Bb120 digital

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AGE CONCERN? The latest round of test purchasing does not make happy reading for the industry

BOOKMAKERS’ TRADE FAIR: All the goings on at next month’s show in Wolverhampton

MACAO GAMING SUMMIT: Inspired’s Harmen Brenninkmeijer joins the experts in Macao

ESSENTIAL GUIDE 18

POLITICS 16

AGENDA 52

£5.20 (€8.30) • ISSUE:120 • SEPTEMBER 2014 • www.betting-business.co.uk

The government has issued a new consultation on the Horseracing Levy Scheme amid fresh claims from bookmakers that the sport is already getting enough funding from the industry.

HORSERACING AS A PRODUCT ‘CONTINUES TO DECLINE’

Germany finally issues online licences GERMANY

fter years of resistance against the opening up of the online gambling regime, German regulators have finally issued licences to 20 companies allowing them to operate in the country and among those that have missed out are Bet365, BetVictor and Tipico.

The successful brands are Cash Point, Admiral Sportwetten, ODDSET, Oddsline Entertainment, Primebet International, Electra Works Ltd (Bwin), Digibet Ltd, Bet-athome.com, Ladbrokes, Bet90, Deutsche Sportwetten, Personal Exchange International (Centrebet), Polco Ltd (Betfair), Intermedia, Bernd Hobiger, RULEO Alpine Country, Racebets International Gaming, Albers Wettbörsen Deutschland, IBA Entertainment (Bet3000) and Star Sportwetten.

The issuing of the licences by the Hesse Ministry of the Interior and Sport has been long overdue. The two-year grace period granted by the European Commission to Germany for making its Inter State Treaty work expired on 1 July 2014. It appears this summer’s ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that the Inter State Treaty is not mutually exclusive from the more liberal gambling licensing system introduced in the state of Schleswig Holstein may have progressed matters. The CJEU ruled that the freedom of movement between the states wasn’t necessarily a given, but down to the German courts to decide.

MyBet CEO Sven Ivo Brinck, whose firm received a licence via Personal Exchange International, remarked: “We are delighted at the news that our application ranks among the twenty best and that the ministry intends to grant a licence to our group company. It will necessitate adjustments within the company that present both opportunities and risks for our business operations.”

However, the German market isn’t as done and dusted as it might sound: it is highly likely that the firms who missed out will issue a legal challenge to the proceedings, which could again delay the full implementation of the Inter State Treaty.

Bookmakers call for drop in individual Levy payments

ACTION IMAGES / JULIAN HERBERT LIVEPIC

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HORSERACING

ookmakers have been speaking with one voice over the past month horseracing does not need any more money from the industry. The UK’s biggest betting firms have all made statements over the course of the past month, seemingly to quell speculation that the racing industry is due for a bumper pay-day when offshore bookmakers are brought into the Levy’s net. Bookmakers argue that the industry’s funding of the sport comes not just through the Levy but also via fees for media rights, which have shot up in recent years.

During his firm’s interim results, Ladbrokes CEO Richard Glynn commented: “Horseracing as a product continues to decline. Concerns continue to mount within the

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industry around the costs related to horse racing and the provision of racing content.

While the racing industry continues to pursue strategies to increase its revenue from betting, the value it delivers continues to decline. This new reality needs to be understood.

Constructive dialogue which places a proportionate value on the role bookmaking has in keeping horse racing as a viable sport can then take place in the right way to ensure a vibrant and growing product.”

It is a viewpoint echoed by most of the other bookmakers.

Coral revealed that the profitability of horse racing in its shops has halved over the last five years and ‘the trend shows no sign of abating’. It added: “The Group is pressing for the Levy rate to be reduced if it is extended to overseas opera-

tors, in order that the overall yield to horse racing is maintained, rather than increased.”

Paddy Power also said it rejected the implication that racing needs additional funding.

It argues: “The UK racing industry has never been wealthier and the total financial contribution to racing from the betting industry has been rising rapidly due to increased media rights payments and streaming costs.”

And William Hill’s group finance director Neil Cooper pointed out that the Levy is assessed around the horseracing industry’s needs. “We would not presume that that means necessarily more money for horseracing, because the current levy is set around horseracing needs. It may lead to different people paying it.

Because racing doesn’t just get money from the levy. Clearly,

www.microgaming.co.uk

one of the major sources of funding is also media rights.”

The comments have been made as the DCMS launches a second consultation in as many months on the Horseracing Levy - with the latest one proposing two options: reforming the existing Levy or replacing it with a bespoke new statutory framework.

Minister for sport Helen Grant said: “Horseracing and betting have grown together over the last 200 years with each helping to shape the other. They have a unique and entirely interdependent relationship. The levy is a fine idea that helps maintain the health of the sport but it is not working as well as it should.

It urgently needs to reflect the modern reality of horseracing and betting and the consultation will help us determine how best to bring it up-to-date.”

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News

THE ILL-FATED BLUE SQUARE SHOP

‘Laughable’ Gambling Commission lacks ‘resources, powers and skills’ to play global role The GBGA has decided that there’s still time for a late challenge to the point of consumption licensing in the UK, and a dig at the Gambling Commission too.

LEGAL

he Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA), the trade body set-up to represent the interests of the online gaming industry on ‘The Rock’, has described the UK Gambling Commission’s attempts to be the ‘global regulator’ of the online gambling industry as ‘laughable’, suggesting it is not up to the job.

The GBGA has now filed its legal challenge against the UK’s point of consumption laws and chief executive Peter Howitt is frustrated that it has reached this point: “It is extremely disappointing that our concerns have not been listened to by the UK government, and that the Gambling Commission’s plans to expand its remit have been accepted. The only beneficiaries of this change are the UK domestic industry and the Gambling Commission itself, which has persuaded the UK government that it should be the global regulator of this high tech and complex industry.

“It has neither the resources, the legal powers, nor the skills to operate successfully across the globe.

This is bad news for consumers, and for international competition. We have an effective and knowledgeable regulator in Gibraltar.

That the Gambling Commission believes it is better placed to regulate the industry here is laughable. We are determined to fight against measures that actually undermine consumer protection.”

The GBGA argues that the new regime, introduced through the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 and also the guidance and policies of the Gambling Commission, is ‘unlawful, because it is an illegitimate, disproportionate and discriminatory interference with the right to free movement of services guaranteed by Article 56 TFEU, and is irrational’.

Whereas the declared intent of the law is to protect consumers, the association argues that it could achieve

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PETER HOWITT: ‘THIS IS BAD NEWS FOR CONSUMERS’

exactly the opposite and cause consumers real harm.

In its submission to the High Court of England and Wales, the GBGA said: “The absence of effective supervision and enforcement, coupled with the burdensome regulatory requirements, will encourage the growth of and migration to unregulated or poorly regulated operators which will present genuine risks to the British consumer.

“When introducing the New Licensing Regime, the Defendants rejected the option of a ‘passporting’ regime. This would have been both less onerous to legitimate operators and more effective in protecting consumers, since it would have been based on effective supervision and cooperation between the GC and overseas regulators.”

The GBGA believes that the new regime was designed for economic reasons: to grant UK operators a competitive advantage over those from overseas. This objective, its counsel argues, is illegitimate. Because the new licensing regulation will come into force on 1 October, the GBGA has

BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

asked for an expedited hearing of its case.

However, several of its higher profile members, such as William Hill, Ladbrokes and Bet365, have already distanced themselves from the action David Clifton of legal consultancy Clifton Davies commented: “Although many commentators believe that the true motivation behind the 2014 Act was taxation rather than increased consumer protection, a consensus appears to be growing that whilst some merit clearly exists in the arguments being advanced by the GBGA, the reality is that a judicial review is probably unlikely to succeed, not least because certain of the members of the GBGA have made it clear that they will not associate themselves with or fund the proceedings.

“On behalf of the Gambling Commission, chief executive Jenny Williams has publicly stated that a judicial review will not delay or derail implementation of the new licensing regime. However, ultimately that would be a matter for the Court to determine as part of the judicial review process.”

Ladbrokes slump by period of ‘digit

After a miserable couple of years, Ladbrokes is hoping the w platform is in place.

ONLINE

adbrokes’ H1 profits before tax are half what they were in 2013 and, incredibly, a quarter of what they were in 2012.

The bookmaking group’s performance has slumped again with the company attributing this year’s travails to a transitional period for its digital business.

Profit after tax for the first half dropped by 49.8 per cent to £23.7m compared to the same period in 2013, with huge drops in operating profit for UK Retail (down 21.3 per cent to £57.6m), European Retail (down 32.0 per cent to £6.6m) and digital

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(down a whopping 72.2 per cent to £3.0m).

However, chief executive Richard Glynn believes that the company’s new digital framework will be the foundation for growth for many years to come. He said: “In the first half of 2014 we successfully delivered all of the planned operational improvements in time for the World Cup. Our offer performed well, delivering a great betting experience for our customers and a good result for the business in a highly competitive market.

“We have made substantial progress and while there is more to do there is also much to play for. We

now have the products, the platforms, the people and the brand in place to deliver. Ladbrokes today is a far stronger company and well positioned for growth.”

The company’s figures were compounded by poor sporting results which have hit the whole industry, including two expensive weekends earlier on in the year where favourites dominated results in the Premier League.

Glynn added: “With the convergence of competitive products, platforms and capabilities the heavy lifting has been largely completed and we now move to normal operations

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Rank back into betting shops terminals linked to the customer’s online accounts, but failed to take off. Howver, the firm has revealed it is trying again: “As part of the brand’s strategy to further develop its casino offer, a trial sports betting offer has recently been introduced alongside the refurbished Leicester casino. There are plans to extend the trial into a further three venues in 2014/15.”

ACTION IMAGES / STEVEN PASTON

The Rank Group is once again dipping its toe into the world of betting shops, with the bingo and casino operator revealing it has opened an LBO in Leicester. Rank’s previous foray into betting shops was part of the ill-fated Blue Square brand, which opened one of the country’s first automated betting shops next to the group’s Grosvenor Casino on Edgware Road in London. The Blue Square LBO consisted of

Mobile dominates William Hill’s World Cup MOBILE

illiam Hill doubled its World Cup business in 2014, thanks to some clever marketing and an explosion in mobile betting. Online wagering more than doubled between the two tournaments for William Hill and carried on its incredible growth story. On a per game basis, online took an average of £700,000 in wagering in World Cup 2010, £1.6m in Euro 2012, and £2.3m in World Cup 2014.

New CEO James Henderson said that improvements to product and the customer journey last year, saw mobile has increased from 14 per cent to 28 per cent of gaming for the first half, but that it was higher still during Brazil 2014. “During the World Cup, we did manage to achieve the dizzy heights of 33 per cent. And we’re still developing more content to drive growth like our proprietary roulette product that’s helping cross-sell as well. Mobile’s also very strong in the US at 36 per cent of turnover, and in Australia, where it’s 38 per cent of turnover.”

Henderson said that the variety of kick off times mean that it was ‘always going to be a mobile World Cup’, and it represented more than 60 per cent of the firm’s online business. He explained: “In regard to new accounts from the World Cup, we were well ahead of our target, and that’s with us being careful what we go for. Whether it’s the World

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mp compounded digital transition’

oping the worst is behind it now that its new digital

with the continual evolution of our offer and refinement of our operations.”

Ladbrokes said it also delivered a strong financial performance in the World Cup with staking growing on the 2010 World Cup by over 20 per cent, with the Mobile offer proving to be the ‘standout performer with actives up nearly 700 per cent and staking by over 1,100 per cent. This helped Digital perform strongly with staking growth of over 40 per cent on 2010 and actives up 28 per cent overall.

Glynn commented: “Although Digital was the channel of choice for betting on the World Cup,

we were pleased that UK Retail grew staking by 8 per cent reflecting the Group’s focus on football product.

UK Retail recorded a significant increase in slippage as customers took advantage of the increased availability of multiples and coupons.”

There were some promising underlying figures.

Ladbrokes exited H1 with the mobile business contributing over half of Digital staking. Strong mobile growth has been the engine behind the acceleration in the rate of growth of Digital overall. In Q2, Mobile sportsbook staking growth was 114 per cent and overall Digital sportsbook staking was up c.30 per cent

from 24 per cent in Q1.

Betdaq, which was acquired in Q1 2013, has also had a record period, delivering total revenues, including Ladbrokes Exchange, of £6.6m and break-even profitability.

Net revenue was up 69.2 per cent year on year and the exchange has continued to deliver a number of new product improvements during the year.

Despite the poor group performance, it transpires that Glynn picked up a total pay package of £4.7m last year, an increase of 85 per cent, thanks in part to a one-off £3.9m share plan that was voted through on his appointment in 2010 and vested last year.

ANALYSIS With such a poor performance for the digital business, albeit in a ‘transitional year’, Richard Glynn will be pleased that he is still in a position to turn the company around.

Not all company boards would have been so patient.

However, it is time to start delivering, if a recent report in the Sunday Times is anything to go by.

One leading shareholder told the paper: “What we need to see signs of operational improvement. There needs to be, at a minimum, an improvement in machine takings and evidence customers are being won back.

If we don’t get a clear picture on that, he’s toast. A number of other shareholders have had conversations with the chairman to say that this cannot go on.”

THE OPENING GAME BETWEEN BRAZIL AND CROATIA WAS A BIG LOSER FOR WILLIAM HILL

ACTION IMAGES / MATTHEW CHILDS

LADBROKES IS STILL SEARCHING FOR THAT WINNING FEELING

Cup or the Grand National, we know the lifetime value of a new customer and, therefore, we shape our offers to fit.

“For us, first and foremost, it’s about securing profitable customers. It’s also about engaging our customers. We went even money Brazil to beat Croatia in the opening game, effectively giving customers a £20 winner to reinvest for the remainder of the tournament. The offer lasted 72 minutes online.

“We saw reactivations, new accounts, good crosssell from racing and, more importantly, business from these customers for the rest of the tournament. In addition to the offer on Brazil, we gave a further £1m away on offers like our bore draw acca insurance of first goal scorer, second chance.”

Financial director Neil Cooper added: “Profit-wise, the tournament was a bit of nail biter for bookmakers, given the early run of favourites winning, together with the dearth of draws. In fact, it took seven days and 18 games before we broke even in online. The results in the latter part of the tournament ensured that we had a good result overall, even if the margins were not quite as high as 2010.

“Most profitable gaming online: the final. You cannot beat a normal time nil all draw for entertainment. And the biggest loser was the opener, Brazil, Croatia. So we literally started in a hole, ended up in a good place.”

BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

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iGaming

Bwin.party rules out exit of declining poker market The troubled poker market has caused some issues for Bwin.party so far this year, mainly on the balance sheet.

POKER

win.party CEO Norbert in a non-regulated market may not be Teufelberger said that the with us for very long. company has had to face “So the point about the ‘volume to the ‘reality’ that poker is a value’ strategy is that we’re focusing declining product after the on acquiring new customers in the regcompany said that poker’s gross ulated and to be regulated markets. gaming revenue fell 37 per cent to That’s not to say we’re walking away 16.6m euro (£13.3m) for the first half from the non-regulated markets, it’s of the year. just to say we’re not spending valuable Teufelberger commented: “Poker is dollars recruiting customers there.” the most difficult segment of our portMeanwhile CFO Martin Weigold disfolio, clearly. Today, it is only 14 per cussed market consolidation: “We are cent of our revenue - so we are not targeting our investment in sustaindepending on poker any more. In our able markets right now. We saw some focus markets, too, it’s obviously a nice growth in those areas year on declining product proposition and we year. Sports, for example, grew by 14 have to face that reality. per cent in those markets year on year.

“So it will be all about having a Casino grew by 7 per cent. We know proposition to the customer where the issues with the overall poker you are at least one of the top three market and unfortunately, operators. If you are successful in we did see a market doing that, you can make some money decline there. Also, to in poker but obviously it will not be a be fair, our own pergrowing proposition going forward.” formance could However, he was keen to emphasise have been better, I that the firm would not be abandoning think, in that area. the sector: “I think exiting would be a Bingo was relabit too harsh,” he said. “We have tively flat, but already been concentrating on the again, that’s down Bwin brand in Europe, predominantly to a very competion sports. That’s working. And we are tive market ahead of seeing some early successes there. the potential introThen obviously from sports, you will duction of the ‘point be able to cross-sell into casino, into of consumption’ tax in poker. So it will still be a product which the UK. We’re certainly we’ll be offering, but obviously we prepared to invest, it’s have defocused poker heavily.” just a case of where are The group’s policy shift from we going to invest. That ‘volume to value’ (and the loss of the is in the sustainable Greek market) was again attributed to markets.” a 7.5 per cent drop in revenues to 317.1m euro (£253.1m).

New chairman Philip Yea defended the approach: “We have to live with the world the way it is and the world is increasingly regulating. It’s not that we don’t raise our hand and argue when we think that regulation is inappropriate or disproportionate, but we are living in a regulating world.

In that world, the value of a customer that we acquire in a regulated market has many years’ profits PHILIP YEA: ‘WE ARE LIVING IN coming from it, whereas A REGULATING WORLD’ the customer we acquire

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666Bet snaps up Daily Mail’s Metro Play Casino MOBILE

66Bet has acquired Metro Play Casino from dmg media, the consumer media division of Daily Mail and General Trust Plc (DMGT).

The casino.metroplay.co.uk URL will remain and 666Bet has also acquired Metro Play Casino’s Alderney licence.

This is the first major acquisition by 666Bet which launched in June with a high profile publicity campaign that included its groundbreaking offer of 1966/1 for England to win the World Cup. 666Bet CEO Barry Martin said: “Metro Play Casino is a really strong brand in the gaming industry and we’re thrilled to have acquired it. We look forward to continuing the development of the casino and creating a quality offering for Mero Play’s existing players, as well as new ones “It’s been a very busy summer with the launch of 666Bet ahead of the World Cup and this acquisition gives us a significant footprint in the online casino market.”

666Bet has signed Harry Redknapp as its brand ambassador and he stars in the company’s TV advertising alongside Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels star Vas Blackwood. The firm has also become shirt sponsor for Leyton Orient, in a record sponsorship deal for the club.

Orient commercial manager Tom Jeffes said: “We’re delighted to welcome 666Bet as our main shirt sponsor in what is a fantastic deal for both parties. Obviously it has taken longer than hoped to make this announcement but we had to take our time and ensure that we had the very best possible deal for the club and of course 666Bet, especially in light of all the changes at the club over the summer. I hope this will be the start of a long and successful partnership for both of us.”

The firm has also become the official betting partner for Premier league sides Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion. Other teams that have partnered with gaming firms just before the season started was Aston Villa (William Hill) and Everton (Coral Interactive).

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BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

ANALYSIS Indeed the poker market has caused a huge paper loss of 100.4m euros (£80.1m) for the first half of the year, despite the group achieving 46.4m euro (£37.0m) in Clean EBITDA over the period.

The firm’s decision to take an impairment charge of 94.7m euro (£75.6m) – of which 88.4m euro (£70.5m) is attributed to poker – has caused the huge loss. The firm explained: “The weaker than expected poker market across both Europe and New Jersey has had an adverse effect on the projected value in use of the poker assets which have consequently been written down to their value in use.

An impairment of 19.7m euro has been charged against goodwill, 59.4m euro against acquired intangibles and 9.3m euro against other intangibles.”

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Tournament for newcomers

iGaming

Bodog is running its Golden Spade Poker Open (GSPO) again, this time with double the cash prizes.

The firm bills the event as an opportunity for the ‘less experienced player’ to get involved in a tournament. It explained: “It is the recreational players that are at the heart of the poker eco-system, not the ‘pros’ who utilise unfair software systems to beat their opponents.”

TREASURE ISLAND IS ONE OF THE CUSTOMERS AT THE ALL AMERICAN POKER NETWORK

Cherry aids online gaming growth SWEDEN

888 preparing for UK’s point of consumption Another half of record revenues for 888 has put the firm in good stead to prepare for rockier times later on this year.

CASINO

88 Holdings has warned that the UK’s point of consumption tax will ‘undoubtedly’ have an impact on the firm’s operations, but as yet it is unclear the extent to which it will disrupt matters.

The casino operator made the statement on the back of a 13 per cent increase in revenues for the first half of the year to US$225.1m (£136.7m) and a 27 per cent increase in Adjusted EBITDA to $49.0m (£39.8m).

Chief executive Brian Mattingley explained: “In the UK we are finalising preparations for the introduction of Point of Consumption Tax due in December. This new duty will undoubtedly have an impact on the UK market although it will take time as the market evolves and adjusts to a new regulatory environment to fully understand what this will be. Our preparations include strategies to mitigate some of the financial impact of the Point of Consumption Tax for 888 whilst continuing to ensure that we provide the most enjoyable gaming

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experience to our customers.”

Mattingley said that H1 performance had been driven by strong performances across both our B2C and B2B lines of business: “We have delivered growth across all key product verticals, with Casino the standout performer delivering another period of double-digit growth. We are delighted by the turnaround of our improved Bingo business and 888sport has delivered an outstanding performance by more than doubling revenue year on year reflecting the strength of our re-launched offer.

“Whilst the outcome for the full year will be dependent on trading in the second half, we continue to look forward with confidence as we further develop the business.”

B2C Bingo revenue was up 9 per cent year on year to $24.0m (£14.6m) despite what the company describes as a ‘challenging and mature market’. 888 said this vindicates last year’s plan to turnaround the Bingo business by restructuring it in line with its Casino and Poker verticals and improving the look

BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

and feel of our product.

Casino itself jumped 14 per cent to $107.6m (£65.4m) while Poker gained 3 per cent to $48.1m (£29.2m).

Meanwhile, 888sport continued to deliver strong performance during the period in line with expectations, seeing revenue increasing 102 per cent year on year.

In previous announcements, 888’s US facing operations have been the jewel in the crown, but it appears things are more sluggish than expected. All American Poker Network (AAPN), 888’s joint venture with Avenue Capital in the US, launched its offering in New Jersey and embarked on marketing activities which resulted in a loss for AAPN in the period. The group’s share of the AAPN loss was $4.4m (£2.67m).

It added: “To date AAPN’s trading in New Jersey, the largest of the three regulated states, has been slower than what was initially expected as a result of much publicised technical issues around geo-location and ePayments as well as the continued operation of unregulated sites and a more general lack of awareness in the market of legalised online gaming.”

ANALYSIS While it can’t be denied that the fledgling igaming industry in the US has not exactly lived up to some of the wild expectations expressed before regulation, it is still a huge opportunity.

888 said that although there has been problems with the US market, they do not appear insurmountable and that it remains ‘fully committed’ to the market, both through its AAPN joint venture and the B2B model. It explained: “This dual structure allows us to capture the significant opportunities in an effective and investment efficient manner. Through our technical, operational and commercial expertise and flexibility we continue to be in an exceptionally strong position as the market regulates.”

wedish gaming operator Cherry has increased its online gaming business by 40 per cent as the listed firm posted a 23 per cent increase in group turnover for the first half of the year. However, despite the jump in turnover to SEK149.4 (£13.0m), the firm posted an EBITDA loss of SEK8.4m (£730,000) similar to the same period in 2013.

Cherry operates the online gaming sites Cherr y C a s i n o . c o m , EuroSlots.com, SpilleAutomater.com, NorgesSpill.com and NordicSlots.com, as well as a RestaurantCasino business which operates table games in approximately 250 locations and the Yggdrasil online slot developer.

CEO Emil Sunvisson said: “It has been a very positive first six months of 2014 and we can conclude that all business areas set new sales records. Online gaming continues to grow faster than the market and Yggdrasil has signed a number of new contracts. Cherry’s journey as a fast-growing online company continues.”

The firm announced that its online gaming division grew by 40 percent with deposits up by 43 percent. Sunvisson commented: “Within the Online Gaming business area, Cherry’s products have been well received by the market and are now discovered by more and more players. Both CherryCasino.com and SpilleAutomater.com have developed strongly.

CherryCasino has introduced a new personal identification in the form of ‘The

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distinguished gentleman’ and the mountain gorilla named Uncle Cherry, guaranteeing an exciting gaming experience.

“At the end of the interim period, EuroLotto.com was migrated to Cherry’s platform and the offer has been supplemented by a large number of new games, which resulted in an increased customer intake.

This has contributed to substantial growth of 38 percent within the Online Gaming business area. Continued strong marketing investment and bonus expense related to customer acquisition burdens the result. However, with increasing volumes the margins will continue to improve.”

Meanwhile Klubblo, a venture run in co-operation with the Sports Alliance, has recently received the necessary gaming licence from the Swedish Gaming Board.

Together with the Swedish Sports Alliance and the media group Metro, Cherry will contribute to the financing of Swedish sports associations by offering exciting online and mobile games.

EMIL SUNVISSON: ‘CHERRY’S JOURNEY AS A FASTGROWING ONLINE COMPANY CONTINUES’

Age verification is a high stakes game When it comes to age verification, the stakes have never been higher for online gaming companies. Tough legislation means failure to prevent under 18s from registering can lead to heavy fines, loss of trade and irreparable brand damage.

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$2m donation for Antiguan homes

iGaming

Bodog owner Calvin Ayre has pledged US$2m to a new housebuilding initiative in the igaming jurisdiction of Antigua to build 500 homes in 500 days. Canadian-born Ayre commented: “I love Antigua as so many that visit year in, year out do as well and, therefore, think it’s only right to continue to give something back by way of saying ‘thank you’ to the wonderful people of this beautiful island.”

Any firm which buys two of the world’s biggest poker operators is probably justified in saying that it’s a transformational deal.

DAVID BAAZOV: ‘A TRANSFORMATIVE PERIOD FOR AMAYA’

ACQUISTION

maya Gaming CEO David Baazov has hailed a ‘transformative’ second quarter for the group as its audacious acquisition of the Rational Group has caused ripples throughout the industry.

While the company revealed a rise of £4.4m in revenue in the quarter, it’s the move into the online poker sector which has had greater repercussions.

Baazov said: “The second quarter was a transformative period for Amaya as we announced and completed well ahead of schedule our acquisition of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, which collectively hold a healthy majority of the market share in online poker.

“Led by its highly experienced management team, Rational Group provides Amaya with a strong platform for growth in revenues and profitability and will be significantly accretive to our earnings.”

Not everyone involved in the management of the two poker brands is staying on with the company though.

Rational Group founder and CEO Mark Scheinberg said: “Since launching Poker-

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Transformative quarter for Amaya ANALYSIS Amaya has bought a firm that not only operates two of the largest online poker sites where it has dealt more than 100bn poker hands and held over 800m online tournaments, the group is the largest producer of live poker events around the world. The acquired group recorded consolidated revenues of approximately US$1.133bn (£694m) and net income of $422m (£259m) in the fiscal year ended 31 December 2013. Before its acquisition the group also recorded consolidated revenues of approximately $487m (£298m) and net income of $193m (£118m) in the five months ended 31 May 2014.

Stars in 2001 we have grown the business each year thanks to constant innovation, unparalleled customer service, and the talent of our dedicated workforce. While myself and other founders are departing, we are happy to see the business and the brands we have developed, along with the teams behind them, transferred to strong new ownership. I’m confident that Amaya, together with Rational Group’s lead-

ership, will continue to successfully grow the business into the future.”

According to Baazov, Rational has a loyal and recurring customer base which has been driven by its dedication to player protection and game integrity as well as innovative tournaments, game formats and software technology. He said that Amaya is ‘strongly committed’ to Rational maintaining this focus in order for the game experience to remain as enjoyable and exciting as ever for online poker players.

He added: “The worldwide recognition of the PokerStars and Full Tilt brands, bolstered by being the largest producer of live poker tours and events across the globe and producer of televised and online poker programming, also provides Rational with an enormous opportunity to take advantage of adjacency opportunities in online casino and sportsbook, in jurisdictions where they can be offered - while growing in new geographies.

“Amaya is committed to supporting these growth initiatives. However, with respect to the new verticals, we are determined that they not provide any disruption to the core poker offering and that the new vertical offerings are as robust and enjoyable as Rational’s online poker.”

Away from online poker Amaya has completed the integration of its Casino Gaming System for websites of several major online casino operators including bwin.party’s websites in Europe, Cherry AB’s websites, Ultimate Gaming in New Jersey, and Rational Group’s Full Tilt Poker.

It’s all about content states GameAccount Network as slot portfolio hits 250 There’s no doubt what will be driving the market over the coming years: content.

Already a key game changer in the coin-op machines sector, for example, content will be ‘king’ according to GameAccount Network going forward.

CONTENT

ameAccount Network (GAN) has underlined it’s commitment to delivering best in breed gaming content by increasing the number of online slot options it provides operators to an industry best 250. The GAN portfolio comprises proven games from international developers including IGT, Bally, SHFL, Ainsworth, Aristocrat, Incredible Technologies, Konami, MultiMedia Games, Gamomat, Reel Time Gaming, NetEnt, Slot

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8

Symphony, High Flyer Games, Barcrest/SG Gaming and Novomatic.

Daniel Lindsay, commercial director at GAN, said: “As a totally agnostic content provider, we are able to provide our operator partners with the pinnacle of slot games that are currently available from the leaders in the land-based market. What this means in practice is that third party content can be integrated at an operator’s request, a feature which delivers com-

BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

plete and total flexibility to the customer and in the process enhancing player choice and variety.”

He added: “With some 250 titles to choose from across game category, volatility and feature matrix, we believe that it’s vital to work with our partners to ensure the very best games are available and the right product is offered for the right market - essentially the basic rules of commerce.

What is absolutely crucial for

online operators is the ability to engender a feeling of trust, integrity and familiarity with the games offered. In this way, when players scroll through what could be a very long list of games, they are drawn to the slots they have played before in the land based environment, be that a street machine or a jackpot machine in a casino. In a marketplace where acquiring and retaining players is what drives business, Content

always has and always will be King. Our key objective is to supply the games that people love to play and in the process exceed the expectations of our customers.”

iGAMINGBRIEFS SILVERLINE SUSPENDED

The UK Gambling Commission has commenced a review under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005 and, under section 118 of the Act, and decided to suspend the Operating Licence of Silverline Interactiv Technologies Plc while that review takes place.

The Commission said it decided to commence a review because “we are concerned the licensee is operating in a manner which is not consistent with the licensing objectives in regard to ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open manner, and that the licensee is unsuitable to carry out the licensed activities.” It added that the suspension is an interim measure, the need for which will be kept under consideration whilst the review takes place.

XL EVEN BIGGER

London AIM listed igaming marketing network XL Media has continued its acquisition spree, with the announcement of the purchase of ExciteAd Digital Marketing for a reported $19m (£11.5m). XL Media , which floated on the London AIM in March, will add ExciteAd services to its digital marketing inventory. ExciteAd operate as a specialist in social gaming marketing, serving high targeted volume advertising to multiple social gaming operators.

Earlier on in the month XL Media also announced that it had agreed to acquire an unnamed UK sports betting affiliate website for a sum of $6.7m (£4.10m).

NEW GREEN MAN

Igaming operator Mr Green & Co has announced the appointment of Simon Falk as new chief financial officer.

Falk is set to take over the operators’ financial tasks and duties of retiring CFO Marjatta Skogh. Chief executive Mikael Pawlo said “As the Mr Green & Co Group acquires more gaming companies and grows geographically, our CFO will hold an increasingly central position. We are confident that Simon Falk will play a key role in our continued expansion.”

In the first half of 2014, Mr Green saw a continued increase in revenues totalling SEK 316.0m (£27.5m), representing an increase of 41.4 per cent on corresponding 2013 performance.

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BB120-p10-14-Betting_09/10 05/09/2014 10:56 Page 1

Betting The World Cup has helped put a smile on the face of Paddy Power investors wincing from two expensive weekends of winning favourites in the Premier League.

Betfred hopes The Dudes will stand out in crowded marketplace

RESULTS

MARKETING

14 per cent drop in operating profit has failed to dampen optimism at Irish bookmaker Paddy Power.

While H1 profits dropped to 60.1m euro, a reduction attributed to the run of punter friendly results that hit the industry earlier this year, there was substantial growth in underlying figures, such as a 14 per cent increase in stakes to 3.4bn euro.

Chief executive Patrick Kennedy said: “The punter friendly results in football and racing which impacted the gross win percentage in the initial six months of 2014 failed to put a halt to our gallop with strong underlying performance and accelerating top line momentum delivered in the period. For example, we acquired more new sportsbook customers on paddypower.com in these six months than in all of 2013. We had a cracking World Cup which generated stakes of almost 200m euro, 130 per cent ahead of the previous tournament. Australia continues to power ahead and Italy has made significant progress.”

The ‘slew’ of punter friendly results saw a Group gross win percentage of 9.1 per cent, some 1.0 per cent lower than the rate the bookmaker normally expects, and the gross impact of this was approximately 34m euro.

However, the group said it remains confident in its long run expected average gross win percentage of approximately 10 per cent.

The scale of Paddy Power’s online operation continues to increase significantly, all via organic

A

Paddy Power upbeat despite punter friendly results

growth from legal, regulated markets. Active customers grew by 25 per cent to 1.8m, stakes by 22 per cent and eGaming net revenue by 15 per cent. Sportsbook net revenue growth of only 1 per cent and an operating profit reduction of 18 per cent to 43.0m euro reflected adverse sports results.

Paddy Power’s retail businesses in Ireland and the UK saw profits lift by 21 per cent, driven by new shops and ongoing revenue growth across the existing estate. In fact, the betting shop division continued to turn a profit - up 4 per cent despite the adverse sports results.

The company explained: “We expect continued revenue growth as we meet resilient core retail customer demand, use our leading position to enhance our offer and take further market share, while also benefiting from improved economic conditions. In addition, we will continue

to use our estate to complement our online business, including targeting the substantial online spend of retail bettors with a leading multi-channel offer.

“We are uniquely well placed to invest in our retail offer given our shops turnover more than double the average of competitors’ units. This translates into higher profitability per unit, which can support a better proposition for customers, creating a virtuous cycle.

We are also currently developing, testing and rolling out new shop formats, next generation TV displays and multi-channel product propositions.”

Paddy Power has been spending 329,000 euro on average on new units, but will be more selective following the increase in taxation in the UK. The firm said that it has ‘increased the required activity levels for new shops and withdrawn from some planned openings’.

ANALYSIS Paddy Power was keen to talk up its World Cup social media activity and well it might. The bookmaker’s combined Facebook Fans and Twitter Followers leaped by 17 per cent in June to 2.4m, with engagement at three times the level of the six nearest competitors combined. The firm also grew strongly on new social platforms, including Instagram, Snapchat and Vine.

Importantly, the number of new customers coming to Paddy Power for the first time increased by 35 per cent to 795,000 in the period, with no increase in marketing costs per new customer.

rothers and Sisters has created Betfred’s first ever brand campaign ahead of the Premier League football season. Directed by Bruce St Clair (Biscuit Filmworks), the campaign’s 40-second commercial will be premiered across Sky Sports and BT Sport and builds on the existing brand idea of ‘You’ll Love a Bit of Betfred’.

The ad features ‘two cool characters’, lifelong best mates who turn an ordinary walk down the street into a slice of fun and entertainment by playing keepy uppy.

The campaign will run across TV, digital, press and will feature in all 1,400 Betfred stores nationwide. The campaign was teased with an unbranded film running online in the build up to the launch of the TV ad, which introduced the two old friends as having shot their own recruitment video in which they demonstrated their skills to get signed by a Premier League team.

Gemma Strath, Betfred Group marketing director, said: “After a competitive pitch we selected Brothers and Sisters and we have been delighted with their creative and how we have worked together to execute it. It is very different for a betting company but we are confident that our new campaign will stand out in a very cluttered market place. The Betfred brand is all about entertainment and fun and that’s what this new campaign conveys.”

Andy Fowler, Brothers and Sisters founder and executive creative director, added: “This is more than just the launch of an ad campaign. The Dudes are the new Betfred characters that we aim to grow and build over time. They represent the fun you get with Betfred and you’ll be seeing a lot of them in the coming years.”

Meanwhile, the bookmaker has continued to reorganise internally following the promotion of MD John Haddock to CEO. Rakesh Chablani has been promoted to the role of managing director of the group’s digital business, with Russell Young replacing him as commercial director.

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sales@ingg.com www.ingg.com

10 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

www.betconstruct.com

BB120-p10-14-Betting_09/10 05/09/2014 11:52 Page 2

DELROY FACEY

Betting ACTION IMAGES / IAN SMITH

Facey faces fixing charges The National Crime Agency in the UK has charged former Premier League footballer Delroy Facey with conspiracy to commit bribery as part of its long running investigating into match-fixing which has already seen three successful convictions. Another man arrested as part of the same investigation, Moses Swaibu, will be retried after the jury was unable to reach a verdict in June. He will appear at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday 19 September.

The Self Service Betting Terminal (SSBT) is gradually making inroads into the betting shop and improving the fortunes of Ladbrokes.

Bookmakers to look at employment terms and conditions.

SSBT

adbrokes has hailed the ‘resilience’ of its retail betting estate, despite ‘a challenging trading and regulatory environment.’

The Ladbrokes Group as a whole saw operating profit for the first half of the year drop 33.7 per cent to £56.8m, but the UK Retail business operating profit dropped by 21.3 per cent. Similar to other bookmakers, this was attributed to the industry-wide customer friendly results, notably in football in January and horse racing in June.

Chief executive Richard Glynn commented: “One of our key objectives for 2014 had been to grow our football business given recent trends in horse racing betting. We have made a real push within the UK Retail estate on football through improving product in shop and investment in SSBTs. In the first half we rolled out a new football coupon dispenser to drive more valuable multiple football betting.

An additional 350 SSBTs have been successfully deployed increasing our total to nearly 1,750 and we have reconfigured their deployment around the estate to maximise our returns.

“SSBTs continue to enhance our drive for more football business with over 70 per cent of their overall staking being derived from football. Encouragingly this trend continued through the World Cup and we are now well positioned for the 2014/15 football season.”

Gross win margin for the period in UK Retail was 16.4 per cent - way lower than H1 2013’s 17.8 per cent - which the firm says reflected some of the difficult trading weeks, particularly for football in January and the higher than average percentage of winning horse favourites at both the start and end of the period.

Glynn explained why the company is lukewarm on racing at the moment: “While Cheltenham delivered a better year on year performance this was partly offset by Aintree which, while positive, was below last year’s exceptional result. The major flat festivals in the period at Epsom and Ascot were particularly customer friendly with Ascot seeing 14 winning favourites in 30 races. We recorded losses in both festivals.

“This reflected a more general trend in

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REGULATION

ookmakers have responded to the Gambling Commission’s request to reduce the risk of potential conflicts of interest when a trader encounters information that might indicate suspicious betting activity.

Following unusual betting activity at horse races early this year, the regulator is concerned that some traders may well act on suspicious betting activity themselves rather than report it (or before reporting it) to the regular channels.

Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) members have agreed to adjust their betting terms and conditions to make the contravention of sports or other professional or employer rules on betting a breach of their own terms and conditions. This change brings bookmakers in line with one of the recommendations of the Parry report on sports betting integrity.

Additionally, the major betting operators said that they are looking at changes to employment terms and conditions on a crossindustry basis to ensure that traders are required to act first and foremost in the interests of the employer.

ABB chief executive Dirk Vennix said in a letter to the regulator that the organisation continually works to ensure best practice is in place across the industry: “Specifically, not only have our members agreed to share information about the recent case involving suspicious betting activities, but they have also agreed to consider a change to employment terms and conditions on a cross-industry basis so as to ensure consistency across the industry. We are currently developing a template on which we will consult with members.”

The Gambling Commission believes that these moves will help to reduce the risk of operators accepting bets based on advantageous commercial intelligence in the possession of the employees of other operators. It said that operators should not rely on such bets being voided but, revisions to terms and conditions will enable them to refuse to pay out if those terms and conditions are breached.

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Ladbrokes hails SSBT impact on football betting racing with the winning favourite strike rate over the first six months being 37.5 per cent, the highest observed for over 20 years. This is around 1.5 percentage points higher than the five year average exacerbated by the continued trend of smaller field sizes. While there has been some recycling, it was not enough to offset the poor run of results. Horse racing still struggles to attract younger betting customers and consequently staking declined in the latter part of H1, particularly during the World Cup.” Ladbrokes said it achieved ‘significant success’ from its focus on football, with staking growing by c.27 per cent (excluding the World Cup) on H1 2013 and football staking in the 2013/14 football season growing by 25 per cent on 2012/13. Football margins were however impacted by January’s run of favourites and fell to 19.6 per cent for the period against 31.6 per cent in 2013.

ANALYSIS Richard Glynn said that while Retail is resilient, it is not impervious to political impacts. He explained: “Work will continue on the size and composition of our Retail estate as we review the implications of the government proposals on further restrictions around B2 content and the rise in taxation. This needs to be taken in association with the seemingly inexorable rise in costs for racing, for both content and the levy process. When set against the general industry trend of falling horse stakes, either a reduction in shop numbers or the cost of the product will have to be considered as the current economic model is simply unsustainable. Further shop closures will be inevitable but whilst we are still assessing the likely impact it remains premature to quantify.”

INTRALOT’s pari-mutuel offer rejected GREECE

PAP has thrown its hat into the ring again for the running of Greece’s horseracing pari-mutuel operation after the 5.25m euro offer from Intralot was rejected by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF). After rejecting a second undisclosed bid from Intralot, the HRDAF instead launched an international open tender for the grant of the exclusive right to organise and conduct mutual betting on horse races in Greece, for a

O

period of twenty years.

Given that HRDAF is charged with maximising the income for the state, the rejection of Intralot’s offer for a higher amount can be understood.

However, its rush to find another purchaser seems to go against the grain. The HRDAF commented: “The exclusive right previously belonged to ODIE. The tender process will be conducted in one phase. Interested parties that wish to participate in the tender must submit their offers

12 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

in accordance with the conditions mentioned in the invitation, no later than 12:00pm Greece Time, on 19 September, 2014.”

The new process gave operators just three weeks to get their new bids in, but it seems that OPAP was prepared. It said in a statement: “OPAP SA announces that, through the participation of its subsidiary OPAP Investment Ltd, as lead member, in a consortium with the British investment company Global Family Partners, it will submit a

bid to the tender regarding the grant of the exclusive right to organise and conduct mutual betting on horse races in Greece for 20 years, having undertaken that the price to be offered at HRADF’s tender, to be released, will not be lower than 40m euro.”

It would be extremely unusual for any Greek gambling tender to not include the previously state-owned bookmaker OPAP, and it seems that the operator is again front and centre in this latest round of bidding.

ABB CHIEF EXECUTIVE DIRK VENNIX

www.digitote.com Ipink@digitote.co.im

BB120-p10-14-Betting_09/10 05/09/2014 11:37 Page 3

BetVictor tops for football

Betting ACTION IMAGES / PAUL CHILDS LIVEPIC

Oddschecker data from across the 2013/14 football season has revealed BetVictor to be the bookmaker offering better football prices, more often. The analysis shows that BetVictor tops the bookmaker table, having offered better value on Match Odds markets than the median price across Oddschecker’s panel of bookies, 71 per cent of the time. BetVictor’s Charlie McCann said: “Our objective for the forthcoming domestic and European season is more of the same value for punters old and new.”

William Hill defends ‘risk-based’ single manning approach OPERATIONS

In a bid to control ever increasing retail costs, William Hill has extended a singlemanning policy across almost all of its estate.

illiam Hill has found itself defending the extension of its single manning policy in the face of criticism from some politicians. In April William Hill introduced single manning to evening hours of retail operation ‘where appropriate’, but was asked some searching questions about the practice during the firm’s interim results presentation.

William Hill said worker safety remains paramount, adding that the firm takes it ‘extremely seriously’. At his firm’s interim results, new CEO James Henderson said that the bookmaker has not taken the approach lightly. He explained: “When w e

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JAMES HENDERSON: ‘WE DID A RISK-BASED APPROACH’

ANALYSIS

embarked on extending lone working, we did a risk-based approach. So we risked assessed every shop in the estate. We have three tiers of risk. And then, as a consequence of that, we decided to extend lone working in, just shy of, about 2,000 shops across the estate.

“In regards to was the riskbased approach appropriate, the statistics that we’ve been monitoring, on a weekly and a monthly basis, have shown that there is no variation to all the statistics that we monitor, all around security and what have you. So it demonstrates that the risk-based approach was exactly the right thing to do.”

Henderson added that single manning didn’t appear to be harming the bookmaker’s service levels either.

“Similar to when we look at a risk-based approach and then monitor the impact, we have a thing that we call Net Promoter Score. And in fact the last survey they did, the measure of service was the highest we’d ever had. So I don’t think that’s had really any impact on the service; in fact, it’s improved, which is very encouraging.”

Henderson said that to was important to keep reviewing operating costs and during the first half the f i r m managed to restrict the cost of retail

to £256m, a one per cent increase in 2013 and higher than the net revenue from OTC and gaming machines (£231.1m and £232.0m respectively). Henderson added: “I think retail is an extremely resilient channel.

It’s still our most profitable channel and still 79 per cent of people who place a bet use a retail outlet.”

As for the first half of the year, William Hill was pleased at its successful diversification, with 52 per cent of operating profit from digital channels and 17 per cent of revenues from international markets. However, this didn’t disguise the fact that the company reported a 2 per cent drop in operating profit to £176.9m and 26 per cent drop in profit after tax to £98.6m.

Henderson commented: “Sportsbook wagering and gaming net revenue continue to grow strongly, benefiting from the continued investment in the scale and performance of our product range, the quality of our user experience and the effectiveness of our marketing.

“Ahead of the introduction of the Point of Consumption Tax, we continue to drive growth rates significantly ahead of structural UK digital gambling market growth.

This track record of growth has been built over the last five years with Sportsbook net revenue delivering a 50 per cent compound annual growth rate between 2009 and 2013 against a market growth rate of 16 per cent.”

One of the key opportunities for William Hill, according to its new CEO, comes from exploiting the multi-channel opportunity, especially as the trend among younger customers is to use multiple channels, with c30 per cent of 18 to 34 years olds using both retail and digital channels versus c10 per cent of those aged 45 and above.

Henderson explained: “Retail’s strong footprint, Online’s broader product range, our increasing capability for multichannel gaming experiences and the benefit that Retail brings in face-to-face interactions all give us the potential to bring customers an attractive and competitive ‘one William Hill’ experience. In my view, if we get this right it will mean higher yields, higher retention and lower cost per acquisition right across our customer base.”

BETTINGBRIEFS FOREX EXPANSION

Fixed odds trading operator Binary.com has added three new forex pairs to its offering as demand for forex trading in emerging markets builds momentum: USD/MXN (US Dollar / Mexican Peso), NZD/JPY (New Zealand Dollar / Japanese Yen) and USD/PLN (US Dollar / Polish Zloty). Commenting on Binary’s decision to expand its forex markets, Jean-Yves Sireau, CEO of Binary.com, said: “Forex trading is always popular with carry and momentum traders alike.

The addition of these less conventional markets is based on demand by our clients and our vision of continuing to increase our offering and enhance flexibility in our trades to all our clients worldwide.”

BETVIP ENHANCES OFFER

Recently-launched bitcoin sportsbook BetVIP.com, which has opened more than 3,500 accounts since going live in June 2014, has integrated Betradar’s Virtual Football League ahead of the 2014/15 season. “We are taking the site to another level with the implementation of Virtual Football and we will be integrating more products soon,” said BetVIP founder and CEO Daniel Schwartzkopff. “We have been working around the clock since we launched to continue to build on the functionality of what is already a strong product. With domestic football starting again all over Europe it is imperative to constantly improve our offering to players.”

Schwartzkopff said that players have been a mixture of bitcoin enthusiasts, as well as traditional sports bettors.

MOBILE INNOVATION

Betfair calls it a day in Australia EXCHANGE

etfair has found itself completely changing its operation in Australia - switching to a B2B model after selling its 50 per cent stake in Betfair Australasia to joint-venture partner Crown Resorts Limited.

The operation has struggled to find a foothold in the Australian market, where it has butted heads with a very strong racing fraternity, with Crown’s share of Betfair Australasia’s losses over eight years totalling almost AUS$50m (£27.5m). However, Crown has decided to invest another $10m (£5.5m) to take full control with the Betfair Group operating as a B2B supplier and receive a share of revenues generated by the exchange in those markets.

Betfair CEO Breon Corcoran

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MOBILE CONTRIBUTED 70 PER CENT OF SPORTSBOOK REVENUES

said: “We are pleased to have signed a long term agreement that facilitates Betfair’s continued participation in the fast growing, licensed Australian market alongside a partner with a strong local presence. This represents an extension of Betfair’s B2B operations and is a

14 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

new and profitable operating model for the exchange.”

Fortunately, Betfair’s other businesses appear in good health according to the company’s Q1 results for 2014/15. Revenue was up 30 per cent driven by a strong World Cup and continued momentum across all products, with EBITDA up 39 per cent to £34.5m.

Mobile revenue up was 162 per cent and the channel contributed 70 per cent of sportsbook revenues.

Customer acquisition was up 181 per cent and number of active customers up 48 per cent. At a time when most other listed bookmakers are bemoaning the run of punter-friendly results, Betfair’s exchange model really stands out.

Corcoran added: “The World Cup offered a unique opportunity to acquire new customers and increase engagement with existing

customers. As a result, we saw record new customer activations and a 65 per cent increase in the number of active customers in sustainable markets. Throughout the quarter, we have continued to see the benefits of integrating our Exchange and Sportsbook platforms. One third of Sportsbook customers received a Price Rush and, on average, benefited from a 24 per cent increase in odds.

“We are focused on a number of challenges, including our early stage investments in New Jersey online casino and Italy, and uncertainty remains in a number of unregulated markets. However, we are encouraged by the performance in the first quarter and the momentum of the business, and accordingly remain confident that we can deliver our expectations for the full year.”

Ladbrokes has introduced an innovative football accumulator tracker in its mobile platform. Ladbrokes app users will be able to view their single-line football multiples as the matches unfold thanks to My Accas, which expands upon the pre-settlement status for each leg.

In place of the standard ‘unsettled’, customers with football accumulators will see live score updates and ‘winning’ or ‘losing’ alongside each leg of their acca as the goals fly in up and down the country. Director of mobile & devices Andrew Bagguley explained: “Enabling our customers to track their football accumulators in-running is a real step-change. My Accas is another industry-first for Ladbrokes on mobile, after the introduction of the fixed price Yes/No coupon to digital platforms in the summer.”

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BB120-p16-Politics_09/10 04/09/2014 13:19 Page 1

Politics The Gambling Commission has warned that it could impose tighter measures in its LCCP if the industry doesn’t improve its over 18s safeguards.

£100,000 fine for Camelot

Poor results on age controls test purchasing again

LOTTERY

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AGE CONTROLS

he gambling industry, including betting shops, have once again struggled with its age controls after another set of disappointing results from the Gambling Commission’s latest test purchasing programme.

In 20 out of 40 tests of adult gaming centres and betting shops, a supervised test purchaser under the age of 18 was allowed to play on a gaming machine and leave the premises without being challenged to prove their age. A number of tests were also conducted at licensed family entertainment centres and at bingo premises that had been converted from arcades, with similar weaknesses being found. The tests took place across a number of local authority areas in England during the Easter and summer holiday periods of 2014.

The results from these test purchase exercises also show that the gambling industry is struggling to learn the lessons from the 2013 test purchasing exercise, with many of the same issues recurring.

According to the Gambling Commission: “Some staff members appeared to be unaware of the presence of the young person, either being engaged in other duties at the time or simply not paying attention. In one test, there were no staff present on the premises. On other occasions, staff appeared to be unwilling to challenge the tester, either lacking confidence in making a challenge or having little regard for their responsibilities to prevent underage gambling. Local authorities are seeking remedial action from

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licensees in such instances.

“Conversely, early challenges were made in tests where the layout of the premises allowed staff to supervise customers entering the premises, or where staff members were positioned close to the entrance; but only when staff members were also vigilant in executing their responsibilities.”

Licensees that did not challenge a test purchaser before they played a gaming machine have been warned by local authorities that failure to improve could lead to formal regulatory action being taken, and many licensees have been required to submit action plans to their local authority detailing how the weaknesses in their underage gambling controls will be remedied.

Some licensees have so far introduced a range of measures in response, for example, improved training schemes for their employees; the employment of thirdparties to conduct quarterly test purchases of their premises; have

re-sited CCTV to provide employees with better sight of customers entering the premises; or are introducing physical barriers to agerestricted areas at times where they cannot be monitored.

However, local authorities are reminding the operators that if they fail to voluntarily deliver improvements, or if their gambling premises fail a further test purchase, then they may be subject to a review of their premises licence which could culminate in the imposition of stricter licence conditions or the suspension or revocation of their premises licence.

The regulator warned: “The Commission will continue to work with local authorities to test gambling operators as part of a rolling programme of testing. Individual operators may be putting their livelihoods at risk if they fail to prevent access to gambling by children and young people and regulatory action is taken by a local authority or the Commission.”

ANALYSIS While a 50 per cent strike rate is a huge improvement on just a few years ago, there is a danger that the industry’s improvement has actually plateaued. This is dangerous as it could lead to physical restrictions being placed on the gambling industry in the future. The Commission has previously stated that it will consider mandating new measures to improve the level of protection offered to children and young people, and is currently consulting on strengthening its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice. According to the regulator, the latest test purchase results provide further evidence that controls need to be strengthened, in the key areas covered in the consultation; such as line of sight, premises layout, and staff training.

Social responsibility body gets first chairman APPOINTMENT

he Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG), which is comprised of the five main trade associations from the gambling industry, has appointed Barry Hardy as its first chairman.

The IGRG was set up earlier this year to provide a structure to promote socially responsible gambling in the licensed UK gambling market. Building on existing relationships and work streams, it also provides a cross-sector forum to consider matters of

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ational Lottery operator Camelot has been found in breach of its licence by the Gambling Commission which has imposed a financial penalty of £100,000, following the initial miscalculation and subsequent communication and publication of an incorrect National Lottery Lotto jackpot prize amount in October 2013.

After a full investigation, and taking account of representations from Camelot, the Commission found that Camelot had failed to ensure that its bespoke processes and procedures put in place in respect of this key area for the re-launch of Lotto were fit for purpose and had thereby acted in contravention of Condition 5.10A(b) of the licence granted pursuant to section 5 of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993 (as amended).

Along with the £100,000 penalty for this breach, the Commission has imposed a direction for Camelot to commission an independent review, subject to consultation on scope, of its related control environment performance.

The incident led to three Lotto jackpot winning ticket holders initially being informed by Camelot that they had won more than in fact they had. The original jackpot broadcast was £6.2m, which was revised down to £4.8m once Camelot had discovered the error. The winners were subsequently told the correct prize amount before any prize money had been transferred/paid out and the Commission said it was confident that the winners did receive the correct prize amount under the rules of the game.

Commission chair Philip Graf said: “While this is an isolated incident, this is a serious matter, as confidence in the accurate calculation of prize monies is a critical part of maintaining public trust in the integrity of the National Lottery.

“Camelot has put measures in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again. We will continue to monitor Camelot to ensure it meets the requirements of the licence and that the interests of players are protected.”

common interest associated with the three licensing objectives in Section 1 of the Gambling Act 2005.

Clive Hawkswood, who has presided as chairman of the group since its establishment in March 2014, said: “Our original intention was to rotate the chairmanship on an annual basis between each of the trade associations, but we soon decided that it would be beneficial to have an independent chairman if a suitable candidate could be identified and Barry fits the bill perfectly.

16 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

“I and my trade association colleagues were obviously delighted when he agreed to accept our invitation. I am sure we will all work well together as we take forward a range of initiatives that are currently being finalised.”

Hardy is a Chartered Accountant who has been involved in the leisure and gaming industry since 1975.

He is currently a non-executive director of Gala Coral Group; chairman of Regency Casinos in Greece; and a non-executive direc-

tor of Peermont, a South African gaming company.

Hardy commented: “The wider gambling industry has done much over the years to promote socially responsible gambling and those developments should be acknowledged. However, we must proactively strive to identify and implement further improvements where we can.

“The IGRG has unmatched reach across the UK gambling industry and I have been pleasantly surprised by how well the asso-

ciations have been working together. I am very much looking forward to the coming months as we begin to do more detailed work in areas such as staff training, customer interaction, and messaging.”

The IGRG was formed in March and is comprised of the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB); British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA); The Bingo Association (BA); National Casino Forum (NCF); and Remote Gambling Association (RGA).

PHILP GRAF: ‘THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER’

www.magicmushroomsvideoslot.com

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Essential guide to ..

Seminar setting Between 12-12.30pm there is a Q&A with MP Philip Davies and this is followed up later in the day at 2pm when there is an ABB workshop on responsible gambling.

Racing tip The evening’s racing on the All Weather Track begins at 5.20pm and finishes seven races later at 8.20pm. Keep an eye out for some familiar names among the race sponsors.

Doors Open The Sixth Annual Bookmakers’ Trade Fair opens at Wolverhampton Racecourse at 10.30am and runs until 4.30pm.

Q&A

“There is an awful lot of ignorance amongst MPs” One of the innovations at next month’s Bookmakers’ Trade Fair is the appearance of Phillip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley and former bookmaker, at a Q&A session. Ahead of that he answered some questions for Betting Business interactive. iven that you are one of the few (the only?) MPs who used to ply your trade in the betting game, is your experience respected when speaking about gambling or do other MPs perceive this as a bias?

I think there is an element of both. Given that I grew up with my parent’s family business being a bookmaking business, it is inevitable that I am instinctively going to be sympathetic to the bookmaking industry, and I saw at first-hand what an important role betting shops can play in the local community. However, I think even those in Parliament who wholly oppose my views on gambling and the betting industry respect the fact that they know that I know what I am talking about, and they therefore cannot dismiss what I say out of hand.

not the nonsense peddled by the opponents of the betting industry and their friends in the press.

However, at the end of the day people believe what they want to believe - and that even includes MPs - and Ministers make decisions based on political calculation rather than evidence and so it will always be hard for the industry to get decision makers to make rational decisions.

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30 Badgemaster has made a major acquisition in order to grow market share

32 Broadcaster SIS has been putting some work into its streaming capabilities

36 Playtech has been gaining more contracts for its live dealer products

40 Call Credit’s IncomeFocus product puts the spotlight on customer data

We tend to only hear opinions from the extreme ends of the scale when it comes to gambling debates in Parliament. What’s the average MP’s perception of bookmakers?

There is an awful lot of ignorance amongst MPs when it comes to bookmakers and betting shops. I think, like much of the public, many MPs will trot out the maxim “You never see a poor bookmaker” when anyone who actually understands the industry knows that there are an awful lot of poor bookmakers out there struggling to make a living. I think the betting industry has an awful lot of work to do in order to ensure that decisions affecting the industry are not made by MPs through misguided ignorance and simply through those MPs trying to ingratiate themselves with the Daily Mail.

There has been a well-monied lobby group

disseminating what the industry would call highly spurious data to MPs which has found itself into some debates. What’s the best way to counter such data polluting debates which may eventually shape legislation?

There has been an awful lot of utterly misleading information put out by those with a vested interest in damaging betting shops, and I think the industry has been slow to counter that - particularly with regard to FOBTs. There is now some extremely robust information from the machines which show the average length of time people play on a machine and the amount lost per session broken down by constituency and I think the industry needs to spend time educating MPs on the figures for their area. They will be shocked when they learn the truth and

The DCMS has seemed open to discussion with the gambling industry in the past, with the more damaging measures being railroaded through by Treasury. Given that it’s a relatively young ministry, do you think the DCMS lacks the respect of other departments when making its voice heard?

As a member of the DCMS Select Committee over the last eight years, whenever we have held inquiries into any issue the relevant industry always give the same message to us: “DCMS - nice people, heart in the right place but no clout at all in government”.

I therefore think there is a great deal in the suggestion that DCMS does not have the influence across government that it should. However, there is an excellent new Secretary of State in Sajid Javid, who is a former Treasury Minister, and so I very much hope he can ensure that the Treasury takes heed of warnings he may give as to the damage they can do to an industry which provides much employment and much harmless entertainment to many people in the country.

Anyone wishing to pose Philip Davies a question at the event should email Lesley Sharman on lesley@bosmag.co.uk

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o ... Bookmakers’ Trade Fair ORGANISATION

VIEWPOINT

Organisers aiming for ‘quality not quantity’

Change equals opportunity

By providing a show that gives bookmakers the chance to catch up with the latest products and their contemporaries, Lesley Sharman has developed a long running event. esley Sharman, organiser of the Bookmakers’ Trade Fair, could be forgiven for pinching herself as the sixth iteration of the event draws closer. Set up at short notice to replace the ICE-bound Betting Show, the Trade Fair instantly found a home in the calendar, with independent bookmakers embracing the opportunity to mix business with pleasure.

Choosing Wolverhampton’s Dunstall Park as a venue also had lasting benefits, given that it has allowed an evening of racing on the floodlit all weather track for attendees to enjoy once the Trade Fair itself has finished.

Originally starting off as a lo-fi event, the amount of technology on show at the Trade Fair has gradually evolved, as it has in the betting shop. However, Sharman has determinedly kept the Trade Fair a no-nonsense event and kept to the same successful formula.

“The show is going really well,” she explained. “I’ve sold all the stands. It’s just a case of hoping that people come through the door. We’ve been drumming up publicity for the event, so I think they will come. It’s quality, not quantity that we get. Last year we had around 200 visitors, which might not sound any-

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hile it has been another tough year for independent bookmakers, the Bookmakers’ Trade Fair acts as a good opportunity for those in the betting sector to get together and take stock of where the industry is at the moment. There is plenty of change on the horizon and with change comes opportunity; it just depends on whether firms want to seize it or see it pass by.

Online operators will soon not have the vast competitive advantage of operating outside of low-taxation regimes as the point of consumption laws compel them to pay 15 per cent gross profits tax like everyone else servicing the UK market. The change will also mean a greater number of contributors to the Levy Scheme, potentially driving down Levy costs and making horseracing a much more affordable product. Perhaps with more companies paying Gambling Commission licence fees, the regulator’s charges could also drop.

Changes in planning laws may well dry up any potential new shops, but it will also protect the shops already operating from an excess of competition and give bookmakers far more confidence to invest in their operations. And one area of proven popularity which has yet to be cracked is the concept of in-running betting in an LBO environment.

These seeds of opportunities could well blossom and relieve the growing reliance on gaming machines and provide betting shops with a healthier product mix, but bookmakers have got to help to make that happen as well.

W thing compared to ICE but we’re a different type of show.”

The fact that 24 out of the 25 companies taking a stand at Wolverhampton are repeat exhibitors demonstrates that good business can be done. “We have one new exhibitor: Link Security,” Sharman said. “The other stands are taken by firms that have exhibited before. They know they get business here otherwise they wouldn’t come, which is testament to the need for the Trade Fair for both bookmakers and suppliers.”

If that isn’t reason enough for bookmakers to attend, Sharman has also arranged for two seminars to make a midlands trip even more fruitful. She said: “Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley who sits on the Committee for Culture, Media & Sport, doing a question and answer session. If anyone wants to ask him any questions I will need them by 22 September. I think it will be a good session. Later in the afternoon we will also have an ABB Workshop on responsible gambling.”

Sharman is already planning for next year, although the date is somewhat dependent on the publication of the horseracing fixture list as she wants to retain the entertainment of evening racing once the show has finished.

Bookmakers’ Trade Fair 10.30 – 16.30 Dunstall Park Wolverhampton Racecourse

The start of a new era Gantry screen systems for ALL bookmakers

Contact us 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 T +44 (0)1453 820840 E sales@mrgsystems.co.uk W www.mrgsystems.co.uk

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Essential Guide to ... Bookmakers’ Trade Fair WOLVERHAMPTON RACECOURSE

ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH BOOKMAKERS

Providing a flavour of our training workshops Among the many reasons to attend next month’s Bookmakers’ Trade Fair is the opportunity to find out how the ABB is helping independents train their staff to be socially responsible. PR manager Peter Craske explains.

A rich history of racing Wolverhampton Racecourse is again the venue for the Trade Fair.

Marketing executive Max McCall discusses its unique history as the last surviving racecourse in the West Midlands and the UK’s first floodlit track. here has been a racecourse in Wolverhampton since 1825 but not always at its present site. Originally situated at Broad Meadows, which is now West Park, the National Hunt course staged fixtures for over 50 years, along with side shows, shooting galleries and cock fighting.

In 1878, West Park was built on the site and a new location for the racecourse was sought after, this wouldn’t prove too difficult though. By early 1888 arrangements were in place for the building of Wolverhampton Racecourse on its current site on Dunstall Hill, which had been purchased by Robert Hermon Hodge, MP for Accrington, and Mr John Lees, JP. The estate cost £36,000 and was registered to the new company setup by Hodge and Lees, Wolverhampton Racecourse and Dunstall Park Limited.

Chaired by Alexander Staveley Hill, the racecourse staged its first meeting on 13 August 1888.The first race at the new racecourse was the five furlong All-Aged Maiden Plate, won by jockey Tommy Loates aboard Silver Spur. Other races on the day’s card included the Albrighton Welter Plate and the Bushbury Selling Plate.

Many famous faces from across the racing world attended the first fixtures at the racecourse, which were a great success.

The Shifnal Selling Handicap was held in October 1913 and this resulted in the first dead heat at the racecourse between Steve Donoghue riding Kinglet and Sidney Seymour aboard Tramp IV. On such an occasion it was customary for the owners to divide the stakes, if the owners did not agree to do so, a deciding heat had to be run. On this occasion a deciding heat was run and Kinglet ended in first place by three quarters of a length.

From summer 1914 racing was cancelled by the outbreak of war, action resumed in 1919 and many memorable events and successful meetings were staged in the 1920s and 30s, before again cancelling meetings from September 1939 to after the second World War.

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The race meetings continued to be a great success after the war through the 50s and 60s, and on 14 September, 1964 the Queen had her first success at the course when her horse Menai, ridden by Geoff Lewis, won the Bushbury Maiden Plate.

During the 1970s and 1980s the course went from strength to strength, with the racecourse company achieving record profits in 1986. In the late 1980s a £15.7m scheme was proposed, including the addition of floodlighting, the laying of a Fibresand all-weather surface, and the building of a hotel and exhibition hall. The all-weather circuit was almost completely flat, oval-shaped and about a mile in length. The first event after the completion of the work took place on 27 December, 1993, when 10,000 people attended the meeting. In 1999 the racecourse and hotel were purchased by Arena Leisure PLC. In 2001, the track was further improved with the laying of 7,600 tons of Fibresand over 140 new lateral drains, and in 2004, the Fibresand and turf track were replaced with a Polytrack surface. Since that time, only flat, all-weather racing has taken place there.

Wolverhampton Racecourse is now the last surviving racecourse in the West Midlands, and is Britain’s first floodlit racecourse. It is extremely busy, hosting around 100 meetings a year, including its themed Saturday evening events.

There are bars, restaurants, and a busy conference and exhibition centre, and has a licence to perform civil weddings. The course also has its own hotel, the ‘Holiday Inn Garden Court’ with 54 rooms, bar & restaurant and fitness suite.

In 2014 plans were made by owners Arena Racing Company to resurface the track to Tapeta, a surface not yet used in Great Britain. After a three month resurfacing period, the racecourse opened for business again on Monday 11 August with their first meeting on the Tapeta, from which excellent reviews have been made from jockeys, trainers and owners.

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hat will you be doing at the Bookmakers’ Trade Fair?

As well as having a stand and providing information about the ABB’s work, we will be running taster sessions of the training workshops we have been providing on responsible gambling measures for our independent members. We want to give a flavour of what the workshops cover and the sessions are being run in partnership with GamCare.

Will non-ABB members be able to attend the taster sessions and then, beyond that, get involved with the training?

The sessions are open to everyone attending the event, as we want to give an overview of the work we are doing to drive home the responsible gambling measures set out in the ABB Code of Conduct, which was published at last year’s Trade Fair. We will be continuing to hold regular training workshops around the UK for members to attend throughout the year.

How important is it for all bookmakers to be up on their socially responsible training?

It is very important. We are a responsible industry, and should demonstrate that all the time. The ABB Code has a range of measures that go far beyond the regulatory requirements, and we want to help our independent members be able to work to those standards properly.

There are a lot of changes in the mix when it comes to gaming machines what are the current proposals from government?

The government have set out a range of measures across all gambling sectors, and for betting shops they have suggested that anyone wanting to stake more than £50 on a gaming machine would have to do so at the counter or via account based play. Further changes are being consulted on by the Gambling Commission at the moment, and the government is consulting on potential changes to the planning system.

How useful is the Trade Fair as a forum for meeting bookmakers?

It is a good opportunity to update independent bookmakers on industry issues, and is an important place where we can speak to members and nonmembers alike to hear directly about the issues they face at the moment.

The more members of the industry that speak together, the better, and we will be encouraging more people to join the ABB at this year’s Trade Fair.

www.sg-gaming.com

www.sgconnect.co.uk

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Essential Guide to ... Bookmakers’ Trade Fair GAMBLING COMMISSION

Commission teams up with Crimestoppers The Gambling Commission will be promoting its new Crimestoppers partnership at the Trade Fair, while asking for views on social responsibility. he Gambling Commission has joined forces with the independent charity Crimestoppers as part of a strategy to protect against match fixing impacting GB sports and the betting industry.

Crimestoppers will now pass on any reports from the public about gambling-related criminality or corruption to the Commission’s Intelligence Unit at the same time as they are reported to the police.

Nick Tofiluk, director of regulation, said: “We are delighted with this new arrangement as it strengthens the collaboration between ourselves and law enforcement through the charity. The agreement builds on the excellent relationship we already have with UK police forces and national law enforcement agencies. It makes it clear that we take the threat of criminality and match fixing seriously.

“Match fixing is corruption and affects the legitimate interests of public, betting operators, sports and the GB’s reputation

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for integrity. It is the responsibility of us all to ensure that this is tackled quickly and robustly and Crimestoppers provides the opportunity for those with information to pass this to the police and Gambling Commission quickly.

Paul Kennedy of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), said: “This initiative is a further example of how the police service is working with other agencies to tackle criminality related to match fixing in sport and more generally, on criminality linked to gambling. Crimestoppers provides a really useful opportunity for information to be provided on this type of illegal activity.”

Roger Critchell, director of operations for Crimestoppers, added: “With Crimestoppers taking information anonymously, we guarantee your identity will never be revealed. This is a serious crime that we are pleased to be able to support the Gambling Commission in tackling, so contact us on 0800 555 111 or through our

NICK TOFILUK

anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org if you have any information.”

The Gambling Commission has also launched a consultation asking for views from the public and the industry on the levels and nature of social responsibility protections that gambling operators must provide.

The consultation comes at a key point for gambling regulation in Great Britain.

Public concern about gambling is heightened. Advances in technology and changes in consumer preference are offering new opportunities to target gambling-related harm while not unduly constraining safe leisure gambling. Operators are coming to terms increasingly with taking prime responsibility for their products, which are fun for most but pose real risk of serious

harm for some. The new laws on online gambling mean that effective and proportionate harm prevention measures can be implemented across the board without our licensees being undercut by operators from less demanding jurisdictions.

The consultation proposes a number of specific changes to social responsibility provisions in the light of experience (for example, participation in a national selfexclusion scheme for online gambling and the introduction of compulsory third party testing for the majority of operators). It also invites informed public debate on how far to constrain the leisure pursuits of the many to prevent serious harm to the few.

This consultation offers an opportunity for everyone to have their say on these critical questions.

IBAS concerned about the quality of presentation or writing skills.

It is the role of IBAS to identify relevant issues; therefore adjudications are always based on the facts of a case and not on either of the parties’ rhetoric.

Focus on: IBAS One of the exhibitors again this year is IBAS, but not everyone knows how the service works, despite regulations stating that operators need to be able to offer a third-party adjudication process to customers. This is how IBAS explains its workings.

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ow IBAS works

The Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS) acts as an impartial adjudicator on disputes that arise between gambling operators who are registered with IBAS and their customers.

Prior to adjudication, IBAS requires that: (1)The dispute has been fully considered by the gambling operator but has not been settled to the satisfaction of both parties.

(2) The parties to the dispute agree to comply with IBAS’s terms and conditions.

All properly referred disputes will be investigated by IBAS.

IBAS is user-friendly There are no bureaucratic obstacles or fees or charges to deter an applicant. IBAS will require written submissions from both parties explaining the facts of the dispute. Written submissions force parties to make themselves accountable for their statements and ensure there is a fully documented record of all exchanges in the case file for the benefit of panellists as they become involved in a dispute. All cases are investigated, contemporary documentary records being obtained by IBAS and referred to as necessary.

Adjudications are not made on the basis of which party makes a better presentation Gambling operators and their customers do not need to be

The ruling is always based on objective standards The first point of reference in all adjudications will be the gambling operator’s rules. When a customer makes a bet there is an agreement that the bet will be settled in accordance with those rules. If the gambling operator has no rule governing the disputed situation then the Panel imposes its own rule based on what it perceives is consistent with fair practice and accepted industry convention.

IBAS believes that both parties are entitled to a detailed explanation which gives the reasoning behind the Panel’s decision. This demonstrates that IBAS rulings are not arbitrary and are based on objective criteria which can be followed and understood. Gambling operators should bear in mind that the Gambling Commission requires them to submit a copy of every dispute ruled on by the operator’s appointed adjudicator. IBAS will provide this service for operators where agreed.

In all of its rulings IBAS will attempt to be consistent with previous rulings issued in similar circumstances. At the conclusion of the adjudication process identical copies of the ruling containing a direction as to settlement are sent to both parties at the same time.

IBAS is confidential Most people do not wish their gambling, in common with other aspects of their financial affairs, to become public knowledge. Therefore every case is treated as a strictly private matter between the parties.

Setting the rules COMMENT 43

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Essential Guide to ... Bookmakers’ Trade Fair SIS

Responding to a changing retail market Innovation, new content and a broader product offering will be the keywords when SIS joins exhibitors at the Bookmakers Trade Fair in October.

IS is responding rapidly to a changing retail market-place and an increasingly digital world by expanding its offering to bookmakers. Nearly three decades on from sparking a revolution in High Street betting, SIS is unveiling ground-breaking developments including: new streams of data and video from a range of sports; new products geared for shop and online; and the next generation of its existing LBO services.

Marc Thomas, SIS Betting’s head of product, said: “This is all about being relevant and central to our customers’ requirements, whether they are in the high street or online.”

SIS has seen its Virtual Betting Channel become increasingly popular since its launch three years ago, providing retail customers with guaranteed action even in times of bad weather. Now, following customer demand, SIS has further enhanced the channel by adding Bingo, which becomes the ninth sport or game to be shown

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on the VBC, along with Horse and Greyhound Racing, Speedway, Cycling, Indy Car, Football and games Mini Spin and Lotto.

Overall, the channel offers 224 betting events per day and Nigel Boardman, major account manager, SIS Betting, said: “We’ve had a lot of customers asking for it. We’ve canvassed others at our forums and the feedback has been very positive. The Virtual Betting Channel is an affordable way for independents to add virtual content to their existing SIS subscription and Bingo adds to the value on offer.”

SIS also has a cross-platform offering in its overseas horse racing. The winter series from Dubai and the seven-days-a-week offering from Latin America is available in shops and online, and will be live streamed as part of a new service called SIStream.

SIS has a multi-platform streaming solution which it believes will give bookmakers a different way of attracting and retaining punters. Thomas added: “This service gives us the opportunity to build on our existing

SIS IS A DISTRIBUTOR OF LIVE DATA FROM SPANISH FOOTBALL

streaming capability. SISstream provides a solution for multi-platform devices and operating systems covering web, mobile, tablet and connected TV.” SIS has also just announced an exclusive new partnership to gather and distribute live data from Spanish football. That will mean a range of fast and in-depth data products that can drive applications across multiple platforms.

Live data from football has become a key element to bookmakers in recent years, fuelling a betting boom that has seen soccer become the No 1 sport for punters. “The key, though, is that the data is official and sanctioned by the governing body, in this case, the Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP).

“Allied to our expertise in gathering content and production, that brings with it a guarantee of quality and integrity. It’s significant that this is the first deal that the LFP has done with a content provider and they chose SIS with its reputation for excellence and integrity which has been earned over the last 28 years.”

SG GAMING

SG Gaming completes Ladbrokes roll out All Ladbrokes’ 2,228 betting shops are now boasting SG Gaming’s latest gaming machine product - the Clarity.

G Gaming, a division of Scientific Games Corporation, has completed the rollout of its new Clarity cabinet to the Ladbrokes estate. The Clarity cabinet was installed in all 2,228 Licensed Betting Offices in Ladbrokes’ estate and is a key element in the Ladbrokes 2014 strategy for maintaining a strong offer within the sector. The provision of SG Gaming’s content titles from their in-house content development team is an important part of Ladbrokes’ overall offering.

Following initial trials of the Clarity cabinet in late 2013, Ladbrokes agreed in October to retain SG Gaming as their sole provider of server-based gaming machines.

The agreement extended the long-standing partnership between SG Gaming and Ladbrokes, which began in 2010 and is scheduled to run through 2019.

The product rollout was finished in just 14 weeks as a result of seamless coordination between both parties, and the strength of SG

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Gaming’s operational infrastructure. On average, the installation of the new Clarity cabinets took 90 minutes per shop. SG Gaming uses a sophisticated system that allows for flexible delivery and installation dates. With significant ongoing investment into cutting edge operational systems and technology, SG Gaming continues to deliver fast installation times for all customers.

SG Gaming and Ladbrokes also worked in conjunction to deliver bespoke training to shop management and staff, and developed focused promotional plans with staff to aid the implementation of the new terminals.

Phil Horne, group managing director at SG Gaming, said: “The relationship between SG Gaming and Ladbrokes continues to go from strength-to-strength. We pride ourselves on our working partnerships with our customers and our operational excellence, in particular, which is why we continue to invest heavily in our infrastructure. That investment, in addition to the prospering rela-

tionship with Ladbrokes, has ensured a smooth and successful rollout process for the Clarity cabinets. We now look forward to continuing working with Ladbrokes, and building on the mutual success we have had over the past four years.”

John Pettit, commercial director at Ladbrokes, said: “A key part of our strategy for the first half of 2014 was the rollout of more sophisticated and modern gaming machines. We are thrilled therefore that the process has now been completed, allowing us to concentrate on continuing to deliver the best games and the best experience to our customers.”

BETCONSTRUCT

Innovative new products for the retail environment BetConstruct has bookmaker customers all over Europe thanks to its comprehensive betting solutions. etConstruct’s online, retail and mobile sportsbook platform and odds feed products now cover more than 15,000 live matches and more than 50 sports per month. The firm said it offers the most competitive and comprehensive data odds feed for operators to maximise the capability of their own trading resource, while offering customers the best range of events, sports and markets.

One of the innovative new products is the retail solution for financial betting.

From now on bookmakers can deliver financial betting for customers both online and in betting shops. The financial betting product provides customers with a wide range of tools to make their own forecast and bet on whether the value of asset will go up or down. It gives them an opportunity to trade in more than 35 different asset markets, in three different time ranges, with adjusted odds. The feature rich product has been designed to help them turn their trading into a very rewarding experience.

BetConstruct has also developed a virtual channel to run its virtual horseracing and greyhound racing products. The channel is fully configurable and customisable per operator’s requirements, including the setting of margins, branding to company’s look and feel, and more. Betting options on dog and horse races, with 6 and 8 starters respectively, follow the same rules as the corresponding real sports.

The outcome of each game is determined by RNG (Random Number Generator). All events, which are unique and generated in real time, are delivered via in-store rending and web streaming.

The firm said that ‘unprecedented match simulation and graphics guarantee authentic betting experience’.

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LBO Content...

...all day, everyday with VBC z Over 220 events daily, 7am-11pm

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z Cycling, IndyCar, football, speedway, horseracing, greyhounds, Mini Spin & SIS Lotto z Now includes BINGO z With live commentary, shows & results z Plus a dedicated website for results, cards and form

No installation fee offer on VBC Exclusive to BOS Bookmakers’ Trade Fair.

...everywhere with ONLINE z Dubai - Live & exclusive throughout winter, culminating in the Dubai World Cup z Latin America - Live seven days a week z Delivered direct to website, mobile or tablet via multiple partners

For more details visit www.sis.tv or email info@sis.tv

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Essential Guide to ... Bookmakers’ Trade Fair SUPER SOCCER ODDSFEED

MRG SYSTEMS

Goalscorer Pricing & Settlement system steps up a gear

Advanced screen solutions for LBOs

The importance of expertise in goalscoring markets is underlined by the popularity of the GPS system as Super Soccer has shown. uper Soccer Oddsfeed and Abelson Info’s popular Goalscorer Pricing & Settlement feed (GPS) has undergone a summer revolution. GPS alleviates much of the labour intensive work needed to first compile goalscorer prices and then to subsequently settle them. The JSON feed provides Super Soccer Oddsfeed prematch pricing with real-time settlement from Abelson Info.

The accuracy and scope of the product combined with settlement speed (typically less than two minutes after a goal is scored) and efficiency is what really sets this system apart.

These are all reasons why GPS boasts many of the largest bookmaking concerns as customers.

This past summer has seen the joint-venture undergo an extensive upgrade to its core algorithm. The improved system now covers a host of derivative markets including: player to score 2, to score a hat-trick, first home/away team scorer, score first team to win/draw/lose, score anytime win/draw/lose, score in both halves, outscore the opposition. The delivery mechanic uses the existing structure of the JSON feed but subscribers can now call data for up to 18 goalscorer markets. In addition to this comes the option for GPS clients to take either raw, un-margined prices (for firms wishing to add their own margin applicator) or

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pre-margined, market ready, odds.

Also new for 2014-2015 is full coverage of both the Dutch Eredivisie and Scottish Championship. Super Soccer’s Jeevan Jeyaratnam explained that that the relegation of well-supported Edinburgh duo Hearts and Hibs, together with Rangers’ promotion, meant that the focus in Scotland was now split between the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Championship. He said: “With Hibs, Hearts and Rangers promising a competitive Scottish Championship, it was the right time to add the league in its entirety to our coverage. The Dutch Eredivisie was another league that, thanks to Sky Sports, will come under increased focus this season. A free-scoring league like the Eredivisie is tailor-made for goalscorer betting. Our customers are clamouring for as much goalscorer coverage as possible thanks to the ever increasing popularity of the bet and associated markets.”

The Australian A-League is another that will feature on the GPS when it kicks-off in October. BT Sport have picked up selected matches from the Portuguese Super League. That competition has always been covered in the GPS but is now available with extended market coverage, a service available for all GPS games. To find out more about the improved and extended GPS service visit the new GPS website: www.gps-system.co.uk

A BET A

Cost-effective technology for smaller firms Jason Hardman of A BET A believes that the company has the technology to allow independent bookmakers to compete at the highest level. f you listen to the doom-mongers the game is up for Britain’s independent bookmakers. Not only are they being squeezed by the economy, they’re struggling to compete with the economies of scale the larger chains can offer.

Chief among the criticisms levelled at their businesses is a perceived inability to keep up with new technology. But I’d argue there are now cost-effective solutions on the market that allow them to fight back and even gain an advantage over the big boys.

One of these is our new on-the-counter Customer Service Display which, for the first time, gives shop-users early price and market information at the till. By clicking on the screen, cashiers can provide details of their selections without having to search for it themselves.

For shop staff it also speeds up the translation of call-over bets, minimising the number of key strokes to input and process a wager.

These are currently being trialled in shops run by North West bookmaker David Pluck and have been well-received on both sides.

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THE BETMAKER IN SITU

The system works effectively with our BetMaker terminals which display real-time odds and markets, and allow customers to prepare their bets in advance. Using the touchscreen technology they can make their selections as the system works out their return, before printing their slip to take to the counter. Once payment is made they are then issued with a validated betting slip with potential returns and selection information.

With cost control never more important in

the betting shop operation, BetMaker speeds up bet translation and allows cashiers to process up to ten bets a minute.

At the same time it enhances the shop’s customer service, providing regulars with a simple, efficient system to gather information about their selections and place a bet swiftly.

Another concept we have developed is a pin entry version. This lets punters deposit money at the counter before betting on the terminals, where race and event details are at their finger-tips.

The potential increase in wagers this generates could provide an additional headache for any manager or owner wanting to keep an eye on problem bets. But our new email and SMS alerts, which use the EPOS system to automatically alert the operator about liabilities running-up, heads off any nasty surprises.

The functionality was developed for racecourse-based bookies with a need to keep an eye on developments back at base, but it works equally well for those with a small chain who can’t be in two places at once.

MRG Systems is providing stylish, modern solutions designed to replace old fashioned technologies and will enhance any betting shop.

RG is at the forefront of advanced multi-screen technology trusted by top high street brands like Paddy Power and Coral and there are three products in particular that the firm is demonstrating at the Trade Fair.

BIDS5 screen solutions: MRG’s new breed of PC based shop servers exploit the latest screen technologies to optimise gantry screen displays. Managed by BIDS5 software, the systems offer more control, greater automation and the highest production values to achieve exceptional results for our clients. With the proven flexibility of HTML templates BIDS5 improves revenues through the transformation of betting shop screens.

Recipients of the SIS BAF can benefit from new bureau services similar to those being created in Ireland. In just twelve months more than 250 shops have switched to the new bureau. So any innovative bookmakers with the drive and determination to set up and run their own bureau service for other independent bookmakers now has the means to do so.

Manager’s Monitor: The manager’s monitor comprises an interactive 21” Slate from HP and selected templates from MRG’s automated screen services. With ice cool looks it provides an elegant route for the speedy access of key information by busy counter staff. Fully featured, the managers monitor is simple and fast to use: The home page offers selections for the day’s racing and links to all Sports betting markets; Nonrunners, early prices and shows are maintained under the Index button at the top of the screen; and the lightweight and slim high definition screen can easily be used as a customer information terminal when required.

MRG All-in-One: The All-in-One (AiO) screen is a large screen split into ten columns to show data for a day’s racing.

Structured to display information clearly, the AiO is establishing itself as the primary reference guide in betting shops. Early prices, non-runners, shows and results are all maintained automatically throughout the day to ensure the All-in-One remains relevant and up-to-date. Customers can now enjoy a racing guide that continually delivers live data in real-time.

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INSPIRED GAMING

Supplying ‘over 100’ independent bookmakers Inspired Gaming’s betting portfolio means that it has a large number of independent bookmakers as customers. nspired is one of the UK’s main suppliers of Virtual Sports, SBG B2/B3 gaming machines and premium HD games to the UK LBO industry. It supplies terminals and games to corporate customers and ‘over 100 independent bookmakers across the UK’.

In the last year the supplier has strengthened its position within the independent sector by signing a number of partnerships with some of the UK’s main independent bookmakers. It recently extended its contract with Dave Pluck, a leading independent bookmaker in North-West England, as well as a new four year contract agreement with Wilf Gilbert, who has shops located throughout the Midlands.

In October 2013, a four-and-a-half-year deal was agreed with Chisholm Bookmakers to become the bookmaker’s sole supplier of gaming machines. Inspired is working to-

I

gether with Chisholm’s to build machine performance, improve the games portfolio and establish strong year on year growth. According to the company, this is proving to be a very successful working relationship.

Storm is one of the UK’s highest income gaming machines for the independent sector, and boasts a library of popular games.

New Inspired titles for 2014 include Wild Dollars, 100-1 Roulette and Dragon Bet roulette as well as Fortune Spins games such as White Knight and Goddess of the Amazon, which give players more improved features for their money.

The award-winning Virtual Sports and Numbers Games are proven to add 10-15% to retail and online sportsbook revenues and are available via bespoke data integrations, via its BetBOX bet management system or via the SIS Virtual Betting Channel. BetBOX en-

ables any betting, gaming or lottery operator to add a schedule of 24/7 Virtual Sports and Numbers games to their venue.

Inspired has driven double-digit growth for UK slots customers over four consecutive years and releases twice as many games as its competitors. Over the next year it plans to launch a number of exciting new games and functionalities, to drive machine income and the growth of the independent sector.

In addition to leading technology and content,the supplier prides itself on its marketing support and customer service. It offers a range of marketing solutions that cover both the promotion of the machine and the introduction of new games. It works in partnership with customers to supply the relevant assets, or create promotional posters, which can be distributed in various methods to suit customer requirements.

Take the effort out of goalscorer pricing and settlement

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MGS is back and even better!

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Now’s the time to book your attendance at MGS 2014 18th – 20th November.

MGS is the only show that is truly representative of the Asian gaming industry.

And the only event to earn the title ‘by Asia, for the World’.

Visit the highly acclaimed Slot Experience Center.

Gain invaluable knowledge at the Macao Gaming Summit.

Promote your brands on MGSTV.

Come and see the entire gaming industry Gaming Equipment & Accessories.

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MGS means business

The best networking in Asia Invaluable business networking opportunities.

Get to know potential business partners in a relaxed and casual atmosphere.

And we will even help pay your way!

The Macao SAR Government is once again offering attractive subsidies to qualified buyers from air fares to hotel accommodation, making MGS the key annual meeting hub for casino procurement teams.

Exhibiting at MGS makes fantastic business sense.

Reach out to casinos, integrated resorts, regulators and gaming affiliated businesses.

83% of MGS visitors are either decision makers or have direct input to purchasing decisions.

An overwhelming majority (99%) said they would be returning to MGS in 2014.

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Retail B2B Retail Listings

Ambassador deal

B2B content

Michael Owen has signed a twoyear deal with Racing UK to act as an ambassador and regular contributor to the specialist horseracing broadcaster. Owen said: “I am delighted to be joining Racing UK and linking up with a racing partner who supports the industry.”

R et ai l

www.sis.tv info@sis.tv

gaming B 2 machines B R et ai l

In Touch

Crystal Display Systems has launched its new 70 inch Full HD Multi-Touch monitor. MD Chris Bartram said: “This is not a cheap product but we are offering a very good product at a much more competitive price than many of those currently on the market.”

Surface satisfaction Arena Racing Company said the recommencing of racing at Wolverhampton after the installation of a new Tapeta surface has been a success.

Fergus Cameron, Clerk of the Course at Wolverhampton, said: “Initial feedback on the new Tapeta surface has been positive.”

BADGES

www.inspiredgaminggroup.com sales@ingg.com

Badgemaster strengthens its position with Akorn acquisition

www.tab.at Better games through innovation JIM MCNIVEN AND JOHN BANCROFT

B2B marketing R et ai l

Badgemaster has been working on increasing its market share - and the purchase of Akorn Badge Company sees its customer accounts shoot beyond 27,000. ame badge manufacturer Badgemaster has announced the acquisition of one of its principal competitors - Akorn Badge Company Ltd. Badgemaster is already the UK’s largest name badge manufacturer, and believes that this is the most significant event yet to its rich history.

Key milestones for the company since its humble beginnings in the back of a portacabin in Nottinghamshire in 1992 include: being granted the Royal Warrant by Her Majesty the Queen in 2006 for supply of name badges to the staff of the royal households; gaining the British Standards Institute ISO 9001 accreditation for quality management in 2010; the ISO 14001, the highest level of environmental accreditation possible in 2013; and most recently, Badgemaster’s founder and managing director, John Bancroft, being granted an MBE for services to business in Nottinghamshire.

The success of Badgemaster has been achieved through continual growth and

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B2B signage systems R et ai l

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

reinvestment of profits into cutting edge technologies, staff training, best practice processes and environmental sustainability. Bancroft explained: “It has always been our vision to be not just a name badge company, but the name badge company and I am proud that we have achieved that. We have many millions of people now going to work wearing their Badgemaster custom made name badges and we are now processing over 1,000 orders every day.”

Akorn Badge Company Ltd had become one of the most established name badge manufacturers in the world during its 30 years, and Badgemaster’s acquisition will mean the enlarged group can achieve more competitive prices via a greatly increased buying power, provide wider choices to customers and the combine the technologies and expertise of two specialist name badge manufacturers.

Badgemaster will now have over 27,000 accounts from organisations with just one employee to those with hundreds of thousands of wearers.

Bancroft explained that most leading companies with customer facing staff already recognise the value of staff name badges and that Badgemaster’s recent growth has been largely achieved by taking market share from its competitors. He said: “We have been able to do this by providing better quality, faster efficient service levels and more competitive prices. In combining Akorn with Badgemaster, we have a marriage made in heaven that will bring significant and long term benefits to both Akorn and Badgemaster’s extensive combined customer base.”

Jim Kent, former managing director at Akorn Badge, has joined the group’s board of directors along with John and Vicky Bancroft. Jim McNiven, the former general manager of Akorn Badge Company Ltd, will also be joining Badgemaster’s senior management team. McNiven said he is ‘delighted to be part of this exciting new organisation and is looking forward to bringing unparalleled levels of service and quality to all of the organisation’s customers’.

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David Ross Fabrications Ltd Metalwork supplied from our designs or your own.

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DATA

SIS to distribute Spanish football data SIS has been appointed as the official data partner of the Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP) to collect and exclusively distribute live data from the Spanish leagues to the betting industry. Liga BBVA is watched by more than 300m viewers across the globe.

The three-year agreement, from season 2014-15, was awarded to SIS following a competitive tender process and covers more than 2,500 matches per season in first division Liga BBVA, Liga Adelante, Segunda Division B, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa.

Paul Baker, director of strategic development at SIS, said: “We have a rich heritage in the collection and distribution of official data for distribution to the betting industry and this exclusive, official agreement with the LFP is a further sign of our commitment to work with sport governing bodies.

“This is the first time the LFP has entered

into an official relationship with a betting data partner and we are delighted to be working with one of the top leagues in the world. Given its huge profile around the world, we will make available live, fast and relevant data from every corner of Spain for existing and new customers in the betting industry.”

Official SIS data gatherers will be at every stadium in Spain using proprietary technology to collect and deliver a range of live and in-running data, and deliver it to bookmakers worldwide. This will include team lineups, scores, cards, shots, corners and a range of other data geared to betting companies’ requirements.

Javier Tebas, president of LFP, said: “We are really proud to partner with SIS, the leading provider of official data for betting companies. We shall together succeed to give our fans access to official data of all our matches more effectively and professionally.”

STANDARDS

months. With the freedom to go to any supplier or provider of systems, components or turn-key solutions, I am confident that we have enabled this to be a competitive situation for buyers.”

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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

Coupon Dispensers Poster Frames Racing Post Holders Machine Tables Bandit Screen Posts Window Display Legs Stainless Steel Handrail Systems 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

Technical standards agreed he Gambling Business Group has produced two key documents that form the technical standards for a long awaited UK Machines Cashless & Ticketing Protocol. One is for general Web Services and the other extends the ccTalk technical standards that enable compatibility with current UK Machines. CEO Peter Hannibal said: “The documents are now in circulation and are intended to be used by the industry as a set of rules for Cashless and Ticketing. Operators can at last start looking at introducing ticketing to their businesses over the coming

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PETER HANNIBAL

SYSTEMS Betradar offers to do it all etradar has launched Managed Trading Services which enables bookmakers to streamline processes and increase their competitiveness by outsourcing labour intensive trading operations to Betradar’s industry proven trading expertise.

At the heart of this process, Betradar can control the bookmaker’s risk and liability management either partially or completely, providing clients with the largest sports betting offering for both pre-match and live betting operations. Erik Lorenz, Sportradar managing director sales, said: “Using this new service, our clients can now focus on their core businesses, knowing that Betradar will manage their sports betting operations in a fast, reliable and turnover-generating manner.”

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www.badgemaster.co.uk

customerservices@badgemaster.co.uk

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Sportsbook B2B Sportsbook Listings

B2B betting platform S po rt sb

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www.betconstruct.com

Fraud detection

Virtual launch

Sportradar’s Fraud Detection System (FDS) is in demand, with the system being deployed to monitor bets on Toyota Thai Premier League 2014 season, the Indonesia Super League and a range of CONCACAF and regional competitions for the 2014-2015 competition period.

Virtual Tennis has now been released by Betradar. This new solution expands Betradar’s portfolio of virtual sports betting with an incredibly realistic and revenue-driving product full of bet-stimulating features.

Mobile streaming Betradar has also launched its new live streaming solution for global online and mobile sportsbooks. The launch is an extension of the existing Live Channel for land based operations which was successfully released last year.

The service currently offers a broad portfolio of over 5,000 international sporting events.

CONTENT

B2B marketing S po rt sb

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SIS on the Level for streaming development SIS is exploring new ways to uses its media rights and that includes a significant focus on what is available using the latest streaming technologies. atellite Information Services, provider of end-to-end products and services to the betting and broadcast industries, has established an ongoing relationship with Level 3 Communications Inc, one of the largest content delivery network providers in the world.

This is a significant agreement between two market leaders, which facilitates the delivery of SIS’s existing and future rightsbased streamed betting content services over a global network.

This relationship emphasises SIS’s determination to continue to expand its capabilities in the streaming market place; to deliver optimum quality content; and to increase its customer base, especially in the digital world.

SIS is using a number of services within the Level 3 Video Cloud, including content delivery network (CDN), video encoding, Vyvx broadcast and security services.

Paul Baker, SIS’s director of strategic development, said: “We were impressed by Level 3’s track record in delivering superior

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news & B2B analysis S po rt sb

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making sense of the gaming industry

quality streamed services globally. As we roll out new digital services, it is important for us to have a reliable provider who is capable of providing the efficient and secure content delivery solutions necessary to grow our business. That’s why we’ve selected Level 3 to operate as our primary online services provider.”

Tim Passingham, senior vice president, enterprise business, EMEA at Level 3, said: “With the evolution of connected devices, low latency and scalability are crucial for any online video offering. These were key considerations for SIS in selecting Level 3 Video Cloud in launching a new service to market, and the company needed to be confident that it could offer the reach and user experience demanded by its customer base. We look forward to working more closely with the SIS team in the coming months and supporting its market growth within betting and broadcast media.”

The Level 3 Video Cloud is a full suite of IPbased video services designed to support

content delivery throughout its life cycle, from signal acquisition to delivery to viewers.

Services include live Vyvx broadcast video acquisition, encoding and transcoding, global delivery via the Level 3 CDN, as well as comprehensive, self-service analytics and reporting.

SIS has also appointed David Johnson as head of digital rights as the company looks to secure key partnerships in sport and develop new products for the online market.

Johnson joins SIS from Perform Group and will be responsible for developing digitallydriven commercial relationships with a range of partners including sports federations and rights agencies.

Johnson said: “I’m thrilled to be joining SIS at such an exciting time in the company’s development. SIS has a great history of innovation, a high level of expertise in producing high quality data and live pictures, and a reputation for integrity. I’m looking forward to building on those qualities and helping drive the push into the digital world.”

info@kironinteractive.com www.kironinteractive.com

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Sportsbook POOLS BETTING

Colossus Bets takes on the traditional football acca olossus Bets, home of the £10,000,000 Colossus and the world’s biggest football and sports jackpots, has launched a £1,000,000 HDA15 Football Jackpot aimed at dominating and consolidating the HDA (or 1X2) pools and traditional accumulator markets.

Bernard Marantelli, founder and CEO of Colossus Bets, said: “Several operators currently run small 1X2 Pools, and whilst they may reach £1,000,000 once a year, when won they revert to £100,000 or less and take months to grow again. We will put them to the sword and consolidate all players into a weekly pool with a minimum £1,000,000 prize, with the capacity to reach £10,000,000 via our expanding stable of B2B partners, including Betdaq, Betfair and Boylesports. Our HDA15 Football Jackpot will also offer players industry leading Fractional Cash-In, enabling them to bank profits from their tickets as legs progress. Given our killer features and growing distribution, no discerning punter ever needs to take a bad value ‘acca’ or play a substandard pool again.”

The £1,000,000 HDA15 is a weekly 15 leg pool bet with a 1X2 format comprising a minimum £500,000 win fund and a minimum £500,000 bonus - both numbers net of deductions. Any winners of the win fund will have a free pick

ACTION IMAGES / STEVEN PASTON LIVEPIC

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on the outcome of one further football match the following week, to try and land the £500,000 bonus.

A full unit will cost players just £2, but like all Colossus

pools, the HDA15 can be played for as little as 20p (which buys a 0.1 unit and plays for a proportional £100,000).

Marantelli added that he has high hopes for the new domestic football season: “We had a hugely successful World Cup, especially when you consider that the limited number of games per day could have been a challenge for our products. However, the Pick4 proved very popular with players and we can build on that success.

“The return to weekend football which is the staple for an acca/pool punter will only grow our pools further. In fact, we shall soon be launching a television marketing campaign of our products and where to play them - which will drive more awareness and interest for our partners.”

Colossus Bets has also been shortlisted in the category of Digital Gaming Innovation at the Global Gaming Awards 2014. Marantelli said, “This is a great testament to our continued growth strategy for the Colossus Bets brand. We are convinced that offering players lotterysized sporting jackpot prizes, together with a Fractional Cash-In feature which enables them to take control of their destinty, is a winning formula. Being short listed for the Digital Gaming Innovation category of The Global Gaming Awards further demonstrates that our industry peers recognise how much we’ve disrupted the i-gaming market in a short space of time.”

PLATFORM Rapid improvement for Coral laytech has integrated Metric Gaming’s Rapid Fire Sports service into the IMS back office system, enhancing the gaming offering for Tier 1 licensee, Coral.

Rapid Fire gives Coral the opportunity to significantly increase the range of betting options that can be offered to players, with an innovative and immediate in-play product offered on selected football matches.

Players can place bets on the next event to occur, such as a throw in, free kick, goal kick or corner kick. Tony Khatskevich, Playtech’s VP Cross Products, said: “This integration of Rapid Fire with Coral underlines the outstanding flexibility of our Open Platform and the impact it can have on a licensee’s gaming offering.”

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TGP signs up with SBTech BTech has signed an exclusive multiyear deal with TGP Europe Ltd to provide a turnkey sports betting solution for the company’s white label operation, including leading UK bookmaker JenningsBet. TGP Europe will switch to SBTech from its current provider OpenBet, along with other TGP Europe white labels from Europe and Asia, such as Setantabet.com, 138.com and Wilsonbet.com.

Steve Templeman, managing director at TGP Europe, said: “SBTech’s experience in the sports betting arena, along

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kevin@eagoco.com.tw

www.eagoco.com.tw

with the 60 years of experience we have from the operation of the Jennings brand in the UK, coupled with SBTech’s high reputation and STEVE TEMPLEMAN cutting edge live betting and mobile platforms, made them the obvious choice for us when selecting a partner to expand our sportsbook operation.”

Fantasy deal new daily fantasy sports operator called FantasyBet has been launched using Finnplay’s BillFold platform. FantasyBet is targeting the high growth in live fantasy sports games across Europe in time for the new English Premiership football season. A combination of innovative daily fantasy sports features such as ‘Flash Mode’, which gives fantasy managers only three minutes to set-up and submit teams,

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will add further to the social gaming and inplay entertainment elements of the game for players.

Martin Prantner, CEO of Finnplay, said: “FantasyBet was connected to a modular platform and our API connection technology was a key element in making the integration work smoothly. This is a good example of the versatility of our BillFold platform.”

SOCIAL Real deal with Mirror Group eal Sports Global has launched 5050Streak, a social version of its innovative casino game 5050Sports, featuring international sports personalities and exclusively-licensed archive broadcast footage, with publisher Trinity Mirror. The agreement sees 5050Streak become available to online readers of Mirror.co.uk.

“With some of the biggest names from the modern era, like Michael Owen, Michael Vaughan, Ricky Hatton and Darren Clarke, and hours’ worth of classic sports broadcast action, the 5050 titles are a great fit for Mirror readers. From the feedback gathered so far, we are sure they are going to love the game,” said Jon Dey, Trinity Mirror senior commercial partnerships manager.

R CONTENT Mobile discussion nline betting service and affiliate Freebets.com has launched a new interactive ‘Talking Mobile’ series with some of the biggest operators in the gambling industry. The Q&A features are intended to give an insight into the development and success of bookmakers’ Apps in a competitive and fast-moving online environment.

Freebets.com managing director Iain Coward said: “The idea behind this new ‘Talking Mobile’ series was to give both punters and those in the industry a behind the scenes look at how mobile applications are changing the face of mobile gaming. With mobile technology progressing at breath-taking pace, we were keen to speak with leading online bookmakers to find out more about the use of mobile betting apps and what the future holds for mobile betting.”

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AFFILIATE

Odds calculator app from Bettingexpert P

unters have been given an easyto-use way of discovering whether or not a fancied bet offers value, thanks to Europe’s biggest tipping network.

Super affiliate Bettingexpert has launched a free Betting Odds Calculator App, which informs users of what odds their prediction should be and what odds are available on the market.

It can even allow users to bet directly with Bet365 should the firm offer higher odds than those calculated.

The App, available on Apple’s iPhone, focuses on 1×2 football markets and covers a vast array of matches from all over the world including Premier League, Serie A, Primera Division, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Champions League.

Thomas Høgenhaven, chief strategy officer at Bettingexpert owner Better Collective, commented: “Calculations play a big part in betting and yet can still be very con-

fusing to a large percentage of the betting public. We wanted to put the power back into the hands of the sports bettor and so developed the Betting Odds Calculator in order to help them make an informed decision, and hopefully make it much easier for them to find value bets.”

Bettingexpert.com is available in 10 different languages and has recently added launched an Android App of its main site alongside its iOS App.

sales@bit8.com www.bit8.com

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iGaming B2B iGaming Listings

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Betfair supply deal Net Entertainment MD BjĂśrn Krantz said he is ‘excited’ that betting exchange Betfair has selected his firm as a partner: “This agreement will further strengthen NetEnt’s exposure on the UK market but also in other parts of Europe.â€?

Net Ent’s Attraction Attraction is one of two new Net Ent games. It invites players deep underground to a secret lab where electricity goes ‘Wild’. This magnetic game is set in a dimly lit lab filled with computer screens, tangled wires and glowing lights.

Mobile Suckers Based on Net Ent’s popular desktop version, Blood Suckers Touch is a vampire-themed video slot that has a high pay-out ratio. It’s a 5-reel, 25-line slot that takes players to a vampire-slaying bonus game once three or more bonus symbols are discovered.

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RAY’S NEW LIVE CASINO FROM PLAYTECH

Sky Bet and RAY sign up for Playtech’s live dealer www.inspiredgaminggroup.com sales@ingg.com

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Major supplier Playtech has extended its current agreements with both Sky Bet and RAY to include live dealer solutions, among other things. laytech, the major gambling industry supplier, has signed an agreement with existing licensee Sky Bet for the provision of its market-leading casino and live dealer products. The deal will see Sky Bet players have access to Playtech’s comprehensive casino games library, comprising table, card and slots games along with a wide range of branded content in web and mobile formats.

Additionally, Sky Bet has selected Playtech’s live casino offering including a live private environment, allowing Sky Bet to leverage its presence and positioning with branded and customised content to deliver an improved player experience.

Conor Grant, director of products at Sky Bet, said: “We are delighted to launch Sky Casino where our customers will enjoy a classic casino experience with more personalised promotions and rewards. Partnering with Playtech and utilising their industry leading casino platform allows us to create another exciting chapter in the development

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of Sky Betting and Gaming.�

Shay Segev, Playtech COO, said: “We have built a strong relationship with Sky over a number of years and are thrilled to be able to further consolidate our service provision to one of the industry’s most exciting operators.

We look forward to working with Sky Bet to explore additional business opportunities in the near future.�

Playtech’s live casino solution has also gone live with Finland’s national gaming operator RAY (Raha-Automaattiyhdistys - Slot Machine Association Finland). The operator has further extended its existing long-term relationship with Playtech and launched unlimited Blackjack, Blackjack and Roulette tables. The initial launch includes Playtech web version with mobile due to follow shortly.

Playtech worked closely with RAY and implemented a purpose-built environment to accommodate its requirements and the taste of its local audience. This included a new and innovative look and feel of its live casino product and the way dealers are presented to

RAY’s customers.

Each dealer is referred to as a ‘presenter’, is dressed in informal clothing and presents from a modern, casual lobby environment with soft tones and contemporary designer interiors.

Timo Kiiskinen, senior VP business operations at RAY, commented: “We are thrilled with the new product which is not only the best in class and the most advanced, but also the most flexible and comprehensive which allowed us to have purposefully taken a friendlier and fresher approach to live dealer. “The studio looks fantastic, the technology is the best in the industry and the presenters are ready to meet our customers who, from extensive rounds of focus groups, have really taken to the new look we have adopted.�

Segev added: “RAY are a longstanding Playtech partner and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with them on this project, particularly the new, innovative approach they have taken to live casino.�

arena berlin 21 – 23 / 10 / 2014

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iGaming DISTRIBUTION Nyx to distribute Spin and High 5 yx Gaming Groupvia its subsidiary Nyx interactive(Nyx) and Spin GamesLLC (Spin) have signed an agreement to distribute Spin’s leading game titles to regulated online gaming markets via Nyx’s award winning OGS platform. The agreement will provide OGS clients access to Spin’s portfolio of content including their poker, keno, bingo and slot games.

“We are excited to be working with the team at Spin. Their regulatory focus and innovative deMATT DAVEY sign capabilities makes them an ideal partner for Nyx,” said Matt Davey, CEO of Nyx Gaming Group.

Kent Young of Spin Games added: “Through Nyx’s OGS platform we will have access to blue chip operators enabling us to continue to grow our market share.”

Meanwhile, Nyx interactive (Nyx) has signed a similar agreement with High 5 Games (H5). In the deal, Nyx’s OGS customers will have access to the exciting premium content library of 80 premium games currently available via H5’s remote gaming server VAULT.

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MOBILE Betdigital available on Obodo ontent and systems developer Betdigitalhas agreed a deal to supply its games portfolio to multiple operators through the OdoboMarketplace. The new deal with Odobo provides significant distribution and visibility for Betdigital’s games with access to the likes of Betfair and bet365. A single HTML5 client build ensures that players can access each game via desktop, mobile and tablet.

“Signing with Odobo is a good match for Betdigital and underlines our continued growth in the mobile games sector,” said Heath Samples, Betdigital CEO. “A single integration opens up our games to multiple operators and millions of new players. This marks another exciting period for both companies.”

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POKER PokerVIP gets facelift K based poker media and entertainment giant 180Vitahas relaunched its flagship PokerVIP site with multi-language support and content from the brightest minds in online poker. PokerVIP, which

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SLOTS

Yggdrasil has Magic new game ggdrasil Gaming has developed a fantasy worldthemed game entitled Magic Mushrooms where players are able to win big on an unchronological draw slot a first for a high performance casino product.

The majority of standard online slot games have paylines on one side and reels that stop in sequence. Magic Mushrooms, however, uses intuitive gameplay with 40 paylines, 20 from the left and 20 from the right of the game, spread across a diamond shaped 3-4-5-4-3 reel position and with the five reels drawn in an unchronological order of 1-5-2-4-3.

Players are also treated to a number of distinctive in-game ambient sounds and music created by specialist sounds artists, while the characters themselves were created in-house and first modelled as clay figures before making it to the big screen.

Fredrik Elmqvist, chief executive of Yggdrasil Gaming, said: “There are plenty of slots out there based on aliens and zombies but this is the first that uses spreading and multiplying wild Magic Mushrooms. This game is unique in every way, from the reel structure and

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launched as an English-language only product in 2008, is now the first poker educational site available in Russian and Serbian, while the complete version will also be available in Spanish, Portuguese, Thai and Chinese. The poker school will feature instructional videos for players of all abilities, meaning players can stick with PokerVIP as their game reaches new heights. The fresh new site is fully responsive, and accessible on all mobile and tablet devices, and offers players customised promotions for their specific country.

SOCIAL Karnival open for business

the characters we’ve created to the sounds and music we’ve encapsulated. Players will love it!”

Yggdrasil’s portfolio contains a variety of popular casino games including new release Fruitoids, fast high-roller video slot Winterberries, its already established success Jokerizer slot that is also available on mobile, as well as Lotto7, a unique daily lottery draw and progressive game where players will play for a 2.5m euro progressive prize.

The company, that has offices in Malta, Poland and most recently a sales office in Gibraltar, has signed a number of agreements with a host of household names this year including Mr Green, LeoVegas, Videoslots.com, Vera&John, Cherry Gaming, CO-Gaming (ComeOn!) and Unibet - its largest deal to date.

only been very basic, uninteresting traditional slots and casino games.”

PLATFORM Realtime reels them in ffCash.com is moving its two online casino brands, Slotter.com and ReelSpin.com, to the Realtime Gaming software platform. The move will give players hundreds of popular slots and casino games to choose from and will enable the casinos to offer even better bonus promotions. The change will also bring affiliates new, feature rich, affiliate software with a more detailed reporting suite. “We’ve made the change as simple as possible for both players and affiliates,” said AffCash CMO Nick Yap. “We’re confident affiliates will be pleased with the upgraded affiliate software and will benefit from the greater player conversion and retention Realtime Gaming has proven to deliver.”

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SLOTS ydney-based game design studio Royal Winshas just released what it is describing as a ‘game-changing social casino experience’ - Mojikan’s Kash Karnival. After six months of development, Royal Wins CEO Robert Fong believes the product is now ready to disrupt the existing online casino gaming landscape. “We believe that social games players should be rewarded for their skill, while more traditional casino games players are often served up a mediocre in-game experience. Our new ‘hybrid’ games address both these issues, by rewarding players for their skill, and by bringing new styles of game mechanics and skillbased elements into what, up until now, has

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So Much from Microgaming icrogamingis launching three new games in September: So Many Monsters, So Much Candy and So Much Sushi.

The So Much More themed games are five reel, 25 payline slots with a maximum payout of 32,000 coins. These games have the same entertaining feature set but have distinct visuals and themes to appeal to different players. Mike Hebden, head of casino games at Microgaming, commented: “What we’ve done with the So Much More series is

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take what we believe to be a great slot mechanic with a rich feature set, and distribute this across three completely different themes. Whether it’s chopsticks, a fully stocked candy store or entertaining monsters, there is something to appeal to all of our operators’ players.”

China hits America ameAccount Networkhas announced the launch of China Shores online in the United States under its strategic partnership with Konami Gaming, Inc. Available on Foxwoods.com, China Shores offers players the experience of the original games translated online for ‘Simulated Gaming’. In 2014, GameAccount will bring five additional Konami games online to complement China Shores. The company will also offer its GameSTACK Internet Gaming System to land-based casino operators utilising the Konami Synkros gaming enterprise management system. Compatibility with the exacting regulatory regimes of New Jersey, Spain, Italy and the UK have made the GameSTACK Internet Gaming System a world-class regulated, certified and compliant solution for land-based casino operators seeking to move online.

Konami Casino Slot Games locally deployed within the Internet Gaming System will join those available from Ainsworth, Incredible Technologies, Scientific Games, Reel Time Gaming, Gamomat and Multimedia Games to create one of the widest selections of Class III gaming content available online in Adobe Flash and mobile client applications coupled to the company’s proprietary range of casino table games and multiplayer skill-based games.

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PRESENTS…

WHO ARE WE? The Sports Betting Community (SBC) is a news, events and consultancy organisation which boasts a network of almost 5,000 sports betting professionals through four years of international networking events.

WHAT DO WE DO? We provide news and resources at SBCnews.co.uk and industry events in Europe and Asia, such as the Betting on Football Conference on 8 May at Stamford Bridge. We also provide consultancy services to firms targeting the sports betting industry.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? Are you dizzied by the array of software choices and need an expert’s eye? Does your website require engaging content to keep customers on-site? Do you need help identifying and targeting your market? We can help with these problems and more.

GET IN TOUCH Andy McCarron | +44 (0) 1457 867 683 | andy@sbcnews.co.uk | www.sbcnews.co.uk

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BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

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Realistic Games has become one of the first firms to be granted a Remote Gambling Software OperatGib nod ing Licence by the Nyx Gaming Group’s expansion UK Gambling into regulated markets worldwide Commission. continues with the announcement CEO Andy Harris that the group has been granted a believes the Gibraltar B2B licence to provide granting of the liremote gambling services. It can cence well in advance of the now offer its proprietary NextGen legislative changes is important Gaming slots and third party part- for both existing and prospecner content to fellow Gibraltar reg- tive customers. ulated operators.

SafeCharge goes Astro SafeCharge, expert in advanced payment technologies, has announced that it is providing advanced payments processing technologies to Eastern European games developer Aratog, creator of Sci-Fi MMORTS, Astro Lords: Oort Cloud

DATA Callcredit has come up with another way for firms to interact with the data that it has collated.

RETRIEVER INTERACTS WITH DATA IN A NEW WAY

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Pinpointing the right potential punters rganisations across the world can now better understand the household income of their customers and markets with the launch of Callcredit Information Group’s unique IncomeFocus product.

IncomeFocus provides companies across sectors such as financial services, retail, automotive, utilities and telecoms, an accurate average income value at a highly granular geographical level across over 40 international markets. Created using the most precise and comprehensive datasets available within each nation, IncomeFocus is proven to correlate strongly with ‘actual’ wage levels and, unlike similar products in the market place, uses local currencies rather than an arbitrary index.

Companies can now better understand buying behaviours and affordability when combining Callcredit’s IncomeFocus with the household size, tenure and rent/mortgage payment indicators currently available within Callcredit’s existing global consumer classification and segmentation suite CAMEO, which provides a geo-demographic view of consumers across six continents.

Martin Bradbury, international client

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,ĞůƉŝŶŐ ďŽƚŚ ŽŶůŝŶĞ ĂŶĚ ƐŚŽƉͲďĂƐĞĚ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐĞƐ ƚŽ͗ x ŵĞĞƚ ƌĞŐƵůĂƚŽƌLJ ĂŶĚ ŵŽŶĞLJ ůĂƵŶĚĞƌŝŶŐ ƌĞƋƵŝƌĞŵĞŶƚƐ x ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞ ŽŶͲďŽĂƌĚŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ƌĞƚĞŶƚŝŽŶ ƐƚƌĂƚĞŐŝĞƐ x ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƉůĂLJĞƌ ĂĐƋƵŝƐŝƚŝŽŶ x ĨŝŶĚ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ƉƌŽĨŝƚĂďůĞ ƉůĂLJĞƌƐ x ŐĞƚ ŝŶƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŵŝŶĚƐĞƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉůĂLJĞƌ͕ x ƚĂƌŐĞƚ ƚŚĞŵ ŵŽƌĞ ĞĨĨĞĐƚŝǀĞůLJ͘ Ăůů ƵƐ ŽŶ Ϭϭϭϯ ϯϴϴ ϰϯϬϬ Žƌ ĞŵĂŝů ŝŶĨŽΛĐĂůůĐƌĞĚŝƚŵĂƌŬĞƚŝŶŐ͘ĐŽŵ

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services director at Callcredit, said: “With household income levels proven to be highly discriminative when segmenting customer and prospect files, IncomeFocus will particularly benefit those global brands whose products are only available to prospects who reach a given income threshold.

“IncomeFocus provides a step-change in the ability for organisations to understand spend capacity through earnings across 40 international markets. Unlike other existing solutions IncomeFocus provides a tangible income figure using local currency, which gives businesses the most accurate view of their consumers spending power. We’re looking forwards to helping both new and existing clients to understand their customers and markets better than ever before with the added insight that IncomeFocus will bring.”

Meanwhile, Callcredit has launched a new manual tracing product called ‘Retriever’, which uses big data searching technology and knowledge graphs to establish connections between people, places and things such as mobiles, emails and landlines.

It uses a simple single search entry box similar to that utilised by popular search en-

gines, making it easier for the trace agent to copy and paste the information they know into a single field increasing efficiency.

Using the ‘elastic searching’ technology, Retriever will attempt to find who the user tells us they are looking for in addition to people we think they might be looking for based on similar details. With this capability Retriever can provide the user with enough information to enable them to make more informed decisions.

Peter Mansfield, managing director at Callcredit Limited, commented: “Our unique tracing universe consists of 1.1bn pieces of information and 5.4bn relationships. Retriever uses a combination of public domain, digitally captured, non-financial and bureau data, all of which has been appropriately obtained for validation and tracing purposes.

In addition Retriever also sources address links, aliases, financial associates and other non-financial data.”

“Manual trace agents in the industry often come across the similar issues; its time consuming, having to enter information in to multiple input fields, repetition and inefficiency which often causes customer detriment in order to find the people they need.”

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BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014 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

DATA App talk for Sportradar portradar is integrating its soccer data feeds into the FanApp ARENOO, a product of the Swiss-based company Appventures. This will enable Appventures to offer its app users more detailed and more frequently updated information, including live tables and live scores from the top four divisions in German domestic football and national team fixtures. Through the integration of the Sportradar data, Appventures can now increase the features provided to its ARENOO users and expand its offering to additional sports courtesy of Sportradar’s coverage of more than 30 sports. Sportradar’s director content solutions Wolf-Dieter Fuchs said: “We look forward to supplying Appventures innovative FanApp ARENOO with our sports data.”

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

ject to conditions precedent, the transaction is expected to be concluded soon.

CONSULTATION

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PAYMENTS

Start-up advice he Isle of Man is hosting a lunch for all start-ups on the opening day of EiG to explain how an offshore jurisdiction like the Isle of Man can help start-ups establish and grow. It will discuss how creating a competitive advantage will be essential for start-ups to gain traction in a lucrative and highly competitive market place as well as the advantages of establishing Intellectual Property in a tax efficient environment. In addition, the Isle of Man stand (number 737) will feature a ‘Start-Up Surgery’ where entrepreneurs can have an in-depth discussion with experienced staff.

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.

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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, 2014 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.

DATA CENTRE

Continent 8 gets High 5 in Gibraltar

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Data deal nternational sports law firm Couchmans LLP has been advising Spain’s top football leagues on their data strategy over the past year, culminating in the recently announced ‘official data partner deal’ between Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP) and SIS. Steven Burton, head of sports data & betting at Couchmans LLP, said: “It was particularly pleasing that the LFP involved us from an early stage to help devise and deliver their data strategy. This deal demonstrates our ability to provide a unique combination of industry expertise and technical legal services to open up new, long-term revenue streams for international sports leagues and federations.

This is an exciting period of international development and growth for both LFP and Couchmans.”

ontinent 8 Technologieshas become the official High 5 Games (H5G) data centre solution in Gibraltar. By choosing one of the most secure and well equipped hosting centres available, H5G is well positioned to flood the global iGaming markets with its premium portfolio of slot titles In the last six months High 5 Games has been making significant headway in the European and UK markets and the company’s business development team has been finalising a number of integration and managed solution agreements. The commitment to Continent 8 Technologies is one of many definitive steps in establishing a presence in Gibraltar.

Peter Williams, director of global sales of Continent 8, said: “We are pleased to welcome High 5 Games, who operate the highest rated social casino on Facebook, on board as a new customer. High 5 Games’ choice of Continent 8 reflects our continued investment in our data

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centre footprint to provide our customers with a secure and reliable platform from which to operate and grow their business.”

Additionally, an office space has been sourced, the equipment purchase has been made, and H5G is in final talks with the GBGA, regarding its remote gaming software supplier licence.

H5G games including Da Vinci Diamonds, Noah’s Ark, and Golden Goddess, have all been successful in the European iGaming market through a small distribution deal with IGT. The popularity of these titles is proof of concept that H5G’s extensive slot library slated to be introduced through Vault, the company’s remote game server, will have strong demand upon launch in Q4 2014. Once the Gibraltar gaming license is finalised, Vault will provide a robust portfolio of nearly 100+ of H5G’s premium video slot titles to European and UK iGaming operators seeking game changing content.

I OPAP to buy stake in Payzone Hellas PAP’s Cyprus based subsidiary, OPAP Investment Ltd, has signed a preliminary agreement with Payzone Group Ltd and Coltonia Holdings Ltd a for the acquisition of 90 per cent of Payzone Hellas S.A for a total amount of 7.75m euro (£6.1m). The latter operates the largest merchant located payment terminal network in Greece for electronic recharge services to prepaid mobile phone users, prepaid vouchers for e-commerce transactions and over the counter bill payment services. Sub-

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Very social nline gaming strategy specialist ThinkGaminghas reported an increase in the number of gaming companies using Facebook and Twitter to generate new customer acquisitions. The Jersey-based consultancy states that due to major advancements, more and more gaming companies are reaping the benefits of the advanced tactics provided by the sites and are launching new mobile app suite products that were simply not available until very recently. Founder Phil Shaw said: “This ‘new digital’ style of marketing on Facebook and

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Twitter offers huge opportunities for gaming companies wanting to both acquire and retain customers and we are now finding it is the number one digital marketing channel.”

Isle of Man | London | Paris | Dublin | Singapore Gibraltar | Guernsey | Malta | Montreal | New Jersey

www.continent8.com continent8.com

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ACTION IMAGES / TONY O’BRIEN LIVEPIC

Comment

The dang perceived

From courtsiding to sidling into court?

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John Samuels of IBAS looks at the interesting problem that occurs when punters have more up to date data than the bookmakers. he term ‘courtsiding’ rose to public prominence earlier this year, when an Australian arrest of a British citizen made the headlines in the morning mainstream media.

The practice of attending sporting events with a view to gaining a betting advantage over the market and the majority of those relying on television pictures was presented as a new phenomenon, but was of course relatively well established.

The growth of betting exchanges and the in-play betting boom unlocked a wealth of opportunities, either to lock in a risk free profit by beating the market move before hedging back, or to gain a significant edge in price by seeing crucial developments in the event ahead of those watching from afar.

The news presented this tennisbased incident as a freak discovery, but relatively little research would have unearthed numerous Racing Post stories of punters renting executive boxes at racecourses for that

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42 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

very purpose, for example.

The cause for those headlines was the arrest by Victorian State police and the bringing of later-dropped criminal charges. The individual was accused of using an electronic device to relay information relating to betting markets thereby ‘corrupting the betting outcome of an event or event contingency’.

At various industry gatherings I have attended, I have raised the question of courtsiding with operators and regulators. The scenario I put forward was one where a bookmaker accepts an in-play bet, but then has the suspicion that the customer’s source of data is consistently faster than their own.

IBAS has recently considered a number of similar examples where customers have protested that their bets have subsequently been voided or at least price-adjusted.

Practically all of those individuals I have discussed this scenario with have opined that this is just the ‘rough and tumble’ of bookmaking, just as operators know that some of

their customers will have superior knowledge or information about other events on which they accept wagers. They say that they would allow such bets to stand unless their rulebook included specific provisions to deal with such scenarios, supported by appropriate independent evidence.

At the end of these conversations I have often reminded others of Section 9 (2) of the 2005 Gambling Act that defines a bet as: “A transaction that relates to the outcome of a race, competition or other event... despite the facts that: (a) the race, competition, event or process has already occurred or been completed, and (b) one party to the transaction knows the outcome.”

As ever, IBAS waits with interest to see whether operators act as they have informally indicated they would when a series of suspiciously well informed bets arrive on an inplay market or whether they will cry foul, ‘the customer had an unfair advantage so the bet must be void’.

here is a particularly nuanced scene in Yes, Prime Minister when Jim Hacker is juggling the issue of a nuclear deterrent. One scientist questions whether mutually assured destruction worked as a deterrent in the Cold War and gave the new PM a series of ever escalating, yet plausible events (“salami tactics”), asking if he would press the button?

Hacker continually says he wouldn’t, even when the Russians were poised to invade the country. “It is a last resort!” he cries. “What is the last resort?” The scientist counters. “Piccadilly? Trafalgar Square?

The Reform Club?”

It is this scene that comes to mind when you hear about the Commission’s attempts to make sure that gambling operators don’t go bump, taking with them customer monies.

The regulator is quite open about its efforts to keep Centrebet afloat and that it was prepared to let it continue operating under the seeming hollow assurance from its parent company that it had funds

andrew mccarron viewpoint

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“Bittar’s job is often described as the “most powerful” in racing but the real authority on the turf still resides in the Jockey Club, whose members own most of the best horses, large chunks of Newmarket and also, via Jockey Club Racecourses, most of the best tracks too. Nothing will ever change significantly without the Jockey Club’s consent.”

Guardian racing correspondent Greg Wood has a warning for Paul Bittar's replacement at the British Horseracing Authority

What The Papers Say he FA are in the process of renewing a Tdespite contract with bookmakers William Hill the considerable conflict of interest because of the blanket ban on gambling for anyone working in English football.

William Hill were controversial £2.5 million-a-year sponsors of England and the FA Cup when the deal was first signed in 2012 because of the regulations against footballers betting which have now been extended to worldwide restrictions on the whole football family.

Yet the FA, who rule on gambling breaches, still intend to keep an official betting partner, with William Hill close to agreeing a new four-year deal for the next World Cup cycle.

CHARLES SALE Daily Mail

peration Crock Of Gold was a cunning O plan hatched a year earlier in Ireland to relieve bookmakers on both sides of the

off the big win of which every punter dreams?

NEIL CLARKE Daily Express

has long been a stand-off between Tcostshere bookies, racecourses and breeders over in the industry. The Government has frequently had to step in and mediate in the annual negotiations over the Horserace Betting levy.

On the one hand, the bookies claim the UK racing industry has never been wealthier.

They produce figures showing that total income has increased by 44pc since 2004-05.

Meanwhile, betting shops are coming under increasing pressure because of taxes. Ladbrokes estimates that taxes now equate to close to 70pc of profits in its retail business.

From December bookies will also be hit with a 15pc online betting tax while duty on gaming machines will rise next year. The top three biggest bookies in the UK are all closing shops.

On the other hand, the racing industry argues that income from the levy has declined from a peak of £110m in 2007-08 to just £80m, and betting companies in this country make a lower contribution to the sport than their counterparts in other countries.

Irish Sea of around £300,000 (more than £3 million today) and it came agonisingly close to succeeding….

Forty years on the exploits of the Operation Crock Of Gold syndicate still divide people. Were they villains trying to take money from the bookmakers by fraudulent means or were they likeable chancers trying NATHALIE THOMAS to get one over the “Old Enemy” - and pull Daily Telegraph

anger of being eived as a paper tiger

Letter to the Editor: The Guardian should be praised IR - Criticism of the Guardian’s Go Wager sportsbook in Betting Business came as little surprise, given the newspaper’s strong views on gaming machines. But the misguided belief that the service is hypocritical were as perplexing as the assumptions made on its revenue performance, based on a refusal to market it aggressively. The article also misses the larger point that their stance could signal a major structural change within the gaming industry.

Media brands have been looking to expand their relationship with customers for years, and have done so successfully recently with product segments such as dating and DIY. Given that their audience has long been an important source of traffic for sports betting sites, gaming is now an obvious avenue for them to explore. You only need to look at Sky Bet as an example of the success to be had from merging betting and sports content effectively.

The Guardian is not alone in voicing disquiet about aggressive practices in the gaming industry, and even more media companies have rounded on operators moving offshore to avoid paying tax. But their com-

S to continue and meet liabilities. In the end it all folded up, customers lost money and the regulator suggested it was the punter’s fault for not doing their homework, implying the very act of placing a bet holds with it a risk even deeper than the potential financial liability.

The recent failure of Bodugi seems to have followed a similar process with the regulator while another semi well known but troubled brand is seemingly working closely with the Commission at the moment. A quick flick through the regulator’s decisions sees an oft repeated phrase: “The licence would have been revoked had it not already been surrendered.” Should failed operators be given this choice? Should this be an acceptable defence for the biggest and most expensive gambling regulator the country has ever seen?

A lot of the work the Gambling Commission has been doing is laudable and a different regulator could well have come down harder on things like the recent money laundering

problems. However, a pragmatic approach on this is to be applauded given that the Commission and the industry are still finding their feet with each other and still around the Gambling Act itself.

The problem the Commission has got is, as ever, finding the right balance. It has commendably not gone down the route that some regulators do where, to continue on the Yes, Prime Minister scene, the ‘last resort is also the first response’. While some hard core regulators might revel in that stance, it doesn’t exactly lend itself to a thriving and innovative industry.

But what it mustn’t do is take its protection of the consumer too lightly.

Letting companies drift on without any means of proper funding is a dangerous game to play, even if the intention is there to get it back on its feet in order to pay its dues.

Let’s not forget that operators pay a lot of money to the Gambling Commission in licensing fees and jump through the continually changing hoops held out by the

Licensing Conditions and Codes of Practice. They don’t want the Commission to end up a paper tiger, with the reputation of the integrity of the UK gambling industry to be damaged.

It’s also doubtful that the Commission would want other regulators stepping on its toes. Who’s to say that an insolvent company continuing to take bets isn’t a measure for trading standards? Or even fraudulent activity for the police to investigate?

New regulations on customer funds will help matters, although they still don’t meet standards set in some offshore jurisdictions, but a punter needs to have utmost confidence in a UK licensed operator ñ and not be told that it’s their own fault for leaving funds with a struggling operator.

It’s a big few months for the Commission with the introduction of the Point of Consumption Licensing. Let’s hope for the industry’s sake that the regulator finds the right balance between overbearing conditions and player protection.

mercial departments are faced with the dilemma of turning lucrative gaming advertising away because their CSR mandates declare them unethical. Suddenly it isn’t such a big leap to see why they are asking the hard questions about gaming.

When a media brand does move into the arena it gives itself a chance to implement its own values. Rather than sending traffic to the FOBT operators it retains control over the branding, product and, crucially, their customer’s experience.

Another area of concern for online bookmakers ought to be the fact these new entrants donít have the legacy technology or massive cost bases with which they themselves are often burdened.

More efficient business models of managed services lower the barriers of entry, meaning anyone with an audience can participate. As we’re

seeing, that also includes well-established affiliates, casinos, poker operators, and social media companies.

The GoWager.co.uk sports betting site is all about sport, however, and must be one of the few that refuses to crosssell casino products. As their supplier, weíve always been based in the UK and pays gaming duty, VAT and corporate taxes to the HMRC. And the marketing campaigns we implement only promote the service to those customers who they think will be interested in sports betting.

My own view is that this should be praised rather than criticised for taking an approach that puts the Guardian’s customers and brand values ahead of aggressively maximising revenues.

REGARDS, David McDowell CEO FSB Technology

BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014 43

BB120-p42-44-Comment_09/10 04/09/2014 13:15 Page 3

Comment

The only sport I’m not interested in is horse racing. That’s because I don’t know the horses personally.

US singer and musician Nat King Cole (1919-1965)

A strong belief in our ability Yggdrasil Gaming CEO Fredrik Elmqvist reflects on a successful first half of a year for the innovative casino game developer.

Five implications for racing from Ladbrokes’ issues Stephen Harris, racing editor at affiliate bettingexpert.com, believes that the current travails of Ladbrokes should have wider implications for the racing industry. he headlines in the press said it all as beleaguered bookmaker Ladbrokes suffered yet another dire set of results, particularly when compared with William Hill, Paddy Power and Bet365. But what do these shocking figures mean for the industry as a whole and, more pertinently, the future of horse racing?

T

1) Racing, away from the major festivals, no longer carries the confidence as a product for bookmakers In his latest statement Ladbrokes CEO Richard Glynn issued a stark warning to the sport..

“Horse racing as a product continues to decline. Concerns continue to mount within the industry around the costs related to horse racing and the provision of racing content.

While the racing industry continues to pursue strategies to increase its revenue from betting, the value it delivers continues to decline. This new reality needs to be understood.”

So basically, one of the main cheerleaders for more and more cheap, low grade racing now calls for racing to sort itself out and become a more attractive product (having done exactly as it was asked by the paymasters over the last decade).

Ladbrokes in the last few years have significantly ducked out of competing pricewise in the early markets, betting to a much larger theoretical percentage than their rivals, and presumably assuming this will not affect their

‘inelastic’ punters in the shops who are unconcerned whether they are getting 6-4 (when Hills are offering 15-8). This kind of logic does not work on the internet however, where price is everything and more savvy punters are driven not by brand loyalty but by purely seeking out value (the top price).

2) Small field, low grade, uncompetitive midweek racing is a major turn off The best races for turnover predictably came during Cheltenham, Aintree and Epsom but interesting were not the massive, big field lottery handicaps that the larger firms are constantly demanding. Quality seems to be preferred over quantity, with Group 1 and Championship NH races capturing the imagination of all punters. Who knew?

The midweek “programme” (from Sunday to Thursday) has now been left to largely rot on the vine, with the quality and field sizes at some meetings now verging on farcical (combined with double digit nonrunners every day at times during the flat season). Punters have voted with their feet, including many pro’s such as John Basquill (who find getting on a near impossible task at the lower end of the spectrum).

3) Higher margins/lower cost FOBTs and games are now the core product for bookmakers The truth is that racing is being bypassed by both bookmakers and punters seeking out a less complex, instant thrill in their betting. Football (especially in-play) is now racing ahead and the money printing FOBTs/online games

44 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

now much preferred by both backer and layer.

For bookmakers this is a nobrainer. No huge media rights to pay, or expensive levy payments, no skilled traders to pay, just empty the machines and sling up 700 markets into big percentages on the live football.

Go ahead firms such as Bet365 have led the way in this regard, recently posting huge profits and increased revenues by focussing hard on cornering the market in these high margin arenas. Actively courting inelastic punters has proved an astute move on their part, while more established firms like Ladbrokes struggle to make an impact (even “The Ladbrokes Life” adverts have attracted attention for the wrong reasons).

4) Has cut-throat pricing, BOG and allowing marketing teams a free hand destroyed profitability?

Racing has become a loss leader for the firms, using it as a means of directing punters onto more profitable areas on their websites and shops.

During the big meetings, everyone was cutting their own throats to attract the bigger players with money back offers, enhanced place terms and regular price boosts making the bottom line margin minimal. There cannot have been many times in their history that a firm the size of Ladbrokes has actually lost overall at Royal Ascot and Epsom and it isn’t purely down to a freak set of results.

Furthermore, while the PR teams go into overdrive for the big festivals and weekend

racing they do nothing to promote racing midweek. Walk past any betting shop, the windows are full of adverts for the latest machine or the enhanced price for Wayne Rooney to score first. Multiple bets such as Yankees are left in the corner, ignored and untouched by an unaware younger audience. Unless racing and the bookmakers make a concerted effort to market an attractive product properly, the future looks especially bleak.

5) Racing must tear itself away from relying on arcade owners as their core source of funding In the longer term racing must detach itself from the levy and become self-reliant and self-funding. It must stand on its own two feet, charging for picture rights and attracting race-sponsorship on merit. The racecourses need to stage meetings that attract crowds and are viable in themselves. It can be done. Look at Chester, Ascot, Goodwood etc etc.

If off-course bookmakers want racing to just be shop fodder (see the BAGS model in greyhound racing for details), then let them buy and run the tracks themselves and pay for it accordingly (Betfred buying the former Great Leighs track will be interesting in the coming months).

All these issues are complex and finding a solution that suits all parties is clearly a difficult struggle, but what is clear is that the current model (based entirely on the profits of those firms who are no longer interested in racing), is totally unsustainable and heading for the rocks.

t has been a very solid start to 2014 for Yggdrasil Gaming after signing agreements with twelve operators spread across various European markets. We now have seven operators live across 15 websites, as well as an additional seven integrations currently ongoing. There is a strong sales pipeline with the opening of a sales office in Gibraltar increasing prospects in the jurisdiction, including a number of the most prominent operators.

If 2013 was about getting everything operational and launching our first customer, Cherry, 2014 so far has been focused on demonstrating our B2B concept as a scalable model. The company is on track to exceed business targets across the entire operation except the live draw Lotto7 product, the launch of which has been delayed until early Q4 2014.

We launched our first slot in Q4 2013 and things have really gone into overdrive since then. With so many big name operators signing early this year, the majority of Q2 2014 was spent preparing for the increased number of partners.

It is important to recognise that at the end of Q1 we were a team of just five employees working out of a small office in Malta, but now in Q3 we are double that with a new sales office in Gibraltar, a new Polish office and a second games studio in Ukraine. In addition to the increased workforce, a six-figure upgrade of our IT systems means we are now in a position to take the business to another level, scaling up accordingly.

Major operator Unibet went live in Q3 through dotcom and also through two nationally-regulated markets in Estonia and Belgium which is a very exciting step for Yggdrasil. In addition, we are thrilled to announce that we have just signed Betsson Group.

Another recent development has seen us join the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) and we have decided to support a challenge of the UK’s impending new gambling licensing regime which undermines the right to the free movement of services.

These are exciting times for Yggdrasil with so many new operators joining us over the next few months, as well as new games being introduced and the much anticipated launch of Lotto7. We have a strong belief in our ability to support some of the great names in the industry with some great games.

I

THE HOFF Š 2013 Hoffworld, LLC. THE HOFF and DAVID HASSELHOFF are trademarks of Hoffworld, LLC and are registered in the United States and other foreign nationals. Used under licence from MX Digital, LLC. All rights reserved.

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BB120-p46-50-Business_09/10 04/09/2014 12:57 Page 1

Over 40 investors have signed up to GamCrowd’s funding round, raising more than the planned £200,000.

ACTION IMAGES/REUTERS/PHIL NOBLE

Business GAMCROWD HAS ATTRACTED OVER 40 INVESTORS FOR ITS FUNDING ROUND

POOL BETTING

GamCrowd raises more than £215k through crowdfunding FUNDING

amCrowd, the gambling specific crowdfunding and crowdsourcing platform that launched in early 2014, has ‘fully funded’ its initial crowd funding round via its own platform, GamCrowd.com.

The company raised £200,000 for 10 per cent of the Equity in the company with eight days remaining in the campaign and continued to attract an additional £15,000 ‘over funding’.

CEO Chris North said he was very happy to have successfully completed the campaign: “We were keen to fund via our own platform and we have now experienced what we are encouraging start-ups to go through. We have learned a lot and rigorously tested our platform and processes and intend to make a few positive changes to the business and the platform following our experience.”

The company intends to use the additional funds to increase its marketing budget and support the first round of start-ups that will be looking to fund via the platform.

Investors need to be registered on gamcrowd.com, have com-

G

New platform will add to Football Pools offer

pleted a questionnaire and a declaration that they are sophisticated investors or High Net Worth investors.

They will then get access to the GamCrowd pitch video, business plan and financial projections. The platform gives potential investors the chance to ask the founders questions about the business and these are all made public so other interested parties can share the same information.

Meanwhile, GamCrowd has teamed up with Clarion Events, organisers of EIG, to find five start-ups to take part in the Launch Pad and to take a stand at the GamCrowd sponsored start-up village.

EIG runs from the 21-23 October in Berlin. This year the format has been substantially revamped and it now has a specific focus on start-ups and fundraising, including a strong presence from GamCrowd.

North commented: “The Launch Pad is a fantastic platform for start-ups that want to get exposure for their ideas and to develop them with experts from the gambling industry. GamCrowd is excited to be partnering with EIG to support the Launch Pad and

the Start-Up Village where we plan to create a vibrant area for start-ups to meet and mix with industry stalwarts who they can explore their ideas with.

We will also have GamCrowd’s FD, Andy Bowen available who has modelled more gaming businesses than he cares to remember, to review and discuss the numbers behind any start-up plans.”

Clarion and GamCrowd are currently accepting applications to shortlist the five most promising start-ups to compete for this prestigious award. All five finalists will receive a substantial marketing boost including being given a free stand in the start-up village.

They can promote their business over the three days and answer investors’ or potential customers’ questions in the run up to the ‘Launch Pad’ event.

They will be able to meet many of the industry veterans who have invested in GamCrowd; pick up ideas, discuss their plans and make valuable contacts throughout EIG.” North added: “We are hoping that at least one of the finalists is undergoing a crowd funding campaign with us and uses the event as a boost to help get their campaign fully funded.”

ANALYSIS Given the problems that some start-ups in the gambling industry have attracting investment (apparently 9 out of 10 VCs have to pass on gambling investments) then an industryspecific funding mechanism could attract a lot of attention. Although crowd-funding is a new style of raising investment, the fact that GamCrowd has shown that it can be done (albeit using its own platform) should encourage other start-ups to give it a go. It should also give investors a bit more confidence to give the gambling industry a chance, especially as the minimum investment is just £500.

Boost for Fortuna

ootball Pools operator Sportech is planning on transforming its pools offer in the second half of the year, although the firm has admitted that it now derives over half its income from its horseracing interests in the US. In its interim results, Sportech revealed that it generates 64 per cent of its revenues from US-based business interests, although the Football Pools could soon reassert itself as the new website switches onto the Nyx platform to offer greater content, flexibility and CRM to drive new customer acquisition.

Group revenue rose for the first six months of the year by 1.7 per cent to £52.6m on a constant currency basis, although EBITDA was slightly down to £12.0m.

Chief executive Ian Penrose said: “We are pleased with the progress we have made in the first half, and in particular with the strategic momentum we have continued to build in our US business. We are expanding our retail betting estate, developing an online betting offer on horseracing and rolling out iGaming products as regulation allows.”

The firm said that the strategy of the Pools business is to stabilise then grow revenues through improved customer retention, increased spend per head from core customers, recruitment of new players and the conversion of existing legacy paper players to direct debit and online channels. To support delivery of this strategy, Sportech is consolidating its customers into a single database, ‘enabling greater cross-sell opportunities and a lower and more agile operating cost base’.

Revenues for the period were £19.3m, down slightly from £20m in 2013, reflecting a stabilisation of direct revenues at £13.4m (2013: £13.4m), slight growth of £200,000 in Online and an anticipated reduction of revenues from the Collector Channel of £900,000 to £3.7m.

The Classic Pools average weekly customer spend has risen 16p to £2.76 driven by an increased number of games and a reduction of discounted entries following the consolidation of customers to a single database.

Penrose added: “Given the pleasing growth in our Racing and Digital division, the solid performance of our Football Pools business, and the positive regulatory progress we have made in our Venues business, it is disappointing that the extreme US winter weather together with margin pressures in Connecticut have taken the shine off our financial performance. Like all companies with interests in the US, the reported results have been negatively impacted by the strength of Sterling. On a constant currency basis the Group remains in line to meet its expectations, although at current exchange rates the reported result will be adversely impacted for the full year.”

F

EUROPE

entral European bookmaker Fortuna Entertainment Group has posted a 16.4 per cent increase in earnings for the first half of the year. Group EBITDA increased to 15m euro (£11.9m) compared to the same period in 2013 with a 20.8 per cent increase in amounts staked to 333.2m euro (£263.6m).

Radim Haluza, CEO and chair of the Board of Fortuna Entertainment

C

Group, commented: “The results achieved were predominantly influenced by the three major sporting events that took place in the first half of this year. And it was most particularly the World Cup in Brazil that confirmed football’s unchallenged position as the number one sport when it comes to fixed-odds betting.

“In line with our expectations, we recorded growth

46 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

for all key parameters and on all markets where Fortuna operates. We enjoyed an exceptional first half of the year. However, our outlook for the whole year remains unchanged, given the absence of major sporting events in the forthcoming months.”

The Amounts Staked in the sports segment reached 325.3m euro (£257.3m) in the first half of 2014, up by 21.2 per cent compared to the

same period of the previous year.

Gross win from online betting surpassed that from retail betting for the first time, reaching 32.3m euro (£25.6m) and 29.9m euro (£23.7m) respectively, thanks to an increase of 32.5 per cent in online activity.

Retail betting saw a moderate decrease in the Czech Republic, while it remained stable in Slovakia and grew year-on-year in Poland.

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BB120-p46-50-Business_09/10 04/09/2014 12:55 Page 2

Improved fortunes for OPAP

Business Gala Coral’s Q3 report shows promise for the concept of the integrated loyalty card as Coral Connect starts to make its presence felt.

Greek monopoly operator OPAP has reported improved results in the second quarter of 2014 with gaming revenues rising 8 per cent to 947.3m euro (£749.3m) and a jump of 50 per cent in EBITDA to 68.6m euro (£54.3m).

The performance apparently beat market forecasts which had expected a downturn in gaming revenues for OPAP. However, OPAP’s net profit dropped 44.5 percent to 15.7m euro (£12.4m) due largely to the firm being hit by a 21.6m euro (£17.1m) retroactive tax bill.

BUSINESSBRIEFS GTECH IS THE LOAN ARRANGER

Encouraging online growth for Gala Coral

RETAIL

ala Coral has posted a 10 per cent increase in gross profit for Q3 to £208.3m, reflecting strong growth in Eurobet Retail and the online business.

Eurobet Retail gross profit was 184 per cent ahead of last year, with EBITDA up 382 per cent to £5.3m. Online gross profit was up by half to £35.3m with EBITDA also up by 51 per cent to £13.0m.

Meanwhile, Coral Retail’s gross profit was £119.1m, 3 per cent ahead of last year. A strong World Cup delivered £5.4m of EBITDA which was offset by a poor Royal Ascot and the phasing of machine costs recorded in gross profit (£1.7m).

Carl Leaver, group chief executive of Gala Coral Group, commented: “The group delivered another strong performance with EBITDA ahead in all divisions and 20 per cent

G

overall. Growth in the online business continues to be very encouraging, in particular in Coral.co.uk, where customer acquisition offers, together with ‘Coral Connect’ sign ups, helped drive actives 94 per cent ahead of last year.

“During the quarter ‘Coral Connect’, which allows customers to access a single wallet across Retail and Online channels, continued to receive a positive response from customers with signups now over 110k. Coral.co.uk customers acquired through this channel are spending 2.5 times more than other online customers, demonstrating the importance of a multi-channel offering going forward.”

OTC gross win at Coral’s UK LBOs was £72.0m, up 9 per cent on last year, although it would have been £500,000 down on comparatives without the World Cup because of the poor Royal Ascot performance

and weaker football margins at the end of the domestic season. Gross win margin for the quarter was up 1.1 percentage points to 17.4 per cent.

Machines gross win of £83.7m was 4 per cent ahead of last year. Gross win per machine per week continued to grow, increasing by 1 per cent to £956, which Gala Coral claims is ahead of both main competitors.

Operating costs increased by 4 per cent to £83.6m, of which £1.8m was as a result of estate development. Underlying operating cost increases were limited to £1.5m or 2 per cent, reflecting ongoing operational efficiencies, particularly in the management of payroll costs.

The pilot of ‘Retail-Betin-Play’ was launched at the end of the quarter, which through the use of a Coral Connect card, enables customers to place in-play bets on exclusive live content

shown on dedicated screens in-shop.

Coral.co.uk actives were 94 per cent ahead of last year, driven by ‘Coral Connect’ sign-ups and enhanced pricing offers during the World Cup. Coral said that customers continued to respond well to the online and mobile user experience, resulting in strong spend per head levels; sports stakes were 126 per cent ahead of last year with sports gross win 121 per cent ahead. Bet in play stakes increased by 140 per cent year-on-year primarily driven by the launch of live streaming in January.

Leaver added: “During the World Cup the Coral app was regularly ranked as the first or second most downloaded iOS sportsbetting app, and crucially we are also seeing improved levels of customer retention as new customers respond positively to the online and mobile user experience.”

ANALYSIS One of the big challenges for Gala Coral, of course, is the impact of the tax and regulatory changes.

The firm said that the first of the necessary shop closures expected to take place during the autumn.

The total number of closures will be reviewed on a rolling basis and is likely to be in line with those announced by Coral’s competitors.

The firm added: “However, while the challenges presented to date by the political climate have been considerable, the industry as a whole and the group in particular, has been working constructively with the government and regulators to implement the planned changes.”

Tatts out to revamp wagering unit AUSTRALIA

ustralian gambling group Tatts is injecting resources into its wagering unit in order to position the Group to fightback against the ‘swarm’ of online competitors.

Despite the group posting a 7.8 per cent increase in profit before tax for continuing operations to AUS$326.6m, wagering earnings before interest and tax were down 7.4 per cent, which the company attributed to this investment.

Robbie Cooke, Tatts’ CEO and managing director, explained: “Our wagering renewal program is well advanced and touches all areas of our operation. The

A

and upon a wider range of sports. It has seen the recruitment of a dedicated eight person wagering marketing team, the engagement of a leading advertising agency and the creation of a new wagering brand ready for launch that will provide a seamless customer experience across all our sales channels.

“The program has lifted our online team to now ROBBIE COOKE: ‘FOCUS REMAINS comprise 52 digital evanON REPOSITIONING OUR gelists who have been WAGERING BUSINESS’ working on our next generdeliverables to date include ation wagering site, which the significant expansion is close to launch. Work in in our bookmaker numbers progress also includes a enabling the launch of our new retail experience, a 24/7 fixed-price betting new sports betting platservice on all racing codes form, enhanced self-

48 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

service terminals and a rewards program.”

The group has also recently signed a major deal to supply sportsbetting in the state of Queensland, which Cooke believes will be hugely important in the future. “Securing long-term exclusive sport and racing wagering licences in Queensland with optimised operating structures well positions Tatts in what is an increasingly competitive space. Significantly, the new arrangements provide for lower wagering tax outcomes and retain the right to offset race field fees against product fees, enabling us for the first time to fight back against the

‘swarm’ of competitors aggressively targeting Queenslanders, siphoning revenue away from both the Queensland racing industry and State coffers. The financial firepower, this enhanced deal provides, will be reinvested in driving the performance of our Queensland wagering business in FY15 and beyond.”

Tatts’ new wagering website and brand will launch in the new financial year, which will attract a lift in marketing spend. Cooke added: “Our focus remains on repositioning our wagering business for growth and capturing the sales momentum considered available in our markets.”

Italian lottery operator GTech has secured agreements from 14 banks to lend it up to US$10.7bn (£8.5bn) in part to back its planned acquisition of games developer International Game Technology (IGT). The financing will be via a senior bridge loan and will be available to GTech for 15 months, after which the company is expected to issue bonds to refinance it. GTech said in a statement that 45 percent of the loan would be denominated in euros and the rest in US dollars. Part of the loan will be used to finance the acquisition of IGT, and part to refinance GTech’s existing debt.

CHAIRMAN SELLS UNIBET SHARES

Unibet chairman Anders Ström has sold 930,000 shares, corresponding to approximately 3.3 per cent of the shares and voting rights in the company, to institutional investors.

Anders Ström Core Holdings (ASCH) retains 1,920,000 shares in Unibet, corresponding to approximately 6.8 per cent of the shares and voting rights in the company. Ström commented: “ASCH retains a significant holding in Unibet and intends to remain a committed and long term owner going forward. Personally, I will continue to engage actively in the company in my capacity as Chairman of the Board, and I also intend to be available for re-election at next year’s Annual General Meeting.”

LARSEN GETS PROMOTION

NetPlay TV plc has appointed Bjarke Johannes Lund Larsen to the Board and role of commercial director. Larsen, who joined NetPlay in 2007, is currently chief operating officer of the subsidiary NetPlayTV Group Ltd. Larsen oversaw the acquisition and integration of Vernons.com, all operational activity and has been instrumental in directing and implementing the group’s gaming strategy.

Chairman Clive Jones said: “Having been with the Group for seven years, Bjarke has a gained a strong understanding of both the industry, along with the commercial and strategic demands of the Group. The appointment of Bjarke will further strengthen the Board and we look forward to working closely with him to continue driving growth for our shareholders.”

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BB120-p46-50-Business_09/10 04/09/2014 12:49 Page 3

Perform losses up

Business SIMON DENYER

Perform Group’s statutory loss for the first half of the year grew by 59 per cent to £4.2m, although joint CEO Simon Denyer seems unruffled: “Our priority for H1 has been to deliver on our cost reduction plans without disrupting the business. Since outlining those plans earlier in the year, we’ve made significant progress and accordingly are on track to achieve the benefits we targeted, which we expect to start seeing come through in H2.”

Mobile growth pushes up Rank performance

rian Mattingley has revealed his intention to step down as Bexecutive 888 Holdings CEO next year, only to take on the role of chairman and continue to run the business. The

Rank is starting to integrate its land-based casino promotions to those it offers online, to good effect.

CASINO

obile revenue growth of 43 per cent has helped boost the figures of the Rank Group as the firm announced a successful integration of the casinos it acquired from Gala Coral. In its full year preliminary results ended 30 June, the Grosvenor Casino and Mecca Bingo operator saw income increase by 13 per cent, up from £625m to £708m.

The firm said that a ‘challenging’ first half of the year saw Rank adopt three actions aimed at delivering an improved H2 performance. These focused on improving the value for money for customers, tightening cost controls and operating a more focused capital expenditure programme. Given the 21 per cent increase in H2 operating profit versus H1, it would appear that the action taken has been highlight successful.

Chief executive Henry Birch commented: “Performance improved in the second half of the year following a challenging first six months. The Group is well positioned for future growth with the cut in bingo duty, major capital investment programmes planned at

M

Nottingham, Bournemouth and Luton casinos and full year benefits from the £8.9m investment into new product in the acquired casinos. In the short term the introduction of a digital point of consumption tax will impact performance but our strong brands and market leading positions ensure that the Group is well placed and provides long-term opportunities.”

The group said its brand teams served more than three million customers with client visits increasing slightly, while the fastest growing platform continues to be mobile, where revenue increased to £19m. Revenue from Grosvenor Casinos increased by a third to £391m, reportedly driven by the £107m revenue contribution from acquired casinos. However, Mecca’s revenue decreased by 3 per cent to £288m as customer visits fell. Lower revenues and higher digital IT costs resulted in total brand profit declining to £37.0m.

As regards regulation and taxation, Rank added that the reduction in bingo duty would allow the development of new premises, but warned that the application of remote gaming duty

under the new point of consumption licensing regime is expected to cripple and stifle digital profitability.

The firm commented: “Rank has been working hard on assessing the full impact of RGD and developing ways to reduce the negative impact on shareholder value, for example through the renegotiation of key digital contracts and reviewing the effectiveness of digital marketing campaigns. The Group anticipates the majority of the duty cost will impact digital profitability.”

Rank received notice in October 2013 that the Court of Appeal had found in favour of HMRC regarding claims for overpaid VAT on certain types of amusement machines. Following the ruling Rank repaid amounts in May of this year. However, the firm has been granted leave to appeal by the Supreme Court, with the appeal hearing due to be held on 20 April 2015.

The firm believes it needs to increase digital capability to meet the needs of customers, and said it will support this aim through investment in marketing and technology (desktop, laptop, and mobile).

ANALYSIS

Vision helps Playtech stay at the forefront

BRIAN MATTINGLEY

reek monopoly operator OPAP SA, has appointed G Odysseas Christoforou as general manager - corporate communication and public relations. imeform, the provider of bespoke horse racing data to the Tdevelopment betting industry, has appointed Mark Fellows as business manager as the Betfair-owned company continues to expand its B2B offer. Fellows joins Timeform after spells with Sportech, IGT and Inspired Gaming Group and will be responsible for securing key B2B partnerships within the online and retail betting market.

Kieran Packman, director of Timeform, said: “I am very pleased that Mark has joined our growing B2B team as we continue our expansion as a data supplier at all tiers of sophistication. We are constantly evolving our horse racing offer and our exciting move into greyhound data provision is also imminent.”

Fellows added: “Timeform has a great reputation for integrity and innovation and I am looking forward to working with the team and securing a number of new strategic partnerships.” ennis Jones has been appointed as non-executive chairD man of the Board at Optimal Payments, while Ian Jenks and Andrew Dark have become non-executive directors. In addition, John Bateson and Jonathan Comerford have resigned as non-executive directors.

Jones said: “Optimal Payments has an outstanding executive team who I know very well, a superb suite of products, a technology capability that is differentiated and a host of opportunities in markets of which I’m very familiar. I’m looking forward to working with the executive team and playing a full part in the company’s continuing growth.” aming testing laboratory BMM Testlabs has appointed G Louise Dionne, as business development manager, lotteries. Dionne arrives at BMM with eight years of

SOFTWARE

S

50 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

move has been spurred by the announcements that Richard Kilsby intends to retire as non-executive chairman of the Board following the company’s 2015 Annual General Meeting.

Chairman of the company’s Nominations Committee, Amos Pickel, said: “We are very excited at this move, which will allow the company to continue to take advantage of Brian’s wealth of experience, wisdom and knowledge of the company, particularly in maintaining and developing relationships with existing and future regulators.

“Day to day operations will continue to be guided by Itai Frieberger, our chief operating Officer who will step up to become a director of the Company on 1 January 2015, together with our chief financial officer, Aviad Kobrine.”

MARK FELLOWS

Despite being in the online game for some time, Rank is still playing catch-up with its digital business. Mobile continues to be the firm’s fastest growing channel with revenues up 43 per cent to £18.9m in the period, with 53 per cent of digital customers in Great Britain playing on mobile devices (up from 30 per cent). It is working to make the most of the competitive advantage its land-based business provides. Earlier this year Grosvenor Casinos rolled out a cross-channel loyalty scheme called Play Points, intended to improve the casino customers’ cross-channel experience. The acquired casinos are to be included in the scheme during 2014/15.

In addition to this successful marketing campaigns have led to a 46 per cent increase in venue customers playing on grosvenorcasinos.com.

oftware giant Playtech has reported a 21.2 per cent increase in revenues to 214.4m euro (£169.6m) for the first half of the year, with adjusted profit up 44.8 per cent to 96.8m euro (£76.6m).

Chairman Alan Jackson believes the company’s vision has allowed it to ‘cement its position as the world’s leading supplier’ of technology and services in the online gambling industry. He said: “During the first six months of the year, Playtech continued to improve the way it develops its products, while growing revenue to an alltime high and managing its cost base, to again deliver an outstanding set of interim results. With an emphasis on customer needs and player experience, Playtech has added supplementary features to its web, mobile, land-based and live offering and continues to capitalise on its customer focused strategy.”

appointments

HOLLAND CASINO: AN IMPORTANT PLAYTECH CLIENT

Mobile gambling is a core element of Playtech’s growth strategy as it becomes an increasingly important channel in both existing and newly regulating markets. The global growth in mobile gambling is supported by technological evolution such as the rollout of 4G services, as well as the increasing willingness and confidence of consumers to transact via their mobile devices. Over the first half of the year, Playtech’s mobile revenue grew 56 per cent, driven principally by the casino

vertical, which almost doubled. Mobile now represents over 10 per cent of overall revenue and is expected to remain a significant driver of future growth.

Jackson added: “Our strategy for future success concentrates on improving and diversifying the quality of earnings with an emphasis on opportunities in regulated and soon to be regulated markets. Recent announcements of landmark turnkey agreements in three important regulated markets, combined with additional significant licensing agreements, such as Holland Casino and extensions of existing relationships, including Sky, reflect the Group’s ability to execute on its strategy and creates the building blocks for future growth. Playtech is the supplier of choice to the global online gambling market and we look to the future with confidence and optimism.”

gaming experience and an in-depth knowledge of the lottery industry.

Drew Pawlak, SVP Business Development Americas, commented: “We are very pleased to have someone of Louise’s calibre join our team. Her expertise in the Lottery sector is invaluable and Louise is already proving a great asset for both BMM and our clients.”

LOUISE DIONNE

lex Oswald is the new CFO at Caesars Entertainment UK. A Oswald re-joins Caesars from The Aspers Group where he was head of business intelligence. He had previously been group head of planning and analysis at the firm.

Oswald said: “Caesars Entertainment enjoys a unique position in the UK casino market. We have the scale and authenticity that our Las Vegas credentials give us yet we’re able to offer a ‘tailor-made’ service and environment in each of our venues. This enables us to offer the best gaming experience in the market. There is also a real commitment from the top to innovate and grow, I can’t think of a more thrilling place to be in the gaming world and I’m excited by the prospect of driving the business forward.”

Whether your market is low stake high volume gaming, remote, land-based casinos, bingo, betting or amusements there’s only one publishing house that’s really connected.

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GBmedia

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ACTION IMAGES / PAUL CHILDS LIVEPIC

Agenda

Ante Post: What the bookies say Football may dominate, but golf will be where a lot of the big action will be in September thanks to the Ryder Cup. e’ll relish the return of the Champions League and the group stages in order to guarantee blockbuster midweek turnover. Liverpool back in the competition plus Manchester City’s renewed focus on the tournament means there will be no shortage of top-quality games to savour - a big terrestrial European night can easily match a Super Sunday fixture for interest so it’s safe to say we want the home sides to go as far as is possible.

As far as racing is concerned, even with rose tinted glasses we can say that the Ladbrokes St Leger festival culminating in the 2014 running of the world’s oldest classic will be one of the highlights of the month. There’s never a dull moment on Town Moor and with the Channel 4 cameras there to capture the thrills and spills of the meeting, interest is sure to be high.

the top players.

The Premier League is well underway and we also look forward to the Champions League group stages resuming on the 16th and 17th. Reigning champs Real Madrid are going to be very difficult to beat with the likes of Ronaldo, Rodriquez, Bale and Kroos lining up each week.

Arguably the biggest event of the lot will be the Ryder Cup, which takes place at Gleneagles at the end of the month. Team Europe will be hoping Rory McIlroy continues the fine form which has seen him claim two Majors this year, as they look to claim their third victory in a row over the Americans. Come on boys, let’s do them again!

Two huge golf events take place in the month first the culmination to the US Tour Season where the top thirty money earners compete in the Tour Championship at East Lake.

Then on the 26 September the Ryder Cup commences at Gleneagles both will be substantial betting events especially The Ryder Cup where Betting In Play will be unprecedented in stakes where bettors take the shorter prices in all formats.

The American football season kicks off in early September again punters will regain their weekly dose of triple header ‘live’ NFL fixtures on Sunday through to early Monday morning.

The sport is intense in terms of weekly coverage BARRY MARTIN through until February.

CEO Although the F1 season would not be the most 666Bet competitive in terms of an overall betting event as Mercedes appear to be dominant. But the After the two week international window punters fierce team rivalry between Hamilton and ALEX DONOHUE will be craving for the domestic Premiership Rosberg is unrelenting and by the time the SinPR football season when it re-commences on the gapore GP comes round on Sunday 21 SeptemLadbrokes 13th September with huge games throughout the ber with the title very much in the balance month. The UEFA Champions’ League Group between the two leading drivers viewing will be September is always a busy month in the sporting matches also commence on the 16 September a must. calendar. The finals of the US Open singles take where Real Madrid will start to defend their title. place at the end of the first week, and it will be It’s always after the transfer window closes that JONATHAN WRIGHT fascinating to see who comes away with the tro- the season really kicks off anyway with quality Head of trading phies after up and down seasons for a number of ‘live’ top level matches in midweek and weekend. Boylesports

W

Racing agrees fixture process for next three years he Board of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has approved the process by which the pool of BHA Fixtures will be allocated to racecourses as part of the compilation of the 2015 Fixture List. The new, more clearly defined process - which is intended to remain in place for a minimum of three years - is based on a combination of prize money investment and ‘sporting performance’.

Under the system, which has been developed in con-

T

sultation with racecourses and horsemen, the performance of racecourses in relation to their commitments to prize money and their record in terms of sporting performance, measured by field sizes, number of small field races and betting performance, will be assessed individually.

Each racecourse will be given a rating based on their prize money and sporting performance which, in turn, will determine how many meetings from the pool of around 175 BHA Fixtures

52 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

they will be entitled to receive. The model is designed to ensure a level playing field and to enable the allocation of BHA Fixtures to be spread among a greater number of racecourses than has been the case previously.

Ruth Quinn, director of racing for BHA, said: “The objective of the fixture allocation process is to ensure the fairest possible distribution of the relatively small number of BHA controlled fixtures. In identifying the most appropriate process

we wanted to achieve the optimum impact on the performance and behaviour of all racecourses. We also wanted to ensure we addressed the ongoing concern about field sizes and the need to reduce the number of uncompetitive races.

“We believe that the criteria which apply under this system will bring benefits across the entire racing programme, as we expect that racecourses will seek to ensure they are providing the best possible racing and

product year-round in order to enhance their competitiveness in the allocation scheme in future years.

“We also consider the performance of individual racecourses rather than group performance is the fairest approach and provides a more level playing field. This will have the added advantage of allowing smaller, independent courses to compete with large groups for fixtures, providing a greater opportunity for variety and geographic spread of fixtures.”

LISTINGS MONTHLY BRIEFING

SEPTEMBER 8-9 eGR Mobile Power Summit, South Lodge Hotel, West Sussex, UK 9-12 10th European Conference on Gambling Studies and Policy Issues, Helsinki, Finland 10 BiG Sports Dinner, The Dorchester, London 16-17 eGR US Power Summit 2014, The Montage, Laguna Beach, California, USA 30-2 G2E Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Las Vegas 30-2 Responsible Gaming Seminar, Florence, Italy OCTOBER 1-2 15th Annual Conference on Problem Gambling, Albany Marriott, NYC, USA 3-4 The Third Russian Affiliate Congress and Expo, ‘Sokolniki’, Moscow, Russia 6-8 2nd Annual BiG Africa Summit 2014, Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, South Africa 9 Bookmakers’ Trade Fair, Wolverhampton 13-16 SPORT IMMERSION: The Sports Betting MasterClass, European Lotteries, Hotel H10 Roma Città, Rome 21–23 EIG Expo, Berlin 21-22 Balkan Entertainment and Gaming Expo 2014, Inter Expo Centre, Sofia, Bulgaria 23-26 Barcelona Affiliate Conference (BAC) 2014, Centre Convencions Internacional Barcelona (CCIB), Spain 27-28 Mobile & Tablet Gambling Summit USA 2014, Bally’s Atlantic City, NJ, USA NOVEMBER 5-7 Arizona Indian Gaming Association Expo 2014, For McDowell Casino, AZ, USA 6 ad:tech New York, Javits Centre, New York, USA 10-11 Mobile & Tablet Gambling Summit Europe 2014, Hilton Tower Bridge 11 6th Annual Malta iGaming Seminar 2014, Malta 17 Remote Gambling Association AGM, Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London 18-20 Macao Gaming Show, Venetian Macao 24 eGR Operator Awards 2014, Roundhouse, Camden, London 26-28 National Association for Gambling Studies (NAGS) 24th Annual Conference, Jupiters Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

BB120-p52-53-Agenda_09/10 05/09/2014 11:22 Page 2

BAC back at Barcelona The Barcelona Affiliate Conference (BAC) will be returning once again to the Catalan city on the 23-26 October 2014. Conference organiser iGB Affiliate has announced that the conference will be moving to a new venue for 2014, the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB).

Brenninkmeijer joins list of MGS speakers ASIA

nspired Gaming Group’s Harmen Brenninkmeijer, senior vice president, Asia and Strategic Markets, is the latest thought leader to confirm his participation at November’s Macao Gaming Summit, which runs alongside Macao Gaming Show. Brenninkmeijer will be moderating a series of iGaming panels, which will cover a comprehensive range of topics from ‘Tapping into the Lucrative Chinese Market: the Chinese consumer, gaming behaviour, and trends’, to iGaming in the Asian cruise ship sector.

Joining Brenninkmeijer will be Reinout te Brake, Founder and Chairman at iQU (‘Virtual Payments in iGaming’); Matthew Brown, Director of Business Development at Iverson Gaming Systems (‘iGaming in the cruise ship sector’); Nick Nocton, Director of Jeffrey Green Russell Limited / IMGL (‘iGaming regulatory and legal developments in UK and EU’); Robert Stocker, Member and Gaming Practice Leader at Dickinson Wright PLLC/IMGL (Responsible Gaming); Steve Rittvo, Founder of the The Innovation Group (‘iGaming and its impact on casino revenues’); and, Wai-Ming Yap, Director of the Stamford Law Corporation (‘iGaming in Singapore’)

I CLARION IS WORKING HARD TO KEEP ITS EVENTS FRESH AND RELEVANT

Investing in a brand new experience INTERVIEW

Giles Thomas is founder & partner of Mimo Brands, a specialist agency with enormous experience of developing brands. Here he talks about his firm’s project with Clarion Events, which looks at its gaming portfolio including next month’s EiG in Berlin which hopes to redefine the conference experience.

H

ow long have you been working with Clarion and how did you come in contact

with them?

We’ve been working with Clarion since April this year.

I was introduced to them by Hussein Chahine, entrepreneur and CEO of social gaming pioneer Yazino. As a result I was asked to speak at EIG 2013 about branding in the gaming industry.

What work have you been undertaking with the team and what were the objectives from the client’s perspective?

In short, our brief was to help Clarion to make its brands work harder. We split this challenge into three areas: firstly, we reviewed how we could use the main Clarion brand to better deliver the exciting new business strategy that is currently being rolled out.

Then we took this new brand and used it to redefine and upgrade the nature and quality of products and service levels the business offers. This was accompanied by a review of the wide variety of Clarion subbrands that have emerged over the last few years. We have rationalised them, clarified what they offer and to whom, and reorganised them to work as a simple, strong portfolio. By doing this, communication becomes easier and more effective.

What has struck you most about working with Clarion and getting to know the team?

Without meaning to be sycophantic, I have been impressed by many aspects of Clarion’s gaming business and the team in general.

They’ve developed an exciting market-leading business strategy which is being implemented by a group proving to have a great capacity to step out of its comfort zone and not afraid to try new things.

Can you explain the journey from being a product to a brand?

In broad terms, a product is chosen by comparing what features you get for how much you pay. Products are effectively commodities, so if the price goes up customers switch to a

cheaper version. A brand is chosen because, at the same price, customers prefer it over its competitors. This provides enormous benefits not only to the brand owner but to its customers as well.

The beginning of the brand journey requires you to understand what you can do to make your customers prefer your product over its competitors. The rest of the journey is spent delivering these benefits.

What is the value of branding and how will stakeholders notice or benefit?

Stakeholders will begin to notice a difference to the experience of engaging with every part of the Clarion gaming portfolio. This will include clearer and more relevant communication, enhanced levels of customer service, more positive surprises and a more enjoyable and rewarding experience overall. This may not all happen overnight, but over time we expect stakeholders to be clearer how the portfolio fits into their commercial lives, and to look forward to meeting smart people and doing good business by engaging with the Clarion brands.

The next Clarion event will be EiG in Berlin - will readers benefit from your input and if so in what areas?

EIG this year will be significantly different and improved in many ways, some of which will be due to the journey we’ve been on.

It will feel fresh, more exciting, more relevant and easier to enjoy than ever before.

Ira Iskandar, conference manager at Koelnmesse, the Event and Conference Management Partner of MGS said: “With a collection of the World’s foremost thinkers and experts on the Asian gaming market already confirmed, and with more to be announced, the Macao Gaming Summit is fast shaping up to be a must attend event for gaming professionals wanting to learn more about the key issues relating to iGaming in Asia. I believe there will be a depth of iGaming knowledge not previously shared in Macao.”

Macao Gaming Summit runs alongside Macao Gaming Show which is the first large scale gaming and entertainment exhibition organised and run by Macao organisations and supported by Government departments. Macao Gaming Show 2014 will have a floor area of over 10,000 m2. Exhibitors and buyers eyeing the Asian market will be coming from all corners of the world. The event covers six gaming industry segments; gaming equipment and accessories, gaming promoters (junkets) and VIP clubs, casino fixtures and fittings, promotional services and memorabilia, food and beverage and entertainment and performance.

INSPIRED’S HARMEN BRENNINKMEIJER

BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014 53

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ACTION IMAGES / ANDREW BOYERS LIVEPIC

Analysis

Delivering con The Levy Board, or at least the mechanism it oversees, has been in constant review over the past ten years, and this summer has seen two government consultations on the scheme.

Hats should be tipped, therefore, to the management team that keeps things moving.

In an extract from a piece in the Levy Board’s annual report, chairman Paul Lee explains some of that work.

We have been able to deliver continued improvement in our financial position in both income and capital. This has been achieved against a background of greater accord and understanding between betting and racing, providing evidence of the value of the Board on which many of the impor-

“

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

York - Sky Bet Dash Ascot - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes York - 55th John Smith’s Cup Ascot - Longines International Stakes Ascot - Canisbay Bloodstock Handicap Ascot - Weatherbys Private Banking Handicap Ascot - Longines Handicap (Ladies Race) Goodwood - Qatar Bloodstock Richmond Stakes York - Sky Bet York Stakes York - John Smith’s Median Auction Maiden Stakes

TOP TEN

TOP TEN

BOOKMAKERS FOR MONEYBACK OFFERS (WEB & MOBILE)

BOOKMAKERS FOR MONEYBACK OFFERS (WEB ONLY)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

TOP TEN MONEYBACK OFFERS BY CHANCE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Stan James - Football: Moneyback if World Cup games goes to ET Boylesports - UFC: Moneyback if McGregor v Brandao ends in round 1 Paddy Power - UFC: Moneyback if McGregor v Brandao ends in round 1 bet365 - Greyhounds: Sky dogs 2/1 Paddy Power - Football: Pick your own money back Paddy Power - Rugby: Money back if forward scores first try Paddy Power - Tennis: Moneyback on favourites if out before QF Paddy Power - Rugby: Money back if forward scores first try Paddy Power - Motor Sport: Money back if driver DNF SkyBet - Racing: Money back if favourite wins

Chart supplied by: Freebets.com . Data for July

(2) bet365 (5) Stan James (4) William Hill (1) Paddy Power (3) Betfair (6) Betfred (8) Winner (7) BetVictor (10) Ladbrokes (-) Coral

Chart supplied by: Freebets.com. Data for July

Chart supplied by: Totepool. Data for July

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

SkyBet - Racing: Money back if favourite wins Ladbrokes - Racing: Money back if 2nd to Dermot Weld horse Boylesports - UFC: Moneyback if McGregor v Brandao ends in round 1 Paddy Power - UFC: Moneyback if McGregor v Brandao ends in round 1 Stan James - Football: Moneyback if World Cup games goes to ET Betfair - Football: Moneyback if ET Betway - Tennis: Moneyback if 1st set is tie break bet365 - Greyhounds: Sky dogs 2/1 Betfair - Greyhounds: Sky dogs 2/1 Coral - Greyhounds: moneyback if second by a length or less

Chart supplied by: Freebets.com . Data for July

for the world

bet365 Stan James William Hill Paddy Power Betfair Betfred Winner BetVictor Coral Betway

Chart supplied by: Freebets.com. Data for July

TOP TEN RETAIL BETTING EVENTS

TOP TEN MONEYBACK OFFERS BY VALUE

By Asia 54 BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014

tant parties are represented.

It is, I believe, a very useful forum for discussion between them and provides a platform for continued discussions elsewhere.

Consistent with this, the 53rd Levy Scheme was settled ahead of the deadline of 31 October as had been the case for the 52nd Levy Scheme.

In terms of our distribu-

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

International Football - The World Cup, Brazil Horseracing - King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Ascot, Golf - The Open Championship, Royal Liverpool Horseracing - The July Cup, Newmarket Tennis - Wimbledon Tennis Championships Horseracing - The Coral Eclipse Stakes, Sandown International Cricket - England v India, 1st Test, Trent Bridge Horseracing - The John Smith’s Cup, York Athletics - Commonwealth Games, Glasgow Formula 1 - The British Grand Prix, Silverstone

Chart supplied by: Betfred. Data for Junly

Venetian Macao 18-20 November 2014

BB120-p54-55-Analysis_09/10 05/09/2014 14:05 Page 2

TOP TEN BETTING EXCHANGE MARKETS

SPONSORED BY MACAO GAMING SHOW

continued improvement TOP TEN HALF YEARLY TOP 10 RACES BY BETTING TURNOVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Crabbie’s Grand National, Aintree Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup, Cheltenham Investec Derby, Epsom Ladbrokes World Hurdle, Cheltenham Stan James Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy, Cheltenham Coral Scottish Grand National, Ayr Qipco 2000 Guineas, Newmarket Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, Cheltenham BetVictor Queen Mother Champion Chase, Cheltenham Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Cheltenham

Chart supplied by: Horserace Betting Levy Board

tion policy, there has been further emphasis on increasing our prize money contribution which, in calendar year 2014, is forecast to reach £56m compared to £50m in 2013.

Our income in 2013/14 was up by 5 per cent from the previous year when including the voluntary contributions for which we are most grateful. The most significant such contribution was that of Betfair at £7.8m. Net assets at 31 March stood at £45m, almost triple that of the

lowpoint struck in 2011.

This level of reserves now provides both a degree of comfort in our future planning and has also enabled us to reintroduce racecourse loans, a facility much appreciated by racecourses.

Overall, the Board’s total budgeted expenditure for the calendar year 2014 has been set at £82m, up 7 per cent on the £76m which was the budget for the previous year.

These figures compare to actual spend on a calendar year basis of

£59m in 2011 and £65m in 2012, reflecting again the continued recovery in our financial position, achieved in part by further significant savings in administrative and operational costs.

It is sometimes said that one area in which the Levy system is flawed is that it is confrontational, setting one side of the industry against the other. This is a view which I have never shared. Indeed, as I have said, I believe that the presence of various parties around the Board table is an advantage. We do not seek confrontation, let alone litigation, but agreement and accord. Even in commercial negotiations the conversation has to start with one side making an offer which is exactly what happens in our world.

In line with this view, and the benefit we seek to bring to the industry, I was delighted to be asked to facilitate discussions which began in the spring of last year between some of the key stakeholders in

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

GBR - Colossus Bets - The £10,000,000 Colossus - E12,616,700 SWE - V75 -Bergsaker- E11,036,243 GBR - Classic Pools - E3,785,010 ESP - La Quinella - E4,076,358 GBR - Colossus Bets - World Cup Pick6 - E2,523,340 SWE - V86 - Solvalla/Aby - E1,779,447 SWE - V64 - Kalmar - E1,394,408 GBR - Goal Millions - E1,261,670 GBR - Colossus Bets - The £1,000,000 HDA15 - E1,261,670 SWE/RUS - Stryktipset/Soccer13 - E625,229

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 August

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

International Cricket - England v India 2nd Test International Cricket - England v India 1st Test International Cricket - England v India 3rd Test International Football - Brazil v Germany International Football - Germany v Argentina International Football - Netherlands v Argentina International Football - Brazil v Colombia International Football - Belgium v USA International Football - Netherlands v Costa Rica International Football - Argentina v Belgium

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

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

TOP TEN ONLINE SPORTSBOOK PERFORMANCE RESPONSE TIME (SECS)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

International Football - Germany v Argentina International Football - Netherlands v Argentina International Football - Brazil v Germany International Football - Brazil v Netherlands Horseracing - King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes Golf - The Open Championship 2014 outright Horseracing - The Longines International Stakes Horseracing - Newmarket July Festival - The Darley July Cup Horseracing - Glorious Goodwood - The bet365.com Stakes (Handicap) Horseracing - John Smith’s Cup (Heritage Handicap)

Chart supplied by: BetVictor. Data for July

Bet365 - 0.62 Betfair Sports - 1.21 Jennings Bet - 1.25 BetVictor - 1.57 Ladbrokes - 1.72 Totesport - 1.82 Sky Bet - 1.87 Betclic - 2.14 Betfred - 2.55 William Hill Online - 2.64

Chart supplied by: Gomez. Data for July

TOP TEN FOOTBALL BETTING WEBSITES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Betfair Bet365 Betvictor Paddypower William Hill Coral Skybet Ladbrokes Stan James Betfred

Chart supplied by: Oddschecker. Calculated on market share of betslip clicks from Oddschecker.com Data for July

Q1 TOP TEN RACES BY BETTING TURNOVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup Ladbrokes World Hurdle Stan James Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle BetVictor Queen Mother Champion Chase Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase Challenge Cup JCB Triumph Hurdle

Chart supplied by: Horserace Betting Levy Board

Q2 TOP TEN RACES BY BETTING TURNOVER

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

Germany 30, Daily Wall Street, Daily UK 100, Daily Spot, EUR/USD Spot, GBP/USD Germany 30, Sep Wall Street, Sep Gold, Daily Aug UK 100, Sep SPX 500, Sep

International Football - Germany v Argentina £72,483,696.10 International Cricket - England v India (2nd Test|) £54,240,746.90 Tennis - Djokovic v Federer £47,835,067.36 International Cricket - Sri Lanka v South Africa (2nd Test) £42,239,761.34 International Cricket - England v India (3rd Test) £39,721,858.14 International Cricket - England v India (1st Test) £39,337,212.22 International Football - Brazil v Colombia £34,147,295.86 Tennis - Djokovic v Dimitrov £33,505,954.92 International Football - Germany v Argentina £30,605,595.78 Golf - The Open Championship 2014 £28,278,070.46

Chart supplied by: BetVictor. Data for July

TOP TEN SPORTS SPREAD MARKETS

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

racing and the four major retail bookmakers, William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral and Betfred. The aspiration in these discussions was the achievement of a multiyear accord which would be complementary to the Levy system, with the additional voluntary contributions offered by the bookmakers to be administered through the Board.

The dialogue continued through the summer and, in what I might describe as a bout of late autumn sunshine, we were able to conclude discussions in October whereby the bookmakers undertook, with certain caveats, to make additional voluntary contributions at a rate of £4.5m per Levy year for four years.

The arrangement also saw the four bookmakers agree to underwrite a combined contribution payable through the statutory Levy of not less than £47.5m per year, which adds significantly to the Board’s confidence in planning its expenditure programme.”

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Crabbie’s Grand National Investec Derby Coral Scottish Grand National Qipco 2000 Guineas Investec Oaks Ascot Gold Cup Prince of Wales’s Stakes Qipco 1000 Guineas St James’s Palace Stakes Diamond Jubilee Stakes

Chart supplied by: Horserace Betting Levy Board

www.macaugamingshow.com

BettingBusinessInteractive • SEPTEMBER 2014 55

www.igt.com/interactive