Launches and sign-ups 6 March 2013
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (28 February to 6 March 2013)
Hills agrees £424m price for Playtech JV stake
Software provider to receive 3.5 times return on investment when payment is made in cash in April.
William Hill will pay £424m for Playtech’s 29% stake in its online joint venture, the London-listed operator has announced this morning, with CEO Ralph Topping saying the JV “Has been very successful for both parties.”
The agreement will provide the software provider a 3.5 times return on the investment it made upon the setup of the William Hill Online JV in 2009, and values WHO at £1.5bn.
Following a 24% year-on-year rise in net revenues from its online joint venture in 2012, William Hill has announced the £424m acquisition on the same morning that Ladbrokes has completed its 30m (£25.9m) acquisition of exchange operator Betdaq.
Once the payment is made in cash before the end of April, pending the approval of Hills’ shareholders, the two parties existing software deal will remain unaffected. Hills notes that, should the deal not be completed by 30 April, a further call option on Playtech’s share – set for 2015 – will automatically terminate.
Exclusive: 888Poker partners with Treasure Island in Nevada
888 has signed a second online poker deal with Las Vegas casino Treasure Island and will use the Nevada company’s licence to launch its B2C poker brand in the state at the end of June or the beginning of July,eGaming Review can exclusively reveal.
Several sources close to the matter told eGR that talks between Treasure Island (pictured) and the UK listed operator began earlier last year with an initial agreement signed “six months ago”, according to one individual who wishes to remain anonymous.
Sources in the US explained that once a number of technicalities and regulatory matters are finalised “ including a number of infrastructure issues involving the servers being used and the various licences these operate under “ that poker liquidity would be shared between 888Poker and Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) poker brand WSOP.com with Treasure Island receiving a revenue share as part of the 888 agreement. 888 declined to comment.
888 launches first real-money Facebook casino
888 has launched its latest real-money offering on Facebook, with MAGIC888 Casino becoming the first cash casino product on the platform.
The launch of MAGIC888 casino follows the release of its Bingo Appy game in December last year “ the second real-money offering to go live on Facebook following Gamesys’ Bingo and Slots Friendzy “ and features a range of the operator’s proprietary slots, table games and live dealer products.
The UK-only game also features a free-to-play offering, and was developed by the operator’s casino product team, working alongside its social gaming division Mytopia, which is headed up by former 888 vice president of business operations Eran Gonen.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Caesars admits Barrière poker platform switch
Caesars Entertainment is likely to move away from 888 and towards Barrière for its poker software in the United States in preparation to own its own platform, the operator’s chief executive has admitted.
Speaking in a conference call following Caesars’ full-year financial results this week, Gary Loveman said “We’d anticipate that we might migrate off of the 888 platform and onto the Barrière platform in due time.”
However eGaming Review understands this is unlikely to happen ahead of the launch of Caesars’ real-money poker launch in Nevada, where it has already been awarded an online poker licence and expects 888 to receive approval this year. Once the migration to Barrière is complete eGR understands Caesars’s will have access to its own proprietary platform.
Exclusive: Smart Gaming Group B2B division for sale
Live dealer specialist Smart Gaming Group has put its B2B division up for sale and has been approached by 10 of the industry’s largest suppliers and operators in gaming, eGaming Review can exclusively reveal.
eGR understands that the company, run by former Evolution Gaming CTO Darwyn Palenzuela, has taken the decision to focus solely on B2C and therefore split its B2C and B2B divisions. It is, however keen to licence back its technology and services to its B2C sites as part of any future deal. No exact valuation is known at this stage with discussions known to still be in the early stages.
Ten companies, including a number of large multinational operators and suppliers from Italy, the US, UK and Australia, are known to be considering making an official approach. eGR understands these offers will be submitted in the next two weeks.
Tender for Greek horse race betting launched
The Greek government has launched the tender process for the exclusive right to operate horse race betting in the country.
The 20-year contract “ which will include both on and offline betting “ is up for grabs for the first time, with all racetrack wagering until now managed by a company known as Hellenic Horse-race Betting Organisation (ODIE).
According to Greek privatisation agency, the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), ODIE is currently loss making due to the service of its debt and a decline in customers.
ISPT pens two poker partnerships
The International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) has announced partnerships with Dusk Till Dawn and HendonMob as it prepares for its inaugural event at Wembley Stadium in May.
At a press conference held at the stadium today, DTD owner Rob Yong revealed that the Nottingham-based poker club would guarantee a 1m first-place prize as well as holding live and online satellites at its newly-launched room on the iPoker network.
DTD’s live poker manager Simon Trumper will act as tournament director for the main event, for which multiple ‘Day 1s’ will be hosted by ISPT’s land-based and online partners including Lock Poker and Poker770.
Perform acquires Voetbalzone after strong organic growth
Sports data and live streaming provider Perform Group has seen its profit after tax treble year-on-year thanks to new acquisitions, the AIM-listed company has revealed in results for the year ended 31 December 2012.
The company has also today announced the acquisition of the Netherlands’ number one independent sports site Voetbalzone for an initial consideration of 2m, with a further consideration of up to 10.5m to be paid contingent on the EBITDA of the Dutch business for the three financial years to December 2015.
Lottomatica launches iPad live dealer in Italy
Lottomatica has launched live dealer for iPad extending its agreement with software partner Evolution Gaming’s technology “ the first product of its kind within the five year-old regulated market.
The expansion of live casino across newly regulated markets and mobile in particular are two areas currently experiencing enormous expansion. On 19 February 888 became the first operator in Spain to launch a live roulette product less than a week after receiving the relevant approval. Evolution designed and launched the live roulette studio for Grupo Orenes’ land-based casino Rincón de Pepe in Murcia.
Unibet.fr joins iPoker
Unibet has moved its dot.fr poker offering from Ongame to iPoker, the Swedish-listed operator has confirmed.
It follows Betclic Everest in migrating to the Playtech-owned network, whose other skins include TurboPoker.fr and JOA-Online.fr.
Williams Interactive agrees Bonnier deal
Williams Interactive, the online subsidiary of WMS Industries, has agreed a deal to licence content to Scandinavian-facing operator Bonnier Gaming.
Bonnier will integrate casino games content from the provider including the Wizard of Oz and Jackpot Party slots, with the titles becoming available during the first half of this year.
EveryMatrix launches casino with new Malta license-holder
Malta-licensed operator Probe Investments has launched its flagship Energycasino offering, with the platform being provided by EveryMatrix.
The offering includes online slots from Greentube and Novomatic, and follows Probe’s receipt of a class 1 egaming license from the Maltese Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA).
Microgaming brings blackjack to Windows OS
Microgaming has launched its first product on the Windows operating system, releasing a blackjack app which teaches novices how to play the table game over Xbox Live.
Bronzebeard Blackjack the Strategy Coach is a download-only 3D app optimised for Microsoft Windows 8.0 and the Xbox Live platform, featuring four levels of gameplay and a range of special prizes for wining hands. It is currently available via the Windows Phone Store for smartphones running the Windows Phone 8 and 7 operating systems ahead of its roll-out on the console.
Bodog to host first European live event
Bodog will hold its first live poker tournament in Europe next week as the Anonymous Poker Series comes to London.
The event, which will be held at a secret location in central London, offers free entry to players knocked out of PokerStars’ European Poker Tour event in the city.