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Fair betting: British bookmakers prepare to head to Wolverhampton to see the latest LBO innovations. ESSENTIAL GUIDE 18

Football signing: Betfred teams up with BT Sport in order to offer televised Premier League matches to customers B2BiRETAIL 28

Social club: Can the betting industry leverage social media in the same way as casino and bingo operators? COMMENT 38

£5.20 (€8.30) • ISSUE:108 • SEPTEMBER 2013 • www.betting-business.co.uk

15 per cent tax rate could be ‘serious mistake’

Hills gets bigger down under AUSTRALIA ACTION IMAGES / CARL RECINE

The UK place of consumption tax is due for implementation on 1 December 2014, but the industry will hope to get the 15 per cent rate reduced before then. TAX

he UK government is pressing ahead with its intention to impose a 15 per cent gross profits tax on all remote operators for any business they conduct in the country, much to the industry’s dismay. Despite warnings that such a high rate will create a much bigger black market for online gaming from UK customers that currently exists, the Treasury is persisting with it in an attempt to recoup a further £300m a year from the industry. Clive Hawkswood, CEO at the Remote Gambling Association, commented: “This is a challenging time for the industry and we will continue to engage with Treasury to ensure the impact of any tax changes is fully understood by the government. We have KPMG working on a report that will be completed shortly and hopefully that will help to persuade the government that it would be a serious mistake to set the tax rate at too high a level.” Indeed there appears to be an assumption that the Treasury’s figures are based on capturing only

ONLY LOCALLY LICENSED FIRMS WILL BE ABLE TO ADVERTISE IN THE UK

80 per cent of the market, with the remainder using non-licensed companies who will not pay the UK’s consumption tax. Given that the current licensing regime, while not directly regulated by the Gambling Commission, encompasses 99 per cent of the market there is a very real possibility that the new licensing laws will actually make online gambling less safe for UK citizens. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid said: “These reforms will ensure that remote gambling operators who have UK customers make a fair contribution to the public finances.” The news was revealed as part of the Treasury’s consultation on its proposed place of consumption

www.microgaming.co.uk/TDKR

tax for remote gambling. A positive for the industry is that the government has taken the sensible approach and decided that for the purposes of remote gambling the definition of UK customers will be based on where the customer usually lives. It explained: “This will mean remote gambling undertaken by a customer who usually lives in the UK whilst temporarily on holiday abroad will be liable for tax (as long as that gambling could have been accessed from the UK). Conversely, remote gambling undertaken by a customer who usually lives abroad whilst temporarily in the UK will not be. Premises based gambling will be unaffected.” There were also details over how

the Treasury intends to enforce the tax rate, which mainly involves working with other tax jurisdictions to recover outstanding tax debts under the EU Mutual Assistance in the Recovery of Debt (MARD) directive, requiring operators from certain jurisdictions to appoint a joint and severally liable fiscal representative and/or provide HMRC with a security. Several of these points will be enforced through the creation of summary criminal offences. The offence of fraudulent evasion of the duties for remote gaming duty carries an unlimited fine and imprisonment of up to seven years. LICENCE TO KILL COMMENT 38

illiam Hill has increased its share of the Australian market with the acquisition of local online betting brand Tom Waterhouse for AUS$34m (£19.6m), along with $6m (£3.5m) of liabilities. The deal also sees an additional earn-out of up to $70m (£40.4m), subject to tomwaterhouse.com achieving incremental EBIT on a sliding scale between $10m and $30m (£5.8m and £17.3m) in the year to 31 December 2015. It is only six months since William Hill paid £459m for Sportingbet’s Australian business, as the bookmaker aims to make the sector a second home market. Tomwaterhouse.com will join the Sportingbet and Centrebet brands, which are led by Michael Sullivan as CEO of William Hill Australia; however Tom Waterhouse will remain managing director at the brand that carries his name. Sullivan commented: “This is bringing together some of the best talent in the bookmaking industry into one formidable team. That can only be good for the customer experience. Add to that our commitment to the Australian market and the best practice standards we apply to our business and you get a company that is also focused on protecting and respecting the customer.” Australia is one of the largest licensed betting markets in the world and is attractive to William Hill for its long-term growth potential as a wellestablished and well-regulated market. William Hill has particular skills in those areas of the Australian market that are demonstrating strong structural growth: online, mobile, fixed odds betting and sports betting. William Hill expects the acquisition to be positive from 2014, enhancing underlying earnings before transaction and integration costs and the amortisation of intangible assets associated with the proposed acquisition in that year.

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LBO experience needs to trump online competition Despite having online gambling operations of his own, Betfred’s Fred Done believes that betting shops need to play to their strengths to counter internet betting.

ACTION IMAGES / JASON CAIRNDUFF LIVEPIC

News

FRED DONE: ‘VERY PROUD THAT WE ARE THE FIRST TO COMMIT TO THE NEW ECLIPSE CABINETS’

BETTING SHOP

etfred owner Fred Done believes that High Street bookmakers are competing directly with online gambling operators for the custom of the UK punters and that LBOs need to be able to offer value for money entertainment to keep ahead of the game. Done believes that his customers factor in the enjoyment of being in a betting shop while weighing up the pros and cons of having a bet, and that providing an enhanced LBO experience helps retail bookmakers compete against their online brethren. He explained: “I’m of the firm belief that the value received by the British punter is unmatched anywhere in the world. That’s because we’ve had a legal betting industry for over 50 years and it is evolved in a way that provides its customers with more for their money than anywhere else. “But we are now competing with online gambling, so our betting shops have to offer more in terms of experience, which is where the staff come in. I would rather have a bad shop with good staff than a good shop with bad staff. It’s a much better experience when you place a bet with a cheery smile than a frown, or even an imper-

sonal click of the mouse. The staff are more important now than ever.” Done believes there are more opportunities now for betting shops because of the economic situation of the high street rather than just the planning changes implemented in the 2005 Gambling Act. “The truth is that landlords can’t afford to be too fussy these days and are much more willing to see a betting shop in place when the alternative would be an empty unit. It gives bookmakers more opportunities to command good locations on the high street.” Along with staffing and location, Done is keen to keep ahead of the competition inside the shop as well. This is why it has become the first national bookmaker to sign up to BT Sport and is also at the head of the queue for Inspired Gaming’s new B2 gaming machine – the Eclipse. “We’re very proud that we are the first to commit to the new Eclipse cabinets and the investment in shops shows our belief in the sector. Hopefully they will give us a good shot in the arm over the next five years.” Although Betfred’s average revenue per machine is not close to the mid-£900s of William Hill and Ladbrokes (and even further away from the £1,250 on

BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

Paddy Power’s Londoncentric estate), Done recognises that this is mainly down to the northern geographical spread of his shops rather than any lapses in management. Despite the lower revenues experienced, Done is adamant that a drop in stake for B2 machines from £100 to £2 would destroy the game profile. “It would absolutely kill it,” he said. “And if you put those machines at risk then you jeopardise the whole industry – 9,000 shops and the jobs they generate. The gaming machines are an integral part of the betting shop experience now and we are dependent on them.” Done is also of the belief that the concerns over B2 stakes are ill founded anyway given the unlimited stakes that are found online. “I see a simple comparison. Betting shops are strictly age limited – you need to be 18 to get in. Our customers play the machines with their maximum stake and prize limits and while they play they are monitored by our staff who have been trained to intervene if they think there’s a problem. Now isn’t that preferable to faceless online gambling, most of which isn’t regulated in this country at the moment, with its unlimited stakes and prizes?” ECLIPSE LAUNCH Essential Guide 26

ANALYSIS Betfred has made comfortably the biggest investment in retail betting in the past few years, mainly down to its £265m purchase of the Tote in 2011. Since then the bookmaker has been concentrating on integrating and turning around the Totesport betting chain, something Fred Done said has been going to plan. “To be honest I knew it would be easy. We just had to take on these shops and carry on what we had already been doing with the Betfred chain. In fairness to the Tote management they could barely make any plans for the business as the whole organisation was essentially up for sale for seven years, so just adding some stability would have worked wonders alone.”

Coral laun football po A new season has seen a new type of football bet from Coral with a £1m guaranteed jackpot for a successful 15-timer. FOOTBALL

ookmaker Coral has broken new ground with the launch of ‘Football Jackpot’, a unique pool bet that will give customers the chance to become an instant millionaire for just a £1 stake. Football Jackpot will run every weekend throughout the 2013/14 football season and will be supported by a seven figure advertising campaign across broadcast and print. Coral customers can place their Football Jackpot bets via coupons available in Coral’s 1,800 shops, or online at coral.co.uk or via Coral’s mobile app. The mechanics are simple: Each week the Football Jackpot

coupon will contain 15 football matches and customers will be asked to predict either a home win, draw or away win for just a £1 stake. The first sole winner of Football Jackpot is guaranteed by Coral to win £1m, and there are also consolation prizes for customers who narrowly miss out. Customers who correctly predict 13 or 14 results will receive a consolation cash payment and, depending on the size of the pool and the number of consolation winners even, this could run into tens of thousands of pounds. Customers also have the flexibility of either choosing a lucky dip or making their own selections.

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Olympique deal for Bwin Bwin.party has signed up to become Olympique de Marseille’s official online betting and gaming partner. The three-year partnership will boost the profile and status of the Bwin brand in France and strengthen its position as Europe’s leading football betting brand. Bwin has already announced similar partnerships with Real Madrid, Manchester United, FC Bayern, Juventus and RSC Anderlecht. CEO Norbert Teufelberger said: “We are now partnered with six of the greatest clubs in European football, enabling us to offer our customers an unparalleled range of online and real world offers.”

International success sets 888 for US market 888 Holdings has lined up its targets in the US and is now poised to enter the market. CASINO

asino operator 888 Holdings has said it hopes to build on the success it is enjoying in international markets to make a good tilt at the US iGaming market once the sector takes off. At the firm’s interim results, CEO Brian Mattingley explained: “We are making good progress in new markets with tremendous success in Spain and Italy where we see further opportunities for growth. These experiences have given us further confidence in our ability to capitalise on the exciting US opportunity which continues to develop and we believe our strategy and partnerships ensure that we are well positioned to maximise market share as that market becomes regulated.” 888 has a joint venture agreement with global investment firm Avenue Capital Group to launch and operate a comprehensive B2C gaming offering in the US market upon regulation. The newly formed company the All American Poker Network (AAPN) - will launch 888’s brands into the US market. 888 also has agreements with Treasure Island, Caesars Interactive Entertainment and WMS. While Mattingley acknowledged that there is much excitement in the industry about the market’s potential, he said it was important to remain realistic about potential time frames. “We can now say with certainty that we will shortly be operational in the US, once platform compliance has been

CORAL IS NOW OFFERING A £1M FOOTBALL BET

aunches £1m pool bet Simon Clare, PR director of Coral, commented: “This is an historic day as we are the first British bookmaker on the high street to ever offer our own ‘football pool bet’ and one with the potential to create millionaires. “We are confident Football Jackpot will become a huge success and are investing a seven figure sum to launch and promote this exciting new bet on TV and in print advertising over the coming weeks and months. Football has a huge and growing following in Britain and by offering football fans a simple, Lotterystyle, ‘small-stake big-win’ product we hope to attract thousands of new customers to our shops and online, as well as giving existing football punters a new and fun betting opportunity to try and win a lifechanging sum of money” Clare added: “The beauty of the Football Jackpot is that we will always know going into the last game

every Monday or Sunday whether we have a customer in with a chance of becoming a millionaire and what results they need, enabling us to promote the thrill and excitement of the bet as it happens through social media and CoralTV in Coral betting shops.” The Football Jackpot win pool will rollover if there is no winner, and Coral predicts that there will be occasions during the season where customers will be in with a chance of winning well in excess of £1m. To support the launch of Football Jackpot, DLKW Lowe has produced a 20 second TV advert with the simple message that you can ‘win a million’. Ads have been booked across all of the main channels (ITV1, ITV4, Sky Sports News, Sky Sports, Film 4 and Comedy Central) for eight weeks. There is also be a partnership with The Sun which will feature the punditry expertise of Terry

Venables. The Football Jackpot coupon will also be inserted in The Sun, The Daily Star, The Express, The Mirror and The Daily Record as well as additional activity within a selection of these titles. Ladbrokes has seen considerable success with its Millionaire football coupon which asks customers to predict the 12X outcome of 20 matches for the chance to win a £1m. The clever part of the Ladbrokes bet is that it actually splits the stake into four different accumulators, meaning that customers only need to get the first five correct in order to get a return of some sort. However Coral is the first to incorporate a parimutuel element into the mix and it will hope that its network of shops and online reach will help boost the football pool which, this season at least, seems to be a burgeoning market.

granted by the regulators. While it will be a slow and resource intensive process, the region clearly has the potential to bring significant future revenues to the company.” Group revenue in the first half of 2013 was a record US$200.1m (£129.0m) - an increase of 7 per cent, driven by B2C Casino and Poker, and profit after tax more than doubled to $32.1m (£20.7m). 888 has rather bucked the trend for poker, which has been on a downward spiral for many operators. Instead 888’s poker revenue jumped 13 per cent. Mattingley commented: “As anticipated, the astonishing growth that the launch of Poker6 brought is now inevitably slowing however 888poker is still performing well and in line with the general industry trend. The fact that our Poker offering has now risen to number four on the global PokerScout rankings reinforces the excellent performance of the product.” He added that casino, also up 13 per cent, had ‘enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance’ in 2013, especially in Italy and Spain: “The new Casino50 platform has now fully bedded down and customers are finding the offer exciting and enjoyable to play. We have continued to refresh the games by launching four further slot games all designed by our in-house team. The progress in the platform has been well supported by strong marketing campaigns that have boosted first time depositors and shown a significant return on investment.”

BRIAN MATTINGLEY: ‘EXPERIENCES HAVE GIVEN US FURTHER CONFIDENCE IN OUR ABILITY’

BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

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iGaming

Relaunch focus after poor six months

BWIN.PARTY’S INTERIMS GOT A FROSTY RECEPTION FROM THE STOCK MARKET

MOBILE

FINANCIAL RESULTS

internally to ensure that we learn from our mistakes and that such losses are not repeated. Whilst an improving performance during August is encouraging, it is unlikely to mitigate the softer than expected first half revenue performance and so we now expect full year revenues, excluding the US, to be between 14 per cent and 17 per cent lower than 2012.” The firm’s planned relaunch of Party Poker represents the fourth stage of the firm’s ‘four-point plan to revitalise poker’ announced 12 months ago. Teufelberger explained: “Our objective with the launch is to re-establish the brand as the undisputed home for recreational players - which was the foundation of partypoker when it first launched back in 2001. We want to reconnect with our target consumer through a much-improved product experience as well as

through a step change in the quality of our player communications. All of our efforts have been focused on making the new product relevant and disruptive, so that it will not only challenge but will change current perceptions of both our brand and also of online poker generally - we are putting the fun back into poker.” The new product, which will also be made available on bwin.com, has been completely redesigned from a player journey perspective with a complete overhaul in terms of look and feel. The new version includes several new features including one-click lobby, achievements and missions, player profiles and connecting to friends through social channels. Teufelberger added: “Having been in beta testing since the beginning of July, we have been processing the feedback from the external user group and

burning through the issues identified ahead of launch. The process has been hugely positive ensuring that the product will now be even better when it launches to our dotcom customers in the next few weeks.” The firm has also developed a new bingo product in an attempt wrest control of its bingo operation from third party suppliers. Teufelberger said: “The emergence of several new operators has meant that competition has intensified and the need for greater product differentiation and innovation has increased. Whilst Foxy Bingo and Cheeky Bingo remain contracted to run on the third party platform until July 2014, we have redeveloped and will soon relaunch our own bingo software using the partybingo label and believe that it will deliver a fresh and exciting alternative to what is available in the marketplace today.”

ANALYSIS It appears that things will get worse for Bwin.party before they get better, even if the firm is promising 70m euro of cost savings in the current year and up to 20m euro more in 2014. However in the eight week period ended 25 August 2013, average net daily revenue was down 8 per cent versus the second quarter of 2013 and down 21 per cent versus the same period in 2012. As the firm explained: “An improving position in sports betting in August has been hampered by ISP blocking in Greece and a short delay in the launch of our new poker product.”

Federal legislation a remote possibility USA

an Jones-Blackhurst, Caesars Entertainment’s senior vice president communications and government relations, answers some questions about the US ahead of her presentation at the EiG show next month.

gaming. Certainly, there remain a few outliers, Sheldon Adelson in particular, who are not supportive, but overall the industry is aligned in favour.

Is it fair to say the land-based casino industry in the US is now embracing the possibilities of online gaming? What has caused the shift in opinion? I believe it is a fair representation that the US casino industry is now embracing the concept of online

Has the land-based industry been driving the legislation of online gaming? The American Gaming Association (AGA) and the

BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

harles Cohen, cofounder and CEO of mobile gaming operator Probability, has described the last 12 months as ‘the year that mobile finally became mainstream in the gambling industry’. Cohen said that up to half the customers of traditional desktop betting and gaming businesses have been switching their attention to mobile offerings, opening up an opportunity for Probability’s mobile content. “This is why product innovation, distinctiveness, and total focus on the unique needs and expectations of the mobile customers is and will remain the real centre of what we do,” Cohen added. The comments were made during Probability’s full year results, which saw 20 per cent revenue growth to £8.6m and a positive adjusted EBITDA of £41,000, although the firm still posted a £600,000 loss for the period. Probability’s financial year saw the company invest significantly in its technology to ensure it was the first to successfully launch mobile slots in Italy, and to develop the core technology necessary to ensure all its games are made available across the widest range of devices. Android sales now account for approximately 70 per cent of the market, according to Cohen who pointed out that ignoring that part of the company’s potential actives base is ‘just not an option’. Cohen described some of Probability’s ‘tough decisions’ as taking a pit stop for new tyres and fuel. He explained: “With limited resources we had to make some tough choices in order to make these very important investments. Mid year, we decided to accelerate the wind-down of our legacy featurephone customer base, and pause our release schedule in the second half of the financial year in order to support the development of the next generation of mobile gambling games in HTML5, taking advantage of the latest device and operating system capabilities to deliver an experience every bit as good as a native app but at a fraction of the time and cost to develop and maintain.”

Bwin.party is hoping a relaunched poker product will help revitalise the operator in a sector which has been in constant decline for the firm since 2006. win.party is hoping that its relaunch of Party Poker in the next few weeks will provide a glimpse into the future of online poker, and hopefully distract from its particularly poor first half performance. The company experienced a 16 per cent drop in total revenues for the period to 342.5m euro, while clean EBITDA from continuing operations crumbled 34 per cent to 60.7m euro. The drop has been blamed on the impact of a turnover tax on sports betting in Germany introduced on 1 July 2012, ISP blocking in Belgium and the closure of slots in Spain, as well as a switch in philosophy from ‘volume to value’ and platform migration losses. CEO Norbert Teufelberger commented: “The loss of revenue following the dotcom migration has prompted several changes

Cohen hails mobile’s move to mainstream

land-based industry have been in the US? the primary drivers of online With CIE, Ceasars Ent is well pregaming legislation federally. pared to take advantage of the consumer on line opportunities…we Is Federal regulation of are very active on line with real online gaming a pipe money gaming and social games dream? Given the state of Congres- What do you hope to get out of EiG? sional dysfunction, EIG is always a great opportunity federal legislation would to network and be aware of all that be remote, but not is happening in and around the impossible. gaming industry

JAN JONES-BLACKHURST

How has Caesars pre- EIG EXPO & CONGRESS pared for the new 8-10 October 2013 dawn of online gaming Fira Barcelona

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Bologna mate

iGaming

Gaming group 32Red has become the official casino partner of Italian football club Bologna FC for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. The deal, which will boost the profile of the 32Red brand in Italy includes both on and offline co-branding activities. Ed Ware, 32Red’s CEO said: “We are proud to be partnering with Bologna, one of Italy’s oldest and best known clubs. We see Bologna as an ideal partner to help promote the 32Red brand in Italy.”

Gala Bingo offers holiday home

Eight point plan for poker operators

BINGO

ingo giant GalaBingo.com has announced a new partnership with holiday park specialists Park Resorts as the two companies launched a joint promotion with a £50,000 prize package. The competition, which offers bingo players the chance to win a luxury caravan for life, launched last month with the support of TV presenter Alison Hammond and reality TV king Jeff Brazier. “We are really excited to be working with Park Resorts”, commented Galabingo.com director Alison Digges. “There is great synergy between the two brands and we are sure the promotion will be mutually beneficial. This competition perfectly fits with our players’ profile; we know that people who play Gala Bingo love to have fun and many have young families so this fantastic prize package is a real gem. “In addition, the involvement of Alison Hammond, who is a regular presenter on Gala Live, and Jeff Brazier is a real bonus. The two were able to visit Park Resorts to test the winner’s luxury caravan for themselves and we are confident that their endorsement will really help drive interest in the competition.” A two-bedroomed Abu Ashridge holiday home is the top prize and winners can choose to locate their new holiday retreat at any of Park Resort’s 33 award winning sites which include some of UK’s favourite holiday spots. Park Resorts marketing director, Riche Jones, commented: “We were keen to work with Galabingo.com and we are confident that the innovative prize package, which includes all running costs until January 2015, will help put Park Resorts’ offering front of mind for thousands of bingo players.” Tickets for the grand prize draw were allocated free to all individuals who won one of Gala Bingo’s qualifying games in late August with the winning name drawn out during a live Friday night broadcast.

B ROB YONG: ‘WE DO SPEAK TO A WIDE CROSS SECTION OF POKER PLAYERS’

Dusk Till Dawn owner Rob Yong has detailed a series of improvements for the online poker industry to consider. POKER

ob Yong, owner of the retail and online poker operator Dusk Till Dawn, has identified a series of ways to revitalise the poker sector, at least from a recreational player’s point of view. Yong detailed eight different improvements that the online sites could make to help generate new poker players and improve the online experience for the recreational players in his blog on dusktilldawnpoker.com. The first three suggestions are ways to address some of the bad publicity and perceptions that surround the poker sector, with the remainder intended to reduce the edge enjoyed by poker professionals over the recreational players. 1) Display RNG stats on a daily/weekly/monthly basis 2) Manage player etiquette and behaviour as close to a live game as possible 3) Publicise the detection and punishments of those caught colluding or cheating 4) Close down the poker bots sites and remove affiliates that link poker brands to these sites 5) Ban all poker tracking soft-

ware as these magnify the pro’s edge over the recreational punter 6) Restrict the number of tables that any player can play to 2-4 7) Make the min buy-in 50BB on all tables as this stops the various ‘short stack’ systems playing optimally 8) Promote 8-10 handed tables rather than the 4 and 6 maximum handed tables Yong added: “I understand if one of the big poker sites implemented all of these changes at once, their liquidity could go through the floor in the short term, but is it not possible for online poker to move in a direction to encourage new players to start playing the game that we all love and also bring back those players that have lost faith in online poker or poker in general? “I do hope this doesn’t come across as a bashing for the big online poker sites, I am trying to be constructive in my own words. All of the big poker rooms have done so many amazing things for poker over the years, I just really feel passionately about this subject and people who know me will know that I have

been campaigning/whinging for change in this area for some time.” Dusk Till Dawn has recently launched its own ‘club members only’ online cash games where a ‘more managed’ environment prohibits the use of online poker tracking software is prohibited, multi-tabling is restricted to 2 tables of NL and PLO and player behaviour and etiquette will be expected to be to the live club’s standards. Yong commented: “We are a minnow and don’t have any delusions of grandeur to ever be anything more than a niche poker operator, focussed on giving live players the best possible poker experience. However, we do speak to a wide cross section of poker players face to face and in my experience, recreational poker players are growing more and more sceptical about online poker. I believe that this is for two reasons; firstly online poker has had some negative PR over the last few years, and secondly, recreational players are losing their money quicker because the environment has become too biased towards multi-tabling professional online players.”

ANALYSIS The poker sector recognised the importance of the recreational player only when the growth of online poker slowed up. Only then was it acknowledged that some of the card sharks had scared a lot of the smaller fish out of the sea and that therefore the professionals needed to be reined back in some way. Some firms avoid the targeting of green poker players simply by making all table anonymous, which also has the added bonus of rendering tracking software impotent. And Rob Yong summarised his own open letter thusly: “Please don’t allow the pro’s a bigger edge over the recreational players than they already have by the nature of them being better poker players.”

JEFF BRAZIER AND ALISON HAMMOND LAUNCHED THE PROMOTION

ANALYSIS

Paf goes Hyper for customers

land-licensed gambling operator Paf has teamed up with an organisation called Hyper Island to investigate how its relationships with customers could develop in the future. Because Paf believes that growth comes from strong and long lasting customer relationships, and that companies should be built with the help of customers, a deep understanding of the customers and digital solutions that promote a sense of togetherness and exchange

BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

are necessary. To achieve that aim the gaming company has enlisted the help of Hyper Island, which, among other things, has been involved in digital development at Aftonbladet in Sweden. During an eight-week period, six students from Hyper Island will work at Paf’s office on Åland. As part of their coursework these students will immerse themselves in Paf’s strategy, which is based on the assumption that it is more fun to play together.

Paf CEO Anders Ingves is enthusiastic about the new working partnership: “Hyper Island is interesting because their training methods combine the insights of the new digital economy with design and communication. They are skilled at fast development processes, which is essential in today’s economic world. It will be fun and really inspiring to have some students among us and hopefully we can learn from their way of thinking. At the same time, I am con-

vinced that they will gain new insights from us.” Hyper Island CEO Johanna Frelin is also positive: “We are very pleased to begin this working partnership. Paf is a company at the cutting edge that is open to innovation and change. While the experience will be challenging and educational for our students, I am convinced that they have a lot to contribute to Paf’s continued development. It will be exciting to see what they come up with.”

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iGaming

Ladbrokes aiming for digital turnaround Ladbrokes has loudly trumpeted what it is expecting from its Ladbrokes Israel subsidiary as the figures starkly show the challenge that lies ahead. DIGITAL

adbrokes is hoping that its new partnership with Playtech will transform the company’s online fortunes in much the same way that the supplier did for William Hill after a disappointing first half. Operating profit in Ladbrokes’ digital division of £10.8m was 28 per cent down although it said that like for like net revenue (excluding Betdaq) was only marginally lower and with a small increase in operating costs. Nevertheless the timing of the deal with Playtech couldn’t be more apposite. As CEO Richard Glynn commented: “In March we announced a new product and marketing services agreement with Playtech, enabling us to realise fully the benefits of previous investments and build a more competitive digital offer. Once fully implemented, it will accelerate revenue growth in 2014 and beyond.” The new subsidiary, Ladbrokes Israel, began operations on 1 May and currently h a s

around 60 employees with digital marketing expertise. Ladbrokes expects this team to grow to around 100 by the end of 2013, in parallel with an ongoing restructure in its existing operations. Glynn added: “Allied to this we are in the process of introducing the full suite of Playtech’s gaming products and have already made good progress. In the past few weeks, we have launched the ‘Vegas’ games casino online and on mobile. This strengthens our gaming offer, with an additional 70 games which are plugged into the IMS back office. “Separately we have also concluded a deal with Net E n t e r t a i nment, which expands our range of games further and re-affirms our commitment to work with a broad range of suppliers, using an open source platform.” Casino and Games net revenue of £35.7m for the first six months of 2013 was 6.8 per cent down year on

year. With its Vegas brand now launched, the company is now focusing on improving acquisition and player retention. Ladbrokes Israel is also working towards implementation of a more effective PPC and affiliates programmes to drive acquisition and utilise Playtech’s experience of sophisticated business intelligence and CRM systems to ‘enhance the customer journey’. Poker net revenue fell 25 per cent during the period to £4.2m. Glynn commented: “Strong competition amongst poker operators, with increasing activity on recruitment of players continues to characterise a tough marketplace. Our expected transition to Playtech’s iPoker network, as part of the product and services agreement, will help us establish a more competitive position.” Bingo net revenue was 15.5 per cent down at £6.0m following a decline in actives. Ladbrokes is planning improvements to the bingo product, including a new website, in the second half of the year using experience from Israel and Playtech. Glynn is also more confident of expansion plans now it has the weight of Playtech expertise behind the company. He added: “Our partnership with Playtech will enable us to; improve our performance in international markets where we already have a presence, as well as establishing a presence in appropriate new markets more easily. Our approach to opportunities outside of the UK will continue to be flexible, with a pragmatic approach to ensure we have access to local knowledge and expertise.” RICHARD GLYNN: PLAYTECH ‘WILL ACCELERATE REVENUE GROWTH IN 2014’

ANALYSIS While William Hill’s deal with Playtech was transformational for its online operations, the relationship between the two firms was strained at best and punctuated by strikes, sackings and legal threats. It was no surprise that William Hill exited the partnership as soon as it could, leaving both firms considerable enriched, it must be noted. Ladbrokes has now been playing catch up to what was once its major rival for some years now, so it’s no surprise that the bookmaker followed suit when the opportunity arose to partner Playtech. However it would be advisable for both parties to keep on their toes going forward to avoid some of the problems experienced in the earlier deal.

New look for All Slots CASINO

ll Slots Casino has launched its redesigned website, providing players with a significantly enhanced gaming experience with an intuitive, cutting-edge interface. The new All Slots site provides players with an entirely personalized experience, including localisation, games history, seamless login and more. Other benefits include quick access to the most popular games and enhanced displays with background graphics for a more immersive gaming experience. Players will be able to continue sessions seamlessly

across desktop, tablet and mobile platforms and enjoy a new and improved VIP program with a new presentation. There is also focus on real time interaction, with a new Loyalty Club gauge displaying each player’s progress in real-time and the current top winners and jackpot total also being displayed in real-time. It is now even easier for players to make a deposit and start playing one of more than 450 games. Promotions, new game offerings, and onboard banking are visible and easy to access from any screen. “We are thrilled to offer

BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

our players an enhanced gaming experience that reflects the best of both technological and aesthetic design,” commented David Brickman, All Slots’ vice president of player affairs. “We are constantly working to improve what we offer our customers in order to set the standard in the field of online gaming.” All Slots Casino, which is managed by Nexigames with its licence from the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta, has also launched its biggest ever free spins offer, giving players the opportunity to start playing with 500 free spins on one of three

popular games: Tomb Raider™ - Secret of the Sword, Starlight Kiss or Gold Factory. Brickman explained: “Free spins offers are always popular and have been quite successful in the past. This is the first time All Slots Casino has offered 500 free spins, and we are confident that it will be a success.” All Slots Casino’s mobile

casino games have also been made free to download in the UK App Store. “We are thrilled to release All Slots Casino on the App Store,” said Brickman. “The App Store is the natural destination for iOS users, and those looking for a quality mobile casino are sure to find a gaming experience that’s second to none at All Slots Casino.”

iGAMINGBRIEFS BIG BROTHER IN THE NETPLAY

NetPlay TV’s SuperCasino.com brand is the headline sponsor of Celebrity Big Brother 2013, due to air until 13 September 2013. This sponsorship represents the Group’s second major sponsorship deal, following on from the successful sponsorship of Big Brother 2013. Charles Butler, CEO of NetPlayTV, said: “The sponsorship deal with Big Brother is already showing positive results, and illustrates the fact that TV airtime, a key element of our marketing strategy of targeting new customers, remains highly effective. We are confident that the sponsorship of Celebrity Big Brother will continue to accelerate our customer reach and brand awareness.” STAKING A CLAIM

A new ‘poker staking’ company has launched in the UK called Stake Me to Play which uses the latest technological and strategic developments to help players evolve into the best they can be. The company offers a guaranteed monthly income to the players it stakes, and offers the greatest profit splits in the entire staking industry. It caters to poker players of all abilities, from beginners all the way up to seasoned grinders. Players benefit from a vibrant community and personal, one to one player care along with their state of the art poker training facility in the UK. WRB IN PHILADELPHIA

Recent key political developments including two federal bills to legalise internet gaming and internet poker, a Senate hearing calling for the tight control of internet poker on a federal level and the call by Representative Dina Titus (D-NV) for a House hearing to discuss federal regulation, will make the forthcoming WrB, taking place in Philadelphia (22-23 October), one of the most anticipated and contentious sessions to be held on the future of US iGaming. The two-day event will bring together key thought leaders and politicians from all sides of the US iGaming debate. Notable speakers include supporters of both state and federal solutions to discuss the best way forward in organiser Clarion Gaming anticipates will be a lively debate.

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MMA return for Bodog Bodog has signed a sponsorship deal with the Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation (RUFF) to be exclusive online gaming partner of Ruff 10 held in Shanghai, China. Bodog marketing director Izhar Biran commented: “It’s great to have the brand back in MMA especially in Asia. Should this work well we will look to expand our MMA portfolio once again.”

Mobile driving Rank’s revenue growth While it may have a toe dipped in both retail and online gambling, it is the latter that is providing the growth for the Rank Group. RESULTS

he Rank Group has revealed that its mobile revenue for its financial year jumped by an impressive 168 per cent to £13.2m. The retail and online casino and bingo operator added that in the 12 months ended 30 June 30 per cent of its digital customers in Great Britain played its games on mobile devices compared to 23 per cent in the previous year. The Group achieved 7 per cent growth in continuing business revenue; with 6 per cent retail growth overshadowed by the 16 per cent growth in digital business. The biggest improvement, albeit from a low base, was casino brand Grosvenor’s digital revenue which was up 72 per cent in the period to £9.8m. Despite increased digital marketing and soft-

ware royalty costs the operating loss was reduced to £2.1m from £2.9m in the prior period. The firm said that a key focus is to grow the brand’s digital channel through product improvements, cross-channel collaboration and brand awareness activities, including TV advertising. The total spend per visit for digital customers was £28.91, up 83p on the year before. Bingo brand Mecca’s revenue increased by 1 per cent to £296.2m as a 10 per cent growth in digital revenues was offset by a weaker retail performance. The digital channel saw growth in customer numbers and visits whereas the venues channel saw a decline. Mecca’s digital revenue of £61.3m was up by 10 per

GROSVENOR’S DIGITAL REVENUE WHICH WAS UP 72 PER CENT

cent as digital customer numbers continued to grow as a result of increased marketing and customer acquisition activity. However, operating profit fell by 2 per cent as a result of higher marketing and software royalty costs. Digital spend per visit declined slightly to £12.25 as more customers migrated to the mobile plat-

operator of casinos in Great Britain. We remain confident in the group’s long-term prospects and see good growth opportunities for our expanded casino estate and digital channels.” An obvious point of improvement for Rank is in its cross selling. During the year, only 4.6 per cent of customers engaged with its brands both in venues and through digital channels. While this rate of cross-over represented a 0.6 percentage point increase compared with 2011/12, there is huge room for improvement. Cross-over between Mecca’s venues and digital channels increased by 0.8 percentage points to 5.8 per cent; while Grosvenor’s form where the variety of the tough economic envi- grew from 0.6 per cent to games on offer is currently ronment and the competi- 1.3 per cent. limited and consequently tive market in which we The firm commented that dwell time is shorter. operate the group has deliv- its online business was still The disappointing venues ered a solid set of results. It one of its three key prioriperformance and higher has been a busy 12 months ties for the future: “Growth digital software and affiliate for Rank culminating in the in digital – through costs resulted in total brand successful completion in improved cross-channel profit declining 12 per cent May of the acquisition of 19 working and capital investto £44.1m. casinos and 3 non-trading ment we will continue our Rank Group chief execu- licences from Gala Coral, focus on growing our digital tive Ian Burke said: “Despite making Rank the leading channels.”

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BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

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Betting Paddy Power exploiting LBO advantage

MARTIN WEIGOLD: ‘WE’VE GOT LOTS OF EXCITING PLANS’

As well as providing the ‘benefits of having a multi-channel offer’, Paddy Power’s LBO estate is leading the pack. RETAIL

addy Power has said it aims to continue to use its higher turnover per LBO to deliver the ‘best invested shops with the best product’ as it continues to increase market share in both the UK and Irish retail markets. While the firm current represents less than 3 per cent of the UK market, it plans to open at least 40 shops annually in the UK in the current environment and its estate stands at 228 units. Few other bookmakers would be following through with such expansion plans. It helps that the new additions to the estate are paying their way. The firm said in its

interim results: “New shop openings are generating very attractive returns on capital. In the UK, we opened 19 new shops during the period at an average capital cost of £270,000, compared to annualised EBITDA of £132,000 per shop in the period.” The bookmaker said that this allows it to get ahead of the competition and invest in new products in the shops, such as SSBTs, the new Inspired Gaming Eclipse terminals, and other innovations. It explained: “We have led the market for Self Service Betting Terminals (SSBTs), with at least one terminal per shop since July 2011 in the UK, and have more than three times as many terminals

installed across the UK and Ireland now than at the start of 2012. “Other shop enhancements are on-going in relation to improved screens, new shop fit-outs and virtual betting product, as well as opportunities we are progressing to exploit our multichannel position.” Paddy Power said that the growing popularity of virtual product, more small stakes betting and more football multiples, means a positive outlook for the bookmaker’s normal expected gross win percentage in Retail within its 11 to 13 per cent range. However it’s not been all unremittingly good: “The period was challenging for

PADDY POWER HAS HAD AT LEAST ONE SSBT PER SHOP SINCE JULY 2011

ANALYSIS While it has a good grounding in retail, three quarters of Paddy Power’s revenues derive from the sportsbook and it is the bookmaker’s online arm which has again driven the company forward. Amounts staked on the sportsbook increased by 14 per cent in constant currency to 1.1bn euro (£937m), while active sportsbook customers were up 18 per cent to 1.1m and bet volumes grew 20 per cent to 83.8m. While the average stake per bet decreased by 5 per cent in constant currency to 13.13 euro, the average net revenue per bet was up 9 per cent in constant currency.

machine gaming performance as a result of our terminal trials, competition and weaker consumer demand (particularly within London, where most of our shops are located). In addition, the launch stage of our new loyalty programme resulted in increased free bet costs between gross win and net revenue. While the market is likely to stay competitive and consumer spending to remain weak, we expect our initiatives, particularly new cabinets and the optimisation of our loyalty scheme, to deliver improved FOBT performance in the second half of the year.” In Ireland, poor sporting results saw operating profits decreased by 16 per cent to 7.6m euro, however amounts staked was up 2 per cent - the first six month period with like-for-like stakes growth, and stable net revenue, since 2007. The firm added: “Activity levels in our shops continue to increase, with a 13 per cent increase in like-for-like bet volumes to 34m driven by more betting on virtual product, increased betting on sport (including football coupons) and other growth in mass-market business. Since the first half of 2007, our betting slips per shop have increased by 23 per cent, whilst the average stake per slip has fallen by 34 per cent over the same period.” The firm has increased market share consistently over the last five years through outperformance at a per shop level and by adding units as others have closed shops, a strategy which currently gives it a 38 per cent market share.

Taxing question halves turnover GERMANY

he introduction of the 5 per cent turnover tax for sportsbetting in Germany has seen amounts wagered with Bwin.party fall by 53 per cent to 269.3m euro (£229.2m) in the first half of the year. The tax on turnover meant that short odds products became unviable in Germany, effectively restricting the volume of product available in Bwin’s largest market. However a ‘marked reduction’ in acquisition marketing as well as restrictions on new player registrations in several dotcom markets, along with the absence of the Euro 2012 Championship, meant that the total amounts wagered has not fared at all well in 2013, falling 34 per cent to 1.4bn euro (£1.2bn). The drop in business volume was partially mitigated by an increase in gross win margin to 9.2 per cent from 7.2 per cent. This was driven by a structural shift caused by the German tax which prompted an increase in wagering on higher odds singles and combination bets, as well as the withholding of 5 per cent of winnings on bets placed by German customers, in lieu of the tax due. Germany’s imposition of a turnover tax rather than the more common profits tax appears to be an outlier for the industry. Chief financial officer Martin Weigold suggested that sportsbooks tend to avoid the heaviest hand of regulation when markets look to bring in online gambling laws. He said: “Generally, if you look at sports betting and how that’s been impacted by regulation, it seems to have fared much better than some of the other verticals like casino where we’ve had to close down certain product offerings in particular markets like France where casino is not permitted altogether; in Spain they restricted the offering in slots which is the main component of casino; and then in poker where you have ring-fenced liquidity in a number of these regulated markets that’s also proved to be problematic for that particular product vertical.” Weigold added that where Bwin.party is concerned, its sportsbook tends to be more advanced that the other sectors: “I think it’s fair to say in respect of our mobile offering for sports that it is more advanced than for some of our other verticals. But that having been said it’s not where we want it to be and we’ve got lots of exciting plans in that respect in the pipeline.”

Betinternet expands in play offer with relaunch RELAUNCH

etinternet.com, the sportsbook subsidiary of Webis Holdings plc, has launched its updated website, which includes a new look-and-feel together with an enhanced focus on live events. The in play offering at Betinternet continues to grow, with baseball, golf, handball and volleyball the latest sports to be offered with live betting on multiple markets, complementing

the existing comprehensive coverage of football, tennis and basketball. In play turnover at Betinternet is now responsible for over two-thirds of sports betting activity on the website. The new design also allows for a dynamic resizing of the display to clearly show as many betting events and markets as possible, depending on the customer’s screen resolution. Throughout the Betinternet

10 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

website, the central segments will automatically divide the display into two columns when viewed using the higher screen resolutions which are now becoming more widely used. In addition, the mobile website, available at m.betinternet.com, has been updated with the new styling to ensure consistency with the online offering. The overall design has

also been specified to ensure that the full version of the website functions correctly on the popular tablet devices. Garry Knowles, managing director of Webis, commented: “We are very pleased with the latest update to the Betinternet website that centres the display around our growing in play offering, which our customers have told us through their betting pat-

terns is their preference. We have deliberately retained the same easy-to-use functionality for both navigation and bet placement that our customers have become familiar with - so this is an evolution that is easily recognised as a core Betinternet product.” Meanwhile Webis’ San Francisco-based WatchandWager.com parimutuel business (formerly EWC) has had its leased

Californian harness track Cal Expo approved by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) for its next meeting which begins at the Sacramento venue on 5 October 2013. Since taking over the lease of Cal Expo in late 2012, WatchandWager.com, through its Californian-based management agency Golden Bear LLC, has increased total wagering across all sources by 27 per cent.

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Betting

William Hill in box set fo The point of consumption tax could well create opportunities for forward thinking businesses, according to Ralph Topping. TAXATION LADBROKES EXPECTS TO OPEN NET 100 SHOPS DURING 2013

Sunny side down for Ladbrokes While many of us enjoyed the hot weather this summer, Ladbrokes has said that it ‘severely impacted trading’ in its retail business. ACQUISITION

adbrokes has snapped up Irish betting firm Chronicle Bookmakers Limited for a consideration of 6.0m euro (£5.2m). The low-key announcement was made in the listed company’s interim results and represents the second sizeable Irish acquisition for the bookmaker this year. Ladbrokes has already bought the Dublin-based Betdaq betting exchange for 43m euro earlier this year and has now acquired BetChronicle, the oncourse bookmaker most closely associated with Betdaq. Indeed both firms featured Dermot Desmond as a major shareholder and the Irish financier is now slowly building a shareholding in Ladbrokes. Since acquisition at the end of February the Betdaq business has contributed £3.9m in revenue at Ladbrokes and posted a net loss of £300,000. Revenue for the group as a whole was up 6.4 per cent to £563.0m, but group operating profit was down 19.8 per cent to £85.7m since the turn of the year with the same drop experienced in UK Retail, which was down to £73.2m. Ladbrokes chief executive Richard Glynn commented: “Retail continues to be an integral part of the betting experience, providing sustainable and dependable revenues. We plan to carry on expanding our estate, evolving our offer and improving our trading capabilities to provide compelling value for our customers and take advantage of opportunities for growth. “Having established a position of market leadership in machines, with like for like revenue increasing by c.40 per cent in the last

three years, we always planned for a slowdown this year. We continue to compete strongly in a highly competitive market and have a number of initiatives in place for H2, including a new cabinet rollout starting in Q4. “Machine performance has however been inconsistent in 2013, and the market rate of growth slower than expected with positive trends towards the end of Q1 not maintained during Q2 which was more variable. Following a decline in June, prolonged hot weather in July severely impacted trading. Although recent weakness appears to have been influenced by one off factors, the July weather has exacerbated the volatility we were already experiencing, making underlying trends difficult to identify.” OTC amounts staked showed a decline of 8.4 per cent (down 10.9 per cent) with Ladbrokes attributing the fall to an increase in weather affected lost racing in Q1 and the absence of a major international football tournament. Amounts staked were down 11.2 per cent in Q1 and down 5.8 per cent in Q2. OTC gross win margin of 17.8 per cent was up 1.6 percentage points, driven by an increase across all sports products. Football showed the biggest percentage increase helped by a particularly favourable run of results in Q1. The significant reduction in gross win from the Cheltenham festival in Q1 was largely offset in Q2 by a strong Grand National meeting and a positive year on year performance at Royal Ascot. WEATHERED COMMENT 40

12 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

illiam Hill chief executive Ralph Topping has been quite bullish on the prospect of the introduction of a point of consumption tax in the UK, despite the fact that it will be a quite costly development for the bookmaker. Speaking at his firm’s interim results presentation, Topping said that it would likely disrupt the competition more than William Hill, despite the firm’s considerable market share. He explained: “You’d be hard pushed to find anyone better placed than William Hill to compete when point of consumption tax comes in. When you’re sitting there as a market leader with the most competitive offering and the strongest

profit margins and the biggest marketing budget, it would be a foolhardy man, or maybe just a fool, who takes his foot off the accelerator. There are plenty of companies, some small, some not so small, who are going to be hit hard by this tax. We will always take a long-term view.” William Hill’s group net revenue for the first half of the year was up 20 per cent, with operating profit up 8 per cent. Strong over-thecounter (OTC) gross win margin growth has seen an 11 per cent increase in retail net revenue to £463.6m. Operating profit only dropped £2.2m to £107.6m after the additional c£5m charge caused by the introduction of Machines Games Duty. But the outstanding growth has been in online

sportsbook net revenue where an increase of 44 per cent has been driving overall online net revenue growth upwards by 18 per cent and operating profit growth up 16 per cent. Topping commented: We have continued the momentum in Online, particularly in mobile Sportsbook. The shift to mobile gaming is an important development and we have invested significant resources in getting the business fully prepared to accelerate this important opportunity. With almost 200 per cent growth in mobile gaming net revenue in the first half, this decision is clearly justified. “While online and mobile gambling have grown substantially, Retail has continued to prove resilient, with net revenue

WILLIAM HILL IS AIMING FOR MORE MOBILE GROWTH

Bodog becomes Arsenal’s Asian partner MARKETING

ollowing a successful 2013 pre-season tour to Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan Arsenal FC has signed up Bodog as its Official Asian Betting Partner in a three year, multi-million pound deal. The partnership affords Bodog rights to capitalise on the Gunners’ Asian fan base and popularity post tour by connecting with millions of supporters in Asia, a region of strategic importance to the betting company. As part of the deal, Bodog will also have the opportunity to develop marketing initiatives and consumer promotions, generate content with Arsenal first-team players and utilise the club’s database to provide fans in Asia with tailored betting offers around matches. Vinai Venkatesham, head of global partnerships at Arsenal, said: “Our tours give our fans beyond the UK a great opportunity to see the team in action, and this Asian tour was no different with our first-team squad playing in front of

hundreds of thousands of passionate supporters. As our fanbase in Asia continues to grow rapidly, working in partnership with companies like Bodog who have long-term roots in the region, provides a strong platform to further engage with Arsenal fans in Asia.”

BODOG WILL BE ABLE TO GENERATE CONTENT WITH ARSENAL FIRST-TEAM PLAYERS

Bodog’s marketing director Izhar Biran, added: “The Premier League’s popularity in Asia is well documented and some clubs have been quicker than others to realise that potential. Arsenal has been particularly pro-active in the region for a number of

years and the recent tour only serves to highlight that point. The trust and loyalty both Arsenal and the Premier League stand for makes this the perfect partnership to continue the phenomenal growth of the Bodog brand in Asia.”

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Facebook betting app in beta Paddy Power is to beta-launch Paddy Power In-Play!, the first real money sports betting product on Facebook, before targeting a proper launch in late October. The product was developed internally in Bulgaria and Dublin and is being trialled as a Facebook ‘app’ for desktop customers in the UK, which Facebook has chosen as the initial launch market for real money gambling on its platform.

et for consumption tax growing, driven by both betting and gaming. Profits have held up well even without a major football tournament and with the business being hit by additional tax. As the UK economy improves and consumers generally feel more confident, we remain confident Retail will continue to prosper.” OTC net revenue was up 5 per cent, benefitting from favourable football and racing results, including a record Grand National result. This led to an unusually high gross win margin of 19.7 per cent (compared to 17.8 per cent in 2012). Such a high margin inevitably lowers staking by reducing recycling. Gaming machine net revenue increased by 18 per cent in the first half, or +1 per cent after adjusting for the MGD effect. Gross win per machine per week was down £14 to £910 with the average number of gaming machines increasing by 3 per cent to 9,384 following the change to MGD at a density of 3.92 per shop.

ANALYSIS Ralph Topping is viewing the planned switch in licensing and taxation in the UK as an opportunity rather than something to be feared and in planning for the new regime is looking at costs right across the business, not just in the online sector. “I think 2015 will be interesting,” Topping commented. “What strategies various companies form around their point of consumption tax. I do think it’s a great opportunity for a company like us to grow our market share. I really do think that’s the opportunity.” Whether this is an indication of Topping accepting the point of consumption tax as an inevitability or a smokescreen of true intent, given there has been talk about legal challenges from some areas of the industry, it does provide a counterbalance to the arguments against it.

Profits jump for spread betting operator SPREAD BETTING

ports and financial bookmaker Spreadex has seen profits soar by more than 25 per cent in its latest financial accounts filed at Companies House. Profits before tax rose to £14.4m for the year ending 31 May 2013 compared to £11.5m for the same period a year earlier. Turnover increased to £29.4m from £25.7m a year earlier. Spreadex managing director Jonathan Hufford said: “We have continued to see encouraging levels of new account sign-ups which in turn has kept bet volumes climbing to record levels. This combined with regular product upgrades and expanded markets featuring Options and Bitcoin trading on the financial side of the business and even more in-play football on the sports side have kept our customer base extremely happy.” The betting group offers sports spread betting, financial spread betting, sports fixed odds betting and casino betting from one account. Spreadex’s in-house Pulse market alert system has helped to increase volumes on the financial side of the business. And the firm believes sports revenues will also be boosted further in the coming year due to BT Sport’s competition with Sky in broadcasting live Premier League football this season. Spreadex marketing communications manager Andy MacKenzie commented: “Football bets now make up 50 per cent of our total sports room bets compared to 43 per cent five years ago and the number of football bets we have taken has doubled in the past three years alone. “BT Sport opening up Premier League football to even more households, combined with the ease of placing bets via mobile or tablets means we expect levels to grow even further this coming football season.”

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BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013 13

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Good signs for LCG

Sportech has been managing the decline of the Football Pools since the introduction of the National Lottery, but it continues to improve customer retention rates.

SIOBHAN MOYNIHAN

ACTION IMAGES / PAUL CURRIE

Betting

Spread betting firm London Capital Group had mixed news for the first half of 2013. Adjusted profit before tax was up 59 per cent to £3.2m but once previously announced costs of £2.9m were factored in actual profit before tax from continuing operations was down 61 per cent to £300,000. It was also announced that group finance director Siobhan Moynihan is to leave the company after three years.

US business puts Sportech out in front

SPORTECH DONATED THE SHIRT SPONSORSHIP OF PRESTON NORTH END TO CHARITY CARERS TRUST

POOLS

he Football Pools business is in danger of being overshadowed by parent firm’s Sportech’s US racing business if the company’s interim results are any indication. While Sportech Racing saw EBITDA jump up 22 per cent, the Football pools business dropped by 6 per cent for the first six months of the year. Across the board revenue was broadly stable at £57.0m with Group EBITDA reduced to £11.8m compared to £12.6m for H1 2012. Chief executive Ian Penrose said: “We have delivered a solid set of results and continue to make strategic and operational progress and build on our unique market position. The United States is a strategically important market for Sportech and I am delighted that our efforts have led to a 22 per cent growth in EBITDA in our Sportech

Racing business, which now accounts for over 40 per cent of Sportech’s operational EBITDA. “With several significant new contracts in place, new products coming into the market soon, a flagship betting and sports bar opening later this year in Connecticut and full launch of Connecticut's only legal online horseracing betting platform by the year end, we are pleased with the momentum in our US business for 2014 and beyond. The strong performance of this business and its importance to the group’s future success has helped mitigate the challenges faced in eGaming during the period.” Sportech’s Football Pools strategy remains to improve customer retention rates, increase spend per head from our large core customer base through increasing the opportunities to play its core Classic Pools game, and to add new players to

the Football Pools through telephone-based recruitment to direct debit and online. Pools revenue for the period amounted to £20.0m, compared to £21.7m in 2012, generating £8.2m of EBITDA (down £500,000). Average weekly customer spend has increased slightly to £2.61. As at 30 June 2013, at the seasonally low point in the football calendar, Sportech had a total of 350,000 Football Pools customers compared to 394,000 at June 2012. The firm commented: “Importantly, 71 per cent of our customers now play by direct methods, and customer loss in this channel was just 16,000 (6.0 per cent) compared to 38,000 (12.5 per cent) in prior year. We continue to focus on recruitment and retention activities to reduce this customer loss further. Our continued investment in modernising the Football Pools has led to further cost reductions with

operational overheads reduced by £0.7m (8 per cent).” Meanwhile, the performance of Sportech’s e-Gaming business in 2013 has been described as ‘disappointing’, with the challenges of the brand and platform migrations during 2012 having had an impact on the established customer base. Revenue has increased by £200,000 to £2.8m but, following a significant increase in marketing spend, EBITDA is a loss of £700,000. The period focused around rebuilding and growing the customer base with the increased marketing spend, which has led to growth in both active players to 24,000 (compared to 20,000 last year) and an 80 per cent jump in first-time depositors to 18,000. However the low yield from these players combined with the increased cost of acquisition of new players generated the first half EBITDA loss.

ANALYSIS With the US facing business progressing healthily, Sportech has been looking at its other operations. It has been working to broaden distribution of the Football Pools products and is ready to launch its products on France-Pari’s platform early in the 2013/14 football season. The company added: “We have signed an agreement to integrate the pools products on Footballpools.com into our e-Gaming platform and therefore benefit from the shared wallet. This will be integrated during 2014 to enable greater cross-sell opportunities between our Footballpools.com players and our e-Gaming customers, whilst driving operational and cost efficiencies.” With a full range of e-Gaming products from a single wallet, and a full mobile offering, this larger player base is expected to return the business to a profitable second half.

Betfair pushes Cash Out in new campaign MARKETING

ast month saw Betfair launch its new sportsbook-led advertising campaign as part of its upweighted marketing investment in the UK and Ireland. The campaign brings Betfair’s brand promise to life by promoting Betfair’s Cash Out product and the excitement it adds to watching live sport; a product which lets people cash out of their singles and multiples bets when in a winning position without having to wait until the end of that event . Created by WCRS and planned and bought by

social spend across the core social platforms. Betfair’s brand director Mark Ody said: “This is a flagship launch for Betfair at a key time in the sporting calendar. Betfair will continue to innovate around live sports throughout the season and the marketing and comTHE NEW BETFAIR AD munications potential PROMOTING CASH OUT around this is very exciting.” The advert marks the sea Arena, it will include promi- UK investment from Betfair change in strategy at Betfair nent TV advertising as well this year will be a new com- in which the sportsbook is as a significant digital invest- mercial deal with Sky Sports now the main focus. As chief ment spanning Perform and a season-long partner- executive Breon Corcoran Media, The Guardian, Face- ship with talkSPORT to be explained at year end: book and the Telegraph their Premier League betting “While the exchange continCentral to the increased partner as well as increased ues to be at the heart of our

14 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

business, the sportsbook means we can now present new customers with a simpler, more familiar product and offer a wider range of promotional activity than is possible on the Exchange alone. This is helping Betfair to attract more new customers than ever before. “The recent introduction of Cash Out on the Sportsbook is the first of many ways we intend to use Exchange features to offer a differentiated customer experience and strengthen our competitive advantage.”

BETTINGBRIEFS ANNIVERSARY BLOWOUT

Intertops is celebrating its 30th birthday with a US$30,000 giveaway. 30 players with the highest net percentage wagering profit between now and 31 December will receive attractive Free Bet prizes. The top player will receive $5,000 in free bets; second to fifth place players will get $3,000 each. Intertops is also offering 30 Stake Back Bets throughout the birthday period until the end of the year. Players will be given opportunities to win back $100 in stakes which can then be used as Free Bets. Established in 1983, Intertops took bets by phone and post before accepting the world’s first online bet in 1996. RICHARDSON TAKES ON INSURANCE

BTwiice Limited, a UK Gambling Commissionlicensed sports-betting software application provider, have appointed e-gaming industry veteran Lee Richardson as a nonexecutive director. With 15+ years experience in the online sports-betting industry at a senior level, including the Tote, CoralEurobet plc, Boylesports and ONEworks, Richardson is currently chief executive of Gaming Economics, an e-gaming consultancy and advisory business. Co-founder and CEO Julien Cunze said: “We are really happy to have such an experienced individual onboard as part of the BTwiice project, to help the team bring our new sports betting insurance initiative to the market.” ‘EXCELLENT’ FORTUNA

Radim Haluza, CEO and vice-chairman of the Board of Fortuna Entertainment Group has hailed the firm’s ‘excellent results’ for the first half of the year, which have been demonstrated by strong double digit growth in all key indicators. Amounts Staked increased year on year by 20.4 per cent to275.9m euro (£224.1m), Group EBITDA reached 12.9m euro (£10.9m), an increase of 27.4 per cent, while Group Net Profit for the first half of the year increased by 34.5 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year to 7.6m euro (£6.4m). Haluza said: “We expect the potential of the FIFA World Cup and the Sochi Winter Olympics to accelerate growth further next year.”

info@kironinteractive.com www.kironinteractive.com

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Politics RGA demands action on Greek reforms

MICHEL BARNIER HAS BEEN TOLD TO ACT ON GREECE’S ILLEGAL MONOPOLY

Michel Barnier has been urged to address the illegal extension of OPAP’s gambling monopoly to the online sector.

AGE CONCERN

financing of its public sector and debts. We also appreciate that because of that, the Commission might be minded to give Greece greater leeway than usual. “However, after five years there must surely be a limit to how far Greece can unjustifiably be allowed to stretch the rules. Greece needs stability and legal certainty. We are therefore urging Commissioner Barnier to make it clear to the Greek authorities that he will not hesitate to bring early infringement proceedings against Greece if it does not fulfil its obligations and, even worse, if it creates new breaches of EU law by awarding an online sports betting monopoly to OPAP instead of creating an EU compliant gambling regime.” Five years have passed since the Commission issued its Reasoned Opinion, but Greece has made no changes to its gambling laws to address those concerns. In fact, far from making its laws compliant, it is in the process of making them even less compliant by proposing to make a law to extend OPAP’s monopoly to cover online gambling

as well. In doing so the RGA says the country is ignoring the EU requirement for such concessions to be awarded in a transparent manner. Consequently two RGA members have already applied for the Greek online gambling monopoly. Should they not obtain a satisfactory response, they will be in position to bring proceedings before the Greek Council of State about the legality of OPAP’s monopoly and claim for damages that can run to millions of euros. In these circumstances, the RGA said that it has no alternative other than to call directly on Commissioner Barnier to directly intervene by commencing infringement proceedings if the Greek Parliaments passes the amendments to its gambling law which were recently notified to the European Commission and subject to a Detailed Opinion. By its actions Greece has demonstrated over a five year period a disregard for the views of the Commission and EU Internal Market rules and it is wrong to allow that situation to continue indefinitely.

ANALYSIS Since 2008, OPAP’s promotion of its gambling products has become even more aggressive, a course of action which would undermine almost any legal argument for a gambling monopoly in EU law. Europe will tolerate state monopolies if the intention is to reduce opportunities and limit gambling activity and where public authorities have strict control of the expansion of the sector. This clearly isn’t happening in the case of OPAP which has launched new products (such as greyhound betting in March 2011) and has intensified the advertising of its gambling products by increasing the amount of advertising it does in relation to Greek sports. In fact OPAP is now one of the leading advertisers, if not the leading advertiser, in Greece.

Score draw for ASA complaints LOBBYING

he Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has found itself involved with the campaign against B2 Gaming Machines as opposing sides complained about the other’s advertisements. The ASA decided not to pursue a complaint about an ABB ad in the Racing Post in March by The Campaign for Fairer Gambling which challenged whether the claim ‘backyourlocalbookie’ was misleading, because it implied that the campaign was intended to support small local businesses rather than large betting shop chain. It also objected to the ABB using the phrase ‘in one of the UK’s most innovative and successful retail sectors’ and a reference to gaming machines in general rather than B2 games. However the ASA chose not to pursue the complaint because there didn’t seem to be a breach of the

16 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

he Gambling Commission has reminded licensed gambling operators of their responsibility to ensure children and young people cannot gain access to agerestricted gambling premises and products. This reminder comes in light of some initial results from the Commission’s latest test purchasing exercise. Recent tests of smaller independent betting shop operators (and some adult gaming centres) have indicated some weaknesses in identifying and challenging young persons who enter premises in order to play a gaming machine. A Gambling Commission spokesperson said: “These early results broadly reflect the Commission’s concerns that certain sections of the industry may not have sufficient safeguards in place to prevent underage gambling. The Commission expects to see improvements in results as its rolling programme of test purchasing continues.” All licensed operators are required to put into effect policies and procedures designed to prevent underage gambling and to monitor their effectiveness. The recent tests were conducted with local authorities and police across England and Wales and have focussed on access to gaming machines by young people, without them seeking interaction with staff, to assess the ability of operators to identify and prevent under age gambling. In over half of the tests, young persons were able to access premises and play gaming machines without challenge. The Commission said that of particular concern is that, in some instances, the young people were spotted or even acknowledged, but were still not challenged.

GREECE

he Remote Gambling Association (RGA) has written to Michel Barnier, the European Commissioner responsible for internal market and services, demanding action to prevent what it describes as anti-competitive reforms to Greek gambling law. The opening of the Greek online gambling market is under threat from amendments which will result in OPAP being gifted an illegal online monopoly against European Union law. In 2008, the Commission sent a Reasoned Opinion to Greece setting out its view that OPAP’s offline gambling monopoly is not compatible with EU law. Furthermore, the European Court of Justice stated in the recent Stanleybet ruling that Greece had not provided any evidence to justify the existence of OPAP’s offline monopoly. RGA chief executive Clive Hawkswood said: “The RGA understands that Greece is currently under considerable pressure because it has to address the obligations set by its creditors for the

Small bookies need stricter ager tests

The ASA however deemed that Davies complaints were ill founded, particularly it seems because of the audience the magazine attracted. One typical ASA comment said: “We considered that readers of ‘The House’, who were used to lobbying tactics, would understand from the rhetoric of the claim that it was the opinion of a charity that was publically and openly against FOBTs and therefore would not expect a claim which was presented in this way to THE NEWSNIGHT DEBATE be supported by objective evidence.” Advertising Code. It considered that The Campaign had more success Meanwhile the debate has also readers were unlikely to interpret defending three parliamentary mag- hit the small screen again with a telthe claim ‘backyourlocalbookie’ to azine ads against a complaint by evised discussion on Newsnight last refer independent shops only, the Philip Davies MP, who suggested month between ABB chief execuinnovative and successful would be that the ads claims against FOBTs tive Dirk Vennix and Campaign viewed as opinion rather than fact (ranging from them being a scourge founder Derek Webb, who confusand that most people didn’t differ- of the high street to containing ingly made his criticisms of the entiate between B2 and other types addictive roulette content) were betting industry via a video link of gaming machine. misleading. from Las Vegas.

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Betting Business Interactive Edition

2 B

September 2013

Essential guide to ... BOS Trade Fair ORGANISER

28 Bristol-based Datatote is providing the technology for the Coral Football Jackpot

32 BetConstruct is getting Olympic Entertainment set up with betting facilities

34 TNA Impact Wrestling launched an online slot machine game with Sky Vegas

36 Sporting Solutions has helped develop a Trading School of Excellence

Gimme five Independent bookmakers are expected to descend on Wolverhampton Racecourse next month and it’s not just for the all weather racing. his year sees the fifth incarnation of the Bookmakers’ Trade Fair. It is a development that show organiser Lesley Sharman hadn’t anticipated when she first started the event. “I thought it was such a shame when the Betting Show was incorporated into ICE that there wasn’t something more focused for bookmakers outside of London,” Sharman explained. “I didn’t for one minute think it would be still going five years onwards, but I guess it means that I was right – there is demand for our show.” Sharman said that the impetus for running the show comes from comments made by the companies exhibiting in racecourse’s hall. “I get such positive feedback from the stand holders. They all say it’s the best ‘networking’ opportunity as it’s possible to see everyone under one roof in a day, which doesn’t happen any more at the big conferences. They say they do more business because of it.” Other reasons to like the show according to Sharman are the evening meal followed by the evening racing and an on-site hotel, although the popularity of the event has seen the ‘fully booked’ sign go up at the racecourse’s hotel a long time ago. She added: “The show very much has its place and those who attend really appreciate it. There is a soft spot for the show, especially from those who used to attend the Betting Show when it was at the Motorcycle Museum.”

Going to the dogs Irish greyhound racing will be streamed on Bwin.party thanks to the Irish Greyhound Board and XB Net

There is an ambition for a bigger event, although Sharman is wary of altering the formula of a show that until now has proved popular among its participants. “I’d like to get bigger, but our venue at Wolverhampton racecourse would struggle to meet any considerable expansion. I’m loathe to move though as the people there are so helpful and I doubt I would get such quality of service elsewhere. There are other advantages such as the free and plentiful parking for everyone and the evening racing on site. There may be ways of generating more space.” The other option would be to expand the time that the show is open, but Sharman is firmly against that: “I think one day’s enough and that’s probably part of the appeal of the show. I’ve been asked a few times if it would run to a second day, but the second day of the old Betting Show was dire. I think just one day is so much easier for bookmakers to attend.” As for product diversity, Sharman thinks there is one sector that is perhaps under-represented in Wolverhampton: “We’ve not had any online exhibitors at the show yet, but maybe that’s something that will change in the future.”

Bookmakers Trade Fair Thursday 3 October 10.30 – 16.30 Dunstall Park Wolverhampton Racecourse

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Don’t miss SIS at this year’s BOS Bookmakers’ Trade Fair Wolverhampton racecourse, Thursday 3rd October, 10.30am - 4.30pm For more details visit www.sis.tv or email info@sis.tv

INDEPENDENTS

EPOS the hub of the betting shop Independent bookmaker and director of the BTC Howard Chisholm believes that the Bookmakers’ Trade Fair is a key event for the sector. ow important do you think the Trade Fair is to independent bookmakers? The BOS Trade Fair is very important to the independent bookmaker. The main advantage of the Wolverhampton Trade Fair is that all the stands are relevant to the independent bookmaker. It’s a compact venue so it is possible to visit most of the important industry suppliers in one afternoon, which is great for the smaller bookmaker who is under time pressure. It is also conveniently situated with good road, rail and air links to both the UK and Ireland.

What’s the most important piece of technology in a LBO? The hub of the technology in the betting shop is the EPOS system. This is the primary source of information for shop staff and the scope, functionality and flexibility of the system is crucial to enable betting shops to supply the changing services which are required in today’s betting shop. An electronic link to the shop screen system to enable fast updating of information without re-keying is also important to ensure facilities

such as in play betting can be offered. Increasingly all the technology in a betting shop is interconnected and it is important to look at how the various systems from different suppliers interact rather than looking at each system in isolation. What are you planning on discussing in your presentation? The presentation will consist of a short history of the BTC, a description of the services that we are presently providing and a look ahead at the changes which we anticipate in the coming 12 months. There will also be a short Q&A session at the end of the presentation. The BTC was set up in 2006 and now has a good track record of supporting the independent sector. There are now over 350 shops taking services from the BTC which represents a significant percentage of the independent shops remaining in the UK. We hope to have a number of new services to announce at the Trade Fair and the presentation will allow these to be described in detail to an audience of bookmakers.

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Essential Guide to ... BOS Trade Fair GAMBLING COMMISSION

ABB

Efficient way to answer questions The Gambling Commission is sending several officials to the Wolverhampton show in order to field any questions that bookmakers require answering. he Bookmakers’ Trade Fair is a useful communication tool for industry regulator the Gambling Commission, which sees the event as an increasingly useful way to talk to a large number of smaller licensed operators. Members of the Commission’s betting team, including national compliance manager Richard Ingram, will again be on hand to explain the Commission’s approach face to face. This is particularly useful as the regulator’s day to day work focuses on higher risk issues and operators with a regional or national impact, leaving more of the compliance and enforcement with smaller operators to local licensing authorities. “The BOS organised show is one of a number of trade events the Commission covers each year,” explained Ingram. “This one is very much a chance for the existing betting industry to get together, especially the independent sector. It makes sense for the Commission to be there as we can answer lots of questions from smaller licensed operators in an efficient way. Listening to and communicating with operators is essential to good regulation. In particular this year we want to ensure that bookmakers are clear about the challenge we have made to all gambling operators to do more to address concerns about the harm that gambling can cause. “And I expect we’ll continue to receive questions on topics such as primary

gambling activity, plus hopefully the 4th EU Money Laundering Directive proposals and the forthcoming consultation proposals about updates to licence conditions and codes of practice, including ways to help consumers understand how to resolve disputes and how customer funds should be protected.” He added: “Operators will also want to understand the position with our latest round of test purchase activity - we recently reminded smaller licensed operators of their responsibility to ensure children and young people cannot gain access to age-restricted gambling premises and products. The reminder came in the light of some initial results from the latest test purchasing exercises in smaller adult gaming centres and independent bookmakers. Here some weaknesses have been found in identifying and challenging young persons who enter premises in order to play a gaming machine.” Ingram said that the regulator will be prepared to answer any other queries as well. “You can never be too sure about what is going to come up. We’ll have the right people on hand to answer nearly all of the questions there and then and we will quickly follow-up with any remaining answers as soon as we can.” Copies of the Commission’s annual report, annual review, gambling industry statistics and other recent publications will be available at the Commission’s stand. Any questions of detail not answered immediately will be responded to in full in the days after the fair. NATIONAL COMPLIANCE MANAGER RICHARD INGRAM WILL BE AT THE FAIR

A forum to share ideas Peter Craske, PR manager at the Association of British Bookmakers, explains what the trade body has been up to and why it is exhibiting at Wolverhampton. The annual trade fair is always a good opportunity to catch up with colleagues from across the industry, and to discuss issues of concern, or share ideas. This year, there is certainly a lot for the ABB to report back on and discuss. The most obvious issue facing the industry has been the recent consultation about the stakes and prizes offered on all gaming machines and we look forward to updating attendees on the latest developments. There has been recent media speculation, which suggests that stakes and prizes on gaming machines in betting shops will remain as they are now, but, despite the consultation closing back in April, at the time of writing this, there has been no formal announcement or decision taken. The ABB did make a substantial submission to the consultation, setting out in detail the facts about betting shops and gaming machines and highlighting the economic impact on jobs and shops if stakes and prizes were to be reduced – as some anti-betting shop campaigners have been calling for – and also addressing some of the increasingly bizarre myths claimed about betting shops. We also ensured the voices of our eight million customers and 40,000 staff was heard loud and clear - our Back Your Local Bookie website generated over 9,000 emails to Members of Parliament and the Government, urging them to leave stakes and prizes as they are. We also addressed head on some of those wilder claims made by anti-betting shop campaigners in the media, whether on regional TV and radio news bulletins, in newspaper articles or the recent debate on Newsnight. Working closely with our members, we’re developing a new Code for Responsible Gambling which will be unveiled soon and the Safe Bet Alliance (SBA) has gone from strength to strength, most recently receiving the endorsement of the Association of Chief Police Officers. The guidelines in the SBA are now being revised and we look forward to publishing an updated document by the end of the year. We hope more independent betting shop operators will become ABB members too. For us at the ABB, it is not just about sending a regular newsletter and updates, it is about the industry sticking together, fighting for our staff and speaking with one clear voice to decision makers about issues that would affect every single betting shop operator in the country. It is also about providing help and support for our members. As an example, we recently helped one of our independent members to successfully challenge a VAT bill from the Inland Revenue. As a result, the VAT claim was reduced by 95 per cent, saving the member tens of thousands of pounds. Not bad for a £100 annual membership fee. We look forward to meeting up with everyone in Wolverhampton.”

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Essential Guide to ... BOS Trade Fair IBAS

Don’t let the rules slide John Samuels of IBAS is hoping to see a technological development for of one of the LBO’s oldest components at the Trade Fair - the rules.

nevitably, the technology used in Licensed Betting Offices continues evolving, and much is different from even a few years ago. Self-Service Betting Terminals (SSBT’s), larger and brighter TV screens, gaming machines, customer information terminals, Racing Post touchscreen displays, virtual events and numbers games such as Bingo are abundant, and even Bank ATM cash machines are seen in some branches. It could be asked, ‘What has not changed?’ At least one answer, is the ageold way of displaying the shop trading rules. In an effort to remain comprehensive, the rules posters have grown ever larger and the text print ever smaller. In an effort to accommodate it, the poster has sometimes even been seen fixed on the wall above the newspaper display, where one would need either to be 8 foot tall, or have a step- ladder or binoculars to read them. However, operators should not kid themselves; unless the display of the rules evolves at the same pace as other changes within the premises, the situation can only get worse, to the point of sheer impracticality. Unfortunately, in an effort to resolve the problem, IBAS is aware that some opera-

tors are considering, and even starting to use, rules display methods that may not be compliant with the ‘fair and open’ requirements of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). These approaches involve the sole use of the internet to display sections of the retail rules and retail rule changes and additions. Of course, the practice of displaying retail rules on the internet is a positive and progressive initiative, but to display some retail rules exclusively online and potentially beyond the access of many betting shop customers could be considered questionable from a fairness perspective. Even if the practice was acceptable to the Commission, there must be a significant possibility that a court would consider the application of rules which were, effectively, inaccessible to the customer unacceptable ‘hidden terms’ in the context of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. To solve this problem I have a suggestion, and it is one that I have informally hawked around to many operators over recent years. Now is the time for consideration to be given to utilising the technology that currently exists in many betting shops, to display the trading rules. For example, a head office controlled

and edited (but sited in the public area of the shop) information terminal would be an ideal medium for the rules to be displayed. Operators could update rule changes in an instant, and customers could access any and all of the rules in just a few clicks. With no space constraints, the rule could be as extensive and provide as many examples of how the rule would be applied as were considered necessary. Similarly, maybe cost permitting, even a designated rules terminal could be considered. Alternatively maybe an arrangement could be arrived at with the suppliers whereby the SSBT or the Racing Post touchscreen displays could be adapted and utilised to display the retail rules. On the basis that the large multiples already have the resources and technological capability to address the issue, perhaps the Bookmakers Technology Consortium could consider whether one of the aforementioned ideas or a further solution yet could be workable for the benefit of independent operators and their customers. One of the obvious upsides being that valuable wall space would be freed up to display promotional, advertising or current racing/sports information. There are a few important caveats to the suggestion. It would clearly be wise to seek

the view of the Gambling Commission and/or legal advice to ensure that any new initiative is acceptable. Whatever new method and initiative is introduced for the display of rules, for the purposes of adjudication or legal proceedings relating to disputes, there should clearly be a credible timed record of when the rules were displayed, added to or changed. Customers should be advised where the rules can be read in the branch. As every branch has one I suggest that possibly the ‘No Persons Under 18’s Allowed On The Premises’ notice could be used (i.e. appropriate words added) to inform customers how they can view the rules inside the branch. Even if the suggestions above are considered unworkable or too radical, I would still urge operators to consider alternatives to the traditional wall poster. Maybe, in the absence of new technology being used, the rules could be displayed on a small lectern similar to how the Racing Post is often displayed in shops. This display could be in the form of loose leaf (albeit ring bound) A4 size laminated numbered and dated pages. Any rules or pages that needed updating or changing could be easily replaced.

SPONSORSHIP

Wolverhampton enters gaming arena Bookmakers will now have to rub shoulders with an AGC operator at Wolverhampton Racecourse. hile Wolverhampton Racecourse is automatically synonymous with betting, the presence of the Bookmakers’ Trade Fair these past five years have also indelibly linked the venue with bookmaker industry. However it appears that other sectors of the gambling industry is now recognising the appeal of the all-weather track with the news that Talarius, the UK’s largest operator of Adult Gaming Centres, has signed an exciting new sponsorship deal with the racecourse. The deal, which will run across six race days between September and December, marks the beginning of an expanded national marketing campaign to enhance brand awareness and increase its market share for Talarius’ Quicksilver brand. In addition to the six featured race days, the Quicksilver

brand will be present at the racecourse throughout the entire year. Talarius has 172 Quicksilver venues across the UK and to secure a constant presence at the popular and busiest racecourse in the UK will help increase brand awareness and drive growth. Commenting on the sponsorship, Talarius chief executive Peter Harvey said: “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to raise the profile of our largest brand, Quicksilver, at such an exciting venue with high footfall and a fantastic atmosphere. We will be beaming our Quicksilver brand into bookmakers around the country as part of the national satellite TV coverage. The sponsorship will help us to increase our market share as we move into the next phase of Talarius’ growth and development, and we look forward to seeing the results.”

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Essential Guide to ... BOS Trade Fair SIS

Keeping focus LBO broadcaster SIS has made customer focus its mantra and the firm is hoping to catch up with all its customers in Wolverhampton. ustomer Focus is the title of one of the new features on the SIS website - and the words can also be used to sum up the last 12 months for the company. SIS said that almost everything it has done since the last Bookmakers’ Trade Fair has been geared towards those it serves. The Wolverhampton gathering might be the only time SIS gets to see all its customers in one place, but the company has been in constant contact with them all at various times during the last year. Furthermore, SIS has introduced a range of initiatives, many prompted by client feedback, as it reacts to meet the challenges of an ever-changing marketplace. George Irvine, managing director, SIS Betting, said: “Focussing on our customers is a constant for us, with our Customer Forums, hosted events and site visits. But the Trade Fair does give us a moment to reflect on the previous 12 months - and then talk about what more we can do in the next year.”

In horse racing, SIS has broadcast more events from overseas than ever. It delivered more than 30 meetings from Dubai during the winter - including the world’s richest horse race, the Dubai World Cup – and followed up with extra fixtures from Latin America and North America, allowing shops to have quality content well into the evening. Additionally, SIS is now delivering more racing from France, having signed an extended and expanded deal with Pari Mutuel Urbain. That meant that for the first time all three major European derbies outside of Epsom – the French, German and Irish - were available in shops. SIS has also played a key part in greyhound racing’s continued resurgence. It supported BAGS in the staging of the popular Inter Track Championship and then followed up by taking over the high-profile coverage on Sky Sports. Again, betting shops benefitted. For the first time, retail outlets as well as TV were able to show the most prestigious races in the sport. They in-

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SIS’ VBC CONTAINS SUCH VIRTUAL CONTENT AS INDY CAR RACING

cluded the Greyhound Derby, which built up to a thrilling climax at Wimbledon and saw increased activity in shops and through the tills. SIS has also put more resource into virtual events. Bookmakers increasingly signed up for SIS’ Virtual Betting Channel, with its regular, reliable content, while the company has announced SIS+ Virtuals, which comprises up to 40 new and exclusive horse and greyhound racing events aimed at providing an even more comprehensive betting card. SIS has continued to offer more services which customers can access directly and for free. The company’s website www.sis.tv - now carries a complete horse

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Managing the business Bet A Technology has over 20 years’ experience in providing bet management systems which are well-established as favourites for the independent bookmaker and, the firm says, are chosen as the best priced with the lowest annual charges and the greatest functionality. The company’s software covers all needs for fast bet acceptance, settling and liability management, with real time security controls and alerts, all fully regulated by the Gambling Commission of Great Britain. The system is scalable for any size of business from one till or one shop upwards and can be installed and operational in a day. It is also compatible with all major content and odds suppliers, and has support seven days a week. A Bet A’s bet management system is used for live racing, sports events, and virtual games (VEROS, VSports Games, Kiron Interactive, Spin Three, Keno, Spin Master and Roula Bet), with optional call centre and SMS text betting, website, mobile app branded to a bookmaker’s business, and a full range of MarkSense coupons for football and other sports. At the Bookmakers Trade Show, A Bet A will be showcasing four additional bet management services, which are proving par-

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The bookmaking systems from A Bet A are continuing to evolve, with the firm launching four more services at the Trade Fair.

and greyhound racing results and schedule service from the UK, Ireland and overseas, while its site for VBC customers now carries today’s and tomorrow’s betting markets. Finally, SIS has seen plenty of change itself, with a reshaped commercial team which focuses on UK and Irish betting shop operators. Major account managers are Terry Mahoney, formerly with OpenBet, who has broad responsibility for the South, Nigel Boardman (North) and Rachel O’Reilly (Ireland), while Helen Scott heads up an expanded Customer Services set-up. Many of SIS’ team will be on hand at Wolverhampton and all with one mission Customer Focus.

new service will be launching at Wolverhampton that is intended to help small bookmakers compete with their corporate brethren online. Betting.co.uk will be offering UK and Irish independent bookmakers the ability to have their own online presence as the need to service customers outside of LBO hours continues to grow. The firm explained: “Every independent betting shop which is in competition with a major chain bookmaker loses money from cash customers whenever they are closed. Betting.co.uk gives the independent bookmaker the presence they need to halt this decline. The first step to losing a customer is for them to start betting online with your competition. Betting.co.uk provides a means to prevent this and allows the independent bookmaker the ability to offer a full online service to their customers including a mobile phone betting application.” Betting.co.uk is backed up in its efforts to supply bookmakers by industry stalwarts A Bet A.

ticularly popular for broadening sales channels. The first gives direct integration with an LBO’s EPOS and the British Tote. Then, there is a mobile EPOS solution for all kinds of live sporting events. This is already taking off fast at racecourses, football stadia and other major sporting event venues. The next development is A Bet A’s direct EPOS integration with the newly-launched Colossus Bets as the football pool bet operator’s preferred EPOS partner. This means that betting shop customers can place and redeem their cash bets straight through into Colossus bet’s guaranteed £10m correct score football pool. Finally, to address a current popular need, bookmakers can get direct EPOS integration into Betfair and Matchbet Exchanges. The firm said that this ability is a great help for liability management and market intelligence, helping the bookmaker compare odds in real time with those coming from the course. A Bet A will be offering further information and live demos of all the above at the Bookmakers Trade Show in October, as well as discussing the firm’s latest technical partnership, supporting www.betting.co.uk, which offers a new online trading presence for independent bookmakers.

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Contact MRG today for the latest independent screen systems. Call 01453 820 840 or email sales@mrgsystems.co.uk MRG Systems Limited The Mill, Upper Mills Estate, Bristol Road Stonehouse, GL10 2BJ

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Essential Guide to ... BOS Trade Fair INSPIRED GAMING

TURF TV

New Eclipse takes a Smart approach

Racing ahead with the US

Inspired Gaming’s new Eclipse gaming machine has a whole host of new features designed to make games more playable.

Turf TV is offering its customers US racing for those winter evenings without many racing events.

aming machine developer Inspired Gaming Group has launched its new Eclipse cabinet with three leading bookmakers: William Hill, Betfred and Paddy Power. The Eclipse cabinet comes complete with a new widescreen video button panel, called SmartDeck, and an intuitive touch and swipe menu, called SmartMenu. Inspired will be rolling out over 9,000 Eclipse gaming machines to William Hill, Betfred and Paddy Power venues. Luke Alvarez, CEO and founder of Inspired Gaming Group, commented: “We have exclusive supply deals to provide gaming machines, technology and games to three major bookmakers and a large number of independents. Every year we put an enormous amount of resource into R&D for the UK LBO market – the launch of Eclipse and all its features is an exciting milestone in our on-going innovation strategy.” Eclipse is a 360° product evolution. Key features include: four linear HD screens, swipe-enabled primary screen and video

button panel, the industry’s first combined touchscreen video buttons and physical buttons with video screens (OpticV buttons), HD sound system, ambient lighting, and an ergonomically designed footrest. Eclipse’s SmartDeck video button panel adds another touchscreen to the player experience and, therefore, allows for more game features and increased player interaction. Games available with premium SmartDeck features include: Merlin, Showtime, Luck of the Irish, 20p Roulette, Blackjack Poker Plus, and Blackjack Lucky Pairs. Inspired launches at least one new UK game a month and going forward new B2 and B3 games will provide even more entertainment with SmartDeck functionality. Eclipse’s new SmartMenu has an intuitive user interface and smart algorithm to make it easy for players to find old favourites, while also recommending similar content they might like to try in an intelligent and non-intrusive way. The new homepage has been carefully designed to

THE NEW ECLIPSE

suit all player types in UK bookmakers, by appealing to both slots and casino game players. For experienced players, who are interested in browsing more of the game library, there are sophisticated game category pages with a second tier navigation and filters to find games with specific qualities. Eclipse also accommodates physical loyalty cards and Inspired’s Core VIP marketing and rewards ecosystem. William Hill and Paddy Power have card based loyalty systems powered by Inspired’s Core VIP software and their player rewards will include exclusive SmartDeck game features.

MRG SYSTEMS

Technically speaking MRG is showcasing a series of technical innovations that help bookmakers run their betting shops. he shift towards new screen systems and new technology for independent bookmakers has continued in 2013. This year, MRG rolled BIDS5 out to over 40 independent bookmakers in Ireland as well as groups trialling the system in the UK. The company advises Irish bookmakers to check out the amazing service Bar One Racing (Dundalk) provides to their customers. The firm said: “If you are a medium sized independent bookmaker that owns your Albos units and wants greater oversight of the content on your screens, we want to hear from you. We will convert YOUR old Albos unit into a BIDS5 shop server. The cost of the conversion kit is only £500.00 and the installation process is quick and simple. Make it really work for your local customers by regionalising the screen content. Maximise your screens with a premium system, supported by continual development using the latest technologies.” Touchscreens put customers first and by their very nature they enable customers to choose what is displayed. The CIT has many functions; amongst them are the display of race results and the additional markets not displayed on the gantry screens. Meanwhile the DailyForm is linked to live data from the Press Association who provide all the form for horse racing, dogs,

S racing is about to hit the Turf TV schedules this month. With coverage starting at around 5.30pm around the Autumn to Spring period, it is an ideal complement to the UK schedule which is lighter during this time. It will also sit neatly around twilight fixtures running at Kempton Park. Turf TV will be featuring around 15 races each evening Wednesday to Sunday along with virtual racing. The broadcaster’s Steve Walsh commented: “Our aim is to present US racing in a very similar manner to that of our UK racing. This will involve using our own graphics (as the feeds from the US will mostly be clean) and providing supporting editorial content. We will also supply a fixed odds data service which will include uncoupling runners, which is one of the quirks of the US racing that US punters find confusing. Colour racecards will be in the Betting Shop Display to complete the package.” Customers taking Turf TV’s US racing coverage in their retail estate will also be able to stream coverage from our US tracks on their websites. This provides a cross platform revenue opportunity for Turf TV’s customers, although they have to be able to offer betting into the host track’s pool which requires a technical integration. Walsh added that the LBO channel will also be featuring a host of other content: “In addition to racing from the like of Gulfstream Park and Laurel Park we can look forward to Champions Day at Ascot in October which has already established itself as a highlight of the annual schedule, and of course we then move onto the jumps season with Cheltenham, Kempton, Sandown and Wetherby all featuring major meetings through until the end of the year. We are also making significant changes to our virtual schedules and the combined changes and additions should be useful to our customers.” Turf TV is also still running its ‘soft start’ promotion for independents, providing customers with a half price offer for the first year of a betting shop’s operation. The broadcaster explained that this gives provides a benefit to an expanding bookmaker whose business is at most risk of experiencing cashflow problems in the first year.

MRG’S DAILYFORM

football and much more. The screen is easier to read than printed paper and is continually updated with non-runners, live prices and breaking news stories. LBO audio is provided by the discreet AVS500 zoning amplifier. Volume, tones, balance and equalizer controls are all available via the units own web page. The AVS500 amplifier adds satisfyingly rich tones to over one thousand betting shops across the country. MRG also believes its digital signage iscutting edge. It explained: “Turn on to ultra-high brightness (1500 cd) window displays to draw in the punters. These are the brightest screens for use in any window. They are three times brighter than a domestic TV; perfect for windows in a sunny aspect. Broadcast your best deals to the world outside. Digital signage is cheaper and more effective than posters and instantly advertises your deals to the public at large. We have systems across the country producing fantastic results so get in touch and we will be happy to arrange a demonstration for you.”

US RACING IS AVAILABLE ON TURF TV

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Retail B2B Retail Listings

B2B content R et ai l

www.sis.tv info@sis.tv

B2B epos R et ai l

“ ” Ferry good deal

SBTech has entered the US market by providing the Genting Group with a complete turnkey sports betting solution for its new project, Bimini Superfast Ferry, a 32,000 ton cruise ship that will sail between Miami and Resorts World Bimini in the Bahamas. SBTech is to provide self-service betting terminals, a customer service agent manned cashier solution and its HTML5 tablet and smartphone compatible mobile betting platform.

CONTENT

www.spielog2.com

B2B exhibitions R et ai l

The Bookmakers’ Trade Fair 2013 October 3 2013 at Wolverhampton Racecourse organised by

BOSmagazine B2B publications

A good complimentary product René Schneider, VP of business development XB NET, discusses his firm’s deal with Turf TV which will see US racing in UK LBOs.

R et ai l

ow do you think LBO customers will take to US racing? We expect that they will pick it up very well, last year we got contacted by many UK bookies for Gulfstream Park, it seems everybody in the UK wants it. It’s the best winter track in the US, no cancellations due to bad weather, as it's located in Florida. Nice view, a lot of trainers move their horses from NY down to Flordia in winter. It fits well from a timing point of view, early UK evening. It’s a good complimentary product as US races will be shown when there is no UK races. It will put Turf TV also in stronger position in the UK.

making sense of the gaming industry

B2B signage systems R et ai l

www.mrgsystems.co.uk sales@mrgsystems.co.uk

What are the main differences compared to the British product? One main difference is that horses from the same owner in one race are treated as coupled horses which means they have the same betting number and therefore the same odds. For our Turf TV venture we will de-couple these horses and each can be bet separately. In the US only tote betting is allowed. To approach the betting habits in the UK, we will offer fixed odds for all the races which will be offered on Turf TV next to tote betting. There are no jump races,

only flat and the race distance is between 5F and 1.5 miles. The field size is 7 to 9 horses. Also with our main winter track Gulfstream Park we do not face race cancellations due to bad winter weather as the track is located in Florida. Do you think there will need to be some educating of customers about the intricacies of the US product? Yes and no. it’s still horse racing, but we need to make sure that punters get familiar with the details of the product which will help to drive revenue. We need to teach them about the sport, meaning jockeys, trainers, horses. This will be done through the Turf TV show which will be of highest standard with talking heads, and coopera-

tion with the PA and Racing Post. To accommodate the betting habits in the UK, we will de-couple any coupled horses. Can bookmakers offer US racing outside of office hours? The Turf TV show will take place from Wednesday to Sunday, whereby approximately 15 races from two different tracks will be shown in the time between 5:30pm till 10:00pm. To expose our content also outside office hours bookmakers can add it to their websites, which means punters can bet till 5am in the morning. We have about 150 thoroughbred, harness and greyhound tracks from the US under contract. We can provide a vast betting offer on 364 days per year.

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POOL BETTING

SYSTEM

Datatote helps Coral get in the pool

Turkish delight for Arland

ristol-based Datatote is to provide Coral with the technology and support for its new, ground-breaking Coral Football Jackpot pool bet. The Datatote Series7 pools engine allows Coral the flexibility to offer a range of pool bets including the Football Jackpot, the first football pool bet ever launched by a high street bookmaker. Datatote has developed an in-shop terminal application including an interface using Chatsworth scanners and a live link into Coral’s online and mobile platforms. Simon Clare, PR director for Coral, said: “We have been very impressed with Datatote throughout the build of this pioneering technology. The core technology is fast and flexible and the Datatote team have worked very closely with Coral development team to get this bet live on time.”

etting software platform Bookmaker5, developed by Austrian developer Arland, has extended its international reach by launching a Turkish language version. Intended for global use from inception, Bookmaker5 allows sportsbetting operators to offer customers any given language and currency. Previously cashiers could only choose between German, English and Russian, but that has changed with the new Bookmaker5 shop software release which offers Turkish as a language option. The firm explained: “Motivated cashiers are as important to a sports betting operator as an extensive betting offer and competitive odds. With the Turkish language version, Bookmaker5 can be used even more intuitively and effectively by a lot of those employees.”

BOOKMAKER5 IS NOW AVAILABLE IN TURKISH

www.betradar.com

BROADCAST

Betfred takes on BT Sport T Sport has announced that all three BT Sport channels will be available in all of Betfred’s 1,370 bookmakers across the UK. Betfred is BT’s first big commercial contract in the gaming sector and means that all of the Betfred shops will have access to BT Sport, comprising BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN, for the next three years. BT Sport will be delivered as part of the bookmakers own Betfred TV service. Betfred customers will be able to watch and bet in play on a huge range of events including one of the most comprehensive line ups of live football available. This includes coverage of 38 games from the Barclays Premier League, with 18 of the ‘top pick’ games. Bruce Cuthbert, director of commercial customers, BT Sport, said: “We are delighted to announce our first major contract in the gaming space. It is fantastic that Betfred has signed up to put BT Sport in all of its bookmakers. As the largest independent bookmaker in the UK, we could not have

DAVID JAMES AND FRED DONE LAUNCH THE NEW DEAL

hoped for a bigger name as an early customer. “We are already seeing fantastic levels of interest and sign ups in BT Sport across pubs, clubs and hotels, as hard-pressed owners who have been priced out of the market by Sky in recent years look to offer their customers some really top class sport at an affordable price.” Betfred managing director John Haddock commented: “We are delighted to have secured a deal with BT Sport and we are looking forward to showing some top quality action in all our 1370 shops nationwide. As well as showing the live sport we will continue to have the best offers on the high street including special boosts for our in play betting.” BT Sport is an exciting new proposition which is available to all commercial premises including offices, golf clubs, sporting clubs, bookmakers and Corca registered clubs with prices starting from as little as £75 per month.

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Retail long-standing relationship with Irish racing. George Irvine, managing director, SIS Betting, said: “We are delighted that HRI and the Association of Irish Racecourses have recognised SIS and ATR as the right non-terrestrial partners to televise Irish racing.”

BROADCAST Irish deal for At The Races IS and At The Races have agreed a new media rights deal with Horse Racing Ireland and the Association of Irish Racecourses that will cover the period from January 2014 to December 2016. Under the terms of the new three-year agreement, ATR will have exclusive, crossplatform, non-LBO media rights worldwide to all fixtures from Ireland’s 26 courses. Its production partner, SIS, retains all domestic and international betting-shop rights under the terms of its current contract with HRI and further cements the company’s

Make the grade ecurikey’s new Euro Grade 0 high quality cash safe offers an aesthetically pleasing yet robust security option for small businesses. The Euro Grade 0 is the entry level option in the Euro Grade range and is available in six sizes. Solid steel square locking bolts are situated on three sides of the door, ensuring the safe remains securely closed when it needs to, and extra protection is provided with continuous hinge protection and a fire resistant door seal. Every single Euro Grade safe is certified to meet European Security standard EN11431 after being subjected to stringent independent testing, proving that the range is well suited for use within a diverse range of environments

S SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ABB working on Code ollowing extensive stakeholder consultation over the past several months, the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) is developing a new Code for Player Protection and Responsible Gambling which aims to build on current best practice and create a step change in responsible gambling thinking based around informed choice by adult customers. It will focus on three key themes: Making player information on gambling responsibly more accessible; providing self-help tools to players to help them manage their gambling behaviour; and improving the level of staff training. Stakeholder and cross-industry discussions on the best way forward for responsible gambling will continue in the months ahead.

David Ross Fabrications Ltd Metalwork supplied from our designs or your own. 7YV[V[`WL [OYV\NO [V WYVK\J[PVU (SS Ä UPZOLZ For example: Bet slip dispensers Light boxes-wall and freestanding External ashtrays Magnetic wall boards Swivelling Tower with Poster Frames Pelmet Lights Upstands Floor bins with or without logo Paper Racks Pen dispensers Leaner legs

SECURITY

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CORPORATE Merger on the cards arket maker and odds provider Betting Promotion Sweden AB has entered into negotiations over a merger with online gaming software company Tain AB. In a statement the firms said that the merger would be an important step in both companies’ strategy to strengthen their position in the digital gaming industry. It added: “Negotiations are at an initial stage and are expected to be completed in October 2013. A final decision on the merger will be taken at an extraordinary General Meeting in Betting Promotion Sweden AB.”

Bandit Screen Posts Window Display Legs Stainless Steel Handrail Systems

CONTENT

TV Gantry Systems LCD TV Brackets Plasma TV Brackets

SPECIALIST SUPPLIERS OF METALWORK TO THE BETTING INDUSTRY FOR OVER 16 YEARS UNIT 1E PECKLETON LANE BUSINESS ESTATE PECKLETON LEICESTER LE9 7RN TEL;01455 823721 FAX;01455 828339 EMAIL;davidross7@btconnect.com www.davidrossfabrications.co.uk Photographs courtesy of Coral Racing & Chisholm Bookmakers

Riders on to BT Sport T Sport has signed up leading British MotoGP riders, Cal Crutchlow, Bradley Smith and Scott Redding as BT Ambassadors. BT Sport has a five-year deal with Dorna Sports for exclusive rights to televise Motorcycle racing’s premier contest, the FIM MotoGP World Championship, starting from the 2014 season, which opens in Qatar. The trio, Isle of Man-based Crutchlow, Oxfordshire’s Smith, and Gloucestershire-born Redding, will feature in BT Sport programmes and marketing. Crutchlow said: “It’s exciting to be involved with BT Sport and I am looking forward to contributing to the programmes next season. I hope that I can bring some real insight from a rider’s point of view.”

CAL CRUTCHLOW

NOTE VALIDATION

NV200 ‘ideal’ for LBO market ollowing recent successes in the LBO sector over the past 12 months, Innovative Technology sales director Tony Morrison believes the firm’s constant development has helped it become a key piece of equipment in the betting shop environment. Morrison explained: “Innovative Technology, now in its 21st year, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of cash handling equipment. Although we are based in the North West of England, ITL (as we are known to our friends) is recognised a global manufacturer of ‘State of the Art’ bank note validators and recyclers. We pride ourselves on using the latest cutting edge technology and innovations - living up to our name. “Through constant development our products can boast field proven, 99 per cent plus acceptance rates, and it is features like this that have made the NV200 a flagship high volume note validator. “The last twelve months has seen the NV200 emerge onto the betting industry scene. A high volume, high security note validator the NV200 is ideal for the LBO market, boasting exceptional note handling, the highest fraud detection rates and the ability to take more cash. This year has seen the NV200 emerge into the LBO community in a big way, having been installed into a significant number of FOBT machines for its exceptional note reliability and performance.” Morrison added: “At ITL we pride ourselves on innovation and will not rest on our laurels. We are already developing ground breaking products that will shape the cash handling solutions of the future for the LBO industry and the wider gaming community.”

MOBILE AND TABLET GAMBLING SUMMIT London, 4th-5th November 2013

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Sportsbook B2B Sportsbook Listings

B2B betting platform S po rt sb

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765174%'& 21465 '66+0) 1.76+105

Product showcase

Mobile partnership

£100k fantasy jackpot

Scoreradar has launched its new and comprehensive product brochure. The 32 page booklet provides a complete overview of Scoreradar as a company and its continually expanding product portfolio for all types of sports media businesses.

SBTech is providing Scandinavian-facing ComeOn with a brand new mobile betting platform, with a user-friendly HTML5 based interface that offers a variety of bet types on over 8,000 monthly live sporting events from around the world.

Fantasy sports betting game TotelFootball has upgraded its product following user feedback and added a £100,000 jackpot. Business development director Keith McDonnell explained: “We’re continually looking to evolve and improve our product and the best people to help us do that are the players.”

PLATFORM

B2B marketing S po rt sb

oo k

B2B publications S po rt sb

oo k

Olympic win for BetConstruct making sense of the gaming industry

B2B S po rt sb

oo k

Olympic Entertainment has taken advantage of BetConstruct’s ability to provide betting facilities both trading services online and offline. lympic Entertainment Grouphas become the latest company to choose BetConstructas its sports betting partner. The deal will see BetConstruct provide all the technology necessary to launch the sports betting and sports bar network under the OlyBet brand, which is a new brand for its online and betting shops service. The betting services successfully launched in early August and included a network of sports bars in Estonia and Latvia, whilst the

OlyBet brand will also cover and support prematch and live betting on hundreds of sports events across the world. Madis Jääger, CEO of Olympic Entertainment Group, commented: “All Sports betting services will now be provided through OlyBet’s online environment as well as in sports bars in Latvia and betting shops in Estonia from August. They will replace the existing seventeen casino lounges including ten in Estonia and seven in Latvia. We would like to thank the BetConstruct team for its bespoke service and quick turn-around of its Sportsbook solution and look forward to working together on future opportunities.” BetConstruct can provide start-up technology for retail, online and mobile e-betting and the company can have a turnkey solution up and running both for land-based shops and online in as little as two weeks. This sports betting solution provider covers

all main sporting events and provides its customers with more than 12000 live matches per month, including live scores and statistics, and internet broadcasts of up to 28,000 live matches per year, and these are compatible to a number of devices that includes mobile and tablet applications. BetConstruct also offers its customers a powerful back-end solution including content, marketing and risk management tools that are attractive to small and medium betting companies across the world including Europe, Russia, Central and South Eastern Asia and Africa. This is supported by a team of over 500 specialists with over ten years of gaming experience and specialist knowledge. The company also runs a profit share model which means its revenue is generated from both online and offline opportunities and there are no fixed or hidden fees which is attractive to the customer.

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CONTENT

Bwin to take Irish greyhound racing win.party is to offer its customers streamed coverage of Irish greyhound racing in a deal which has seen the Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) select XB Net as an international distribution partner. XB Net already works with more than 100 of the premier thoroughbred and harness racetracks in North America, and distributes to online and retail bookmakers around the world. After signing up with the IGB, it announced that it will provide Irish greyhound racing to Bwin in the coming months. René Schneider, XB Net’s vice president of business development, said: “It is a privilege to work with the Irish Greyhound Board, and we’re very excited about working together to grow their product internationally. Their product is one of the world’s premier greyhound signals, and we’re very confident that its prestige and quality will make it an attractive product offering for wagering providers around the world.”

CEO for the Irish Greyhound Board Adrian Neilan added: “We are delighted to have been able to form this marvelous partnership with the global XB Net organisation for our greyhound industry. XB Net have a fantastic worldwide reach opening large scale access in the sports betting sector and we are really looking forward to start showcasing our world leading Irish racing product through the well-known gaming company Bwin and other European XB Net customers. This agreement is a fantastic boost to our greyhound racing brand and is testimony to the big investment and work carried out on our integrity systems which ensure that our racing will work for any target markets worldwide and will in turn boost our earnings and Tote pools.” The IGB has licensed 17 tracks in the Republic of Ireland of which nine are owned and operated by private enterprise and the industry itself employs over 10,000 people throughout the country.

RISK MANAGEMENT PLATFORM £7m cover for Dedsert romotional risk management company PIMS-SCA is providing Irish operator Dedsert with prize insurance for a guaranteed £7m jackpot on its Novaball game, which is based on the twice weekly Irish National Lottery draws. PIMS-SCA positions itself as a company’s ‘Silent Partner’, by minimising the financial risk attributed to larger scale promotions and jackpots. PIMS-SCA provides prize coverage for both weekly NovaBall jackpots meaning the amounts offered are consistently bigger than the UK or Irish National Lottery jackpots. CEO of PIMS-SCA Mark Kimber said: “We really pride ourselves in being able to provide lotteries with higher jackpot offerings through secure risk management. This partnership means Dedsert will be able to entice more customers to their product each week.”

NOVABALL IS BASED ON THE IRISH NATIONAL LOTTERY DRAW

BetTech to ready Kruger etTech Gaming, has agreed a deal to supply its flagship BetTech Sports product to Krugerbets.com, the sports betting site operated by South Africa’s Kruger Racing. BetTech has provided a total refresh of Krugerbets.com, significantly improving its functionality and adding an optimised mobile betting experience. Krugerbets general manager Craig Swan said: “When we decided to re-launch Krugerbets.com, BetTech was the standout choice of partner. Integration was quick and painless, we were able to customise the product at every step of the way, and are delighted with the results. Service to our customers is of paramount importance and we strive to allow them to make transactions using our online site, seamlessly and effortlessly through a combination of our helpful staff as well as BetTech’s user friendly web and mobile platform.”

info@xb-net.com

www.xb-net.com

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iGaming SHFL through OGS

That’s Magic

Card app

SHFL entertainment, Inc has signed an agreement with NYX Interactive to have SHFL’s online gaming products, such as Ultimate Texas Hold’em and Casino War, integrated onto NYX’s Open Gaming System (OGS) for real-money gaming in regulated online markets.

Players can look forward to an enchanting gaming experience when playing Net Entertainment’s latest online video slot Magic Portals. The game is a 5-reel, 3-row, 25-line video slot featuring two Magic Portals that can transform matching symbols into Wilds and activate Free Spins.

Realistic Games commercial director Andy Harris said he was ‘confident’ the firm’s bespoke iPhone Blackjack and Roulette Apps will ‘deliver great benefit to Ladbrokes and our other customers by allowing them to tap into the vast number of players who’ll love the accessibility and quality on offer’.

Sky strikes gold Gold Strike, the five-reel slots game from Games Warehouse, is now live and performing on the Sky Vegas online gaming platform. Following extensive development and testing, this debut game was launched in July and will soon also be released on Sky’s mobile platform.

SLOTS

Three new operators take on Microgaming games

Using the Prima Networks and Quickfire routes, Microgaming will be seeing its games played by even more customers. rima Networks Limited, powered by Microgaming, has signed a deal with Italian operator Cogetech to supply an online casino offering across both the Flash and download platform. Over 30 Microgaming slot titles are now live on Cogetech’s online gaming platform iZiplay, including blockbuster games Thunderstruck II and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. These games are available to iZiPlay players through ‘Casino Pacific’, a dedicated channel offering Microgaming-only content. Fabio Schiavolin, CEO at Cogetech, commented: “Through this agreement with Prima Networks Limited, we are able to add Microgaming’s internationally recognised slots to our online casino. We are incredibly excited to launch Casino Pacific; we believe it will be hugely popular, not only to our existing player base but

to new prospects also.” Loraine Schoevers, director of Prima Networks Limited, added: “We are delighted that Cogetech chose Prima Networks Limited, powered by Microgaming, to augment their online game offering. Our slots are favourites among online players and will form the perfect addition to iZiplay.” Meanwhile OlyBet, previously OlympicOnline, has gone live on the MPN following an extensive rebrand which has also seen the firm offer Microgaming’s casino games, through an agreement with Quickfire, powered by Microgaming. “We are delighted that the Olympic Entertainment Group has chosen Microgaming as its sole poker provider,” says Lydia Melton, head of network games at Microgaming. “The newly rebranded OlyBet will find a welcome home on the MPN.” Kaido Ulejev, head of OlyBet, com-

mented: “We have chosen to launch OlyBet as an open platform, in order to partner with a variety of different gaming providers to entertain our clients. Microgaming is a well-known software provider, particularly in the markets that we operate in, and therefore was an obvious choice to partner with. “We were impressed with the MPN’s progressive nature and its continual investment to develop its poker offering. Similarly, the reputation that Quickfire has built in delivering market-leading gaming content through a seamless integration process made the decision to go live with Quickfire a simple one.” Quickfire has also signed up new operator PlayFortuna. Through Quickfire, PlayFortuna has access to over 400 online games, and is now live with player favourites, Avalon, Immortal Romance and Thunderstruck as well as the popular

progressive jackpot slots. Andrew Zinger, Head of PR at PlayFortuna, commented: “We chose Quickfire as it is a well-known and reputable gaming content provider. We were impressed with the vast number of games available, the monthly release of new content and the platform’s simple integration process.” Meanwhile, Microgaming has added three more HTML5 mobile games to its collection this August; Break da Bank, Big Top and Lion’s Pride are live with Microgaming operators. Neill Whyte, head of product channels at Microgaming, explained: “We are releasing new mobile games on a monthly basis; this highlights our commitment to produce the most comprehensive mobile gaming solution for our operators. We will continue to develop our suite of HTML5 games to ensure we retain our competitive edge in the marketplace.”

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New Jersey go-ahead for Geo eoComply, the Geolocation specialist for the iGaming market, has become the first Internet Ancillary Services provider to successfully file its application with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. GeoComply USA’s CEO Anna Sainsbury commented: “New Jersey is an important market for us and our customers and the fact that GeoComply was the first Internet Ancillary entity to successfully submit for licensing is an indication of our commitment to being ready for the market-opening in November.”

LIVE CASINO Defining difference ntwineTech has introduced of state of the art high definition cameras on all of its Live Dealer tables. These cameras are intended to bring industry beating levels of clarity and sharpness to games. The firm has also added an additional Baccarat table and announced plans to introduce a further 14 Baccarat Tables by the end of the year, bringing the total up to 25 gaming tables of all games. Spokesperson Ian Dunning commented: “This announcement is great news for Baccarat players everywhere, EntwineTech’s continuous drive for improvement and delivery of high standards of customer satisfaction is one of the main reason they are the world leaders in this field.”

ENTWINETECH IS ADDING MORE BACCARAT TABLES

ealistic Games has revealed its latest three reel slot game - Hot Cross Bunnies. The x300 jackpot game with a single win line features a host of traditional arcade elements, such as nudges with auto nudge and a rewind feature. Commercial director Andy Harris said: “The features, striking graphics and crazy sounds will make Hot Cross Bunnies a sure favourite with slots fans, whatever device they chose to play it on. There’s also plenty in it for operators who can now offer proper arcade style features to customers, taking them down memory lane and pointing to the future of slots at the same time.”

EveryMatrix adds iSoftBet games SoftBet’s range of pioneering slot machines is to be integrated onto the EveryMatrix platform. iSoftBet will be integrating their extensive range of state-of-the-art slot machines created in flash and optimised for mobile and tablet users to their growing repertoire of games software. iSoftBet commercial director Nir Elbaz said: “iSoftBet are extremely excited about this integration with EveryMatrix. We hope

that their skills and expertise will help to bring iSoftBet content to new markets.” EveryMatrix CEO Ebbe Groes added: “The agreement signed between the two companies marks a significant step in the expansion of the EveryMatrix Casino Engine platform while increasing iSoftBet’s industry exposure.”

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Sky Vegas gets TNA Wrestling slot NA Impact Wrestling has become the first ever professional wrestling organisation to launch an online slot machine game. The game features ‘The Icon’ Sting, Olympic Gold Medallist Kurt Angle, TNA Knockouts Champion Mickie James, Bobby Roode and Velvet Sky. The partnership with MX Digital and Sky Vegas marks an innovative addition to TNA’s ever-expanding roster of partners and licensees. TNA President Dixie Carter said: “I’m thrilled to continue expanding TNA’s brand reach in the UK and Ireland with this, first ever online slot game.” TNA spokesperson Simon Rothstein explained: “We are promoting to our wrestling fan base in three main ways: 1) Via Facebook (targeted posts to over 18s only). 2) Via messages during our programming on Challenge TV (which goes out after 9pm). 3) The wrestling media are writing about the game. “Relatively, the UK is actually TNA’s strongest market - even more so than the US. We are the No 1 rated show on Challenge TV and have a sell-out Tour each January including Wembley Arena. We’ve been looking at lots of ways to grow our brand over here, including action figures, calendars, annuals, posters etc - so some sort of gaming project was the logical next step.” He added: “MX conceived of doing the game and approached first us and then Sky. It seemed a perfect fit what with Sky’s entertainment brand and ownership of Challenge TV, along with their rapid growth in the gaming space so was signed off quickly.” Ike McFadden, director of business development for MX Digital, concurred: “Because TNA Impact Wrestling airs on Challenge, part of British Sky Broadcasting, it was a natural fit to launch the game with Sky Vegas. They understand the brand and had the experience to support a great cross-media promotions strategy.”

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Igaming software developer Wirex has signed a deal with Weswit to use its Lightstreamer real-time data streaming technology. Wirex has deployed Lightstreamer for its successful online integration with Portomaso, the famous Maltese land-based casino.

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Postgraduate trading qualification launched A new Trading School of Excellence has seen Sporting Solutions link up with the University of Salford. alford Business School is working with Sporting Solutions, the business-to-business sports betting software and data services division of the Sporting Index Group, to develop the next generation of trading experts in the betting industry through a unique training programme. The ground-breaking partnership will involve the development of a new Trading School of Excellence (TSE), a first in the betting industry, which will harness the Business School’s global reputation in sports analytics and statistics to enhance the professional development of Sporting Solutions traders. The course, which will launch in Septem-

ber 2013, will be hosted by the Centre for Sports Business within Salford Business School. It will give key trading staff at Sporting Solutions the opportunity to develop their skills in probability, statistics and mathematics through a combination of face-to-face and distance learning. Students will study two six-week modules, including e-lectures delivered online and complemented by interactive pricing and trading scenarios. Those who successfully complete the course, which is offered through Salford Business School and managed in conjunction with the University’s training arm, Salford Professional Development, will be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Sports Pricing and Trading. The course content has been tailored by Sporting Solutions’ management to reflect everyday practice in sports pricing and trading. Students will gain a thorough understanding of probability, collecting and cleansing data, statistical analysis, applying statistical modelling and using an algorithmic model in tandem with an understanding of the market as the basis of trading.

“The TSE is a ground-breaking initiative that will reinforce both our core trading values and our commitment to innovation,” said Simon Trim, managing director of Sporting Solutions. “Comprising a range of customised programmes and modules, the TSE will further develop the core competencies of the company’s trading staff, serving to enhance the professional development of its traders and maintain the reputation that Sporting Solutions has for employing the highest quality traders in the industry.” Dr Ian McHale, director of the Centre for Sports Business and Reader in Statistics at Salford Business School, said: “With a record of world-renowned research and academic expertise in sports statistics and analytics, economics and finance, the Centre for Sports Business can offer a wide range of training and consultancy opportunities for the sports industry. The Trading School of Excellence will give Sporting Solutions staff the best possible training in the field of pricing and trading from some of the UK’s leading sports analysts and statisticians.”

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BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013 Editor: Andrew McCarron Email: am@sjc.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1457 867 683 Managing editor: Ken Scott Email: ks@sjc.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1273 699 900

Advertising sales: Neil Judson, Email: njudson@gbmedia.eu Tel: +44 (0) 1204 396 397 Fax: +44 (0) 1204 392 748 Ad Production: Dave Roderick Email: gdk@sjc.co.uk

Contributors: John Samuels, James Walker, Alex Lee

Hit the rock esting firm The Test People has opened a Gibraltar office to serve the rigorous test requirements of the e-gaming industry. Managing director Gav Winter explained: “Gibraltar is a trusted hub for egaming, with more than 25 international gaming companies establishing businesses producing revenues accounting for more than 20 per cent of its GDP. We are delighted that our innovative testing services and record of delivery excellence are now accessible at the hub of the remote e-gaming industry, where we add significant value, compliance and trust through world-class automation.” Russ Illsley, head of operations in Gibraltar, added: “Our new offices allow us local access to the world’s largest e-gaming companies, giving us tremendous international opportunities and growth potential.”

Opinions expressed in this publication should not be regarded as the official view of GB Media Corporation Ltd, except where stated. Views, opinions and recommendations contained in this publication are put forward for consideration only. No action should be taken in reliance upon any such views, opinions or recommendations. Neither GB Media Corporation Ltd nor contributors accept any responsibility for any loss occasioned to any person howsoever caused or arising as a result of or in consequence of action taken or refrained from in realiance on the contents of this publication.

SKRILL IS THE MAIN SPONSOR OF THE FOOTBALL CONFERENCE LEAGUES THIS SEASON

CVC takes a piece of Skrill VC Capital Partners has acquired a controlling stake in Skrill Group, a provider of alternative payment solutions to the online industry regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, from a consortium of investors led by Investcorp who will remain as a shareholder. Siegfried Heimgaertner, president and CEO of Skrill Group, said: “We are delighted to have CVC on-board whilst retaining Investcorp as a significant investor, as we continue our evolution and growth as a global payments provider. CVC’s global reach and experience will support our goal to become the first choice in payments on a global basis. The value-based transformation we

began in 2012 will continue unabated through this year and into 2014. We believe our consumers, merchants and employees will be excited about the prospects that this new investment and partnership will bring to the world of online payments.” Peter Rutland, senior managing director of CVC Capital Partners, said: “Skrill is a high quality business that has demonstrated its ability to grow rapidly into a market leading provider of online payments serving the online gaming, gambling, digital media and ecommerce industries. We are pleased to have the opportunity to invest in Skrill and support its management team as they continue to grow their range of online payment options across the globe.”

sion to establish a permanent presence in the country in direct response to retailer demand. The accelerated urbanisation of the country has resulted in the growth of a number of cities and many major retailers are now looking to open stores in China beyond the major cities. GMAP haa developed a large database of international retailer locations covering 120 international

brands and over 50,000 locations across 150 cities in China.

GAV WINTER

Shanghai opening allcredit Information Group’s retail location planning consultancy, GMAP, has further strengthened its presence in the international market by establishing an office in Shanghai, China. GMAP is an expert in market analysis and has made the deci-

Notes for contributors: BBi welcomes the submission of articles for consideration by the editor with a view to publication. Submission of an article will be held to imply that the article contains original unpublished work which GB Media Corporation Ltd may lawfully publish. All submissions are made at the owner’s risk. © GB Media Corporation Ltd, 2013 All rights strictly reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission given, full acknowledgement of author, publisher and source must be given.

the eGaming services it offers. Itex has provided full-service eGaming solutions for seven years, including on-island hosting through its data centres and full technical support. Robin Le Prevost, director of ecommerce development for the Alderney government, expressed his confidence that the changes would have a positive effect on the industry: “It is positive news that the C5 Alliance Group is going to add additional services to Itex’s core offering, enabling those companies hosting their operations in the islands to add further value to their business.”

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Fax: +44 (0) 1204 392 748 Subscriptions: Sarah Haworth, Email: shaworth@gbmedia.eu Editorial & Production: Tel: +44 (0) 1204 396 397 20 New Road, Brighton, BN1 1UF, UK Fax: +44 (0) 1204 392 748 Tel: +44 (0) 1273 699 900 Advertising & Subscriptions: Publishing Director: GB Media Corporation Ltd John Sullivan Bolton Technology Exchange Email: jsullivan@gbmedia.eu 33 Queensbrook, Bolton BL1 4AY, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1204 396 397 Tel: +44 (0) 1204 396 397 Fax: +44 (0) 1204 392 748

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PAYMENTS Everi solution lobal Cash Access (GCA) has launched Everi, an innovative payments and monetisation solution for interactive gaming. It has been designed to bridge the payments gap between landbased and interactive gaming, integrating seamlessly with GCA’s extensive network of kiosks and land-based operations, while simultaneously reducing operators’ PCI burden, increasing operator brand awareness, and giving operators more control over their interactive gaming solution. President and CEO David Lopez claimed: “Everi will revolutionise the payments process by making interactive gaming payments an integral part of the player loyalty and monetisation process for online and land-based gaming operators through its complete integration with GCA’s kiosks and expansive land-based operations.”

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Opportunities in the social club Oddslife CEO Rasmus Sojmark discusses social betting and if it has a place within the sports betting industry. here can be little doubt that social casinos and social poker rooms have become hugely popular. While the debate of whether the traffic on these verticals can be turned into higher grossing 'Real Money Gaming' players still rages, Sean Ryan from Facebook recently said that the lifetime value of a social casino player was around US$500. It cannot be denied that a new audience has been engaged with the mechanics of how to play poker and how to play casino games. This really begs the question why has sports betting shunned engaging in cultivating and growing a social audience that could potentially be millions of sports enthusiasts making connections with their sports betting verticals. One explanation could be that sports betting operators by their very nature are quantitative beings, operational and management teams are driven by metrics that can be filtered and communicated easily throughout their operational chain. These numbers are really the grease and cogs that drive a sportsbook. Operators are set to drill down performance numbers and aggregate their customer base into specific category types – VIP’s, mid-level players, first depositors etc. Social games reward and engage users using more personalised methods such as status, achievements, influence, trust and dedication. These are factors that cannot be turned simply into blunt measurement instruments; they require qualitative and quantitative analysis in order to understand where the individual fits in the game’s wider arc. As we have seen with the success stories in social casinos and poker rooms, monetisation is achieved once the player fully trusts, engages and deems the game to be worthwhile entertainment. The theory is no doubt harder than the practice. Marrying sports betting and more socially engaged traffic has to be the aim of social betting, not just any Facebook or Twitter users, but rather fullyfledged socially engaged traffic that values its social status and its digital output - The kind of

Treasury protecti user who meticulously tweaks an online profile and persona for the whole world to view. Social betting has designs on becoming the reward mechanism for this traffic. This ‘reward mechanism’ is vital if social betting is to harness the potential of a younger generation of gamers used to a constant flow of feedback. In video games, Microsoft’s achievement points and Sony’s trophy system provides users with an acute awareness of their technical prowess and their skill level in relation to other players. This drive to provide constant feedback and show a degree of differentiation between good, bad and average players has proved to be a crucial cog in motivating gameplay. It is visible in social games such as Farmville or even tracking reviews on TripAdvisor. Without the ‘social’ element, a customer used to an unceasing flow of information and a constant sense of their relatedness to other users within the community can quickly become disinterested and disenchanted. Users are desperate to satisfy a simple psychological need to display competence in relation to others, and we have already seen this way of thinking in sports betting through separate communities

40 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

on Facebook and Twitter who judge each other’s bets with a healthy sense of competition and a fair dose of one-upmanship. This ties in neatly to an assessment of consumer motivation that often takes a backseat behind quantitative analysis. One must remember the symbolic and hedonistic motives that drive the average punter, for instance a desire to win and escape the monotony of normal life or a need to seek pleasure and play for the fun of it rather than simply looking for more money. Like video games, social betting provides a potential outlet for hedonists or those who want to escape. Press reports state that some operators are willing to spend upwards of £9m on UK TV advertising to attract new customers. Is this unrelenting practice not a cause of saturation and stagnation - especially when every bookmaker follows suit? In its current state the industry may struggle to tackle engagement and retention issues as the prevailing tendency to think mainly in numbers means losing out on the social dynamic. We can see that operators are constantly turning up the volume, but this does not mean the public are listening.

ith a new set of regulatory powers to remove licences, the UK Treasury has attempted to show the new regulatory regime for remote gambling will have teeth. And least for those who don’t pay taxes and bother to get locally licensed. The threat of having a UK licence taken off a firm that doesn’t have one and never intends to get one for not addressing taxes they have no intention of paying is pointless. The real eye opener here though is the assumption by the Treasury that, despite these new powers, the 15 per cent tax rate will only capture 80 per cent of the market. It appears that it is willing to sacrifice the remaining 20 per cent to offshore, unregulated business in order to raise its £300m. The amendment to the Gambling Act has long been touted as a change in public policy in order to protect the citizens of the UK from both crime and the mitigation of harm that

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sury scuttles ection aims gambling can cause in some situations. As laudable an idea as that is, the new legislation is actually going to be less safe after the Treasury’s spin on it. As transient as some operators may be under the current system, over 99 per cent of online gamblers are protected by it, either directly through the Gambling Commission or indirectly through the White List or by jurisdictions within the EEA. The set up as envisaged now will see one in five players exposed to standards of player protection that presumably do not meet the expectations of the Gambling Commission. It is the regulator's duty to inform and advise the government and god knows we've seen enough little love letters from the Commission to the Culture secretary of late reminding us of that relationship. But you can't help thinking that the Commission needs to play the field a little more. While it may

communicate its misgivings to the DCMS about the regulatory black hole that this rate will create, and the DCMS might forward them on to 11 Downing Street, when was the last time the Treasury took a blind bit of notice of any of the other government departments? Especially the widely derided ‘Ministry of Fun’. Instead the Commission should take it on directly with the Chancellor, via the press if needs be, and underline that forgoing 20 per cent of the market for a quick buck is simply unacceptable. Unfortunately the regulator is in that invidious position of not wanting to rock the boat or indeed scupper its own chances of becoming more important. After all, while the tax rate attached to the new legislation will only give it direct influence over 80 per cent of the online market, that itself is far greater than the 15-20 per

cent it currently regulates. So what is the ideal rate? Would a 10 per cent rate see tax receipts drop to £250m yet cover 90 per cent of the market? It’s doubtful that the chancellor would sanction a £50m drop even if it did offer much more protection to UK consumers anyway. In the years when there was an open market the industry was pushing for a 2 per cent rate in order to compete with off shore jurisdictions. The arguments behind that have been blown away by the fenced off Italian regulatory model now anyway. Even the remote industry is still not sure what to pitch at and is waiting for a KPMG report to inform their lobbying efforts. It’s a smart move as the Treasury is as likely to listen to fellow accountants more than industry stakeholders as it goes through the latest charade of ‘consultation’.

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Business corporate

Successful Estonian launch for Unibet

appointments

ambling industry stalwart Roger Withers is to retire from G his role of non-executive chairman at Playtech after seven years, although he will be retained as an advisor. Withers said: “With the success of the business firmly established and set to continue, I leave Playtech financially robust, in good hands and well placed to continue to serve its licensees, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders.” He is succeeded by senior nonexecutive director Alan Jackson, who is also chairman of The Restaurant Group plc and deputy chairman and senior non-executive director of Redrow plc. ROGER WITHERS

arkus Geiß and Clemens Jakopitsch have been appointed M to the Supervisory Board of Mybet Holding SE. The previously proposed candidates Carsten Markus Koerl and Christian Sundermann had withdrawn their candidature at short notice before the Shareholders’ Meeting. has appointed Zillah Byng-Maddick Balsoetfair as a non-executive director and she will be a member of the audit committee.

GAVIN HASTINGS HELPED LAUNCH UNIBET’S SUMMER OF SPORT

Following Unibet’s re-emergence into the UK sposrtbetting market with its Summer of Sport promotion, the firm has also opened for business in Estonia. EXPANSION

nibet CEO Henrik Tjärnström has revealed that the company’s focus on locally regulated markets has seen the company achieve a successful launch in Estonia at the start of July 2013. Unibet launched with a local license in Estonia on unibet.ee and mariacasino.ee, with the full product range available on desktop and mobile platforms for the Estonian customers. Speaking during the Swedish operator’s interim results, Tjärnström also cited the continued growth of the mobile platform as a reason for revenue growth: “Unibet’s strong top line momentum from the first quarter has continued into the low season, despite no major championships this year. Our mobile offering continues to grow and is now over 19 per cent of the gross winnings revenue compared to 8 per cent for the same period last year. Market share growth is driven by Unibet’s continued investment in marketing initiatives in both re-regulated and core markets.”

Gross profit for the first half year 2013 was up 16 per cent to £97.5m with second quarter figures up 18 per cent to £46.4m. Profit after tax for the first half year 2013 amounted to £17.2m (up from £16.4m) while profit after tax for the second quarter of 2013 was £6.7m compared to £5.7m for Q2 2012. Tjärnström added: “Profitability in the second quarter was strong, taking into account sports betting margins slightly below the long-term average and also lower than the same period in 2012. The prior year result for the second quarter also included a number of acquisition-related one-off items with a net positive effect. In the first five weeks of the third quarter average daily gross winnings revenue has increased by approximately 10 per cent over the same period in 2012.” For the second quarter of 2013 the number of active customers amounted to 446,649 compared with 489,923 for the first quarter 2013. An active customer is defined as one placing a bet in the last three months. The total number of registered customers has continued to

42 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

increase and exceeded 7.6m at 30 June 2013. As the majority of Unibet’s business is based around the sportsbook, its performance is determined by the seasons for key sports such as the major football leagues in Europe, major golf and tennis tournaments as well as ice hockey leagues in the Nordic countries and North America and rugby and horse racing in Australia. The seasonality of these events results in fluctuations in the Group’s quarterly performance, especially in terms of Gross Turnover. However, quarterly results can also vary, due to the volatility of gross winnings margins in sports betting. The gross margin for pregame sports betting before Free Bets for the second quarter 2013 was 9.1 per cent, down from 10.6 per cent in 2012, while the live betting margin was 4.7 per cent – down from 4.9 per cent The gross margin for total sports betting for the second quarter 2013 before Free Bets was 6.1 per cent compared to 7.3 per cent in 2012. After Free Bets it dropped to 5.7 per cent.

ANALYSIS It’s not all about sportsbetting at Unibet and Henrik Tjärnström was also upbeat about poker performance: “In the second quarter, the strategy of making the online poker experience more fun with promotions and side games focusing on the casual customer continued. The main highlight being a successful ‘in game’ promotion, where customers got instant rewards for getting specific hand strengths. “During the second quarter the Unibet Open went to Troia, just south of Lisbon, Portugal, where 242 Unibet customers played in this popular tournament. The next Unibet Open event will be held in Cannes, France, in September with high hopes that this will be one of our biggest events ever, if not the biggest.”

Byng-Maddick has held senior finance positions at Trader Media Group, Fitness First Group, Thresher Group, GE Capital and HMV Media Group. Chairman Gerald Corbett said: “Zillah is an experienced finance professional who has worked at the top of a number of consumer facing businesses.” ZILLAH BYNG-MADDICK

atellite Information Services (SIS) has recruited Richard SFormerly Lang as its new director of commerce and operations. chief operating officer at the Gala Coral Group, Lang has also held board positions on the Bookmakers Committee (BMC), the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), British Afternoon Greyhound Services (BAGS) and 49’s Ltd. CEO Gary Smith said: “Having represented one of our major clients he is already well known within SIS and has established relationships with key contacts across the industry.” les Gornjec has been promoted to general manager at A ComTrade Gaming. The new role will see Gornjec primarily responsible for the further expansion of the company, including seeking out new opportunities for growth and maintaining its reputation of the bridge between the online and land based industries. He said: “We’ve spent the last 14 years building on our technology and expertise to become one of the most innovative, multi platform providers within the gaming industry. I’m extremely proud of all that we’ve achieved and very excited that I’ll continue to play such a key role.” ALES GORNJEC

eoComply USA has appointed Valli Ardalan as general G manager for its iGaming Division. Ardalan, most recently head of poker operations for Bwin.party Digital Entertainment, will base himself between the UK and the US as he immediately takes on responsibility for GeoComply’s customers in Nevada, New Jersey and Canada as well as the European platforms and development teams supporting them. eanwhile journalist Tom Victor has joined iGaming PR M specialists Lyceum Media. Victor said: “After spending close to three years writing about the igaming industry, I am excited to bring my abilities and experience to the world of PR. I have built up a strong understanding of the industry and hope this will help me bring Lyceum’s clients great coverage across all media outlets in gaming and beyond.”

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Fortuna sells a share of lottery business European betting operator Fortuna has sold an 8 per cent stake in its lottery business to EINVEST in a deal originally agreed last year. E-INVEST has invested in FORTUNA sázky a.s., a subsidiary of Fortuna Entertainment Group, which currently operates numerical and instant lottery games through a network of around 6,000 points of sale across the Czech Republic.

Media Corp pulls plug on Intabet INVESTMENT

After unexpectedly closing down Purple Lounge, Media Corp has found it hard going to get back into the gaming sector. BOX NATION HAS BEEN LEFT WITHOUT A GAMING PLATFORM

he tortured progression of Media Corporation as a gaming company appears to be at and end after the organisation pulled the plug on its Intabet B2B gaming platform. The company said that the impact of increasing technology, hosting and operating charges on its ‘limited financial resources’, coupled with the inability of the company to obtain an appropriate gaming license in its own right has proved prohibitive to the company being able to launch the Intabet platform in any meaningful capacity as previously envisaged. It explained: “The directors believe that continued development of Intabet would prove a drain on the company that it cannot sustain in the absence of

meaningful revenues or investment. Together with continued legacy issues facing the company taking up substantial amounts of management time detracting their attentions from the operating business, the directors have taken the difficult decision to cease development and operation of the Intabet platform and substantially all of the company’s trading business.” As a result the company will not be in a position to deliver the betting platform to boxing subscription channel Box Nation and its Goal Millions game will continue to operate under licence through Vamagaming, but with next to no promotional budget, the firm said that its contribution to the revenue stream is expected to be ‘negligible’.

Media Corp will now have to become an investing company under AIM Rules, a development which will likely see it dispose of its interest in Intabet and its associated intellectual property. Many consumers would see the end of Media Corp’s operation in the gaming sphere in this way as fitting given the disregard that the organisation appeared to have for the customers of Purple Lounge. Media Corp unceremoniously shut down its online casino last year after deciding that it couldn’t sustain the losses, leaving players out of pocket. This would mean that any Media Corp related gambling operation would have had considerable trouble winning back the trust of the market anyway, had the firm been able to launch its platform.

Yield stable despite turnover drop GERMANY

erman betting firm Bet-at-Home, part of the BetClic Everest Group, has attributed a drop in turnover for the first half of 2013 to comparisons with last year’s Euro 2012 tournament, as well as tax increases in Germany. The firm said: “In addition, unprofitable businesses were closed in the first half of 2013, which also led to a decline in turnover year-over-year. Furthermore, the introduction of the sports betting tax in Germany and the associated passing on of this tax at 5 per cent of the respective bets to German customers resulted in lower turnover.” Despite the drop in 17 per cent drop in revenue to

909.7m euro (£777.5m), the firm’s gross gaming revenue was stable at 41.5m euro (£35.5m). The company explained: “The planned decrease in turnover and simultaneous increase in profitability underpins the goal of extensively increasing the profitability of the bet-athome.com AG Group. Outstanding successes have already been achieved in the first half of 2013 in this regard. Cumulative advertising expenses for the first half year of 2013 were 16.6m euro (£14.2m), thus representing a considerable decrease of 13.1m euro (£11.2m) compared to the 2012 figures for the same period. As a result, despite

a reduction in the advertising expense of 44.1 per cent, gross gaming revenue remained almost at the same level as in the same period in the previous year. The firm said that this once again highlights the success of the customer acquisition and loyalty measures taken, thus achieving a significant increase in efficiency: “The marketing measures taken include investments in new customer acquisition as well as in the reactivation of existing customers, which led to a further successful strengthening of the bet-at-home.com brand. The customer base was significantly expanded through a combination of all these measures.”

info@xb-net.com

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ACTION IMAGES / JULIAN HERBERT LIVEPIC

Agenda

Ante Post: What the bookies say A couple of big races should whet the appetite of punters looking for something juicy away from the important early season football matches. igh-profile racing at home and abroad dominates the next four weeks of sporting and betting action on Betfair, with the usual accompaniment of big football matches of course. The St Leger, the final Classic of the British summer, will capture the attention in mid-September, but the real glamour can be found just outside Paris three weeks later for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Both antepost markets are finely poised at the time of writing with the Exchange’s Arc betting particularly fascinating as it battles over a trio of international contenders. The money will no doubt flood in as anticipation builds.

into, as well as England’s laboured attempts to qualify for next year’s World Cup. Having launched our unique Football Jackpot pool bet at the start of the Premier League season, we’ll be hoping to create a millionaire for as little as £1, and at the time of writing, we are delighted with how the bet has gone down with our customers. Away from football, the racing highlights include JOE DYER the season’s final Classic, Editor the Ladbrokes St Leger at Betting.Betfair.com Doncaster, and the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe After a summer without a meeting at Longchamp. The major football tournament, news that the French showthe new domestic season piece would once again be couldn’t start quickly available to British terresenough, and as we head into trial TV viewers courtesy of the Autumn, there are Channel 4 was a welcome plenty of highlights for foot- development, and one that ball punters to get stuck all involved should be conThere’s a heavyweight clash in the Premier League on Sunday 22 September as the Manchester clubs play their first derby of the season at the Etihad. We’ve seen a number of classic matches between the two in recent years and anything like United’s 3-2 win in this fixture last year would bring multiple opportunities to hit that Cash Out button.

gratulated on. DAVID STEVENS Head of PR Coral

switch across the channel to Longchamp on the first weekend in October for what looks like being a vintage Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe. It seems we have had different favourites every weekend following some great performances over the summer. These have included Intello’s (7/1) French Derby Victory, Al Kazeem’s (5/1) three Group 1 victories, Flintshire’s (9/2) impressive Grand Prix de Paris win and who can forget Novellist’s (5/1 ) record breaking display in the King George at Ascot? Throw in Treve’s (8/1) brilliant French Oaks win and it truly is shaping up to be a race to savour.

This period will see two big races take place with welldeveloped Ante Post markets which have continued to change shape this summer. Firstly the St Leger from Doncaster is the final classic of the year. Heading the market at 4/1 is Galileo Rock, who has been placed in two Derbys this summer and looks like improving for the extra 2 furlongs of the St Leger distance. Aidan O’Brien still has many entries at which to go to war with, so there may still be some value lurking such as Festive Cheer at 12/1 or Eye MATTHEW HULMES Horse racing odds compiler Of The Storm at 16/1. Secondly all eyes will Betfred

My Diary: Dave Webb Dave Webb, Retail Development Manager at Samvo, reflects on hectic schedule for his company. t’s been a busy time for Samvo and we are eagerly looking forward to the next few months. After the success of our Grand National offer back in April – where we paid out an industry-best eight places – we’ve been back in the drawing room thinking of some exciting football promotions ahead of the Premier League season.

Working with our affiliate partners, we’ve launched Samvo Premier Picks which allows new customers to get a free bet worth up to £5,000 through our online offering. Those that deposited during August will have 25 per cent of their deposit matched on the team they believe will win the Premier League. Throughout the season, we’re giving them the chance to top up their Premier Picks bet to 50 per cent, then 75 per cent and finally 100 per cent of their initial deposit, meaning punters could have up to £5,000 riding on their choice of the Premier League outright winner, all courtesy of Samvo.

44 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2013

Our two betting cafés in London continue to attract punters who enjoy the sleek, stylish and comfortable betting environment. We are currently looking to expand and open another café somewhere in the capital to bring the Samvo experience to even more customers. We’re also working on making our online offering, samvo.com, more attractive to punters with new promotions such as margins as low as 1.25 per cent on football’s top four leagues. Our VIP telebet customers are also being targeted for the football season in preparation for what Samvo envisages will be a fantastic year of action.

Our online Betback promotion is also going very well. We’ve been aiming at high-staking punters and it’s been a successful venture so far. Betback allows Samvo customers to get a percentage of their wins, and losses, back every week, which means our clients can take advantage of the lowest margins around. In November we are hosting an exclusive invite only high-stakes poker tournament at the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square, London. This promises to be a brilliant event and will follow on from the launch of our Samvo-Hippodrome loyalty cards, which is scheduled for this month.

LISTINGS MONTHLY BRIEFING

SEPTEMBER 10 Reforming the Gambling Regulatory System, Central London 12 Callcredit’s 6th Annual Fraud Summit 2013, The Royal Institution of Great Britain, London 19-20 US Online Gaming Law 2013, The Bellagio, Las Vegas 24-26 Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2013, Las Vegas Sands Expo & Convention Center, Las Vegas 24 IMGL Member Reception at Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 29 – 1 October International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) Annual Conference, Grand Hotel, Oslo, Norway OCTOBER 1-4 IMGL Autumn Conference, Grand Hotel, Oslo, Norway 3 BOS Bookmakers’ Trade Fair, Wolverhampton Racecourse 3-6 The Barcelona Affiliate Conference 2013, Barcelona 8-10 European iGaming Congress & Expo, Fira Barcelona 8 IMGL Reception at European iGaming Congress & Expo (EiG), Gran Hotel La Florida, Barcelona 17 EASG Seminar: Social gaming / gambling: Threat or Opportunity, Tour & Taxis Building, Brussels, Belgium 21-23 Eastern European Gaming Summit (EEGE Expo), IEC, Sofia, Bulgaria 22-23 World Regulatory Briefing USA, Philadelphia, PA. NOVEMBER 4-5 Mobile and Tablet Gambling Summit, Hilton Tower Bridge, London 6-7 The Social Gambling Conference 2013, Dexter House, London 11 RGA AGM, The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London 18-20 Brasilian Gaming Congress, Rio de Janeiro 20-22 National Association for Gambling Studies Annual Conference, Crowne Plaza Coogee, Sydney Australia DECEMBER 1 – 4 The Second Asia Pacific Conference on Gambling & Commercial Gaming Research (APCG2013), Kaohsiung, Taiwan 9-12 40th annual Global Symposium on Racing & Gaming, Westin La Paloma, Tucson 25 Christmas Day

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LAC likes Earls Court The London Affiliate Conference (LAC) is to move to a new venue for its eighth event - the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London. “We are extremely excited that the show has grown to the extent that we have to move venue,” said Shona ODonnell, head of operations for LAC organiser iGaming Business. LAC will take place on 6-9 February 2014.

Clarion goes nuts for Brazil conference Clarion is hosting a conference in Brazil on sportsbetting ahead of the 2014 World Cup. espite Brazil’s ban on most forms of gambling, betting is a popular pastime amongst Brazilian football-fanatics. The estimated size of the un-licensed sports betting market is unknown, but exponential growth is anticipated during the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. With an intensified betting activity in an un-licensed and un-monitored environment comes a higher risk of match-fixing, which is why the issues around sports integrity start coming to the forefront in Brazil’s preparations to host the sports events. Well-regulated betting markets are key to supporting sports integrity initiatives and preventing match fixing. One example is the Joint Assessment Unit, set up during the London 2012 Olympic Games by the IOC, UK Gambling Commission and the licensed betting operators to monitor and protect the integrity of the Games in 2012. European

ACTION IMAGES / CARL RECINE

lympic Games, Codere do Brasil MD Andre Gelfi, and Fabio Cleto, VP government funds and lotteries, CAIXA Economica Federal, and sports bodies in attendance at the Congress. Gelfi commented: “It is high time that some of the myths around match-fixing and sports betting are abolished in Brazil. It has been well demonstrated that licensed operators contribute to preventing match-fixing through the scrutiny their security teams apply when monitoring betting activities. The BRAZIL WILL BE HOSTING Brasilian Gaming Congress THE 2014 WORLD CUP will be a great opportunity to showcase how it is done and how regulation of Sports integrity, security of gaming can contribute to a the games and consumer more transparent and fair protections will be at the sporting events.” heart of the many debates Kate Chambers, who is planned for the Congress. responsible for Clarion’s Brazilian perspective portfolio of gaming conferwill be provided by Jorge ences, said: “Our aim is to Barbosa Pontes, security be gaming’s event organinternational relations iser of choice and to be able manager of the Rio 2016 to host Brazil’s key instituOrganising Committee for tional influencers, such as the Olympic and Para- SEAE and Caixa at the

Sports Security Association, an industry body set up by licensed European sports betting operators, works closely with the sports governing bodies to identify and report suspicious betting patterns. “Corruptors are generally steering clear of ESSA’s well-regulated and vigilant betting operators, because

a perfect audit trail would be created,” said Antonio Costanzo of ESSA. ESSA’s chairman and director of British sportsbook Ladbrokes, Michael O’Kane, will be one of the speakers at the first Brasilian Gaming Congress (BgC), scheduled to take place on 18-20 November 2013 in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazilian Gaming Congress, speaks volumes for the quality of work undertaken by the team across all of our gaming brands. Brasil is a very significant market on different levels. Economically and socially it has a growing, affluent middle class and politically there is now the will to debate the benefits of regulation and to hear the best practice in regulating and operating gaming from around the world. “This is a rare opportunity to listen to and network with the political figures who will be shaping the future of gaming in what is one of the world’s key strategic markets. The Congress will be by invitation only and the attendance will be capped in order to accommodate the high level political networking that will be at the heart of BgC.” BRASILIAN GAMING CONGRESS (BGC) 18-20 November 2013 Rio de Janeiro

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Analysis

Giving so

THE ASHES SERIES WERE A FOCAL POINT OF BETTING ACTION THIS SUMMER

he monthly analysis that Freebets.com conducts has revealed that bet365 came out on top for July in offering value to customers through their impressive range of money-back offers. July showed the least number of Money Back offers promoted in the three months since analysis began, reflecting the relatively low-key period for core sports betting products like horse racing, football, golf and tennis. There were fewer top level events in those sports compared to the previous two months which featured racing classics, major football cup finals, golf majors and tennis grand slam finals – although the second week of Wimbledon fortnight took place in July. Analysis showed there were 97 unique Money Back offers promoted by the 18 online bookmakers monitored by www.freebets.com. Bet365 came out top in July 2013 for providing punters with the best value Money

ACTION IMAGES / ANDREW BOYERS LIVEPIC

TOP TEN SPORTS SPREAD MARKETS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

International Cricket - England v Australia 4th Test International Cricket - England v Australia 3rd Test International Cricket – England v Australia 5th Test Domestic Football – Man Utd v Chelsea Domestic Football – Man City v Newcastle Domestic Football – Aston Villa v Liverpool Domestic Football – Chelsea v Hull International Football – England v Scotland Domestic Football – Cardiff v Man City Golf – USPGA Championship

Chart supplied by: Spreadex. Calculated on volume of bets. Data for August.

TOP TEN ONLINE BETTING MARKETS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Chart supplied by: BetVictor. Data for August.

TOP TEN FINANCIAL SPREAD MARKETS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Chart supplied by: Spreadex. Calculated on volume of bets. Data for August.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

GBR – Colossus Bets – The £10m Colossus E11,629,300 SWE – V75 – Rattvik E9,009,472 ESP – La Quinella E5,387,057 GBR – Classic Pools E3, 488,790 SWE/RSA – Stryktipset/Soccer13 E3,457,528 SWE – V86 – La Solvalla E3,130,586 GBR – Colossus Bets – Prem League Pick 6 E2,325,860 GBR – Colossus Bets – La Liga Pick 6 E2,325,860 GBR – Goal Millions E1,162,930 GBR – Bodugi - Big Game E1,162,930

Chart supplied by: Colossus Bets Calculated by biggest pools/guarantees over a week’s period during the month. One entry per bet type. Data for 1/9 – 26/8.

International Cricket – England v Australia (5th Test) International Cricket – England v Australia (3rd Test) International Cricket – England v Australia (4th Test) International Cricket – Sri Lanka v South Africa (3rd T20) Golf – Group B US PGA Championship; Winner International Cricket – Sri Lanka v South Africa (1st T20) International Cricket – Sri Lanka v South Africa (2nd T20) International Cricket – Zimbabwe v Pakistan (1st ODI) Domestic Cricket – Northamptonshire v Essex T20 Semi final Domestic Cricket – Hampshire v Surrey T20 Semi final

Chart supplied by: Betfair. Data from 1/8 - 28/8.

TOP TEN GLOBAL POOLS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

UK 100, Daily Wall Street, Daily Germany 30, Daily Spot, EUR/USD Spot, GBP/USD Gold, Daily Oct UK 100, Sep Spot, AUD/USD Spot, USD/JPY Germany 30, Sep

Football – Premier League Horseracing – Glorious Goodwood USPGA Championship Football – ENG Championship Horseracing – York Ebor Festival Football – ENG Community Shield Cricket – The Ashes 3rd Test Football – UEFA Super Cup Cricket – The Ashes 4th Test Football – International friendlies

TOP TEN BETTING EXCHANGE EVENTS

TOP TEN UK HORSERACE POOLS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Ascot – King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes Goodwood – Qipco Sussex Stakes Newmarket – EBF Maiden Fillies Stakes Newmarket – Weatherby’s EBF Maiden Stakes Newmarket – Darley Cup Newmarket – 32Red Bunbury Cup Goodwood – Gordon Stakes Sandown Park – Coral-Eclipse Goodwood – Bet365 Lennox Stakes Goodwood – Maiden Fillies Stakes

Chart supplied by: Totepool. Data for July.

THE £10,000,000 COLOSSUS

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TOP TEN ONLINE POKER PERFORMANCE