Facebook relaxes gambling rules iGaming
Mytopia myopia drags 888 figures down
A new strategy for 888 has been developed as it looks to trim the deadwood from its organisation.
FOCUS 8
88 Holdings has announced that it has refocused its strategy after a bottom-up
review of the business, and the firm now believes its direction will maximise rev- enues, expand profit margins and take the company forward in an ever changing regulatory land- scape.
Deputy chairman Brian Mattingley said the firm is going to concentrate on its core product groups, provide a focus on its B2C customers, ‘appraise’ its B2B contracts through Drag- onfish, improve margins and focus on regulated territo- ries.
Mattingley explained that 888 wanted to ensure a ‘best in class’ product, excellence in customer service and a true value for money propo- sition for its players. He explained: “Our back office is a key asset of the company and truly world class, ensur-
ing maximum returns on investment from our mar- keting and recruitment cam- paigns, monitoring and improving lifetime value of our customers, and fulfilling high standards of social and corporate responsibility through fraud detection, player monitoring and excel- lent CRM practices. We will continue to develop this key asset as it is a true competi- tive advantage that benefits both customers and clients alike.”
Reflecting this, 888 reported a strong first half of the year in its B2C business with revenue up 18 per cent to US$131m (£80.9m). Of this poker was 888’s strongest performer with revenues up 22 per cent to $24m (£14.8m), which Mat- tingley partially ascribed to the launch of its Poker 6 plat- form last year. He added: “We have witnessed a very signif- icant upsurge in new poker player recruitment, with a remarkable increase of 90
per cent in active customers, compared to this time last year. 888 now enjoys fifth position in the global liquid- ity rankings. This surge in activity has been the result of constant investment in our poker strategy to build a platform that appeals to players of all abilities. We have developed a very tech- nically sophisticated product that can manage a host of activities: matching marketing campaigns; mon- itoring product perform- ance and delivering bespoke customer interfaces. “We are continuing to improve the offer yet further and during the period we introduced some additional features to our award- winning Poker platform including a webcam - Poker- cam - and more social ele- ments such as Teamplay.” Casino performance was also strong with total revenue up 16 per cent to US$69m thanks to ‘signifi- cant investment’ in back
office systems improving conversion ratios and suc- cessful marketing cam- paigns.
However, figures for bingo in the second quarter were weak. Mattingley explained: “We are now trading in a maturing and more competitive market than we once enjoyed, nonetheless we will con- tinue to focus on our strengths and invest to provide our customers with a first class offer including regular promotions, attrac- tive prizes and a host of inter- active features.”
But the firm has had to write off $20m in goodwill impairment on the first half figures because of the under- performing Mytopia social games unit causing the firm to report a $15.5m (£9.6m) adjusted loss before tax. The move now sees Mytopia with a zero value on the 888 balance sheet only 14 months after acquiring the company for $12m (£7.4m).
ANALYSIS
888 has to deal with a lot of personnel changes so far this year, but operationally it doesn’t appear to be holding the company back, Mytopia disaster aside. The third quarter, which includes the traditionally quiet summer period, has apparently seen strong trading across all its business lines with average daily revenue during the first 26 days of August approximately 8 per cent higher than Q2 2011 and 40 per cent above August 2010. However, the board has already warned that H2 figures will be hit by the need to invest in regulated markets ‘as these open up’.
Gamesys gets gameshow green light LICENSING O
nline gaming firm Gamesys has signed a deal with broadcaster ITV to produce a series of online Red or Black? games. Red or Black? is a brand new gameshow event where thousands of hopefuls are reduced down to just one person through a series of games where the outcome is always Red or Black. The last person remaining will then make a simple, yet ultimately life- defining decision that will see them walk away with a life changing sum of money. Those who reach the final stages of the game will be four correct choices away from becom- ing rich live on television. The show climaxes with the spin of the Red or Black? wheel and the contestant just has to predict the colour on which the ball will land - Red or Black?
6 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2011
RED OR BLACK? IS PRESENTED BY ANT AND DEC
Working in partnership with ITV Studios and production firm Syco TV, Gamesys has developed four pay to play Red or Black? online
games which will be hosted on the JackpotJoy website and supported by a new on-air promotional cam- paign. ITV, Syco TV and Gamesys have also partnered with 2-Screen Social TV specialists Monterosa to create a live online play-along experience for Red or Black? The play-along game allows the audience to play in sync with the TV contestants, for free, from the comfort of their sofa. Online players can compete with their Facebook friends and unlock achievements that enhance the game.
Red or Black Slots, Red or Black Instant, Red or Black Hi Lo and Red or Black Stacks launched on
www.jackpotjoy.com last week in time for the first transmission of the gameshow event.
Lee Fenton, chief operating officer of Gamesys, said: “Red or Black is the most exciting TV event of the year and at Gamesys we are delighted to be working with ITV Studios and Syco to develop exclu- sive games that capture the excite- ment of the show and allow Jackpotjoy players to make their own Red or Black decisions.” Denise O’Donoghue, managing director at ITV Studios UK, said: “A primetime production of the scale of Red or Black? clearly has a huge amount of potential off-air; working with Syco we have been exploring the best opportunities to fully exploit this fantastic programme idea. Gamesys are experts in branded online gaming and are well positioned to reap maximum value from Red or Black? in this area.”
Facebook has announced that it will be relaxing its online advertising rules for gaming brands in markets outside the US. The change means that gambling can be promoted on the site as long as the ads are aimed at consumers over 18 in countries that allow gambling. UK gambling companies will also be able to launch non-gambling apps on the social network as long as consumers are playing for ‘fun’ rather than for credit.
888 WILL WANT TO HIT THE BULLSEYE WITH ITS NEW STRATEGY
Genting goes home
POKER G
entingpoker.com is the first iPoker room to launch a Home
Game Product - providing Genting Players with the ability to create their own private online tourna- ments. To market the ini- tiative Genting is promoting the Home Game launch with the opportunity for eight players to win a seat against professional poker player James Aken- head, in the ‘Live Pro Home Game STT’ at the Palm Beach Casino which includes a 2012 sponsor- ship package to the winner worth more than £10,000.
Everyone who organ- ises or wins a Home Game before Saturday 1 October, collects a seat in the online Pro Game Qual- ifier from which the top eight players will head to the Palm Beach in early November.
Akenhead commented: “Genting Poker Home Games are a terrific inno- vation for players familiar with online poker. Being able to invite family and friends to your own private tournament really drives home the social side of the game and takes playing on Genting Poker to a new level.”
The firm is also promot- ing its
GentingCasino.com website with its latest online slot promotion, Slot Idol. Genting has launched Slot Idol with 12 great slot games and every week the least popular game from the promotion will be voted off the competition. With games like Gladia-
tor, the mighty King Kong, IronMan2 and X-Men, the competition is fierce. The full field includes: Blade, Pink Panther, A Night Out, Desert Treasure, Bonus Bears, Hulk with Marvel Jackpot, Golden Tour and Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven. Slot games will be voted off every week until only one game is left - the of ficial
Gentingcasino.com Slot Idol 2011. In order to attract players Genting is reward- ing them for playing their favourite game with a share of £50,000 in free bets and bonuses. Players also receive one point for every £1 staked on the weekly prize leaderboard.
ACTION IMAGES / CRAIG BROUGH
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