Weekly news round-up 5 June 2015
This weekâs news in brief includes an Optimal Payments acquisition and Danish Q1 growth powered by mobile
Mobile gaming platform provider Nektan continued its media partnering push with the launch of a new gaming app for The Sun, which features a number of skill and real-money games designed for mobile. Sun Play is the newspapers first major launch in the mobile casino vertical and runs features 12 cash games including the exclusive âReel All About Itâ, which is based upon several sections of The Sun newspaper. âOur games, whether in the paper or online, are a firm favourite among readers and we fully expect Sun Play to become another popular part of The Sunâs gaming offerings,â David Dinsmore, The Sun editor, said.
Mobile drove strong growth across sports betting and casino in the Q1 results from Danish regulator Spillemyndigheden. Although mobile figures are not broken down by Spillemyndigheden, Morten Rønde, chief executive of the Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA), said it was likely mobile behind a 6% increase on sports betting revenues. âWe can only estimate the online sports betting growth, but there is no doubt it is the online side seeing the significant growth, particularly on mobile products,â Rønde said.
Daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator FanDuel launched an Android app last week, giving users of smartphones on Googleâs operating system access to real-money contests for the first time. The app is available to download directly from FanDuelâs website, and allows players to find contests, set and edit line-ups, and deposit cash. FanDuel already has dedicated iOS apps for the iPhone and iPad, and CEO Nigel Eccles recently told eGR North America that more than 50% of players are now coming through the mobile channel. Eccles also noted mobile had been a key factor behind the operatorâs meteoric growth of late, and the firm would continue to innovate and invest in the channel.
Optimal Payments snapped up mobile platform developer FANS Entertainment for US$13m (£8.5m) as part of a strategy to improve its mobile payments offering. FANS supplies a white-label mobile platform to venues, arenas and content providers to help them engage and monetise consumers, with clients across the sports and entertainment sectors. Optimal said the acquisition âfurther strengthensâ its position in the mobile payments sector and also provides an entry point into the events market.
Odoboâs game discovery app Odobo Play integrated social casino features as the firm stepped up its efforts to monetise mobile social players. The app is the first of its kind to offer players a social casino and real-money play via the same destination, according to Odobo. It now features more than 50 games, and allows users to top up virtual currency with in-app purchases. âOur objective is to retain the small but vital percentage of players that convert to real money, while servicing those that are looking for a comprehensive social casino experience,â Ashley Lang, Odoboâs founder and CEO, said.
888 updated its casino iOS app with a sportsbook tab as it looked to increase cross-selling between the verticals. The integration of sports betting options into the operatorâs flagship app is will likely to provide a boost to the vertical, which posted 115% revenue growth in 2014 on the back of a relaunch on the Kambi platform. 888Sport already has a dedicated app in the App Store, but the integration with 888âs largest vertical, representing 56% of B2C revenue in 2014, will be a key growth driver for the business.
BetVictor became the latest operator to launch an Apple Watch offering with the launch of a smartwatch version of its innovative Instabet app. The InstaBet UX, which prompts users to wager on enhanced prices against a countdown clock was chosen as a more appropriate initial launch for the Watchâs 38mm display than BetVictorâs primary sportsbook app. âOur Instabet App is the simplest and easiest app on the market and the perfect fit for the Apple Watch,â Turlough Lally, BetVictorâs director of mobile, said.