Launches and sign-ups 30 January 2013
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (24 January to 30 January).
Ladbrokes confirms Betdaq acquisition
Operator to pay initial consideration of 30m for betting exchange.
Ladbrokes chief executive Richard Glynn has struck a deal to acquire betting exchange Betdaq for an initial consideration of 30m, his third attempt in three years to broker a takeover of an online gaming company following his failed efforts to buy 888 and Sportingbet in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
The deal sees Ladbrokes take over Global Betting Exchange Alderney Limited “ the Alderney-licensed operator of the Betdaq business “ while also taking a 10% stake in the company’s Channel Islands-based technology provider TBH Guernsey Ltd. Following an initial payment of 4m for the stake in TBH Guernsey, the Gibraltar licensee will retain a call option to acquire the remaining shares in the business after four years.
The agreement will see half of the initial consideration settled in Ladbrokes shares, with an earn-out to be paid based on the growth in GBEA’s gross profits between the last financial year and the year ended 31 December 2016.
The 15m in shares will go solely to Betdaq owner Dermot Desmond, whose existing 2% stake in Ladbrokes “Will not be materially affected” according to a Ladbrokes spokesman.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Lottomatica Group to be renamed GTECH
Milan-listed egaming business Lottomatica Group has announced plans to change its name to GTECH S.p.A, as part of what it describes as “a plan to further integrate its businesses on a global basis.”
The announcement comes as the group – which owns Italian-facing operator Lottomatica and service provider Spielo G2 – was announced as the latest recipient of a Nevada service provider licence for online poker.
The company’s land-based and online arms, Spielo International and GTECH G2,were merged in October 2011 with the combined entity renamed Spielo G2 last month.
A statement from the group explained that today’s changes are “”[A]imed at supporting growth, improving efficiency and enhancing profitability across operations, stepping up the pace of internationalization of the Group to better capture its full potential.”
Stars launches Zoom in France
PokerStars last night launched its fast-fold poker variant ‘Zoom’ for customers on its dot.fr site.
The operator was granted approval to offer the product by French regulatory body l’Autorité de Régulation des Jeux En Ligne (ARJEL) earlier this month, and went live yesterday at 8pm central European time.
Stars, whose dot.fr poker offering ranks second behind Winamax for cash game traffic, has made the new variant available online and on its mobile app, for No Limit Hold’em at stakes up to 0.05/0.10.
Bet365 integrates Sheriff Gaming slots
Bet365 has announced it has launched seven new 3D slot games in conjunction with Sheriff Gaming.
The Stoke-based company, which last year topped eGaming Review’s annual Power 50 list of the industry’s most powerful operators for a record third time, has teamed up with Sheriff Gaming to add French Cuisine, Dr Magoo, The Amsterdam Masterplan, Goldraider, Cars & Cash, Magical Forest and Atlantis to its gaming portfolio.
IGT enters Belgium with Groupe Circus partnership
IGT has entered into a partnership with land-based Belgian operator Groupe Circus to provide its entire portfolio of online games under the Casino de Spa brand.
Groupe Circus runs licensed wagering venues across the country, and operates the country’s largest wagering website, Casino777.be.
Egaming goes live in Manitoba
The province of Manitoba has launched its online gambling site, offering residents access to sports betting, casino games and poker.
Manitoba first announced its plans to offer regulated online gambling in April 2012 when it revealed it had partnered with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), which has designed and developed its new egaming site in conjunction with existing software and gaming platform supplier OpenBet.
Probability in £2.8m share placing
AIM-listed mobile specialist Probability has raised £2.8m through a new share placing, and hopes to use the funds to accelerate marketing investment in the UK.
The placing follows Probability’s appointment of its first board-level chief financial officer, with Qurban Hussain arriving from Betfair, where he was head of commercial finance.
ComTrade spins off gaming arm
Software provider ComTrade is to re-launch its gaming arm as an independent company with the grand unveiling at next week’s ICE exhibition at the Excel Centre in London.
Casino Planet launches mobile slots
Casino Planet, the egaming brand of Italian operator Neomobile, has launched its first mobile-specific slots for the Italian market.
Sporting Solutions has announced sportsbook operator YouWin has become the latest company to sign up to its Connect Platform. The deal allows the Malta– and Kahnawake-licensed operator to enhance its sportsbook offering with the Sporting Index subsidiary’s pre-match and in-play prices.
Commenting on the agreement Sporting Solutions managing director Simon Trim said: “With the addition of our industry leading prices and markets, we look forward to helping take Youwin’s online and mobile sports betting offering to another level.”
Stockholm-based software provider OMi Gaming has released Tres Hombres, its latest mobile slot. The game features 243 paylines, alongside a piñata bonus game, with players able to win up to 246,570 coins on a single spin. The game will be available via OMi customers including EveryMatrix, X18bet and Plus Five Gaming, and commercial director Tobias Lindgren said of the launch: “We are very excited with this mobile game release. Simply put, it is our most amazing mobile video slot yet.”
Irish gaming software supplier Marketmaker Software has been awarded a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its Oddsfutures.com platform. The exchange game allows players to bet on sports teams or athletes in a similar way to investing in stocks or shares, betting on a team or player’s future performance. Oddsfutures is classified as a game of skill, allowing it to operate legally in the United States.
“Oddsfutures.com is a new approach to sports entertainment targeted at sports loving punters and anyone who plays the stockmarkets,” Marketmaker chief executive Mark Butterly explained.
“If you’re used to placing stakes on the future performance of Apple or oil, it is a natural progression to do the same with your favourite football team.”
NYX Interactive has launched its NYX Generation Bingo product with Svenska Spel. The supplier’s chief executive David Flynn described the Swedish monopoly operator as a “strategically important partner,” adding: “The new features and functionality will really help Svenska Spel to continue to differentiate their offering in a safe and responsible gaming environment.”
The Stockholm-listed software provider has also launched 4 DC Comics-branded titles through an agreement with Amaya Gaming, which will see games featuring core DC characters including Superman and the Green Lantern added to the NYX OGS solution.
Betfred has signed a deal with TotelFootball to launch pool betting on fantasy football available to Totepool.com customers, marking the first time the operator, which acquired the Tote in June 2011, has agreed to take delivery of a third-party pool betting product.
Eddie Bennett, Head of Totepool.com, commented “We are committed to expanding our range of pool betting products beyond horse racing and into other sports. Given the popularity of fantasy football we view TotelFootball’s fantasy football solution as a logical fit for our ever expanding ‘Fantasy Pools’ proposition.
“Furthermore we recognise that our B2B network could deliver some headline grabbing payouts for fantasy football fans. We are very excited by this opportunity and aim to soft launch the product at Totepool.com over the coming months,” Bennett added.