iGaming iGAMINGBRIEFS
JUMP IN PURPLE PEOPLE
Online casino Purple Lounge saw a 29 per cent increase in revenues for the 12 months ended 30 September. The company generated £27.5m during the period compared to £21.3m in 2010. The sig- nificant revenue growth during the year has been reflected with the 20 per cent increase in regis- tered customer numbers to 120,000.
Justin Drummond, CEO of parent group Media Corp, com- mented: “Purple Lounge has had another strong year against industry wide declines in online gaming revenues. The group is continuing to successfully test a number of innovative online marketing tech- niques which the direc- tors believe will significantly increase customer sign-ups, active players and rev- enues in the coming months.”
SHOPPING CHANNEL’S BINGO LAUNCH
Broadcasting seven- days a week to millions of homes via Virgin TV, Freeview, Sky and the web, Bid Shopping is giving plenty of backing to its new
bidbingo.co.uk online bingo venture with a major TV, online and direct mail advertising campaign planned. A spokesperson for bid-
bingo.co.uk said: “We have a massive audience that we’re sure will love and embrace bid bingo. We plan to utilise every arm of our business to deliver the best bingo experience to our cus- tomers and we’re confi- dent our partnership with GTech G2 will do just that.”
CONVERGENCE RESEARCH REVEALED
Research company Ipsos will present findings from new consumer research at the forthcoming Digital Gaming & Lottery Policy Summit. Paul Lauzon, who heads Ipsos’ Lottery and Gaming Group, will present the new research which looks at consumer behaviour as it pertains to the convergence of online and land-based casino gambling. The session, titled ‘Online and Offline Gaming - Convergence or Canni- balization?’, will take place Tuesday 6 Decem- ber at the DGLP Summit in Washington, DC.
With a confidence that the US will eventually allow some form of internet gambling,
Bwin.party has teamed up with two of the country’s big gaming brands.
AMERICA M
ajor online oper- ator
Bwin.party has moved a step closer to operat- ing in the US
after agreeing deals with casino operators MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming Corporation. The joint venture agree- ment and B2B agreements have been signed to offer real money online poker in the US should legislation and effective regulation and licensing be enacted. Several bills to regulate, licence and tax online poker in the US have been introduced at both a federal and state level, each of which are at various stages in the political process. While there is no certainty that online poker legisla- tion will be enacted in the US,
Bwin.party is preparing to enter into a preliminary suitability review in the State of Nevada.
Jim Ryan and Norbert
Teufelberger, the co-CEOs of
bwin.party, said: “Our strategy has been designed to address any and all leg- islative outcomes, whether federal or state-by-state. We are particularly excited to be working with MGM and Boyd. Combining their significant assets and regu- latory expertise with the strength of our PartyPoker and World Poker Tour brands, all supported by our in-house technology, makes us perfectly posi- tioned for any future opening of the US online poker market.”
The B2C joint venture that will launch should leg- islation allow will see a Federal NewCo’created with
Bwin.party owning 65 per cent, MGM owning 25 per cent and Boyd owning 10 per cent.
Bwin.party will supply Federal NewCo with its primary online poker
Bwin.party makes strategic deals with US casinos
BWIN.PARTY MAY PROVIDE THE PLATFORM FOR MGM GRAND ONLINE POKER
brands for use in the US - including PartyPoker and World Poker Tour - and also supply its proven poker platform and all other required support services. Should the US regulate online poker on a state-by- state basis, a stand-alone company will be estab- lished to develop each state
opportunity with more flex- ibility around the share- holders depending on the state involved.
Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International Jim Murren said: “MGM has long been supportive of Federal legislation to strengthen UIGEA and provide the needed regula-
tions and consumer protec- tions for online poker. MGM is proud to have
Bwin.party as our partner as they have the assets and experience that, combined with our brands, can ensure a secure, fair and entertaining online poker experience.”
President and CEO of Boyd Gaming Keith Smith
Betsafe paying off for Betsson
The acquisition of Betsafe is already adding kronor to the bottom line for Betsson. FINANCIALS
S
candinavian operator Betsson has revealed a good growth in revenue for the third quarter of the year. Group revenue amounted to SEK 465.7m (£44.2m) from SEK 385.1m (£36.5m) compared to the same period in 2010. Gross profit in Betsson’s B2C segment for Q3 has amounted to an all-time high of SEK 266.1m (£25.3m), an increase of 119 percent. The segment was strengthened significantly as a result of the acquisition of Betsafe during the second quarter. Excluding Betsafe’s gross profit of SEK 102.1m (£9.7m), the B2C segment increased by 35 percent. The Nordic countries account for 75 per cent of the segment’s business while EU outside of the Nordic countries repre- sents 22 per cent.
The company believes that as a whole, the divi- sion has substantial growth opportunities. It said: “More and more coun- tries in Europe are approaching the applica- tion of a domestically reg- ulated market, supported
8 BettingBusinessInteractive • NOVEMBER 2011
MAGNUS SILFVERBERG: ‘WE ARE ADAPTING THE GROUP’
by the EU. This is changing the scene for gaming oper- ators. Betsson has applied for licences in Italy and Denmark, respectively.” Magnus Silfverberg, president and chief execu-
tive officer at Betsson, com- mented: “We are adapting the group to comply with new regulations across Europe. Being able to make these changes while posting good results is
proof of our strength.” The company’s 20 per cent drop in marketing costs to SEK 100.6m (£9.6m) has been attributed to the firm’s divestment of the Turkish customer base and removal of the need to promote itself in the market. The company added: “Betsson’s market- ing consists of traditional marketing and partner co- operation agreements with variable remuneration. The marketing costs arising from partners receiving variable remuneration incur a lower risk than costs for traditional marketing.” However, the firm saw a substantial increase in the number of consultants it has used during the period and foresees the figure going even higher in the future. The company explained: “As the organisation, as it cur- rently stands, has a very high work load, management is of the opinion that the company will require the services of a somewhat higher number of consult- ants in the near future.” The firm’s B2B arm also suffered from divestment of the Turkish customer base
with gross profit for the quarter falling from SEK 180.0m (£17.1m) to SEK 123.0M (£11.7M). The firm said: “Betsson’s B2B segment has been success- ful for a number of years and Betsson is now both finan- cially and technically well- positioned to meet the trend for B2B currently seen within the gaming industry.” The company also said it has strong optimism for the future. It commented: “Betsson is of the opinion that the online gaming market will continue to develop strongly. A consid- erable portion of the world’s citizens still have no or limited access to the inter- net. The number of internet users is growing rapidly, which is a fundamental driver for the business. The confidence in internet and e-commerce is increasing as more people use the inter- net to perform their banking and stock market transac- tions, insurance business and other purchases. This changing behaviour and increasing confidence in e- commerce is important for the online gaming industry.”
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