Launches and sign-ups 14 May 2014
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (8 May to 14 May 2014)
Full Tilt pushes ahead with sportsbook plans
Rational Group advertises for head of sportsbook customer experience role as details begin to emerge over sports betting plans
Full Tilt is pressing ahead with plans to launch a sports betting product with the company believed to be considering an in-house solution as it opens recruitment for a new sportsbook role at its Dublin office.
In February, eGaming Review exclusively revealed Full Tilt holding company Rational Group had been “exploring opportunities” to add a sports betting vertical to its flagship poker and developing casino products.
However, plans have progressed in recent weeks with the company making its first public admission of plans for a Full Tilt sportsbook by advertising for the role of head of sportsbook customer experience at Full Tilt’s Dublin offices.
And eGR understands Rational remains in discussion with a number of interested parties regarding the provision of sportsbook services, with the company believed to edging away from a fully managed product.
Unibet plots Australia marketing push
Unibet is planning to ramp-up its marketing activity in the competitive Australian online market after signing a deal with local advertising agency Leo Burnett Sydney.
The deal was announced following a competitive tender process with Unibet keen to find a partner that could help it stand out in the “very mature” Australian market.
Patrik Andersson, Unibet Australia general manager, said he expected the selection of Leo Burnett would bring the Unibet brand to life and “really make an impact in the market”.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Sky Bet kicks-off live football streaming trial
Sky Bet is to stream live UK football matches for the first time as part of a month-long trial covering 15 matches in May.
The operator signed a deal with live streaming and catch-up TV services supplier Simplestream to give sportsbook customers access to the play-off matches in England’s Sky Bet-sponsored Championship, League 1 and League 2 competitions across both mobile and desktop devices.
The short-term deal began with last week’s Championship clash between Brighton & Hove Albion and Derby County.
Colossus Bets in B2B boom ahead of World Cup
Colossus Bets is to supply its flagship pools betting product to several “big name” operators and suppliers in the coming weeks, eGaming Review can reveal.
Interest in the product has increased with this summer’s FIFA World Cup looming and eGR understands that as many as 13 egaming companies have signed deals with the London-based firm.
Gaming platform supplier bit8 confirmed to eGR that it is among those to have signed with Colossus Bets and Keith Galea, CPO at Bit8, said the deal is a “very positive move” for the supplier.
Mobile casino takes centre stage in new Betfred campaign
Betfred.com has launched its first campaign targeting the UK mobile casino market with the release of new ‘Have more fun with your fingers’ TV ads.
The ‘fun and friendly’ campaign, created in conjunction with advertising agency BJL, launched on Friday and will run for a six-month period.
It consists of five separate adverts featuring finger characters playing out real-life scenarios. Each one is different take on how one of the characters could be having more fun by playing on Betfred’s mobile casino.
GTECH wins 125m Belgian Lottery contract
GTECH is in line for around 125m in new revenue after securing a 10-year contract to supply the National Lottery of Belgium (NLB) with an online gaming system, terminals and related services.
The deal, which is expected to commence in the coming weeks, was dubbed “significant” by GTECH’s international president and CEO Walter Bugno.
GTECH first joined forces with the NLB back in 1993 when it deployed its inaugural gaming system, however contract will see its relationship expand and update its technology integration.
Ladbrokes deploys SafeCharge payments services
Ladbrokes today revealed a raft of new payment services after entering into an agreement with recently floated payments provider SafeCharge.
The operator has incorporated SafeCharge’s full-suite of payment options such as one-click deposits, payment optimisation and its payment card industry (PCI) compliance solution.
According to Ladbrokes, the selection of SafeCharge, which is majority-owned by Playtech founder Teddy Sagi, will help reduce the regulatory burden associated with the storage of customer data.
Trinity Mirror to expand betting portfolio
UK media group Trinity Mirror is planning an overhaul of its Rugby Addicts app that will see it include a betting platform ahead of next year’s rugby union World Cup.
The move would replicate the Group’s recent re-launch of its Mirror Football app, which saw the newspaper owner team up with Paddy Power to provide football betting to its readers for the very first time.
Speaking to eGaming Review, Matt Colebourne, Trinity Mirror’s director of new business development, said it was “highly likely” the company would expand into other sports with rugby high up on the agenda.
Nektan launches white-label mobile platform
Nektan launched its white-label mobile casino platform this week with the Gibraltar-licensed firm’s Chomp Casino brand the first to go live on the platform.
The white-label product, which allows operators to enter the mobile casino market by offering them a branded site featuring 14 exclusive HTML5 slot games, has been in the pipeline since it acquired mobile-gaming supplier Mfuse last year.
Nektan said it spent the past year building the platform and that several more operator partners are set to go live in the near future.
Microgaming seals Comtrade distribution deal
Microgaming-powered Quickfire will add its portfolio of content to Comtrade Gaming’s platform after the two parties agreed terms on a distribution deal.
Quickfire’s suite of more than 400 games, which include casino, poker, bingo and live dealer products, will be integrated into Comtrade’s iCore Enterprise Gaming Platform, making them available to the supplier’s roster of licensed operators.
Comtrade’s iCore platform was launched late last year and now supplies games to operators such as Genting Alderney while last year it struck-up a strategic partnership with Bally Technologies.
Sports betting solutions provider SBTech is to launch a new desktop and mobile sportsbook designed specifically for the Asian market.
The solution will comprise a network management system, full back office suite and a sportsbook that incorporates popular betting types in Asia such as handicaps and over/under options.
“Asian punters now expect the convenience of a modern, intuitive and user friendly front end which features all popular Asian bet types as well as single wallet sign on across sports betting and casino,” Itai Zak, SBTech chief executive, said.
“We provide this; punters can switch effortlessly from sports book to casino whether betting by web or mobile,” he added.