Launches and sign-ups 29 May 2013
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (23 May to 29 May 2013)
Unibet readies UK sportsbook push
Operator has invested £3m in marketing campaign, while B2B arm Kambi is ready to debut its UK horse racing offering
Unibet has embarked on a significant marketing campaign as the operator begins a full-scale rollout of its UK-facing sportsbook offering, fully managed by its B2B subsidiary Kambi.
The £3m “summer of sport” advertising campaign, focused on the “armchair analysts” theme, will see the firm take a 30%+ share of voice on Sky Sports adverts around its three core sports of tennis, rugby and cricket. Head of UK product Ed Nicholson told eGaming Review the Unibet brand would be “on air in every major event in those sports from this Sunday until the end of the year”.
Unibet has signed up former Wimbledon champion Goran IvaniÅ¡eviÄ, former British and Irish Lions rugby player Gavin Hastings and former English cricket captain Sir Ian Botham as ambassadors and all three will feature on the campaign.
The push follows significant investment in developing a UK horse racing offering through Kambi, and Unibet chief executive Henrik Tjärnström (pictured) told eGR the UK focus is the product of prolonged investment following the acquisition of Australian operator Betchoice in February last year.
Bonnier to acquire RedBet Gaming
Malta-licensed operator Bonnier Gaming has reached an agreement to acquire Nordic Leisure’s Redbet Gaming subsidiary, comprising four egaming brands.
If the agreement is approved by the Maltese Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA) Bonnier will take over the Redbet, Whitebet, HeyPoker and Total Poker brands. Nordic Leisure will receive an initial consideration of SEK37.5m plus an additional sum, to be paid in Q1 2014, based on a multiple of 4.6 of the company’s full-year EBITDA for 2013.
Nordic Leisure, which was rebranded from Redbet Holding in September last year, is expected to retain the Eastern Europe-facing OptiBet and Boss Media-powered Gold Club Casino.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
DMG Media relaunches gaming brand as Metro Play
DMG Media has announced that its gaming arm, formerly known as ME Gaming, has been relaunched as “the ultimate urban mobile gaming destination” Metro Play, with Metro Play Casino its first product to go live.
The media conglomerate, which owns the Daily Mail and Metro newspapers, has launched across smartphone, tablet and desktop, with a particular focus on mobile, powered by a back-end solution provided by EveryMatrix and IGT and Microgaming software.
Users can access a browser-based casino featuring a personalised homepage where players can store favourite games and see recommendations based on their preferences. The system also allows Metro Play to target players with tailored promotions, helping attract both casual and serious players.
Bwin in gaming and social deal with Real Madrid
Bwin.party has announced a deal with Spanish football giants Real Madrid to launch co-branded gaming products and integrate the bwin brand into Real’s social media and mobile apps ahead of its social sports betting launch later this year.
The multi-year deal replaces the high-profile six-year shirt sponsorship that finished at the end of the 2012/13 season and reflects an “evolution” of bwin.party’s sponsorship strategy, according to the firm.
Webis subsidiary partners with PMU
Webis Holdings California-based subsidiary WatchandWager has signed a deal with Pari-Mutuel Urbain to allow its US customers to bet on French horse racing.
The ‘direct co-mingling’ agreement allows American punters to bet into PMU’s racetrack pools, with French horse racing data and live streaming of races to be added to the WatchandWager site, when the initiative launches in mid-June.
888poker renews golf sponsorship
888’s poker brand will remain the headline sponsor of golf’s PGA EuroPro Tour for a second successive year, the operator has announced.
LVS releases ABP in a Box solution
LVS has announced the launch of its ABP in a Box, a complete sports betting product for start-ups looking to launch an online sportsbook.
Bwin extends MotoGP sponsorship
Bwin,party has agreed a two-year extension to its partnership with MotoGP, giving the bwin brand a presence at five of the sport’s grands prix until 2015.
Social betting operator Bodugi has agreed a partnership with InplayMatrix to integrate its social gaming offering onto the Asia-facing firm’s sportsbook platform. InplayMatrix’s Asian players will have access to the social game’s unique gaming mechanic where players compete against one another on poker-style tables to win cash prizes and can communicate via an internal social network.
Net Entertainment has launched its latest video slot, the 5-reel, 30-row, 20-line EggOMatic, described by chief product officer Simon Hammon as “the perfect addition” to the software provider’s slots portfolio. Players are randomly assigned a prize hidden in a metallic egg, similar to a lucky dip machine.
Intellectual Property and Software Ltd (IPS) has launched its third online casino offering after BetUK and PinkCasino, with 21.co.uk now live. The site, run on the Bede Gaming platform, offers a range of table games and features live casino content supplied by Evolution Gaming, as well as casino software from IGT and Bally Technologies.
The Malta-licensed online casino Guts.com has gone live. The site, which features over 400 casino games supplied by a range of software providers, is offering players a 300 welcome package, including 100 free spins on NetEnt‘s Starburst slot.
Microgaming has purchased a VeinViewer for Noble’s Hospital on the Isle of Man through its charitable arm, the Microgaming Health & Care Trust. The device is a non-invasive infra-red tool that allows doctors to see a patient’s veins on the skin’s surface, and is designed to make taking blood samples and inserting intravenous lines less painful and distressing for children.
Binary options operator Tradesmarter has announced the launch of a Social Binary Chart, a social feature which allows players to monitor the activities of other traders in order to make better decisions when investing.