Four new Mecca ads iGaming
Meccabingo.com has launched its latest multi-channel marketing awareness campaign featuring televi- sion adverts to highlight the ways the online bingo operator likes to treat its customers. Tom Gough, mar- keting manager for
Meccabingo.com, commented: “The campaign highlights some of the things we do at
Meccabingo.com to give customers a little
treat...From our loyalty scheme to free bingo for new players.”
Profits more than double for GVC
Ahead of making a play for Sportingbet with William Hill, GVC released interims showing an impressive jump in profits.
INTERIM O
perator GVC Holdings has reported a 47 per cent increase in rev- enues to 29.1m euro (£23.3m) and a 138 per
cent increase in operating profit to 6.6m euro (£5.3m) for the first half of the year. Profit after taxation also jumped to 5.2m euro from 1.6m euro for the same period in 2011. Commenting on the results, chief executive Kenneth Alexander said: “We have been delighted by the per- formance of both our B2C and B2B divisions in the first six months of this year, and our confidence in the future is represented by the signifi- cant increase in our dividend.” The increase of dividend saw a 50 per cent jump to 15 cents a share, a figure ahead of market expecta- tions and marking an impressive 58m euro (£46.5m) returned to shareholders in the last five years, which GVC describes as ‘one of the highest returns in the industry’. The group’s B2C brands include CasinoClub and Betboo, while the B2B business comprises mainly of the convoluted deal which saw GVC back East Pioneer Corpora- tion’s purchase of Sportingbet’s
Turkish operations in return for supplying it with software on an ongoing basis. The firm also dis- posed of Betaland earlier this year. CasinoClub revenues were mar- ginally lower at 14.1m euro com- pared to14.6m euro in H1:2011, which the firm said was impacted by the industry wide decline in poker revenues. Group finance director Richard Cooper com- mented: “CasinoClub results com- prised a robust casino offering and a declining poker product, and the board is pleased that the casino held up well against a backdrop of economic uncertainty in Europe.” Revenue at Latin American brand Betboo rose by 33 per cent to 5.0m euro. Betboo gaming rose by 29.9 per cent with an increasing amount of its revenue from casino as opposed to bingo.
Betboo sports turnover increased by 147 per cent to 21.7m euro with revenue increasing by 42.3 per cent from a lower hold of 8 per cent (compared to 11 per cent for the first half of 2011) due to less favourable results in the Brazilian regional football leagues. Cooper added: “The board
NetPlay TV beating expectations
LIVE CASINO T
V gaming operator NetPlay TV expects profits to be ahead of expectations after a ‘strong start to 2012’. The firm said it per- formed exceptionally well for the first six months of the year with continued focus on its core live casino offering and investing heavily in marketing. CEO Charles Butler said: “TV advertising contin- ues to be the primary source of new depositing customers and the company has increased expendi- ture during the period resulting in an increase in new depositing cus- tomers of 74 per cent versus H1 2011 and 46 per cent versus H2 2011. In addition, the increased TV advertising was augmented with a renewal of the ITV1 broadcast agreement in April for our
Jackpot247.com brand.” The increase in new depositing customers resulted in 33 per cent revenue growth, with June being an exceptionally strong month and the highest monthly revenue ever recorded by the company. Profit before tax increased by an aston- ishing 500 per cent to £1.61m. Butler added: “I am very pleased to announce another set of strong results which is a testament to the
6 BettingBusinessInteractive • OCTOBER 2012
success of our strategy. We have continued to see an increase in active depositing casino players and further investment in market- ing has made a significant impact. “Thanks to our continued drive
for growth and the resulting increase in revenue and profitabil- ity, we are delighted to announce our maiden interim dividend which is a demonstration of the Board’s confidence in NetPlay’s business model and the company’s future growth. We look forward to contin- ued success and to creating further value for our shareholders.” Mobile and tablet gaming con- tinues to be a key area of focus for NetPlay and now accounts for 18 per cent of all new depositing cus- tomers, up from 8 per cent. During the period the company also launched HTML5 versions of its live casino offering for iPhone, iPad and Android and announced it is ‘very pleased’ with the initial results. Butler also suggested that the firm had maintained the momen- tum: “The second half of the year has continued on the strong trajec- tory set in H1 with average daily revenue 28 per cent ahead of Q3 last year.”
expects the margin to normalise by the end of 2012 to closer to 10 per cent. Additionally, in the period the group provided a higher level of customer bonuses than in the pre- vious years.”
The combined revenues from
GVC’s B2B business rose from 1.4m euro to 9.9m euro. GVC’s B2B share is after direct costs such as payment processing, software royalties, affil- iate marketing and the revenue shares due to Sportingbet plc. The firm also revealed that con- tinued investment in the B2C brands saw operating costs in the B2C division increase by a quarter to 5.6m euro. Cooper explained: “The group now has a sizeable office in Dublin with around 60 staff. Operating costs in the B2B division reflect this staffing and establishment cost and have risen from 900,000 euro to 3.8m euro. The group expects a modest increase to these costs in H2-2012.” Across the group, staff costs amounted to 49 per cent of total operating costs with staff numbers of 145 across four core locations up from 79 staff in the same period last year.
KENNY ALEXANDER: ‘DELIGHTED BY THE PERFORMANCE’
ANALYSIS
The Turkish business, operated by East Pioneer Corporation and supplied by GVC on a B2B profit share basis, has been pushing the company forward, as has the performance of its South American brand Betboo. But the original online gaming offering CasinoClub is still providing most of the revenue even if its growth has been stifled by a stagnant poker market. It is the steady performance of CasinoClub that gives GVC the confidence to stretch out into these new markets. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see GVC’s B2B business overtake CasinoClub revenues this time next year given the Turkish penchant for sportsbetting.
Paf joins up with La Liga B
SPONSORSHIP
altic gaming operator Paf has signed a sponsorship agreement in Spain with one
of the world’s premier football leagues, Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LFP), popularly known as La Liga.
The new partnership will give Paf the opportunity to offer its customers unique experiences in addition to bringing them closer to La Liga’s fans. The spon- sorship agreement with LFP, signed last month, gives Paf the opportunity to reach out to a wider audience than before.
Paf CEO Anders Ingves com- mented: “We are very happy to be able to align ourselves with the world’s premier football league. In co-operation with La Liga we have the opportunity to provide our customers with unique experiences and prod- ucts. As relative newcomers to the market, this partnership also gives us greater exposure and credibility with the Spanish people.”
The agreement covers the 2012/2013 season and gives Paf the opportunity to communi-
cate with everyone who follows La Liga, using means such as social media, and to organise activities under a combined Paf and La Liga flag. Ingves added: “We appreciate that LFP has chosen us as a partner. Paf is an event-oriented company and I am impressed by LFP’s activities with their spon- sors. I firmly believe that this partnership will strengthen the growth of Paf, which already has gained momentum in Spain.” LFP general manager Fran- cisco Roca commented: “We are very pleased that Paf has decided to sign this agreement with the LFP because we share essential values, and Paf also understands that through this association they can offer their customers in Spain added value and unique experiences.”
PAF CEO ANDERS INGVES, LFP’S FRANCISCO ROCA AND PAF’S SPAIN MANAGER ALBIN TIUSANEN
Even though Paf has been licenced in Spain for some time, this deal is still a big coup for the Åland gaming company as it can now ally itself with some of the world’s biggest footballing names, such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Radamel Falcao.
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