PokerStars plots major casino push with debut marketing campaign
Amaya-owned brand to start external marketing for the vertical in the UK after positive Q3 results
PokerStars will launch the first external marketing effort for its online casino product next week, with the roll-out of a major UK ad campaign.
The campaign will initially focus on the UK, but Amaya CEO Rafi Ashkenazi said its impact will be closely monitored with the potential to roll it out in other European markets.
It follows another successful quarter for the online casino at Amaya, with revenues reaching almost $57m (£46m) in the three months to 30 September.
Combined with sportbook, the verticals grew 68% year-on-year to $64.2m (£52m).
Casino also saw a 40% year-on-year increase in uniques thanks to launches in new geographies in the past year.
“It is already one of, if not the largest online casinos in the world in terms of users and our goal is to become the largest casino in the world in terms of revenue, “Ashkenazi said.
The new campaign will support that goal â marketing for the casino has been almost entirely cross-sell to date â while the company also plans to add a VIP programme and more slot games and progressive jackpots.
The broader Q3 results saw Amaya post a 10% year-on-year rise in revenues to $270m, with adjusted EBITDA up 14% to $123m.
Poker revenues dipped by around 1% to $197m, although Ashkenazi said he was pleased with the vertical’s performance after being down down by 8% in July thanks to the effects of Euro 2016.
“I am particularly pleased with our core poker business as we believe the proactive changes we made to our poker ecosystem have both substantially offset and began to reverse certain negative trends facing that business,” Askhkenazi said.
“We plan to continue leveraging this positive momentum into our casino and sportsbook offerings as we focus on becoming the world’s favourite online gaming destination and maximizing winning moments for all of our customers.”
Elsewhere, sportsbook continued to struggle in Q3, with the vertical costing Amaya around $20m in investment for the year to date.
The Amaya board also said it is considering David Baazov’s $6bn takeover bid, and could have an answer within the next five working days.