36 B 2 B iGaming Double Da Vinci
IGT has launched Da Vinci Dia- monds Dual Play to its premium games portfolio, allowing play- ers access to the best perform- ing online slot in history but now with two Tumbling Reels games at the same time.
Net catches Sky X marks the slot
FremantleMedia Enterprises, in association with Syco, has launched new online slot The X Fac- tor Jackpot developed in partner- ship with Ash Gaming, whose founder Chris Ash commented: “We are confident that the game cap- tures the glamour and excitement of the show and delivers a gaming ex- perience worthy of the brand.”
SOFTWARE
Microgaming’s head of business development and sales Andrew Clucas talks about how the firm is working in newly regulated markets.
Sky Betting & Gaming has se- lected Net Entertainment to supply gaming content to its site
Skyvegas.com. Sky’s John Parsonage said: “Net Entertain- ment has a proven track record in pro- viding the most exciting and in- novative
games content in the gaming market.”
Second summit
KPMG Isle of Man has an- nounced that it is holding a sec- ond Online Gaming Summit on the Isle of Man on 22 November at the Mount Murray Hotel with the aim of once again bringing the sector’s major players and service providers together to discuss the Island’s potential in the global marketplace.
BettingBusinessInteractive • NOVEMBER 2011
Pioneers in new markets W
hat opportunities have the newly regulated markets opened for you? Do you have any country specific
products? Microgamingoffers its services to ex- isting and emerging European regulated markets through Prima Networks Limited (PNL), which is an exclusive supplier of Microgaming software. As well as providing ARJELapproved soft- ware in France, Prima Networks Limit- ed powered by Microgaming is also AAMS certified to offer poker and bingo in Italy; it will soon be launching casino and cash poker in Italy too.
Microgaming was also the first soft- ware supplier to provide an approved online poker room in Estonia. With the impending national regulation of the markets in Denmark, Spain and Ger- many, Microgaming and PNL are ad- vanced in developing compliant casino,
poker and bingo solutions, as permitted under the various regulations.
After a year of a regulated French market, is it working and what has Microgaming’s experience been? As I am sure you are aware, the experi- ence for the entire industry in France has been challenging. It is well docu- mented that even some of the largest op- erators in that market are feeling the strain of the high tax rates and regulato- ry requirements. Fortunately, it would appear that there is some movement now to lower the taxes and this, coupled with the in- troduction of a wider spectrum of au- thorised game types, less onerous tech- nical expectations and the eradication of certification duplication, would make the French market much more at- tractive to both operators and players alike.
Speaking before the Finance Commit- tee of the French Senate, ARJEL presi- dent Jean-François Vilotte warned that while the poker segment of the French online gaming market may achieve prof- itability in 2011, high taxation and a limit on the rate of return to players may cause them to seek out illegal sportsbet- ting providers. Moreover, the French regulations also penalise the poker net- work model, by requiring each operator to recertify the same platform instead of leveraging from a single platform certi- fication, which increases the costs sig- nificantly. As a software provider, the French market is definitely an exciting one and the recognition of the commer- cial pressures of the current French construct is welcome, as are the propos- als to lower the gaming tax.
How have the latest events in the USA affected the business and the
sector?
Recent events in the USA are sympto- matic of the confusion that exists around the issue of online gaming. We have always wanted the industry to be understood and appropriately regulat- ed, licensed and taxed by the authori- ties. There needs to be a workable, prag- matic approach by the authorities that takes cognisance of the technological advances that already exist and the les- sons learnt by the leaders in the indus- try.
What would be the most profitable new markets for the online gaming industry?
The most profitable new markets will be those where the authorities implement pragmatic approaches to licensing, reg- ulation and taxation. Such standards and guidelines already exist; it remains for the authorities to adopt them.
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