This week in B2B news (10 June)

Partis announces two new partners to join its UK and US branches

Gaming consulting and M&A advisory company Partis has announced that it has appointed Eamonn Toland and Paul Richardson as partners.

Richardson will join the UK M&A branch of the firm, while Toland has been promoted to partner in the US arm’s consulting practice.

Richardson has more than 20 years of experience in several advisory and investment roles, including as international MD and director of strategy at the Rank Group and SVP international for Galaxy Entertainment.

Toland begins this role with 15 years of experience in the gaming sector. Toland formerly spent time as president of Paddy Power North America, mainly focused on trying to break into the market. Toland has already been involved in Partis’ largest US client engagements.

This news comes after Partis facilitated deals, including the sale of Avid Gaming to Entain and the sale of Singular to Flutter.

Gideon Bierer, Partis managing partner, said: “We are delighted to welcome Eamonn and Paul into our partner ranks. These appointments significantly extend our capabilities and will allow us to make even more impact for our clients.”

PressEnter Group debuts in Romania

PressEnter Group has made its debut in Romania via its NitroCasino brand after securing approval from the country’s gaming regulator.

NitroCasino will host thousands of slots and live dealer games, and boasts a range of rapid payment options, bonuses and 24-hour customer support.

The expansion into Romania follows recent market penetrations in Peru and Chile.

Lahcene Merzoug, PressEnter Group CEO, said: “We are delighted to have secured a licence to launch our NitroCasino brand to players in Romania, a market where we believe we can quickly gain significant share due to the superior player experience we provide.

“Making our debut in Romania builds on the great momentum we have generated at PressEnter Group and we look forward to seeing players enjoy the fast-paced excitement that NitroCasino has to offer,” he added.

Kalamba Games strikes a deal with LeoVegas

Kalamba Games has signed a new partnership with major operator LeoVegas to deliver its portfolio of slot games across numerous markets.

This deal will see Kalamba Games extend its reach across regulated European and Latin America markets.

This new deal with LeoVegas comes as part of Kalamba’s wider growth strategy as it tries to establish itself in markets such as Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Andrew Crosby, Kalamba Games CCO, said: “Delivering our slot titles to a prestigious and well-known casino like LeoVegas is a testament to our rapid growth in recent years. Its reputation as the go-to mobile-focused casino for players globally, represents a true growth opportunity for our games to be played by many new customers.”

Steve Cutler, CEO and co-founder at Kalamba Games, said: “Delivering to players the widest variety of high-quality entertainment and cutting-edge technology is a key goal within our growth strategy at Kalamba. This latest partnership will help deliver and exceed this ambition as we move to the next phase of the Kalamba journey.”

Stats Perform and Sporting Solutions launch B2B Betting Innovation Centre

Stats Perform and sports betting tech firm Sporting Solutions have launched a new Betting Innovation Centre to create B2B products to try and enhance popular betting experiences such as bet builders and player propositions.

The Betting Innovation Centre aims to combine premier modelling, trading, data science and sports data expertise under one roof. Its goal is to provide a wide range of new markets and product possibilities that mix superior odds with attractive, contextual front-end data and insights in easy-to-integrate, connected modules.

Shane Gannon, SVP partnerships at Stats Perform, said: “The Betting Innovation Centre’s ingredients are truly world-class.”

“Significant work is already underway on our first product, and we can’t wait to launch a series of unbeatable propositions for sportsbooks and bettors alike.”

Pragmatic Play expands Spanish presence with JOKERBET agreement

Pragmatic Play has expanded its presence in Spain via a content partnership with JOKERBET.

This deal will see JOKERBET launch Pragmatic Play’s full suite of titles. JOKERBET has been serving the Spanish market for four years.

Yossi Barzely, chief business development officer at Pragmatic Play, said: “It has been a pleasure working alongside JOKERBET, striking an agreement that will see us provide one of Spain’s most renowned operators with a vast array of fan-favourite titles.

“JOKERBET’s market position within the region will allow for even more visibility on our popular titles, and we are excited to see the reception these receive from new players.”

Jorge Justicia, CEO at JOKERBET, said: “The incorporation of Pragmatic Play’s content guarantees our customers a high standard of product that few other providers can deliver.

“In addition to this, Pragmatic Play’s slots also facilitate our progressive jackpots, unique to the Spanish online market, making JOKERBET a one-stop shop for the ultimate gaming experience.”

Evoplay inks partnership with Fortuna Entertainment Group

Game development studio Evoplay has announced a new partnership with Fortuna Entertainment Group (FEG).

This deal will see a range of Evoplay’s top-performing games made available to FEG’s brands, including its Croatian-facing PSK Casino.

In addition, Evoplay and FEG will work together to organise tournaments for PSK Casino players, which are expected to launch soon.

Vladimir Malakchi, CCO at Evoplay, said: “This is an exciting chance for us to be presented by leaders and well-known and recognised operators in the whole market. We did our best in order to select the most performing titles in order to provide our partner’s players with top-level gaming that is fully localised and adapted to their needs.”

Mekinic Bozo, brand and sponsorship manager at PSK, added: “We are thrilled to have a developer with Evoplay’s credentials join our network of partners and are so excited to have the opportunity to provide our players with their unique collection of game products from slots to instant games.

AstroPay to take over as Wolves’ principal partner

AstroPay is set to take over from Asian betting firm ManBetX as Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers’ principal partner and front-of-shirt sponsor for the 2022-23 season.

AstroPay’s branding will appear on the front of all Wolves’ shirts next season, including men’s and women’s teams at all levels and age groups, as part of this new deal. In addition, the logo will also appear on the shirts of the club’s European esports team.

Mikael Lijtenstein, AstroPay CEO, said: “We have built a great relationship with the club over the year and are pleased to be very much part of the Wolves family, one of the most successful clubs in domestic English history with 13 major trophy wins.

“They are a perfect fit for AstroPay, and the partnership further solidifies our growth strategy, particularly in terms of increasing our visibility in the wider European market. We look forward to continuing to work together, hopefully for many seasons to come,” he added.

BetGames set to launch new live entertainment platform Twain Sport

Live dealer and betting games studio BetGames is launching its new vertical Twain Sport. The platform offers hybrid sports tournaments in a custom-built range of arenas across selected European markets.

The platform is set to launch in August 2022 and will offer livestreamed basketball, which will then be followed by football-themed tournaments. There are plans to expand this range further in 2023. Twain Sport will be made available across all of BetGames’ current regulated markets and jurisdictions.

Andreas Koeberl, CEO of BetGames, said: “The day has finally come! Everyone at BetGames has been excited by this new concept since the inception of our partnership with the Hybrid Sports League, so it’s been a real challenge to keep it under our hats.”

“Twain Sport is absolutely revolutionary in what it offers and the first true innovation in years. This is meant to reinvent live entertainment and the sports betting space by taking a new approach to content.

“Promising high-frequency betting and the low-spend extended playing sessions BetGames has always been famous for, we’re confident that Twain Sport will prove transformative. We’re here to provide our partners with the boosted engagement, cross-sell opportunities and incremental revenue we know they’re looking for,” he explained.