuing the company at £485m.
Following a poor set of first quarter results last week which saw Sportingbet’s overall revenues fall 35% compared to Q1 2011, William Hill CEO Ralph Topping and a number of executives held crunch talks last weekend with Sportingbet counterparts in an attempt to drive down the price it would pay for the company.
Topping and his team today succeeded in lowering the fee going from the original 61.1p a share offer to today’s agreement valuing each Sportingbet share at 56.1p. This, however, is still not a firm offer with Sportingbet requesting a third extension until 5pm on 18 December in order to “enable the parties to conclude their ongoing discussions”, a statement read just after 5pm yesterday.
Today’s revised proposal comprises 44.8p in cash, 1.1p dividend in cash and 0.0435 new GVC shares per Sportingbet share for each of the operator’s shareholders. eGaming Review understands that William Hill would pay approximately £418m in cash.
Paddy Power launches Facebook slots
Paddy Power has demo-launched a slots app on Facebook, bringing a number of the titles currently hosted on its PaddyPowerGames site to the social network.
The company has rolled out its Fun Fair, Time Warp, Marines, Red Riding Hood, Wild Bugs and Fruit Stack video slots. The games were developed by Cayetano Gaming, which Paddys acquired in November of last year. The purchase, for an undisclosed fee, was described by CEO Patrick Kennedy as part of a move to bring more of its development in-house.
Microgaming completes poker network rebrand
Microgaming has officially rebranded its poker network as ‘The MPN’ and supported the move with the launch of a new website.
Formerly known as the Microgaming Poker Network, The MPN makes the move following the integration of five new skins from three operators previously on the soon-to-close IGT Network.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Exclusive: Hills pushes for reduced Sportingbet price during crunch weekend talks
Sportingbet’s senior directors held crunch talks with their William Hill counterparts this weekend in an attempt to salvage a £508m bid for the company following news last week that its first quarter revenues had slumped 35%, eGaming Review has learned.
With just 24 hours to go before a bid must be lodged or an extension is agreed for a third time, sources close to the matter told eGR this afternoon that despite William Hill’s strong desire to acquire Sportingbet’s lucrative Australian business CEO Ralph Topping (pictured) is “not keen to overpay” following last week’s “disappointing” trading statement.
OPAP consortium only Greek state lotteries bidder
In a market already dubbed “unworkable, non-transparent and non-compliant” by online gaming lobby groups, monopoly OPAP has struck another blow to private operators as the only remaining bidder for the bankrupt country’s 12-year state lotteries tender.
Announced late last week it has emerged that the incumbent’s joint bid to take over the country’s soon-to-be privatised state lotteries, alongside technology partners Intralot, Lottomatica and Scientific Games, was the only one submitted, Greece’s privatisation agency the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) has said.
32Red goes live in Italy
Gibraltar-licensed egaming operator 32Red has gone live with its Italian offering, eight months after being awarded a licence by the country’s regulatory authority AAMS.
The launch, which had been scheduled for an unspecified date during the fourth quarter, comes less than one week before the first dot.it authorisations for online slots are issued to existing licensees.
Bonnier Gaming launches with NYX open platform
Bonnier Gaming has signed a deal with NYX Interactive to launch NYX Open Gaming System (OGS) games within its casino suite on three sites including MamaMiaBingo.com, Bertil.com and Vinnarum.com.
15 Network adds four more bingo brands
15 Network has added a further four bingo brands taking the total number of sites on its UK facing network to six with ambitions to grow to 10 by April next year, its founder has told eGaming Review.
PokerStrategy.com launches online trading school
etruvian, the Gibraltar-based owner of Power Affiliate PokerStrategy.com, has launched its online financial trading school and community, tradimo.
SGA announces latest executive members
The Social Gaming Association (SGA) has announced that two companies have joined its executive committee, helping shape the industry body’s policies and future strategy.
ACEP signs Income Access deal
The owner of the Las Vegas-based Stratosphere Casino, ACEP Interactive, has entered into a marketing partnership with digital egaming affiliate Income Access.
Black Chip Poker moves to Winning Network
Former Merge Network skin Black Chip Poker will today begin its move to the Winning Poker Network.
Betting Promotion in First North listing
Swedish-based data and odds software provider Betting Promotion has completed its planned move to the Nasdaq OMX First North stock exchange.
Isle of Man College to offer egaming degree
The Isle of Man College of Further and Higher Education is set to launch what is believed to be the first ever accredited qualification in egaming.
The player vs player blackjack game vsJack has gone live on Cubeia Ltd‘s Firebase platform. Commenting on the launch, Christian Andersson, CEO of vsJack developers Vooxn AB said: “The decision to use Cubeia Firebase for our multiplayer gambling platform vsJack was a no-brainer. It has saved us a lot of development time and allowed us to concentrate more on our unique offering and ultimately bring more value to the players. Firebase has enabled our game and I have no doubt it will also enable the expansion of our customers as they scale up from here.”
Neomobile brand Casino Planet has launched a suite of 80 mobile, tablet and smartphone slot games for the Italian market, following the launch of online slots in the market earlier this week. Francesco Postiglione, NeoMobile managing director, said: “We are convinced of the success of the Online Slots, as they have already been a great success in other markets including the UK. Worldwide, the Online Slots game make up around 70% of the total profits of online operators, and we are confident that the Italian market will prove to be the same.”
Betradar has released Soccer Roulette, a new live betting game which allows players to bet on the next on-field incident to occur. Sportradar group CEO Carsten Koerl said: Soccer Roulette is an unprecedented new live betting product that combines the instant turnover potential of a casino game with all the excitement and drama of a live sporting event…Soccer Roulette can bridge the gap between sportsbook and casino to generate a lucrative new revenue stream.”
OneTwoTrade has announced a partnership with Income Access which will see the binary trading platform provider gain access to the marketing solutions firm’s digital marketing tools. OneTwoTrade marketing director Paul Treanor said: “The online trading world needs affiliate representation, and the reach that Income Access provides plays a huge factor in what we’re looking to accomplish in the marketplace.
“They give us tools to succeed, but more importantly they give us opportunity that can’t be found anywhere else. The scope of their affiliate network is tremendous, and we believe that partnering with them gives us the best ability to grow our company brand,” he added.
Net Entertainment has released five-real video slot Disco Spins. CEO Per Eriksson said of the nightclub-themed game: “Having two alternative Free Spins modes gives the offering a new twist and it allows us to continue driving the online casino market through better games.”