Launches and sign-ups extra 15 August 2014
A round-up of the latest launches and deals in the egaming industry including Microgaming and Matchbook
Egaming supplier Microgaming has unveiled its latest multi-player tournament slots game Sweet Harvest.
The new farm-themed title is a five-reel, 20-payline video slot which was originally launched on the casino platform last year and has since been adapted into a tournament slot.
“We’ve had a busy few months with multi-player, [as] not only have we continued with our monthly new games releases, such as Sweet Harvest tournament slot, but we’ve also had one of our biggest ever multi-player tournaments, Reels de Janeiro,” James Ford, spokesperson for Microgaming’s multi-player games, said.
“And there’s no sign of things slowing down; our operators and their players can expect more games and more big tournaments in the coming months,” he added.
Gaming solutions provider NYX Gaming Group has secured a remote gambling licence from the Gibraltar Gambling Commission.
The B2B licence will enable the company to provide its online gambling services and products to fellow Gibraltar-licensed operators.
“We are delighted to have been awarded our remote gambling license in Gibraltar, which will continue to allow NYX Gaming Group to provide the best e-gaming content to our partners in their most relevant jurisdictions,” David Johnson, commercial director at NYX Gaming Group, said.
“An exciting Autumn awaits as we begin to see content go live in Gibraltar, whilst elsewhere in the business we look forward to the release of marquee new NextGen slots games Judge Dredd & Foxin’ Wins Again,” he added.
Betting exchange operator Matchbook has become the official betting partner of recently promoted Sky Bet Championship team Brentford Football Club.
The deal will see Matchbook sponsor the club’s home and away shirts for the upcoming season as well as in-stadium advertising.
“The vision on show at Griffin Park certainly resonates with the ideals and values present at Matchbook,” Mark Brosnan, Matchbook CEO, said.
“They exhibit a similar drive for long term success and we can certainly identify with having a loyal, passionate following, as they do,” he added.
In related news, online sports betting operator 666Bet has struck a similar deal with Barclay’s Premier League team Leicester City for the 2014/2015 season.
Bitcoin-only sportsbook BetVIP.com has integrated Betradar’s Virtual Football League in time for the start of the new Premier League football season.
“We are taking the site to another level with the implementation of Virtual Football and we will be integrating more products soon,” BetVIP founder and CEO, Daniel Schwartzkopff, said.
“We have been working around the clock since we launched to continue to build on the functionality of what is already a strong product,” he added. “With domestic football about to begin again all over Europe it is imperative to constantly improve our offering to players.”
Egaming technology provider WorldMatch has announced the launch of its latest HD slot title Go Wild HD.
The Malta-based supplier’s new Tarzan-themed multiline slots game features stacked wilds, bonus games, connections with various social networks, fast play and spin stop.
Ladbrokes CEO Richard Glynn said the UK-based operator plans to roll out a mobile sports wagering app in Nevada as soon as it receives regulatory approval from the state’s Gaming Control Board.
Speaking to analysts after the company revealed its Q2 2014 financial results, Glynn said its mobile platform was “going through regulatory approval as we speak”.
“As you find regulation evolving in the US we want to be out there and we want to be very well positioned to compete, especially in sports betting as and when this opens up, particularly now we have a damn good exchange platform which may well play quite a part in the US going forward,” Glynn said.
Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) CEO Mitch Garber says the company plans to expand its growing online gaming portfolio by entering the fast-growing real-money daily fantasy sports market.
Speaking to analysts after CIE parent company Caesars Acquisition posted its Q2 2014 financial results, Garber said daily fantasy sports was a “very interesting business” and that the company was “actively” looking at ways to enter the market.
“We haven’t yet found the right entry point, and we haven’t seen that it is a big enough monetizing business to make a real dive into it,” he said. “Fantasy sports is a very interesting business and we are actively looking at [it] now.”
The Minnesota Lottery remains committed to its online future after extending its contract with platform provider Scientific Games for another two years.
Under the deal Scientific Games will continue to supply the lottery with its Sciplay interactive offering, which allows the lottery to sell tickets online plus offer a number of instant win scratch games.
In February Minnesota become the first lottery to launch online instant scratch games in the US, but came under fire from state lawmakers who introduced a bill to ban the sale of online games in the state. The bill initially gained traction but was later vetoed by the Governor.
High 5 Games (H5G) has developed a new back-end solution in a bid to grow its social, mobile, and real-money gaming business in the US.
The New Jersey-based supplier said the launch of its Universal Game Platform (UGP) will allow it to quickly deliver tailored content to players and improve targeted marketing.
The new framework has already been rolled out on its Asian-themed Shake the Sky Casino on Facebook, plus its High 5 Casino on Facebook and iOS devices.
UK-based poker operator PKR has released an upgrade to its 3D poker app in selected European markets as part of a phased roll-out.
The new upgrade has been released in the UK, Ireland and other European countries and has been optimised for both iPhones and iPads.
Multi-table tournaments have been added for the first time, while ring games and sit-and-go tournaments have also been implemented into the app.
Sky Betting and Gaming has continued the overhaul of its Sky Poker iOS app by adding sit-and-go tables and additional features, while also teasing other functionalities in the operator’s development pipeline.
Sky Bet only added iPhone support in June following the release of its bespoke iPad app in May, which features the ability to live stream Sky Poker TV broadcasts as well as playing cash games and sit-and-gos.
A new ‘My Tables’ function has also been added, allowing players to instantly view all of their active games under one tab while a number of minor bug fixes were also rolled out.
Australian social games developer Royal Wins has set its sights on “disrupting” the online casino gaming space after launching its first social casino title described as a hybrid between skill gaming and casino games.
Mojikan’s Kash Karnival is a ‘hybrid’ app featuring games of skill and chance-based casino games using a random number-generator (RNG) and was recently launched on Facebook.
“We believe that social games players should be rewarded for their skill, while more traditional casino games players are often served up a mediocre in-game experience,” Robert Fong, CEO of Royal Wins, said.
King Digital Entertainment announced it has acquired Singapore games studio Nonstop Games in a deal worth up to $90m in its Q2 results yesterday when it had to reduce its full-year outlook after posting revenues below consensus estimates.
In an effort to diversify the business, the Candy Crush Saga developer said it had completed its acquisition of Nonstop Games for $6m in cash and up to $84m based on criteria linked to revenues of new games developed.
Under the terms of the deal Nonstop Games will continue to be based in Singapore and will develop games outside of its traditional casual genre which are expected to be launched in 2015.