Weekly news round-up 30/04

This week’s news in brief saw mixed news for mobile as operators reported their Q1s, and an App Store victory in Sweden

Mobile growth was at the forefront of discussions as several firms announced their Q1 results this week. Interwetten said fast mobile growth was behind encouraging Q1 figures, with the channel now accounting for 46% of turnover. “I am particularly happy about the fact that we were able to boost the mobile share in sports betting to almost 50%, and, in case of casino and games, to double it to 33%,” Werner Becher, spokesman of the board, said. 

Unibet also had plenty to cheer, with mobile revenues up 73% year-on-year and close to accounting for half of all revenue. But Mybet admitted mistakes had been made, with mobile only accounting for 10% of online revenues, although the firm said that figure should be closer to 30% by the end of the year.

The Swedish Gambling Authority dropped its case against Apple which challenged the legality of gambling apps from “unlicensed operators” in its Sweden-facing App Store. In February, the US tech giant removed approximately 40 gambling apps from more than a dozen operators after a letter sent by the regulator cited a possible breach of terms and conditions due to the unlicensed and potentially “illegal” status of operators. However, since the regulator dropped the case, and decided to take no legal action, more than half of the apps are now in the App Store and a full re-instatement is expected in the coming weeks.

Sportingbet launched version 2.0 of its UK casino iOS app. The focus of the update was on user experience, with a new homepage, smarter search function and increased in-app accessibility to allow customers to switch between games. The app now offers more than 80 slots as well as table games, and users should also notice faster loading times and sharper graphics. The update comes on the back of a major overhaul of its sportsbook app, adding Touch ID login and live streaming, earlier this month.

Nordic-facing mobile payment solutions provider PugglePay agreed a partnership with payment providers PPRO Group to integrate PugglePay’s alternative payment options into PPRO’s platform. PugglePay simplifies mobile purchasing by verifying customer’s mobile phone numbers, sending them a passcode and guaranteeing the merchant 100% of their payment immediately. The firm currently has more than 100,000 customers from more than 200 merchants within the egaming industry.

Mobile-focused casino operator LeoVegas has appointed former Bodog casino executive Karolina Pelc to the newly created role of head of casino. Pelc, who was previously Betsafe’s head of casino and also worked in a number of roles at Bodog, will be based out of the company’s Malta headquarters. The creation of the new role forms part of a wider growth strategy at LeoVegas, with the mobile-focused operator continuing to expand its casino offering while also embarking on a major UK marketing push.

UK lottery operator Camelot said a 60% growth in mobile sales had helped its interactive revenues jump 14% year-on-year to £1.34bn for the 12 months ended 31 March. The launch of a new online and mobile platform in September was partly responsible increase in smartphone and tablet sales, with the mobile channel accounting for 36% of all interactive sales.