Launches and sign-ups wrap 14/12/11
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (8 December to 14 December 2011)
Exclusive: $450m Ontario egaming contract open for bids
North America’s biggest egaming contract outside the US listens to bids – estimated to be worth up to CA$75m in profit to the eventual supplier.
North America’s biggest egaming contract outside the US is open to bids and is estimated to be worth up to CA$75m in profit to the eventual supplier, a source close to the matter has told eGaming Review.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), that offers lottery products and operates casinos, slot parlours and bingo halls in the most populous province in Canada, last week released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to find a supplier for its online gaming operation. OLG last year announced its intention to offer an online option, noting Ontarians were spending an estimated CA$400m on offshore gaming sites.
OLG is initially seeking a gaming platform provider with casino games to allow it to launch with an online casino and lottery product. The successful bidder will supply a player account management system, casino games, financial processing and customer service as well as integrate into the OLG’s lottery system to allow players to buy lottery tickets online.
Unibet.fr goes live
French regulator ARJEL has announced that Unibet has been awarded licences for horse betting, sports betting and poker, paving the way for the company to relaunch in France, but this time in a regulated market.
Following its acquisition of Eurosportbet owner Solfive for an initial consideration of £4.8m in November, Unibet was required to reapply for its three French licenses. The operator was awarded three licences in October 2010, however it chose not to switch them on due to restrictive market conditions. Before France regulated in 2010 Unibet enjoyed a sizeable share of the market under its Mr Bookmaker brand that it acquired in August 2005 for £79.5m.
Under the terms of the agreement, Unibet will lose the use of the Eurosportbet and Eurosportpoker brands following a transition period, which ends 1 January next year. At this time both sites will be rebranded as Unibet.fr, and players trying to access the Eurosport sites will be redirected to Unibet for a year.
bwin.party-backed poker game set for Google+ test
Aces Hangout, a social poker game with the financial backing of bwin.party, has entered the testing stage on Google+.
According to TechCrunch, the game is ready for a full launch once the Google+ Hangouts API – an element of the social network which allows users to add voice and video plug-ins to contact each other – is “ready”.
The game is a creation of Hettema & Bergsten, a Swedish-founded startup also responsible for social media tools such as Google Buzz counter Buzrr.com and search engine optimisation tool Mindspace SEO, and allows players to interact via video on Google+ Hangouts in a move described by the company as equivalent to bringing their ‘home games’ into the social media space.
Virgin Games launches mobile casino
Virgin Games is to offer its customers casino games on mobile, the seven year-old company has announced this morning.
Initially launching with a number of Microgaming titles including Thunderstruck and Tomb Raider slot games, Virgin worked with mobile marketing agency, Somo, to integrate its own gaming platform into the mobile offering. Following the launch Virgin said its mobile product would become a multi-content proposition with games from a range of content partners.
Kambi moves into Asia through AsianLogic deal
AsianLogic Group has become the first Asian-facing client of Unibet’s B2B subsidiary Kambi Sports Solutions.
The company has signed a two-year deal to take delivery of Kambi’s pool betting products, Supertoto and Superscore for its flagship Dafabet brand, whose sportsbook will continue to be supplied by OneWorks.
France Pari completes Betnet acquisition
Sports betting operator France Pari has completed the acquisition of Betnet.fr for an undisclosed sum, just a week after the horse betting company entered into administration.
The deal was completed yesterday after administrator Jean Rongeot named France Pari as his preferred buyer.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Endemol signs licensing deal with Ultimate Fighting Championship
Endemol Games UK has signed a brand licensing agreement to develop a series of slot games based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the media company has announced this morning.
Betchoice chooses Mobenga for mobile sportsbook
Australian operator Betchoice has launched its mobile sportsbook with Playtech-owned mobile specialist Mobenga.
Pokertube launches Speed Poker for mobile
Poker community and affiliate site Pokertube has launched a version of its Speed Poker product for the iPhone, iPad, and various other smartphone and tablet devices.
Red Star Poker launches sports product
Eastern Europe-facing poker operator Red Star Poker has teamed up with Sports Betting Tech (SBT) to launch a new sportsbook product.
Gioco Digitale goes live on Dragonfish casino platform
Bwin.party’s Italian facing site Gioco Digitale has gone live on Dragonfish’s Italian casino platform, successfully launching in November.
Amaya to supply content for Loto-Québec
Canadian service provider Amaya Gaming has had its proposal to supply content for Loto-Québec accepted by the lottery operator’s subsidiary subsidiary Société du Jeu Virtuel du Québec.
Endemol launches Benidorm Bingo affiliate programme
Endemol UK has launched the affiliate programme for its Benidorm Bingo site with the Income Access affiliate network.
Xbingo signs up with QuickFire
XBingo, the latest offering from Costa Bingo operator Manadalay Gaming Holdings, has agreed a deal to take on casino software from Microgaming-powered Quickfire.
Betfair in Cypriot football shirt sponsorship
Betfair has agreed a deal to sponsor the matchday shirts of Cypriot First Division team Apollon Limassol.
Health Lottery chooses Ardenta to develop IT infrastructure
Ardenta has been named the primary technical IT advisor to the Richard Desmond-owned Health Lottery. As an advisor to the Health Lottery, which aims to raise money for health-related causes across the UK, Ardenta will provide a full managed service for the lottery’s IT infrastructure, as well as IT support and will consult on best practice for future developments.
The decision to outsource the IT infrastructure was taken after the Health Lottery ran an assessment of its IT capabilities before launching the brand, and decided that it “had no desire to take on the tasks of an IT company,” according to David Wall, IT and operations director of the Health Lottery.
Sportingbet to sponsor Sandown racecourse
Sportingbet is set to be announced as the new sponsor of Melbourne’s Sandown racecourse, winning the naming rights from Betfair.
According to the Herald Sun, the new deal with the Melbourne Racing Club will see the venue “ previously known as Betfair Park “ renamed Sportingbet Park from 1 January.
Tradacasino granted Isle of Man license
Tradacasino, an online casino operator with a proprietary mobile gaming platform, has gone live after being granted a license to operate in the Isle of Man.
Net Entertainment launches Jack and the Beanstalk 3D slot
Net Entertainment have announced the release of Jack and the Beanstalk, their latest 3D slot game.