Launches and sign-ups 10 February 2016
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (4 February 2016 to 10 February 2016)
888 launches sportsbook in Italy
Operator also seeks regulatory approval to promote COO Itai Frieberger to role of chief exec
888 launched its sports betting product in Italy this week, and has also moved to promote chief operating officer (COO) Itai Frieberger to the role of CEO.
888 confirmed to eGaming Review that it had soft-launched its sportsbook in Italy today, with plans to ramp up marketing later this week.
“If everything goes smoothly towards the end of the week we will gradually start opening marketing activities,” 888 head of B2C Itai Pazner told EGR.
The operator previously said it hoped launching sports in Italy would help drive players to its casino site, which has performed well but proved costly in terms of player signups.
Unibet’s Maria subsidiary set for major overhaul
Unibet is to completely overhaul its Maria subsidiary this month, including a new fully responsive front-end website and updated brand tonality, as the firm moves to diversify the appeal of its female-focused product.
Maria will be relaunched as ‘Maria Casino’ in mid-February, EGR has learned, following a shift away from bingo to casino as the preferred choice of the brand’s customers and a decision to target both female and male customers.
The self-described “revolutionary” Maria Casino website will offer players a seamless experience across all channels, a revamped logo and branding, a host of personalisation features and a new dashboard.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Genting launches bespoke live casino
Genting Alderney has unveiled two new bespoke live casino studios for its GentingCasino.com brand, as well as launching a new payments system which enables customers to withdraw online balances from any of its UK casinos.
The operator teamed-up with Evolution for the live casino launch with the rooms designed to recreate the look and feel players would expect from any of Genting’s 45 land-based casinos.
One of the rooms, based on Genting’s flagship Crockfords bricks-and-mortar casino in London, has been aimed at VIP players and includes a number of additional camera angles and in-play promotions.
Betclic steps up international strategy with Greece launch
Betclic Everest Group has launched its Expekt brand in Greece as the operator rolls out its strategy to expand into new markets throughout 2016.
The Paris-headquartered operator’s Expekt brand went live in Greece in late December, although a spokesperson confirmed there were no plans to launch any of its additional brands in the southeastern European market for the foreseeable future.
The launch in Greece comes amid a recent restructuring of Betclic Everest Group’s international arm which included a merger of its Italian and international divisions, in addition to promoting its head of Italy Francesco Postiglione to the role of director of international markets.
DraftKings finally launches in the UK
DraftKings is hoping to cash in on the “massive appetite” for daily fantasy sports (DFS) in the UK after it finally entered the market on Friday.
The launch comes just days after the operator announced it had signed major sponsorship deals with English Premier League football teams Liverpool, Arsenal and Watford.
Players will be able to take part in contests for 11 sports, including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, NBA, NFL, Major League Soccer UFC, golf NASCAR and eSports, with data supplied by Opta.
PKR calls joining MPN a “defining moment”
PKR has struck a deal with Microgaming to relaunch its poker product on the supplier’s network in what the operator called a “defining moment” for the firm.
As part of the agreement, PKR will migrate to the MPN later this month in an effort to boost liquidity, while also retaining its signature 3D poker software by utilising the supplier’s Babelfish API technology.
The online poker operator will also revamp PKR Casino and launch a new PKR Vegas product, with both brands set to utilise Microgaming’s portfolio of casino and slots games.
NeoGames strikes Czech lottery deal
NeoGames has struck a deal to bring one of the Czech Republic’s largest land-based lottery operators online through the provision of its iLottery 360 platform.
Sazka, which has forged a strong reputation as a retail lottery operator, will also receive NeoGames’ integrated player management tools and games from both the supplier and third-party providers.
The deal marks the latest stage in Sazka’s strategy to establish itself as an online operator. Last week the firm signed a deal with SBTech for a full turnkey online betting solution.